We're using a
Lenovo Flex 2. I replaced the hard drive, and all of its
crummy Lenovo b/s, with a 128 GB Samsung EVO SSD and fresh Windows 8.1.
It reboots in under 5 seconds, which is key sometimes if the hibernation/sleep state gets kludged up. You'll also want to change power settings to 'do nothing when the lid is closed' and 'never sleep or hibernate', then 'pressing the power button does nothing'. That should take care of a lot of the common boot/power issues with driver's station laptops in general. You'll probably also want to go into mouse settings, Synaptics Settings and get rid of gestures that could interfere with you scrambling to do things at the start of a match (such as swipe in from edge of screen).
This laptop runs the OpenCV vision stuff we throw at it with ease, and has touch if we go big with a UI again next year. 1080p screen is also a plus for the programmers and their quick debugging desires.
If you have a Windows 8.1 disc, the 8.1 product key is detected as a string in this laptop's BIOS, meaning you shouldn't have to re-purchase a license. However, we had an official Windows disc for this to work - I don't know if the digital version works (such as what some educational institutions get through MSDNAA).
The original hard drive, and all of its
Lenovo crumminess, will be formatted and used as a mobile data drive in a USB enclosure.
It was pretty tough to find a lightweight, high battery-life laptop with a DVD drive, 3 USB prots and an Ethernet port. The ports should also be on your spec lists for a driver's station, IMO. USB-Ethernet dongles and USB hubs are finicky if they're mishandled, which is easy to do in our competition environment.