lenovo laptops? Forum

[jimmy_dean]

Are the ideapads lighter than the thinkpads? Seems to be some good deals on refurbed ideapads. I mainly just want something very light and something that will get by on basic computing. And also something that doesn't have the sound of an industrial fan blowing through a warehouse in the middle of class. I have another pc for storage/streaming.

ideapads are generally much lower in quality. i'd stick with a thinkpad or go with another manufacturer if that's not an option.

[justonemoregame]

I think I'm gonna go with a refurb x1 carbon

[jimmy_dean]

I think I'm gonna go with a refurb x1 carbon

check out the barnes and noble gold discount to make sure your school discount is at least as good. if you can, get a model with 8gb of memory with it being soldered and all.

[North]

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[Lumieres]

So my laptop just died on me mid-1L because of hardware issues. It's a three year old Dell Studio 1558 with Intel Cose i3 M730 @ 2.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM, and 64-bit OS. The power cuts out about 50% of the time when I touch the screen, and occasionally when I look at it wrong. Already spent $100 to get it fixed (plus a trip back to the shop on warranty when it kept doing it) with no luck. Can't trust it anymore, not for exams. Want to go Lenovo to not have problems like this, but I don't know where to start.

Per ITT, I'm going to go for a SSD. Otherwise I'm lost. Don't want to downgrade from my current specs if that's reasonable. Should I do refurbished?

Looking to spend between $600 and, if it's really worth it, $1000. I want the best combination of value, good specs, and durability, but don't know enough about this to be sure I'm balancing those/spending money wisely.

I trust TLSers over the random customer reviews I'm finding.

What should I look at?

i copped an ideapad yoga, along with two other TLS-ers ITT. Office Depot had a good deal for an i5, 128 gb ssd, 13 inch for as low as $799 (i got mine at $899), but i'm sure you can find deals online still.

honestly, i do like the yoga and it has been perfect so far during 1L. after 6+ weeks of use, the build quality is solid, i don't even notice the fan. although i must say that i rarely ever use the touchscreen and use it as a "tablet".

[buddyt]

So my laptop just died on me mid-1L because of hardware issues. It's a three year old Dell Studio 1558 with Intel Cose i3 M730 @ 2.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM, and 64-bit OS. The power cuts out about 50% of the time when I touch the screen, and occasionally when I look at it wrong. Already spent $100 to get it fixed (plus a trip back to the shop on warranty when it kept doing it) with no luck. Can't trust it anymore, not for exams. Want to go Lenovo to not have problems like this, but I don't know where to start.

Per ITT, I'm going to go for a SSD. Otherwise I'm lost. Don't want to downgrade from my current specs if that's reasonable. Should I do refurbished?

Looking to spend between $600 and, if it's really worth it, $1000. I want the best combination of value, good specs, and durability, but don't know enough about this to be sure I'm balancing those/spending money wisely.

I trust TLSers over the random customer reviews I'm finding.

What should I look at?

If you want durability and peace of mind that it won't crap out on you spontaneously, get a rugged T series. Yeah, they're ugly, but I grabbed an i5 T430 for less than $600, and put in my own SSD (literally a 30-second job that your grandma could do) for another $100. If you want to avoid the Windows reinstall (I prefer that way to get rid of all the prepackaged junk) or having to clone the old drive, get one with an SSD already and be done with it. Mine is rock solid, blazing fast, and I would enthusiastically recommend a T series.

[North]

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[buddyt]

Okay, this is pretty much my front runner now. But I can't find it (on sites I'm familiar with) for anywhere close to $600 on Newegg/the Lenovo website. Where did you pick yours up?

(X Series is sexy though.)

I got mine from the Lenovo outlet. I forgot to mention it was refurb, but that's preferable to me anyway because it means a human has inspected it. The outlet has OK deals, and even better "doorbuster" deals.

[sinfiery]

What screen size do you prefer?


You won't have to downgrade on specs.

What resolution do you want? (doesn't matter at all, 720p, 1080p?)
Do you want a discrete GPU? (Do you play games/video render?)
Or specs = straight CPU?
How important is battery life?

Okay, this is pretty much my front runner now. But I can't find it (on sites I'm familiar with) for anywhere close to $600 on Newegg/the Lenovo website. Where did you pick yours up?

(X Series is sexy though.)

This is a solid suggestion

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-T430s-14 ... 2a31c6a3d9


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad ... 53fe5812c9

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-Thin ... 1e805bdbb7

[North]

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[RedGiant]

I think I'm gonna go with a refurb x1 carbon

I just bought an x1 carbon for 1L and it's awesome...love it. The fingerprint reader and SSD mean that I'm up and running in 10 secs or less. It's light, sturdy, perfect. Got it at a great discount thru school in August. Highly recommend.

[bostonbrewer]

Bump.

0L entering this fall, trying to decide b/w a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon or a MacBook Air (possibly important: I think I would have to get the 13" Air - the keyboard on the 11" is too small for my hands). I don't game or do any big media creation projects - just need it for basic law school stuff. I use a Windows at work and a Mac at home so I am familiar with both operating systems.

I've read through the thread and it seems like people generally have good impressions of both. Any new or updated info out there?

[bombaysippin]

Go with the air and be a hipster like all Apple lovers. Myself included.

[Frothingslosh]

Bump.

0L entering this fall, trying to decide b/w a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon or a MacBook Air (possibly important: I think I would have to get the 13" Air - the keyboard on the 11" is too small for my hands). I don't game or do any big media creation projects - just need it for basic law school stuff. I use a Windows at work and a Mac at home so I am familiar with both operating systems.

I've read through the thread and it seems like people generally have good impressions of both. Any new or updated info out there?

If you want a laptop you can beat to shit and you don't think you'll ever get tired of people asking how old it is, ThinkPad is the best way to go. No frills. Affordable. Perfect.

[Theopliske8711]

Lookin at some of these deals here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371334,00.asp

Anyone have any advice?

[Dafaq]

In December I purchased a Lenovo, it is in the shop now. The space bar (when it’s tapped) doesn’t work. I bought a warranty protection plan, meaning that the store mailed it for me… I paid a couple hundred for that service. Overall I like the puter, especially the backlit keyboard since it comes in handy. Spacebar problem aside, I have been satisfied. Certainly 1000 times better than that Asus piece of crap I once owned.

[North]

In December I purchased a Lenovo, it is in the shop now. The space bar (when it’s tapped) doesn’t work. I bought a warranty protection plan, meaning that the store mailed it for me… I paid a couple hundred for that service. Overall I like the puter, especially the backlit keyboard since it comes in handy. Spacebar problem aside, I have been satisfied. Certainly 1000 times better than that Asus piece of crap I once owned.

I got an X1 Carbon a couple months before you and have also been pretty satisfied. My problems have been (1) a random, isolated blue screen scare about a month ago and (2) the noticeably slower processing speed of the X1 (they have to use a low voltage processor to make the laptop as thin as it is). But I'm satisfied overall.

[norkanite]

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[Dafaq]

I am using my backup Sony Vaio (bought in ’09) and by far what I miss the most is the backlit keyboard.

[North]

Get the warranties on these things, they're way cheaper than market. I had an ancient thinkpad rebuilt for free like 4 times from accidental spills and drops over 3 years. Best customer service in the business.

Yeah I only got the 1-year warranty and I'm regretting that after the blue screen incident. Wonder if I can still cop the other two years.

[PrideandGlory1776]

13" Macbook Pro FTW!

Student Pricing sweetness
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campai ... on_pricing

[Theopliske8711]

13" Macbook Pro FTW!

Student Pricing sweetness
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campai ... on_pricing

That seems ridiculously overpriced, especially given the memory.

[janetdoe]

Thinking about getting the ideapad y410 p since it's on sale for 850 + free shipping.
Basic specs are i7 4700mq processor, 8 gb ddr5 memory, geforce 750m gpu, and decent specs for the rest of the hardware.

1. This seems like a great deal but am i spending too much? I realized this is a gaming laptop and the primary purpose of my laptop is for school. Would i be better off buying a thinkpad for the same price but with lower specs?
2. How do ideapads stack up against thinkpads? Is the drop in durability that noticeable? How do they fare against other brands like asus, hp, toshiba?

Thanks. Im debating if i really need a 850$ onenote/netflix machine that can run crysis well for no reason.

Lenovo has sales where you can get those same specs for $700-750. If you know what you want and wait around for a while, you can get great deals

You may want to make 2 purchases. I'd recommend you either buy a desktop in lieu of the Lenovo laptop (for the same price, you'll get a much better desktop) for gaming/graphic/music designing and heavy multitasking, and then buy a lighter laptop that's equipped with a core i5 and ~4GB RAM, in case you want to do light multitasking. The latter won't cost too much.

Note that SSD is faster, but it will cost you as it is relatively newer technology. I don't think it's worth the extra $$ for a work/school laptop.

[janetdoe]

Whatever model you buy, be prepared for the battery to crap out in 12-18 months.

It should be noted that many newer laptop models come with a battery-conservation model. One factor making batteries die over time is being constantly charged at full. The newer models come with an energy management function, where you can choose to run the laptop for either "battery run time" or "battery health." Battery run time charges the battery to full, if you want to take the laptop somewhere without the charger. Battery health will only allow the battery to charge 50% even while corded. This does significantly help your battery life in the long run.

[hopefulapplicant2]

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!

I know two comp sci majors,one at UC Berkeley Grad School, that both swear by Lenovo. One just upgraded his 4 year old one with a solid state hard drive.