lenovo laptops? Forum

[pjy6355]

I am trying to get a new laptop for LS and it would be nice if you guys could give me some advice.
After going through the threads on computers, I think lenovo would be a good option for me.
(Been using Windows for the whole life... my sister has a macbook air, looks cool but I just don't feel comfortable using it... and I am a clumsy person, so I need sth sturdy as well)
Right now, I am thinking about thinkpad edge 14''(like the price and saw people recommending it in the thread here) and one of the more affordable ones from t series(t430 for instance?). Any recommendation or opinion would be appreciated.
Also, what are your thoughts on ultrabooks from lenovo? I am also concerned about the weight of the laptop. From lenovo website, I see some thinkpad ultrabooks(x1 carbon, t430u) and Ideapad ones. I am no expert in computers, but it seems like people especially recommend thinkpad ones, so I am wondering whether Ideapads are still good.
Thank you!

[Tekrul]

I'm not familiar with Lenovo but just by common sense, you should go to a local retailer and actually put your fingerpads on these laptops. You're going to want one you'll be comfortable typing on for 3-4 hours for exams (if your school uses laptops for exams), has decent battery life in case you get a seat with a dead outlet, and is light for easy carrying.

You should definitely take the time to touch the laptops and get one that has a comfortable keyboard for you. You should also get familiar with different screen sizes. I know that I cannot handle the screen economy of any laptop less than 15" without feeling like my head is being squeezed into a vice by oppressively small screens.

[ManOfTheMinute]

For work, I've used a few lenovos. Maybe they are "business" configured, but they suck in every way. Slow to load things, freeze all the time, etc. I will never use a Lenovo unless I am required to.

[Niners4Life]

I'm in the same boat as you OP. I'm leaning towards the T430 over the edge E430 because of the extra protection that Lenovo builds in (roll cage, air bag system for the hard drive when it's dropped) to the T-series. My current job allows me to work with several computer brands and Lenovos are probably the most reliable brand I've seen (especially compared to Dell).

I'm not familiar with Lenovo but just by common sense, you should go to a local retailer and actually put your fingerpads on these laptops. You're going to want one you'll be comfortable typing on for 3-4 hours for exams (if your school uses laptops for exams), has decent battery life in case you get a seat with a dead outlet, and is light for easy carrying.

Lenovo keypads have long been regarded as some of the best in the industry so you'll be okay in that department. Paying a little extra to upgrade the battery on whichever model you go with is probably a worthy investment. The weight of the T430 kind of concerns me, but 5lbs isn't too heavy. Idk how I feel about the higher prices of ultrabooks just to save approx. 1lb...

You might want to wait a few more weeks before buying anything though because Lenovo is releasing new laptops in the Edge and T series http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/new-p ... d-yoga-11s

[phillywc]

I don't think the brand is really as important as which laptop you are getting. Lenovo is a solid brand, but the dumpy lenovos are just as dumpy as any other brand. I do like the little things they do as a brand (Easiest to make recovery disks on, packaging, etc.).

[sabanist]

OP, I'm looking at the thinkpad x1 carbon and the T430u too.

At the end of the day, reading a lot of reviews is probably the best way to get the big picture on whether a particular laptop is a good investment for your needs. Know your level of computer literacy; certain problems people will report (slowness especially) are easily fixable with the right resources or specs when designing the computer.

[Sheffield]

FWIW: In some classes I am the only person not using a Mac.

[ookoshi]

My company uses Lenovo's for all of our company laptops, and their reliability actually prompted me to buy a refurbished off-lease T400 for when I start law school in the fall (E-Bay for $160 = win)

I actually wanted a less powerful laptop for law school. I have a tricked out desktop at home for playing games. I don't need another powerful laptop, so I want something that can handle everything I need for law school (OneNote, e-mail, web browsing, exam software, etc.) but is underpowered for games so it tempt me to install stuff that will distract me.

I got pretty lucky with the one off of E-Bay. The battery hadn't been used that much, as I still get 3 1/2-4 hours on a single charge.

[Scotusnerd]

I've been using a $300 lenovo for the past year now. I got it on tax-free weekend.

I have had absolutely no problems with it. I don't expect it to run games, I expect it to do work. It does it very well.

[Rahviveh]

The ideapad is the consumer line. The thinkpads are the business line so at least in theory they are supposed to have better build quality. If portability is important I would look at the x230. Lightweight, great battery life and solidly built.

[ksllaw]

I use a Lenovo laptop and it's been the best out of my previous five or six laptops.

No problems with it.

I recall my cousin's husband (a computer programmer) saying in the past that Lenovos are the most secure laptops for personal use and one that he uses himself. But I'd have to double-check with him. Just have always heard good things about them, which influenced my decision to go with one. So far, I've been very pleased!

[dcg2120]

ANECDOTE: I've had a Thinkpad (T420) for the last year or so and I have loved every minute of it. I am not the most careful person and take my laptop pretty much everywhere so I have dropped it, hit it, spilled tea on it, etc. several times. Like ChampagnePapi said, they're intended to be treated poorly by businessmen so they have a few safety features: there are gutters underneath the keyboard that any liquid that falls through the keys away from the electronics and a mechanism that automatically ejects the CD drive if dropped, which apparently absorbs some of the shock of striking the floor because physics? Also, even though the body is plastic it is very strong and with the exception of one broken tab on the screen has held up perfectly. I also agree with Niners that the keyboards are awesome, and with Tekrul that you should probably feel a couple before you decide for yourself, regardless of what the internet says.

BIG CAVEAT: I have an SSD drive, which I'm told significantly decreases the risk of drive failure as a result of me being dumb. Also, I have 8GB RAM and the Intel Core i7 because I do graphic design and light gaming, so I wouldn't see any performance problems related to the quality of the parts that come standard with the T420 model. Needless to say, that upped the cost substantially (to the MacBook Pro range) but has been worth every penny.

ANECDOTE 2: My SO has an ASUS ultrabook which is amazingly light and she loves it, but she did manage to "total" it (damage to the point where the warranty required replacement rather than repair) through a pretty short fall onto carpet. The lack of space between the case and the hardware in ultrabooks worries me, because it wouldn't take much flex in the case to start hurting the important parts. The big upside is of course that they are super-light and fast enough.

TL;DR: If you're already looking at MacBook Pros and want a Windows machine, I vote getting a Thinkpad and upgrading to a solid-state drive. If you want smaller and lighter, get an ultrabook but be nice to it.

[sinfiery]

+1 to getting a solid state drive.

I have no recommendations, been out of the game too long.

[Huey Freeman]

Stick with the Thinkpad series and you'll be fine. I've heard mixed reviews about the other lines, but the T series has always been a top standard for work computers.

[Lumieres]

I've been a long-time Mac user, but don't feel like shelling out $1,500 for a retina MBP before I start law school. I currently have a 2007 MacBook that runs fine, but isn't very reliable.

I am seriously considering a Lenovo, but there are just too many options... Does anyone know which model I should consider most? Build quality is important, as well as lightweight.

[sabanist]

I've been a long-time Mac user, but don't feel like shelling out $1,500 for a retina MBP before I start law school. I currently have a 2007 MacBook that runs fine, but isn't very reliable.

I am seriously considering a Lenovo, but there are just too many options... Does anyone know which model I should consider most? Build quality is important, as well as lightweight.

I'm looking at lightweight too, and I'm leaning pretty heavily toward the X series (the carbon looks macbook air tiny, but has a lot of horsepower) or the T430u (an ultrabook).
Beware though, you might end up spending just as much as you would on a MBP depending on what specs you choose.

[stillwater]

buy lenovo if you want to support the Red Tide

[MAHamlin]

Add my +1 to the solid state drive recommendation. It uses less power, is less likely to be damaged moving about, and boots up wicked fast.

I can't speak to Lenovos, but I recently purchased a Vaio S-series 13p and love it. I went overboard on the specs and it got pricey, but you can get one for less if you are a little more frugal. It is nice that Sony lets you customize to your heart's content unlike some other manufacturers which force you to pick a pre-specced model. I chose the 13p because it weighs less than 4 pounds and is less than an inch thick, but still packs some serious punch (i7 core, 12gb ram, 2gb gpu, SSD, etc.) and has an optical drive (CD-ROM) unlike ultra books.

[Scotusnerd]

buy lenovo if you want to support the Red Tide

I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the FREE MARKET CAPITALISM that made me buy the lowest-priced product on the market for my needs.

[Rahviveh]

Add my +1 to the solid state drive recommendation. It uses less power, is less likely to be damaged moving about, and boots up wicked fast.

I can't speak to Lenovos, but I recently purchased a Vaio S-series 13p and love it. I went overboard on the specs and it got pricey, but you can get one for less if you are a little more frugal. It is nice that Sony lets you customize to your heart's content unlike some other manufacturers which force you to pick a pre-specced model. I chose the 13p because it weighs less than 4 pounds and is less than an inch thick, but still packs some serious punch (i7 core, 12gb ram, 2gb gpu, SSD, etc.) and has an optical drive (CD-ROM) unlike ultra books.

Most manufacturers let you customize, including Lenovo. How much did yours cost you?

[Jimbo_Jones]

buy lenovo if you want to support the Red Tide

I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the FREE MARKET CAPITALISM that made me buy the lowest-priced product on the market for my needs.

The real irony is that you say "free market" and then follow it up by "it MADE me buy this!"

Edit: Buy a refurb labtop for $250 and be done with it. Been using refurb Dells and HPs and Lenovos and never had a problem. No need to spend $1k+ on a glorified typewriter to type up briefs and memos.

[Crowing]

Anecdotally, I can think of four friends who had Lenovos at some point and 3/4 I know failed within 2 years, not sure about the 4th.

I pretty much hate all mass-produced laptops equally though. I guess I've had mostly positive experiences with Asus but that's about it (and Asus tends to be a little more expensive for the same specs + they are freaking ugly).

[ookoshi]

Anecdotally, I can think of four friends who had Lenovos at some point and 3/4 I know failed within 2 years, not sure about the 4th.

I pretty much hate all mass-produced laptops equally though. I guess I've had mostly positive experiences with Asus but that's about it (and Asus tends to be a little more expensive for the same specs + they are freaking ugly).

Did they have the T-series business line laptops or the commercial ones?

The Lenovo business laptops are built to last, my current employer's IT department manages a couple thousand of them across the company, and our failure rate on them is very low (90+% of their time is spent dealing with software problems caused by user error).

[fundamentallybroken]

I purchased an Ideapad (Y570, I think?) shortly before law school. 2 years later, and I have yet to have any issues at all.

[J-e-L-L-o]

I can say this, if you want a windows laptop, Lenovo are the best in terms of reliability. There is a reason why they are the only computer manufacturer to not decrease sales numbers in 2013.