Cheapest thinkpad for mainly MMO gaming?

Hi there, did you ever wish your laptop was built like a th i nkpad? Look down, now back up, you are in one of Lenovo's stress test facilities in California. Feel the cool, air conditioning rushing past the tips of your fingers, lips and ears. Look over here, (Pan shot)-these are thousands of Lenovo thinkpads (notebooks arranged in a line) that are put against some of the most atrocious conditions known to man: small dust things, little pressure pad things, metal clampies. You get the point. What's that on your right, a plastic shovel?? Look back, you are now in the home of a fourty year old man named Vince. Vince has been using his first thinkpad since he first bought it over a decade ago. HOW DOES IT RUN, VINCE? "RUNS GREAT!!! LIKE NEW!!". Now you see, if your laptop isn't a thinkpad, well...it just isn't a th i nkpad.

Now that I've had my fun, earlier I was considering the thinkpad edge with the discrete GPU, but after hearing about its subpar build quality to the full fledged thinkpads, I was a little driven away. I would actually like a real thinkpad, but I would also like for it to handle moderate levels of primarily MMO gaming. I don't personally know whether mmo gaming is GPU or CPU intensive, would any of you guys care to shed some light on that?

Also, what is the cheapest thinkpad sub 1000 that can handle some gaming ie: Vindictus etc. while still being a great value and super durable?

Thanks!

Best,
marcusjhung

 

MMO games are mostly GPU-bound, although it really varies between games.

The X120e plays Vindictus at native 1366x768, albeit pretty much at all the lowest settings. I'd imagine that in some dungeons, where there is a ton of stuff going on, you would lag, but generally, it's "playable," but not pretty.

The "cheapest" Thinkpad that would play it well is probably a used/refurb older-generation Thinkpad such as the T500. My T500 plays it at native 1680x1050 with stock graphics settings, and looks pretty nice, with no lag except for random spikes sometimes that are probably more network/client based than computer-bound.

The cheapest new Thinkpad would probably be one of the new Edge models with a discrete GPU. Or, for a more traditional (and durable) Thinkpad, perhaps the T520.

 

Did you actually test the Edge in person? The Edge has the Thinkpad hinges.

 

I'm patiently waiting for the discrete gpu e420s to be back on the website hopefully with a good coupon or discount. The red does look very catchy I must say.

 

As stated above, your best bet is like a secondhand T400/T500. You can find many still in warranty. T400/T500 should start ~380 dollars, and can go up to 700-800 dollars.

 

hm they don't have any t500 at the thinkpad depot. c'mon lenovo, do some insane coupons for t series already! either that or hurry up with your dang edges.

 

T400 is in stock for $929 at cdw outlet. Enjoy.

www.cdw.com

Then click on outlet and search for the t400. They have a few of them in stock. They have the AMD Radeon graphics to boot. Check the TABook for the specs on that part # in the historical page.

If that is what you want, then go for it.

All CDW Outlet items come with the following:

Standard 30-day return policy
Full technical support
Full manufacturer's warranty or, in most cases, equivalent support from CDW (extended warranties available with some products)

If you want cheaper you can get it from unauthorized resellers but it won't have a warranty.

T500 aren't in stock at the moment apparently.

I need to check out the e420s and T420s myself and compare the two along with other brands. But the E420s is most likely what I need.

Yeah all the new models are slow to come out but before you know it everything will be.

 

That seems to be a ridiculously high price for an outlet last-last-generation Thinkpad. A good quality used T400 with discrete graphics (switchable) could be found for $400 or so from eBay or locally via Craigslist. For that money, one could get a new, better-performing T410 with discrete Optimus graphics.

 

lol I spent 2-3 months searching for a laptop that meets the below requirments:

-lasts 5 years
-can run vindictus on medium
-at or below $900

didn't find one yet. maybe I should just replace that busted screen on my 4 year old hp and just keep using it until this long awaited "miracle" happens.

unless t400 or t500 second hand/refurb can run vindictus on medium haha

 

No its not high. It has the full manufacturers warranty and is a substantial discount off of MSRP.

CDW is an authorized Lenovo reseller.

Both Lenovo Outlet and CDW which have full manufacturers warranties would be higher on the T410 with discrete graphics.

The cheaper T410 that you will find at Lenovo Outlet do not have discrete graphics.

 

There are plenty of thinkpads sold through unauthorised resellers with official warranties on them. Also, you can check your thinkpad warranty on Lenovo.com website and it follows the system, not the owner. Either the system has warranty or they don't.

People have been buying and selling thinkpads on web for long time now, and there is plenty of information regarding warranty and such.

Also, the OP may want to check the marketplace of forum.thinkpads.com on Thinkpad deals. There are plenty of them around and sold by reputable forum members.

 

With Lenovo Outlet or CDW you are getting the full warranty.

I am not sure if Lenovo allows transferable warranties or not and if they do if there is a fee related to them or not. But even if there wasn't and its fully transferable you are only getting a partial warranty.

But on units like T400 that are used the warranty period left even in a transferrable state would be minimal and many will also have no warranty at all.

If I bought a used T400 it would be thru Lenovo Outlet or CDW. Laptops are carried around and get more breakage than desktopos and the added money spent to get the Full warranty is well worth it.

You likely won't find cheaper without the Full warranty. Anything from Craigslist, ebay, etc. etc... is at the buyers own risk and there is a big reason why prices on those units are cheaper.

 

Yep. 100% agree and can confirm this. My x200s was purchased by joe shmoe on ebay and I have a valid warranty.

 

@adamj023, i am not sure how you are approaching this problem. But here is what i think.

You can get a machine from Lenovo or CDW and pay say 900 dollars for a refurb or end of stock unit, which may carry say a 3 year warranty. While, an ebay sold machine only have 2 years left of the 3 years warranty but it costs say 500 dollars for the exact same spec, and if you want to add an additional year it would only 100 dollars more. So 600 dollars you are getting the exact machine, which one would you rather get provided the condition is about the same?

I know i would get the ebay machine. As said, Thinkpad warranty follows the machine and not the buyer like Dell laptops do.

I think it is best that you familiarise yourself with how the Lenovo thinkpad warranty works.

 

There's nothing to transfer. The warranty belongs to the ThinkPad, not the owner. Where the ThinkPad goes, the warranty goes.

 

I said I didn't know if the warranty was specifically but I know in general how they work. But those warranties won't cover the unit for warranty if there was physical abuse by the previous owner. There are going to be some exclusions and less time life.

A unit like the T400 is quite old already so only if the previous owner got a long term extended warranty would it pay if the warranty was transferrable and IF you could see the unit in person before you bought it.

Warranties of previous owned units could be rejected easily if there was wear and tear that was excluded by the warranty program.

I wouldn't mess with this and I would only get a factory authorized unit myself or a new unit especially with technology becoming outdated so fast.

The poster and others are free to make their own judgements. Buyers are at their own risk here.

If I was buying a used car for instance, which I wouldn't, I would get one from a certified used car dealer and make sure it was a certified rated vehicle, not one of the lower grade cars without full warranties and those would incur a price premium.

Only authorized resellers whether it be computers or cars get the best notebooks of the lot in the best condition with full warranty applied and there is a price premium on those which I believe is well worth it.

You can fully have your own opinion and do what you want. You can buy used with various degrees of risk, or even lease used or new units if you like.

As long as you understand what you are getting into.

 

If you are worried about getting a lemon, then obviously get the factory refurb or something like that. But if you know what you are looking for then there is plenty of bargain around.

Regarding use cars and that, certified used dealers mean very little, since there are plenty of them whom sells dodgy cars.

 

The best dealerships who sell certified used vehicle with full warranty do not sell dodgy cars.

A dealership franchise who tried to pull that for a high end car for instance would have their franchise revoked.

In the low end, you used to have shady dealers but many of those folks went out of business or you just know who those players are.

But I can assure you that the legitimate franchise dealers don't mess with that kind of stuff especially on the highest grade cars. They are known for their superior service.

It isn't a scam and it means an awful lot, more than you can imagine. It means they acquired the cream of the crop vehicles such as lease tradeins with low mileage and the manufacturer backs them up with full warranty and has those vehicles fully inspected before sale and will even show you a copy of the full inspection report on the vehicle as well as the full customer history with any repairs made onsite at the dealerships service center. They provide a complete printout and car analysis. Any accidents or repairs (bumper changed and the like) would be noted on the repair reports and generally the cream of the crop are vehicles that have never been in any accidents at all, just normal wear and tear. Manufacturers also on the high end promote free servicing for their leased vehicles so service records are fully on file as well.

Franchise dealers get first dibs on the best lease tradeins. The cars the non franchise dealers get are not the cherry picked best cars and they are not refurbished back to initial specifications.

The mechanics at the high end manufacturers go through extensive training programs and know how to service the car appropriately.

Any dealer who is playing games who is franchised gets exposed by the press and usually winds up going out of business or losing their franchise agreement.

The big boys like Lexus, BMW, Acura, Mercedes, Audi, and more do not play games like these. They make sure their franchises live up to the highest expectations.

The same deal with Lenovo Outlet and CDW. These are the cream of the crop with full warranty fully factory refurbished back to initial specifications, not someone elses used PC where there could have been internal damage or whatnot that may not be covered by the warranty due to exclusions and also the length of the warranty will be shorter to boot on these units.

With computers, technology becomes outdated fast so generally the refurbished deals are not good unless it is a refurbished unit of the new models selling for a cheaper price than new at the time time from Lenovo Outlet or CDW for instance.

I apologize for getting slightly off topic however.

On that note e420s is still coming soon and refurbs will appear all the time from whatever source you wish to buy from as long as you understand the risks and make a calculated judgement in your interests.