I've found a Dell Precision M6400 with a T9600, 8GB RAM and a Quadro FX 2700M on sale in a second-hand store around here. I reeeeally like the 16:10 17" matte screen and I love the feeling that work/business laptops give you over cheap-and-cheerful consumer models. This one is quite old, but there's no way I could afford a current-generation workstation laptop, and even if I could I don't even know if they do the 16:10 aspect ratio anymore. Plus, the M6400 is extensively upgradable - though the highest-specced CPU I could fit (QX9300) is, at present, way overpriced on eBay. But my main laptop is currently a positively ancient Acer 5920 with a T7300, so even the CPU currently in the M6400 would be a better-than-50% performance upgrade, and I could always keep on the lookout for cheap parts for it. I don't mind the Quadro GPU - it isn't optimized for gaming, but it does a respectable job with retro or indie games, and I wouldn't really want to play anything else on a laptop (and the one I have now has a GMA 965, which is basically worthless - passmark estimates its performance at a whopping nineteen). I'd have bought it on the spot, except the store wants €220 for it, which I'm thinking might be a bit much for a seven-year-old laptop of *any* type. Would you say that's a fair price for this old workhorse? Any online prices I've found for surplus M6400s are significantly higher, but then they are refit units, not second-hand ones like this one. Keep in mind I'm currently in Spain, and European prices for electronics tend to be a bit higher than US ones.
I own a Dell m4600 which is a Sandy bridge based Workstation With an i7 quad core in it. And 8gb of RAM upgraded to 16gb Which I paid over $400 for it. I feel that you should get the laptop you mentioned because a dedicated Gpu is worth its weight in gold.
^ Many years back I had the very same laptop only it had the Quadro FX 3700M GPU. It was actually fantastic at the time for gaming. I remember having a custom graphics driver to give the best possible performance out of the laptop...
