Any W720ds opinions?

I don't see any mention of the W720ds here. Is that because it is so horrid everybody knows to stay away from them, or are they just not very common?


EDIT: (maybe I don't see much mention of these because I got the model # wrong? Just realized there is no W720.... )



I know they aren't really a "laptop" but more of a 30 pound mobile workstation- but just exactly how not portable and awkward are they?

I am getting ready to buy one in a day or 2 (I think) but being that I've never actually had an example to mess around with, I'm a bit hesitant.

I made the mistake of buying a MacBook Pro a few years ago and need something different now. It's not that the MacBook isn't a good product, I love it and think it's a great machine and great OS. It's just that my computing needs have become much more business minded and several applications I need to run for my business are Windows only. This means I can only work on them while at my shop and I'm falling behind because I can't work on anything late in the evening at home on my Mac.

What I like about the W720ds (well, at least what I think I like about it)

Dual HD's in RAID 1 config. I back everything up to a NAS box when I'm here, but frequently I'm out of town for a week or 2 at a time. Experiencing a HD failure while trying to close the deal on a $600k solar panel installation 600 miles from my shop is not something I want to risk. If I can have data redundancy in my mobile workstation- then I want it.

Extra little side screen thingy- On my desktop I have 2 monitors and I've become quite use to having one screen dedicated to one app for reference and a second screen for the working copy of whatever I'm doing. To replicate this on a mobile computer would be great.

Available with Quad Core CPU- Eh, just because I'm impatient. Can't think of any other reason.

Numeric Keypad- Requirement! I bet %15 percent of the characters I type throughout a day are numbers in long succession. Must have numeric keypad.

So, anyone have real experience with these monstrosities of a laptop?

Thanks for any input!

 

Do you mean the W700ds?

 

It's the W700ds, not the W720ds.

The reasons why it's almost never mentioned: 1.- very few people have the need for such a giant system, and 2.- few people are willing to spend the money to buy such an expensive system.

Unless you're doing some major photo editing work or you're frequently running intensive CAD applications, it's unnecessary to get a W700s in my opinion - it would only make your life harder lugging around such a heavy and large system.

Also, hard drive failures are hardly a common occurrence in normal laptop usage (in fact, I've never experienced a hard drive failure in all my years of computer experience, it seems it's always some other part of a computer that dies first), so I would not worry too much about data redundancy on-the-go. Just make sure you regularly back up important files on your NAS.

 

lol, even if you were carrying TWO of the heaviest laptops out there (like a W90 or M17x), it wouldn't be 30 lbs.

The W700ds weighs around 10lbs., which is only a little above average for a 17" laptop. So it is fairly portable.