I'm a web developer, have an older system that has nearly ground a halt, and it's time to get a new machine in the current tax year.

I don't keep track of current trends and processors because I'm too busy with client work, so I simply don't know which way to turn. And I won't be playing games for the same reason - I just don't have time, or frankly the interest.

What I want is a good solid machine that will run a bunch of windows concurrently, that will be solidly reliable, and allow me to work efficiently. I don't want a MAC, despite pressure from my friends who insist I'll never go back. I really don't have time to learn OSX, don't want to invest in all new software, and would not be enthusiastic about hoping all my current applications run successfully in the Windows emulation environments. So it's a PC for me please.

I live in a rural area and this machine will be primarily used as a desktop replacement (assuming such an expectation is reasonable). On the rare occasion that I travel, it will be via car. Size and portability of a laptop is not a consideration. It's just not an issue. The main consideration is speed/power and reliability.

I'm told that Toshiba has the best quality control in laptops, and looked at the Tecra series, but I'm not sure which model might be the best machine for me.

I saw another post where someone asked about the MSI GX600, and the prices is about the same as the following Dell, but I don't recognize the MSI brand. http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4094

Costco has this unit on sale for $1599.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produ [...] d=11170871
Dell 1720 (Office H&S)
Intel C2D T7250 2GHz
2GB DDR2 250GB HDD DVDRW 128MB NVIDIA
WebCam
BlueTooth
Wi-Fi 802.11a/g
2-year Warranty
8-in-1 Memory Card Reader

Would that be a good system? Would a Tecra be better?

Could someone please suggest a machine that would be suitable for my needs please? I don't do that much graphics work, but Photoshop will be open much of the time. Likewise for Quickbooks, Outlook, Excel, text editors, FTP and so on....

BTW, is Vista as bad as I hear? Should I plan on staying with WinXP?

As for the os, right now most laptops are vista, in fact vista is good when your other parts are good also, so it all depends on. If you want to get the xp, you should go to the Dell. And I recommend you to have a look at the HP DV9700t,it is quite good:
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
17.0" widescreen display (1680 x 1050)
2GB DDR2 system memory (2 Dimm)
250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
It has powerful cpu and good picture. What's more the price has dropped a lot,a recent deal on it is only $999:
http://www.dealstudio.com/viewtopic.php?t=34799
Anyway hope this helps.

Yes Vista is horrible.

Thanks everyone - still trying to decide and I appreciate the input.

Any other comments from anyone?

Folks, I've been researching the bejeezus out of this, and am currently looking at the HP dv6700t.

Found a post at another forum indicating that the BIOS on a different HP model had been locked, making it difficult to nuke Vista and install XP. Something to do with not being able to select the correct hard drive configuration.

Does anyone know if XP can be installed on this model? Any other comments on the dv6700t?

thanks