Expert Advice on Lenovo Laptops

Hello Folks,

I'm a senior in college and I am looking for a reliable laptop that will be amazing for 1-2 years. I will be using it for my future job and thus I do not need a heavy graphics card. I do however want to watch some online television shows.

Any recommendations? My budget is around 800-1000 dollars, but I prefer it to be in the lower range. Is there anything that Lenovo has to offer for me?

I heard I missed out on a big Barnes and Noble discount. Are there any other discounts going on?

Any other laptop brands you would recommend if Lenovo does not fall in this price range?

Thank you so much.

John

 

google "lenovo Barnes and Noble Gold"

 

Looking at the Barnes and Noble site, there are still a ton of good deals. With that budget you can have just about any model with reasonable specs. What else are you planning to do with the laptop? Size of the screen and battery life could help you narrow down your search.

 

Lenovo Thinkpad T520 or T530, with at least the HD+ (1600x900) display, through the Barnes and Noble Gold discount.

- Follow this link: Barnes and Noble Gold | Lenovo | (US)
- Create a free account, and login.
- T520: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...=7162ACCF009D2872F8BA28660C1EC3B5&action=init
- T530: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...=DC8F3B79220E3BCF3B7C12AAA11F7BFB&action=init
- For models that include the HD (1366x768) display as the default option-- such as the cheapest T520 base configuation, you will need to upgrade that to (at minimum) the HD+ (1600x900) display. Hold this display upgrade at priority over any other upgrade, because the T520 and T530 should not be bought in any configuration that includes the stock HD (1366x768) display. 15.6" 1366x768 displays make things onscreen large, and tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- The main differences between the T520 and the T530 are keyboard and processor selection. Since the latter likely will not affect you much, base your decision primarily on the keyboard, and of course on the price.
- Worthy of consideration: 9-Cell battery, wireless upgrade past the mixed-reviewed Thinkpad b/g/n card.
- After you finish configuring but before you add your configuration to the cart, copy the coupon code. In the cart, paste the coupon code.

The T420/T430 is an alternative, but its 1600x900 display is not as good as the T520's 1600x900 display.

The X220/X230 is an ultraportable alternative, but its touchpad doesn't have buttons, it costs more, and you will need to make sure that you get the IPS display upgrade (branded as "Premium") for image quality reasons.

 

Barnes and Noble discount for 25% is still going thru July 1st.

https://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibra...70B995934B6EFED1F0FA956B4E9A&menu-id=products

 

Sweet. Im glad the Barnes and Noble discount is still going on.

Could somebody convince me which laptop to buy the 520 or the 530?
I know I will be upgrading the screen to HD+ (1600x900)
The keyboard is important. I need to able to watch online videos, but mainly fast processing with emails, web browsing and Word/excell/powerpoint activities.

I read somewhere the 520 or 530 had some screen resolution issues is this true?
How does the battery life hold out?

I need to order this laptop soon so any personal opinions about any lenovo laptops would help me big time.

Will I be a satisfied customer if I buy a Lenovo laptop?
What would you do if you had a 800-900 dollar budget.

Thank you so much. Sorry I am not the greatest when it comes to laptops

 

ThinkPad T530 - 1 Year Depot Warranty
Processor: Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Operating system language: Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 - English
Display type: 15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Total memory: 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard Backlit - US English
Pointing device: UltraNav without Fingerprint Reader
Camera: 720p HD Camera with Microphone
Hard drive: 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Bezel
Battery: 9 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70++
Power cord: 90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n
Integrated mobile broadband: Mobile Broadband upgradable
Language pack: Publication - US English


Should I make any changes?
Does the T520 only have a slower processor?

Thank you!

 

Upgrade the warranty. You WILL need it. Every Thinkpad I've purchased since Lenovo took full control of the brand has had major failures. Didn't buy the extended warranty on one of them...ended up salvaging everything useful from it then hucked it in the fire. Felt good.
I just last week became a traitor and purchased a HP Elitebook...we'll see how that treats me.
I had several other issues with Lenovo that's prompted me to switch. As someone in IT, the BIOS whitelisting drives me up the wall for one.

BUT, as long as you make sure to get the 3 year warranty, you'll be covered.

 

Thanks cvec.

More comments on Lenovo and perhaps my T530 build?
Are there things I need to switch out for my needs?
Is an upgraded WIFI worth the money?

Thanks

 

I always install/purchase the best Intel wireless card I can, currently the 6300 card, and I consistently get 450Mb/s throughput to my AP now. Possibly consider upgrading the CPU a notch or going to the FHD screen. But now you're also talking about cranking up your price by making those changes. Other than that all looks good!

 

I don't want to crank up the price that much because a FHD is +200.
Is it worth cranking up the CPU and wireless if I am only going to use it for business activities and watching some online videos.

 

No, probably not. Certainly not the CPU, as that'll handle the usage you're talking about just fine. Again, no experience with the standard Lenovo wifi card but...might be worth getting at least the Advanced-N card to be safe. It's not that much more and the Intel wireless cards are pretty tried-and-true at this point.

 

Is the 25% discount only until July 1st? or do they always have the 25% discount?

 

What do you guys think of these components considering I only want to use this laptop for Microsoft Office activities, online videos and emailing. I have a desktop so I figured the graphics card did not matter. Is the current graphics card good enough for online videos?

This lineup will cost me a little over $800 and that really is my budget. I rather not spend 150 dollars extra for the FHD screen. Is the current screen HD+ good enough or will it bother me?

Should I get an insurance? I will be in America for 1 more year and then I will be going abroad in Europe. What would you do?

Would you go for this laptop if you're budget was around 800-900 dollars?


Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard Backlit - US English
UltraNav without Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera with Microphone
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable
Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Bezel
6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+
90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable
Accessories
ThinkPad Basic Case

 

I usually don't buy insurance on electronics, except for my laptop (I'm currently in college and you can never fully trust your dormmates ). Most credit cards will extend your warranty by at least another year, so you might want to check up on which of your cards offers warranty deals. However, that's still just the factory warranty and won't cover accidental.

As for the laptop, I'd definitely by another Thinkpad. My only major problem with mine was when the original battery stopped charging temporary (it started again later, strangely enough); IBM (Lenovo does **not** handle Thinkpad warranties) quickly shipped me a quality LG battery (some Thinkpads come with Sanyo batteries, which aren't too good) within 24hrs. As for your specs....:

If you can, downgrade to whatever the base CPU is (probably an i3). *Any* CPU these days will perform well enough to do your stated tasks without a sweat. Depending on how much money you save that way, you could try upgrading to FHD for $200 - CPU savings. Everything else is good to go though. 6-cell should give you 6-7 hours of battery, and 9-cell should give you 8-9 hours of battery, something to consider.

 

Is there a significant difference between i3 and i5? Is it just marketing?

I probably wont be gaming mostly Office activities and video watching online.

Who else would down grade from i5 to i3 when 800-900 budget. If I did this I could afford a FHD screen instead of HD+

 

Get the i3 as you would never use slight power increase of the i5. The 1080p screen would be far more beneficial.

 

i3 will be powerful enough? No lag when I am watching online videos/emails/office activities.

Upgrading the WIFI is that important? will this up the speed of the internet?

Do you mean the HD+ or the FHD screen?

 

The i3 is more than enough for those activities. I had a Thinkpad wireless card in an older laptop and it was awful. I ended up replacing it with the base Intel card and didn't have any problems after that. FHD is the screen I was referring to.

 

This is my build now:

the i5 was only 30 bucks more so I figured it was worth it just in case.

I upgraded it to the best Wifi card, because I will be traveling in the future and I figured this could be beneficial for me. Thoughts?

I stayed with the standard video card, because I will only need it for office activities and online videos (will the quality still be decent?)

Insurance: still unsure if I should get one, because I have faith in lenovo after all the reviews. Is it worth going over a budget to get an insurance? Will the insurance still work if I am living abroad?

Thanks guys. Any other tips please let me know

System components
Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard Backlit - US English
UltraNav without Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera with Microphone
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable
Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Bezel
6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+
90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable

 

Looks like a solid build, Jona. Happy shopping!

 

Any thoughts people? Thank you.
Need to put my order in before July 1st.

 

Looks good from where I'm sitting. Great laptop for your intended usage.

 

Whats your opinion on these pointers....

the i5 was only 30 bucks more so I figured it was worth it just in case.

I upgraded it to the best Wifi card, because I will be traveling in the future and I figured this could be beneficial for me. Thoughts? Does an upgrade in wifi mean that the internet speed will be quicker/reliable?

I stayed with the standard video card, because I will only need it for office activities and online videos (will the quality still be decent?)

Insurance: still unsure if I should get one, because I have faith in lenovo after all the reviews. Is it worth going over a budget to get an insurance? Will the insurance still work if I am living abroad?

Anybody here have a Thinkpad that can point out some pros/cons?

Thank you so much. I just want to make sure I order the right laptop before July 1st... especially with a limited 800-900 dollar budget.

 

I'll answer what I can. For just $30 the i5 upgrade is worth it in my eyes. The standard Intel 4000 is actually quite capable and the quality of videos would be the same even with a more powerful card. Other than looks (Which is subjective) Thinkpads have pretty poor speakers. A cheap set of headphones and/or external speakers will solve that problem.

 

Thanks for your 2 cents. I appreciate the input.

Would a Lenovo ThinkPad in the 800-900 dollar range outperform other laptops in this range? What makes Lenovo stand out.. is it the durability and business factor.

I'm trying to figure out what Lenovo is offering for this price vs. another competitor say dell, hp or asus. I'm new to buying a laptop and I just want to make sure I am making the right choices.

More input would be great!!

 

Durability and reliability of the business-grade laptop over the stuff you usually see. And if you buy into the additional warranty of a business-grade laptop (such as TPP for the Thinkpad), you'll get *much* better warranty support, hands down. Performance is on par with most other laptops in that price range, unless they come with a decent dedicated GPU, but those laptops make the trade-off between raw performance (something you don't need for video watching and other stuff you noted) and durability. Thinkpads in particular have internal metal rollcages to protect the mainboard and other electronics within the laptop, similar to how a rollcage works in a car.

 

It seems like this laptop fits pretty much my needs as a business laptop and for some occasional video watching.

Does anybody know if warranties are covered internationally. Will be moving abroad in a year.

Any other Lenovo experts out here that can vouch for Lenovo and its laptops.. especially the thinkpads.

Thanks again. More input is appreciated. Sorry for the questions, but I rather be safe than sorry.

 

Thinkpad warranties (at least the TPP versions) will honor your service claims in any country where Lenovo sells laptops (couple dozen countries, if I recall correctly). This includes North America, most of South America, and the majority of Europe off the top of my head. Australia and parts of Asia are covered as well.

link to Lenovo's International Warranty Service (IWS) terms and conditions

The only practical concerns with IWS (besides which countries you can get serviced) is the reminder of how different countries have different wall outlet plug types and that customers should make sure they're using the right type for the country they're traveling to, though this is probably obvious.

 

Thanks jarhead for your input.

More people that can vouch for Lenovo and opinions about my build?

 

Personally, given that laptops are increasingly simple commmodities (it's the data that's valuable, not the laptop, in many cases), I don't believe insurance/extended warranties are worth it. I've subscribed to the philosophy that if something will go wrong with a laptop, it's either very early in its life (covered by the normal warranty) or towards the end of its life (when it's not worth much anyway), and it's worked out well for me. If it's a matter of going out of budget for the insurance, I'd definitely skip it.

If you plan to upgrade the hard drive down the road, I'd also stick with the base drive.

There isn't too much of a difference between the Intel 6200 and 6300, so depending on the cost difference, you could bump that down to save some money.

A Core i3 would be more than enough for your usage, but if the difference between a base i3 and a base i5 is only $30, it's up to you.

Otherwise, looks good.

 

My personal experience with Thinkpad quality has been outstanding. My first Thinkpad was a T30 that I used for 7-1/2 years. What killed my T30 was a blown capacitor on the motherboard. The capacitor was too small to be replaced manually.

My current machine is a T410s which is 2-1/4 years old. The quality in this machine is rock solid just like my original T30.

 

Thank you for your input. The feedback I am getting so far is great.

How does the standard videocard perform? Can it easily handle dvd's. What is the ceiling of the card?

Are there any other ThinkPad or Lenovo users out here that can vouch for the company and preferably its Thinkpad line?

What makes people step over to a Lenovo instead of a ''consumer laptop''.

Are the 15inch ThinkPads portable and not super heavy? I would like to use it in the airplane.

 

Any integrated or dedicated GPU from the last decade or so can play DVDs. The Intel HD 4000 will be able to handle that, Blu-Ray (though the T530 doesn't come with a BD player), 1080p online streaming like Netflix, and it can play older games with ease (for example, I can play CnC Generals ZH very well on the HD 3000).

 

Thanks jarhead!

Are there any other ThinkPad or Lenovo users out here that can vouch for the company and preferably its Thinkpad line?

What makes people step over to a Lenovo instead of a ''consumer laptop''.

Are the 15inch ThinkPads portable and not super heavy? I would like to use it in the airplane.

Is it worth trying to get a larger discount through customer service or? Has anybody had success with this.

 

You've already heard me talk about why I'd buy one. The 15" Thinkpads are usually a little under 6lbs, so it's not really heavy in my opinion. I haven't flown in years, so I wouldn't know how useable a 15" laptop would be on a plane.

I was able to get 24% off my W520 brand-new when I haggled with a sales agent over the phone. Was able to use the Barnes and Noble discount as well as the 10% email promotion on Lenovo's website. Great haggling tips can be found in the "Laptop Ordering Advice (DR650SE)" link in my sig.

 

Thanks again private.

Are there any other ThinkPad or Lenovo users out here that can vouch for the company and preferably its Thinkpad line

 

Well in the long term business laptops tend to be well supported compared to consumer grade ones. Lenovo still provides drivers for ThinkPad notebooks that are well over 5-6 years old (have a look at Windows 7 drivers for ThinkPad T4x and T6x as an example), I doubt the same can be said for a similar aged consumer grade notebook.

Another thing is that business notebooks like ThinkPads are easier to service and upgrade over time. I've just recently upgraded the wireless card (Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205) on my 5 year old ThinkPad T61 and it works great. Should a component fail like the CPU fan for instance you can obtain the part number on Lenovo's site, get instructions on how to disassemble your unit and swap it out for a working one on various places including eBay for not much money these days. It's these little things that gives added value to owning a business notebook which is why I prefer them over the consumer lines no matter how pretty they are.

 

Thanks Heart!

Are there any other ThinkPad or Lenovo users out here that can vouch for the company and preferably its Thinkpad line

I called with customer service I can get the 25% from Barnes and Noble and additional $30 dollars off. My total would be 750 for this build. Should I haggle more. Is this a fair price? The representative said they can only go down to a certain amount in the system.

Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard Backlit - US English
UltraNav without Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera with Microphone
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable
Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Bezel
6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+
90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable

 

Here's the link to the T530/T530i/W530 hardware manual, by the way:

Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T530, T530i, W530

 

Are there any other ThinkPad or Lenovo users out here that can vouch for the company and preferably its Thinkpad line

I called with customer service I can get the 25% from Barnes and Noble and additional $30 dollars off. My total would be 750 for this build. Should I haggle more. Is this a fair price? The representative said they can only go down to a certain amount in the system.

Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard Backlit - US English
UltraNav without Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera with Microphone
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable
Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Bezel
6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+
90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable[/QUOTE]

Opinions on price? Would be great!
Should I haggle more?

 

That's a good price for that laptop. 25% is a pretty high discount for a computer with those parts; highest possible haggling discount I can think of is 28% for some really high-end gaming and workstation laptops, though that's because of the upgrades put in those systems allow for more profit to give up for a sale.

Good luck on your purchase Jona.

 

Anybody else willing to share their experiences with a thinkpad and Lenovo as a brand? I will probably purchase it today or tomorrow.

 

Ordered my laptop. Hopefully it will work out well for me!

 

Hey Jona90, let me know what you think of the laptop. I'm ordering something very similar, except with the FHD screen and one notch higher CPU-> essentially the same laptop though. Let me know your impressions on the HD+ screen, how it is for watching movies and such.

 

It's a pretty good lineup and brand. The ThinkPad brand's support center is based in the USA (North Carolina, if I'm not mistaken) and will overnight parts to you if things go wrong, which is a plus if you're technically competent. Best of all is the fact that part upgrades are usually pretty easy.

However, I treated my T520 a lot better than my T400 yet the HDD still developed a SMART errors. I probably got a defective one, though.

 

I live in Raleigh, and have had them overnight me RAM before. Surprised me, because I didn't know they were overnighting it.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

Lenovo is no worse than anyone else.

New motto.

 

They do have a large presence here (in Morrisville), but a) the customer center here isn't (AFAIK) primarily a service center b) you'll often receive parts via IBM from other locations. I've gotten parts from IBM from places other than NC. (Pretty much all of the returns go somewhere here though...)

Regarding the brand itself... uh...

Well look, anything I can say is anecdotal. I like ThinkPads quite a bit and have used them for quite some time. But if you're after any sort of meaningful data on reliability or quality you might want to ignore users like myself; we simply don't have enough data, and the stuff that we do will be heavily biased in some direction. About the only sort of statistically-sound data you'll find (in terms of reliability or customer satisfaction) will come from organizations that service a wide variety of laptops (examples: Squaretrade or RESCUECOM). Even that's not a great indicator, since users will likely go to the vendor at least for in-warranty support if not also for out-of-warranty support -- so the numbers you'll get from a third party are... eh... well they're not great. But (IMHO) they're better than trying to build an opinion of a product line based on random forum posts...

 

People who have received battery or keyboard replacements have also reported receiving the replacement the next day as well. Very prompt, as it should be!

Generally, support in the US (handled by IBM) for the Thinkpads is good. It varies by nation, because there's different contractors in each nation that handles support for Lenovo.