

Buying Basics: Mobile WorkstationsĬPU and RAM. The rule of thumb here is to buy all the processing power you can afford. But if you work in one of the professional fields mentioned above-or if your job involves waiting for calculations or graphics processing that takes your current notebook many minutes or hours-you can justify the expense and join the elite.īefore we get to some general components and choices you'll face as you shop for a mobile workstation, let's take a look at the pros and cons of our top-rated models. Is a mobile workstation right for you? Frankly, for most laptop users, the answer is no. If you use a particular program in your job, such as Dassault's SolidWorks, look for the proper certification before buying a system. Table stakes for mobile workstation vendors are what are called "ISV certifications." The acronym stands for "Independent Software Vendors"-specialized software companies such as Adobe, Autodesk, Avid, PTC, Siemens PLMS, and Dassault Systemes, who work with the PC makers to guarantee that a given workstation and its graphics adapter, drivers, and other components are optimized for their apps. And they're massive overkill for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint-mobile workstations are not about spreadsheet recalculations that would take most notebooks a couple of seconds, but CGI effects that would take most notebooks forever. They're built for reliability, with components capable of running flat-out 24/7. (Lenovo's entries carry their own letter under the company's larger ThinkPad brand-the ThinkPad P series.) They can be breathtakingly expensive, but they can pay for themselves quickly as their users value the time they save. Mobile workstations proudly wear their own brands, such as HP's ZBook and Dell's Precision families.
