Hey all - I'm in the market for a new laptop and wanted to get some recommendations. I'm a Linux sysadmin and this laptop is primarily for work related use, working from home, after hours, occasional trips to the data center, etc. We all know the drill.

My typical setup includes various utilities and tools plus multiple partitions for booting different OS's including VMware. Need serial port of course, DVD-RW, and all the usual stuff we use in our daily routine.

I'm kinda thinking a Thinkpad T510 but open to other suggestions! Brief explanation of why you suggest some particular brand and configuration is appreciated.