New workstation question

Hello Logan, Wendell, Pistol and Qain. 

I work in the IT department for a mid-sized accounting firm and we are looking at purchasing laptops for deployment next year. We usually like to spend a few extra dollars to ensure that they are quality laptops that will last a long time.

I am reaching out to you for your insights on laptop manufacturers. We have used Dell and HP in the past, and both have done reasonably well. We are thinking of going with Dell once again but maybe you have some insight that we could use! 

Our requirements - 

  • Must have a number pad on the keyboard. This may seem strange but when you're an accountant, that's the most important part of the keyboard
  • Laptop with SSD's are absolutely preferred - though that may end up being a separate order from the laptop itself.
  • Screen size between 14-15 preferred.
  • Windows 7 preferred.

What's your favourite brand these days and why? 

Thanks again, you guys are awesome.

Cheers from up north,

Christopher 

PS Give Wendell a raise!

i would go with dell for their customer service and warranties

Purchase the number pad separatley, get Kingston or Corsair SSD's, and go with Lenovo Enterprise Class Laptops.  I'm sure you're curious why?  I work in IT, within the Travel Industry, and we send people all over the world.  My current Laptop is a T530.  It's a beastly machine and I love it.  The employees who use them have, in the past, spilled food and liquids all over the old laptops.  Needless to say they were trashed when I got a hold of them to "Recover" the information on their hard drives.  I could tell you in multiple paragraphs about how amazing they are but I'll let the videos show you what these go through and why they retain value:

Crashtest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X10MxY_YHCY

Spill Test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7cvi00OZDM

Open Close Test (x1000000): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1QIhmM3suE

Free Fall Test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCwwDacNk1U

Screen Crush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7_-kQIB-MA

Run over by a truck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEIAHnzM7g

Yeah...I'll leave that right here...