You can install vmware Workstation/server over linux, and the overhead will be less.
Hi,
i think you will not find any laptop supported from vmare.
If you wish to install esx for testing, you can install it over vmware workstation.
Welcome to the forums.
The easiest solution to a mobile ESX platform is to install VMware Workstation 7 and install ESX or ESXi as a guest. It is fully supported. You can, with enough RAM install more than one ESX(i) guest and VM's inside those.
I have tried workstation on a laptop and ESX on a desktop. The issue is about mobility and performance. What I can accomplish on the ESX desktop cannot be duplicated on the workstation possibly due to the Window overhead and I can't travelling with my desktop easily.
You can install vmware Workstation/server over linux, and the overhead will be less.
Use a desktop replacement laptop. They aren't about power saving or lightness. They often have desktop processors and can hold more RAM. With 16GB of RAM and a quad core processor there isn't much you can't demonstrate. I would doubt you will find a laptop that had all the right embedded components that were recognized by ESX(i). If you had ESX installed on a laptop you would also need another something to run the vSphere client.