I'm changing jobs and it's probably a good time to change laptops. This is what I'm looking for:

Quad core (AMD or Intel is fine)
USB 3.0 ports
Gigabit NIC
802.11 g/n WiFi
Full dock available as an accessory
Hard drive size doesn't matter, but I'll want to drop in an SSD
Stock memory doesn't matter, but I'll want to drop in 8 gig
HDMI would be nice
BlueTooth
Display at least 1366 x 768

Weight isn't critical, size isn't critical, i.e. I'm not looking for an ultra book
Decent battery life is desireable
I'd prefer Win7 to Win8
Audio doesn't matter -- I'll use headphones or an outboard USB sound card.
CD/DVD/BluRay drive doesn't matter -- I have a portable CD/DVD burner BluRay reader that I can if I need it.

This will be an office desktop replacement, but I'll also be using it for a variety of tasks, from recording audio on location, to editing in Photoshop and Premiere, to writing music with Finale, to watching my Slingbox in airports.

Now the kicker: I need to spend as little as possible.

I've had a number of Vaio laptops, but I find that they're not particularly rugged and tend to be WAY to pricey. I've got an HP dual-core now, and it does pretty well, but the HPs I've seen don't have full docking stations -- they use USB docks, which won't work for me because, in the office, I use dual monitors.

Any suggestions?

Define "as little as possible". What you're describing isn't going to be cheap.

For full docking capability, I'd suggest you start with looking at the business laptops from Lenovo and Toshiba.

Under $1k -- hopefully well under $1k.

That I shall do. Thanks.

AS mentioned in another thread, you may want to look into the lenovo u410/u510

I have the HP 2560p - that entire series have a full dock. You just have to ignore the first 'recommended' one which is the USB p-o-s.

If rugged is important feature, consider Lenovo Thinkpads - highly recommended by a friend of mine in the IT business for people who schlep their notebooks everywhere. Also heavily used by hospitals and clinics for electronic medical records, as carried/moved/mishandled/passed around all day long.

Along with Dell and HP.

Some of the best bang-for-the-buck deals are in the HP Outlet. Problem is that the inventory list is archaic and confusing, and you also have to order by phone. Pick up a used dock off eBay.

Absolutely, sir, right away. And we'll have Kate Upton deliver it.

The Dell Outlet is okay and you can order online. Scratch and Dents are a great buy as who really cares if there's a scratch on your laptop so long as everything works fine? Some of them even come with a 3 year warranty!! Sometimes they have coupon sales for 30% off on the outlet, so if you can wait, you can score a great deal.

If OP is going to go this route, I'd suggest an Inspiron 6510 or similar to give him everything he wants at a price <$800.

Didn't know about the HP Outlet, but will check it out sometime.

Edit: looks like there is actually a 30% off sale on Dell Outlet now. Grab it while it lasts!!!

I have been happy with the Vostro 3000 series,

I was looking at a Vostro as it's a no-frills low cost option.... but no docking port

I'm starting to lean towards a couple of the HPs. They don't have a docking station, but I think one of the USB 3.0 port extenders that support dual monitors should do the trick. I need this for work, not for playing games or watching videos, so I think that may work out fine.

It's a factory refurb in an HP-sealed box, $794, all in:

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Select Edition 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC

It's got everything I needed, plus a few extras, e.g. back-lit keyboard and 1920 x 1080 display. I probably wont' drop an SSD in, given that the HD seems pretty efficient. This puppy is actually more powerful than my home desktop, which is 1.6 GHz Intel Quad-Core. No docking station, but I'll get this:

http://www.targus.com/us/productdeta...ing%20Stations

I've got a USB 2.0 docking station I've been using with an old Netbook running Win8 and it has no problem driving (and keeping up with) an HD display.

Specs:

SPECIFICATIONS


PROCESSOR
3rd generation Intel� Core� i7-3610QM Processor 2.30GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.30GHz

MEMORY
8GB DDR3 1600Mhz System Memory (2 Dimm) � 16GB Max

HARD DRIVE
750GB 7200 rpm Hybrid Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

DISPLAY
15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)

MULTIMEDIA DRIVE
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

CHASSIS
Aluminum chassis in midnight black (metal)

VIDEO GRAPHICS
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 630M Graphics with 1GB GDDR 3 memory [HDMI, VGA] w/webcam

DIGITAL MEDIA
Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader
NETWORKING
External 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN RJ-45 connect

COMMUNICATION
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth + WIDI

SECURITY
Integrated Fingerprint Reader

KEYBOARD
Full size backlit keyboard with numeric keypad

POINTING DEVICE
TouchPad


EXTERNAL PORTS
3 SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 VGA; 1 headphone-out; 1 microphone-in

ADDITIONAL PORTS
RJ-45

SOUND
Beats(TM) audio + HP Triple Bass Reflex Subwoofer

POWER
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery, 120W AC

OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit
SOFTWARE
HP Easy Setup
HP Advisor
HP Help & Support Center
HP MediaSmart puts Entertainment at your fingertips
Norton Internet Security 60-day subscription
MSN Live Messenger

WEIGHT
5.78 lbs

DIMENSIONS
14.88 x 9.71 x 1.22 in

THINNESS
1.22"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360640132596...84.m1497.l2649

You still might consider dropping in a SSD - for 2 reasons. 1) The normal HDD seems fast now but will get sluggish over time, and 2) battery conservation.

What you described seems like it'll eat through the battery in no time. If battery life is still one of your criteria, then the SSD will extend it noticeably.

It's very easy to pop the 500 GB SSD out of my current laptop and drop it into the new one -- they're both HPs, and it's just a cover on the bottom with a single screw, so I guess that I will. Battery life is useful, but the least critical for what I'll be doing -- I should always be somewhere near an outlet. HP has a 9-cell replacement for the stock 6-cell which I can get later if I really need it. Right now, I'm looking for a desktop replacement that will work on the road in hotel rooms and at client sites, and will also keep me amused and occupied during those long, lonely nights on the road and the inevitable hours spent sitting at airport bars waiting for flights. That's why I sprang for the full HD screen (love my movies). I probably won't use it in the air -- it's a little to big for Y, and I have a tablet and my iPod for in-flight entertainment. There shouldn't be that many occasions when I'm dependent on battery power. I'll also be using it for remote recording sessions (my hobby), writing music, etc., and it's got more than enough power for that -- in fact, more power than the desktop that I currently use for all of this. And, finally, assuming I get to start taking vacations again at some point, the lighted keyboard will make it a lot easier to use without disturbing my sleeping wife. The idea of a subwoofer in a laptop is, frankly, laughable, but I always use headphones anyway.

At this point, I can't recall the difference between Win7 home premium and Win7 pro. As I recall, it primarily has to do with networking and joining a domain (or was that Vista?). That's the only upgrade that I'm planning, and then only if I need it to use at my new office. 8 gig of RAM is plenty (though I'm curious what 16 gig in a fastish quad core would be like on things like Photoshop and my music software).