30 Laptops, Ac or not to AC

[TheRobins]

Hi All

 

I have around about 5 hours to find and price up 30 laptops. We have a very nice Meru AC wireless system so obviously I would like to take that option. However unless I go for a custom build system I cannot really find your Dell or HP laptops with built in AC. Of course I could upgrade them afterwards but I know especially HP have a very script White List on allowed hardware so could invalidate all support/warranty

 

Question is do I just stick with N which meru copes with just as well as AC, or do I go ahead and get the AC on board from the start

 

Further to that, Anyone doing some good deals on 30 laptops for the end of month sales target's

[pcstru]

Further to that, Anyone doing some good deals on 30 laptops for the end of month sales target's

Refurb Lenovo's are always a good deal. @ict-direct does them, as do others.

 

We did have a driver issue with T420's that caused very slow connection on Meru AP's for some (unknown) reason. Always worth checking before buying in bulk!

[sted]

also with upgrading hp wifi cards ive had it before where ive pulled a wireless card from one hp and installed it in another and it just said no this isn't what I was shipped with and it didn't work even though it worked in other laptops and the laptop detected it

[Michael]

Newer Toshiba's have Wireless-AC as standard. I don't think this should be a major priority however. Wireless-N operating in 5GHz mode has plenty of life left in it.

[TheRobins]

also with upgrading hp wifi cards ive had it before where ive pulled a wireless card from one hp and installed it in another and it just said no this isn't what I was shipped with and it didn't work even though it worked in other laptops and the laptop detected it

Basically what my usual supplier has told me. I would like to use the AC as it does make a difference especially in high density classroom environments.

 

Tread carefully, I have been using the AC7260 from Intel. Sadly with one chassis from VeryPC they just didnt work and have been nothing but trouble.

[TheRobins]

Newer Toshiba's have Wireless-AC as standard. I don't think this should be a major priority however. Wireless-N operating in 5GHz mode has plenty of life left in it.

 

Had seen those, however the build quality and resistance to pupils isn't the best looking at it and previous experience.

 

I will look again

[Michael]

I think Toshiba account for probably 95% + of all portable Windows devices I support. Very few failure rates!

[TheRobins]

Refurb Lenovo's are always a good deal. @ict-direct does them, as do others.

 

We did have a driver issue with T420's that caused very slow connection on Meru AP's for some (unknown) reason. Always worth checking before buying in bulk!

 

Refurbs probably not an option for this batch, I am looking for 3 - 4 years life and good performance.

 

Worth a mention...

[sted]

Basically what my usual supplier has told me. I would like to use the AC as it does make a difference especially in high density classroom environments.

 

Tread carefully, I have been using the AC7260 from Intel. Sadly with one chassis from VeryPC they just didnt work and have been nothing but trouble.

 

I "think" that's whats in my laptop (upgraded my personal laptop to ac as my router had it and it was <£20) and ive not had many issues with it and in some cases less than the std wifi card but ymmv)

[TheRobins]

I run a 7260 at home, They are dirt cheap and supports their proset functionality.

 

You do have to be careful as well that many laptops are only fitted with 2.4ghz antennas, and not 5GHz support, you will suffer with poor signals and probably a burnt out wireless card after a while.

[tmcd35]

You do have to be careful as well that many laptops are only fitted with 2.4ghz antennas, and not 5GHz support, you will suffer with poor signals and probably a burnt out wireless card after a while.

 

Pretty much this. I'm not sure AC is worth worrying about on the client just yet, just knowing the AP's support it for when it does become an issue is enough for now. Getting 5Ghz-N is pretty much the way to go and they are pretty rare. I'm making 5Ghz part of my spec for our next laptop refresh.

[TheRobins]

Thats thankfully where I already have Meru 832'e AP's throughout so AC is always an option.

 

I'm quite surprised there are not many cash back deals around at the moment.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Refurbs probably not an option for this batch, I am looking for 3 - 4 years life and good performance.

 

Worth a mention...

 

I might still be able to help with this

 

Will drop you a PM.

[pcstru]

Refurbs probably not an option for this batch, I am looking for 3 - 4 years life and good performance.

Worth a mention...

Fair enough, although I look for a minimum of 3 years on refurbs (and have been getting that) and buying i5's with 4GB, the only performance trick missing is an SSD.

[TheRobins]

Wow what a can of worms I have opened. My desk now have 17 different models/quotes all trying to fit in to the requirements. Made things worse. I have however come across some very well priced Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-B-12X units. Comes with my Core i3, 4GB, AC wireless and 3 year warranty all in for around 260 each for new units. Only let down being the 5400 RPM drives. I am now just looking at SSD's in bulk to see if I can do both and still come within budget, you can never have enough spare drives in the cupboard.

[Gaz]

If you do go down the N route which is still perfectly acceptable, just make sure its dual band N.

[ITGURU]

Unless you'll be using anything bandwidth intensive, Wireless N should be just fine. We've recently purchased 2 class sets (60) devices along with Wireless N managed APs to add to our existing managed switch.

 

We have no issues getting 30 devices connected through 1 AP and reliability/performance is solid with low ping response times.

[sted]

Wow what a can of worms I have opened. My desk now have 17 different models/quotes all trying to fit in to the requirements. Made things worse. I have however come across some very well priced Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-B-12X units. Comes with my Core i3, 4GB, AC wireless and 3 year warranty all in for around 260 each for new units. Only let down being the 5400 RPM drives. I am now just looking at SSD's in bulk to see if I can do both and still come within budget, you can never have enough spare drives in the cupboard.

if the r50s are the laptops i think they are i hope you dont want to put ssd's in them ever 22 screws to get the bottom off per laptop

[TheRobins]

Change of plan in the end, decided to spend a bit more and have gone for some Lenovo E540's which come with 7260's built in. Last stock of the STF/TAPS programme which has recently ended.

 

I have done plenty of comparisons with our Meru solution with N wireless and AC. The AC seems much more reliable in a very small high density environment. Also they handle close proximity to other devices much more than the N laptops. Now you will never be able to do a full test as there are some many uncontrollable variables but with the 3x3 meru AP's it would be silly not to take full advantage.

 

Yes at the end of the day unless you are running full VDI experiences with wireless devices in high density its not going to shine through but for no extra cost, lets get them anyway.