Laptop Choice
- Thread starter VeevaVee
- Start date
I was in a similar situation earlier this year and I decided I really wanted a thinkpad. They are known to have excellent build quality and longevity and to be the brand of choice in the corporate sector. I also wanted a small one I could take with me everywhere.
Trouble is they don't come cheap. The X201 satisfied pretty much all my needs, but it came at a cost of £1500, a fair bit out of my price range.
What I did was spend a fair bit of time on ebay trying to find a trusted seller who sold one. I got a new unused Thinkpad X201 with full warranty and all for £700, less than half the price it was sold in at the stores. You can get some really good deals for quality laptops there if you're willing to do the research to avoid shams.
Definitely and that's my problem with the mac hating brigade, because you mention price so often. Buy a cheap PC because you think mac are expensive and you'll get what you paid for, buy an expensive PC and well done, right choice, but stop mentioning the price difference so often.
The fact is, to get a PC as good an reliable as a Mac, it really does have to be top end, and that doesn't come cheap.
Thinkpads are great, but you need to spend about a £1000 on one if you want it to match up to a macbook pro , and then.... well, it looks like shit doesn't it.
true. And mine is more recent
PC World's "Reliability and Service Survey" Finds Apple Best in Quality | | The Mac Lawyer
Cheers B9, I'll keep on checking. Only thing is that it isn't me buying the laptop, it'll be someone in my family and they're known to automatically distrust any seller on the internet for fear of it being a scam. I'll definitely look into this though
Now there is some good advice.
Screen is a little on the small side but as I've mentioned a million times (well it feels like it), just buy a separate screen for home use. The Thinkpad is a perfect size for a laptop, something portable.
Good price you got on that too. It's an ugly little thing though, but looks aren't important, I'd say they are definitely the best windows laptops you can buy.
US price comparison done in April:
Macbook Pro: $2649 ($3029)
Core i7-2820QM, 2.3 GHz Quad
4GB Ram (8gb, $90)
500gb sata @ 7200 rpm (120gb ocz vertex 3, 120gb, $290)
1680x1050 display
Thinkpad T520: $1884 ($2264)
Core i7-2820QM, 2.3 GHz Quad
2GB Ram (8gb, $90)
250gb sata @ 5400 rpm (120gb ocz vertex 3, 120gb, $290)
1920x1080 display
Numbers in brackets are if you buy hdd/ram upgrades yourself and install them, to save money. So if you're upgrading to 8gb ram and the fastest available SSD, you'd get a better screen with the thinkpad, and save $800
Well, it satisfied another of my criteria, which is the excellent linux support there are for thinkpads.
And I like the design.
Well that's my point proven basically, to buy a Windows laptop that matches up you're gonna be paying around £1500.
And then it's much uglier
Personal taste of course. I mean, some people think Sofía Vergara is the sexiest woman ever to walk the earth.
It's a man's computer. No curves, no gloss. Superb performance.
Shit, good point.
Now I'm feeling all gay
Apple is definetely unisex to say the least.
My Samsung is dying on me. Thinking of getting a Lenovo, mad sale on their a couple of weeks ago. Not sure if it is still going though.
May I suggest Cheap Laptops, Computers and Cheap LCD TVs | Ebuyer.com
It offers fantastic range, price, search sorting, product specifying in searching & customer reviews.
It offers fantastic range, price, search sorting, product specifying in searching & customer reviews.
Cheers Vidic! Good stuff.
Pleasantly surprised with the reliability survey Biscuit posted above. The only reason I wasn't going for this beast was because everyone told tales of Asus notebooks dying two weeks in.
Well, well, well. Just to clear a few things up, I was after a Macbook but have been offered a new laptop as a present so don't want to be a cheeky bastard & I came to the conclusion that, while nice, it's unecessary.
Also, I'm replacing my previous laptop which has topped itself, not replacing a desktop.
Anyone care to share which they think is the best option out of the original post??
Also, I'm replacing my previous laptop which has topped itself, not replacing a desktop.
Anyone care to share which they think is the best option out of the original post??
No problem mate, another tip I can give you is to build your ideal laptop on the Dell website first for two reasons:
1. You really question what you need and don't need when you can physically see the price jumping up, for example you may choose a 500gb hard drive, but when faced with the price leap, you really think about how much you actually need and end up being more realistic which will cheapen the price for you.
2. You can then see exactly what laptop specs you need, and compare the price Dell gives you to all other laptops on the market with the same specs and perhaps find one cheaper. I did the same thing with my computer, and actually found that Dell was the cheapest option, but I bought the monitor (LG LED HD) from ebuyer for just £99.99.
Call me Vim btw!
Not sure where the prices for the Thinkpad T520 are from above but you can guy that spec for around $1,200.
I don't understand why the thinkpads need to be so ugly. They have't updated the design since the 00's.
My work is giving me a Dell E6420...is that any good?
What can it do and how do I keep my porn secret on it?
What can it do and how do I keep my porn secret on it?
My Mrs is thinking about buying one of these for her daughter:
PACKARD BELL EasyNote TK85 051 15.6" Laptop buy online | Currys
Seems decent to me but I'm no expert. Can anyone point me in the direction of a better machine/deal for a similar price?
PACKARD BELL EasyNote TK85 051 15.6" Laptop buy online | Currys
Seems decent to me but I'm no expert. Can anyone point me in the direction of a better machine/deal for a similar price?
Knowing my company you are probably right.It says on my sheet that it goes for $1,500...smells like bullshit to me.
Macs arent half as reliable as some are making out here. I love the OS, but their hardware can be hit and miss and they do break down as common as a mid-range windows laptop does.
I don't know what to recommend, just like I don't know what to recommend between nikon and canon, I mean if one was truly better than the other.....they both wouldn't still be bazillion million dollar companies. Windows is more open, better for gaming obviously, cheaper, mac is better for safety(i guess, i've never had problems with windows 7 tbf) and for starting out and well if you have an ipad and iphone....it is awesome having all 3 in sync also, more stylish and for that more expensive.
I don't know what to recommend, just like I don't know what to recommend between nikon and canon, I mean if one was truly better than the other.....they both wouldn't still be bazillion million dollar companies. Windows is more open, better for gaming obviously, cheaper, mac is better for safety(i guess, i've never had problems with windows 7 tbf) and for starting out and well if you have an ipad and iphone....it is awesome having all 3 in sync also, more stylish and for that more expensive.
true. And mine is more recent
PC World's "Reliability and Service Survey" Finds Apple Best in Quality | | The Mac Lawyer
Lol
Thats an opinionated survey where people respond - its not a technical survey. We all know Apple fans will always turn a blind eye to problems as these same problems becomes features in the next release.
I'm only Joking Sharky- I know how fond Applistas are!!!!
Because they are highly functional and well made. I have had a few laptops and very few are as durable. Take the hinges for instance they never fail no matter how much abuse they get, which you can't say for other brands.
How do you abuse a hinge....call it a bender?
On my former laptop, my hard drive gave out after I dropped it one too many times. And then I wrecked the screen packing it for a flight. And it was still durable enough to survive that one time I turned the shower on full force into it while it was still running.
It's a great comfort to have a laptop that can take some punishment.
It's a great comfort to have a laptop that can take some punishment.
Moving the laptop by the monitor or just daily usage. All the Sony's I have owned failed on the hinges.
I worked at a large company in Manchester that had 700 high end laptops for guys in the field. They were all replaced every two years and while I was there companies tendered for the contract. Anyone interested had to give the IT department two laptops for one month.
We spent hours using and generally abusing them because once in the field they had to be durable. It was rather amusing handing the laptops back to the reps in pieces after a month. It really is surprising just how poorly made many are.
Well that's my point proven basically, to buy a Windows laptop that matches up you're gonna be paying around £1500.
And then it's much uglier
Personal taste of course. I mean, some people think Sofía Vergara is the sexiest woman ever to walk the earth.
better looking with more features and cheaper than macbook
https://www.redcafe.net/f27/asus-zenbook-343674/
These might be better (much quicker processor):
Acer Aspire 5749 LX.RR702.011
Lenovo B570 M58FGUK
Lenovo G570 M5174UK
It would come down to build quality... Go ahead and Google the model numbers for reviews. And remember that these companies often have different configurations (i.e. more RAM, or the odd graphics card swap), so be careful when comparing performance.
Yes, they only have 4 GB of RAM, but you usually don't need more than that unless you are into heavy gaming, heavy multi-tasking or multimedia creation/editing.
Big Mac/Windows debate, 2 thread hijacks, 3 pages & I'm no closer to deciding what laptop to choose.
x43455565bn12, you knows ye stuff don't you? Out of the two HP's which would you recommend? One with better processor, or one with more memory/bigger hard drive?
x43455565bn12, you knows ye stuff don't you? Out of the two HP's which would you recommend? One with better processor, or one with more memory/bigger hard drive?
There aren't enough AMD A4 reviews out there to compare, really. The A4 in theory offers better graphics but the i3-2310M shits all over the A4 in raw processing speed.
For now, I'd be tempted to go for the i3-2310M if you are unwilling to wait for a month or so for reviews to come out for the AMD A4 series.
I see, so the A4 might not be too far off it? The price they're both down to it makes no difference which I go for, but the original prices are quite a way apart, which is whats thrown me a bit.
What about the memory/hard drive difference?
The A4's graphics should be better, but the processing speed of the i3 is miles better. So it depends on what you really need (what type of games).
The RAM doesn't really make a difference... 4 GB is enough for most people.
The hard disk... If you need the extra space, go ahead, but I wouldn't really consider it.
I won't really be playing games on it to be honest. I'll be running Autocad & Traktor though as well as using a midi controller through the USB (don't know if that effects anything). I'm definitely feeling the i3 from what you're saying though.
Cheers mate. We'll be having at look at those. Much appreciated.