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[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I'm looking into getting a new laptop, and I'm trying to get something good, but at a decent price (trying <$650 CAD). The name Lenovo pops up a lot online, so I'm looking into them, but what's the general consensus around here on them? What are the best alternatives? I don't need something cutting-edge, but something solid that'll last me a few years and won't shit the bed and die within a few months.

 

[Daria]

the last thread I read said their products turned into cheap plastic laptops now but the keyboards were pretty good still

have you ever thought about getting a Chromebook?

 

[tokkun]

The good keyboards on are on the Thinkpads, which aren't cheap.

 

[Arkanius]

Thinkpads are pretty great
Lenovo had some shit design decisions with the T440p line though.

The newer ones are going back into the good zone

 

[Firebrand]

Haven't used one of them myself, but kind of wary of the brand after the SuperFish and firmware debacles.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

the last thread I read said their products turned into cheap plastic laptops now but the keyboards were pretty good still

have you ever thought about getting a Chromebook?

I dunno much about Chromebooks other than they always need to be connected online, right? I need to be able to run Excel and shit on it and I might not always be online.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

If you're willing to go higher MSI makes good build laptops that also are powerful enough for moderate gaming.

I have a Lenovo tablet and it has a lot of issues.

 

[reKon]

No, they're not.

 

[Anjelus_]

As someone who's used both, honestly, Macbooks are worth their price. You can get a ~2013 Air for a good deal and it'll work better and last longer than my gf's Lenovo.

Basically the only reason that wouldn't be the way to go is if you plan to do some hardcore PC gaming.

 

[Fragamemnon]

I have a lot of reservations about Lenovo on the low end. The workstation grade stuff is fabulous, but it's clearly made from a different cut than their regular consumer stuff.

 

[LouisaFerre]

I'm looking into getting a new laptop, and I'm trying to get something good, but at a decent price (trying <$650 CAD). The name Lenovo pops up a lot online, so I'm looking into them, but what's the general consensus around here on them? What are the best alternatives? I don't need something cutting-edge, but something solid that'll last me a few years and won't shit the bed and die within a few months.

If you're willing to buy a used laptop an X220 is pretty much my go to suggestion.

12.5 inch IPS display(only 1366x768 though)
6 Cell battery gives 8-9 hours of battery life
Three USB ports
Decently powerful(i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge)
Spill resistant, excellent keyboard
And overall it's definitely a durable laptop, despite being pretty much as portable as you can get without getting an ultrabook.

Don't know about Canada, but right now you can get one off of ebay in the US easily for 200-300 dollars. You might want to shell out another 100 for a new, genuine battery, but that's still well within your budget.

EDIT: To specify, this is from their Thinkpad/Business line.

The vast majority of consumer laptops are garbage, but even HP and Dell make decent laptops for their business lines.

 

[WedgeX]

Secondinf the MSI recommendation. Real quality product.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

If you're willing to go higher MSI makes good build laptops that also are powerful enough for moderate gaming.

I have a Lenovo tablet and it has a lot of issues.

I don't need anything for gaming, but I'll take a look at MSI.

As someone who's used both, honestly, Macbooks are worth their price. You can get a ~2013 Air for a good deal and it'll work better and last longer than my gf's Lenovo.

Basically the only reason that wouldn't be the way to go is if you plan to do some hardcore PC gaming.

I would love to get a MacBook, but it's just priced pretty far out of my reach and I worry about purchasing used.

If you're willing to buy a used laptop an X220 is pretty much my go to suggestion.

12.5 inch IPS display(only 1366x768 though)
6 Cell battery gives 8-9 hours of battery life
Three USB ports
Decently powerful(i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge)
Spill resistant, excellent keyboard
And overall it's definitely a durable laptop, despite being pretty much as portable as you can get without getting an ultrabook.

Don't know about Canada, but right now you can get one off of ebay in the US easily for 200-300 dollars. You might want to shell out another 100 for a new, genuine battery, but that's still well within your budget.

EDIT: To specify, this is from their Thinkpad/Business line.

The vast majority of consumer laptops are garbage, but even HP and Dell make decent laptops for their business lines.

I'll look into that, but I worry about used tech.

 

[tim.mbp]

My IdeaPad was shit. One of the worst purchases I've ever made. Maybe the ThinkPad line is better, but I wouldn't touch a Lenovo product again.

 

[Dryk]

I really liked the IdeaPad I had for ~3 years. But.

- The build quality was kind of shit
- Since then Lenovo have been involved in multiple bloatware/spyware scandals
- Since then Lenovo have switched to proprietary AC adapters

So when it came time to buy a replacement I ran away as fast as I could

 

[Galang]

I have a high end think pad and it wore out pretty quickly. Was amazing at first but I didn't even use it very often and it had all sorts of problems connecting to the Internet, freezing and battery issues. I had to replace it after a year. Never again personally. I tried going with a Mac and while hesitant its never given me any problems and I've now had it longer than I did the Lenovo

 

[Elfforkusu]

Is there an up to date survey on laptop failure rates?

IIRC, HP is always at the bottom (i.e. don't buy an HP laptop), but the top spot bounces back and forth.

 

[injurai]

I've seen A LOT of dissatisfied Thinkpad owners in the last 3 years. Pretty much everyone I know quickly jumped ship. Seriously nobody I know stuck with them that could afford to move on. They all went to Vaio or Samsung a few years ago, and more recently to cheap netbooks and chromebooks. Windows people to surface/desktop, and those that could afford it to macs.

edit: Dell XPS 13 (2015) seems to be a really great laptop, I'd totally get one if I could afford it.

 

[j_k_redtail]

ThinkPad line is decent, but no longer great. Honestly I'm waiting on the ThinkPad Retro. Hoping it'll be a return to form for the brand.

If cost is an issue OP, and you want to give an older ThinkPad a try, you can take a look at the Lenovo Outlet.

 

[ZackieChan]

I dunno much about Chromebooks other than they always need to be connected online, right? I need to be able to run Excel and shit on it and I might not always be online.

I believe you can run Google docs offline. But I don't think you can run Excel.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Do not buy the YOGA's, they can't handle intensive tasks like watching youtube videos.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Do not buy the YOGA's, they can't handle intensive tasks like watching youtube videos.

I have a yoga tablet. It crashes every now and then with netflix for no reason

 

[John Blade]

I'm looking into getting a new laptop, and I'm trying to get something good, but at a decent price (trying <$650 CAD). The name Lenovo pops up a lot online, so I'm looking into them, but what's the general consensus around here on them? What are the best alternatives? I don't need something cutting-edge, but something solid that'll last me a few years and won't shit the bed and die within a few months.

Would say Thinkpad X220 as this is before they change the keyboard design and do the screw up with the later thinkpad before the latest one. If you going for X220, try to find with the better screen as you will thank me for it.

 

[zero_suit]

Do not buy the YOGA's, they can't handle intensive tasks like watching youtube videos.

Is that really considered intensive (excluding 4k videos)?

 

[freeofgreed]

Is that really considered intensive (excluding 4k videos)?

I think that was his sarcastic way of saying how shitty they are by saying they can't even do basic functions like watching youtube videos properly.

 

[oneran]

If you check the Bestbuy refurbished outlet you can find some pretty good deals on some business class notebooks. As for the overall quality I'm not too sure but you do normally get at least a 90-day warranty.

 

[brainzelda]

I hate the new touchpad on the t440 and up. Bring back the separate left and right mouse buttons on the t430.

 

[AnimeFantasy]

edit: Dell XPS 13 (2015) seems to be a really great laptop, I'd totally get one if I could afford it.

Bought one recently, It is beautiful for a laptop have never seen a 13 inch laptop so good before.

 

[nephilimdj]

Think its always best to go instore and test, some laptops/notebooks just have awful keyboards

 

[LostMyNarbles]

I've heard a lot of issues from people who bought Lenovo and the CS is terrible (But who's isn't). I'd go for Dell instead they've gotten a lot better since going private.

 

[Snorlocs]

My Lenovo y40 is falling apart piece by piece. I bought this thing in November last year. Currently trying to get a refund or a replacement and failing spectacularly. I would not recommend a Lenovo y40 laptop after this. I hear the W series is pretty sturdy though.

 

[Arc]

Lenovo's consumer line is ehh. My sister just got a Yoda 3 Pro...the machine is gorgeous, but the amount of bloatware was absurd and made the mouse lag on day 1.

However...

Lenovo's ThinkPad line is unmatched. They are pricey, but you get what you pay for. I have a T430 and an X1 Carbon Touch. The build quality and keyboards are the best in the market. ThinkPads are also easy to repair yourself, the machine's come apart nicely and I've replaced a motherboard in an older one in under a half hour (used to work at my school's helpdesk).

 

[RevengeOfDoh]

I've had a Thinkpad T530 for 3 years that I use for work and quality has been spotty. I'm on my 4th screen, third keyboard, and second keyboard bezel/frame. The previous screens were defective and had light bleeding, keyboards were slighty warped and one had membrane issues with the power button, and the bezel broke after a light hit. The warranty service I got was awesome though. All you need to do is stop by an authorized repair depot and you're good to go. The one I use eyeballs the problem, sends me on my way, and calls me when the parts arrive to be installed. Since I had the accidental protection warranty, I also used it to replace worn parts, so it was like getting a new laptop every year. I did use it for about 60-70 hours a week afterall.

That said, the most recent keyboard is really good and feels way better than what I've had before. Time will tell with the monitor, but the newest parts seem to be better. These things can take a beating too. I've actually dropped it a couple times and the frame system really works. Despite these issues, I'm still going to get another ThinkPad in a couple years, but jumping to the W series since I'm going to do more pc gaming and want something more robust since they're expanding their slim line.

Edit: oddly enough, the T430s I got for my wife has better build quality than my T530. No problems with her laptop at all.

 

[Ty4on]

They were caught spoofing HTTPS to inject ads into the web browser and until recently their BIOS injected software into Windows so a reinstall would not get rid of everything.

All of them do crap for their margins, but that got a lot of attention. ThinkPads were exempt from both of those though.

 

[zero_suit]

I think that was his sarcastic way of saying how shitty they are by saying they can't even do basic functions like watching youtube videos properly.

That's what I figured. You can never be sure, though.

 

[cameron]

The ISS uses T61p ThinkPads. If they're good enough for NASA, surely they're good enough for NTGYK.

In Canada, use the Lenovo EPP site for discounts. The modern T series ThinkPads might be out of your budget, though.

Even better is buying a refurb directly from the IBM site with 1 year warranty: http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/america...576396&storeId=25076&catalogId=-840&langId=-1

Looks like it's sold out, but they just had a T520 (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for $377 CAD.

 

[Komo]

I've always associated Lenovo with quality, business-level laptops, but I guess that's not the case anymore?

A little off-topic, but is there any manufacturer's that still sell thick laptops aimed at business, with 4:3 aspect ratio displays and multiple ports? Basically, something more focused on functionality over style.

I have a Sony VAIO VGN-Z26GN, and it has a lot of useful ports, feels pretty beefy but the screen is horribly flimsy, and it's also an awkward size. I always have to lean down uncomfortably to look at it

 

[ghostofsparta]

Thinkpads are pretty great
Lenovo had some shit design decisions with the T440p line though.

The newer ones are going back into the good zone

What's wrong with the 440p?

 

[VoxPop]

Save yourself the headache and get a refurbished MacBook Air

 

[scitek]

I like my Y50 a lot. It can play a lot of stuff, too.

 

[Citadelofmythoughts]

I've had a Y40 for about a month now. No big issues but I bought it from their Outlet store, no way would I have paid full price for it.

It's decent enough for a $600 lappy.

 

[DrFaustPhD]

They're good, just be prepared to purge your system of a bunch of spyware and crapware from the get go.

 

[StriKeVillain]

I have a Thinkpad W540 from work. It's an absolute beast of a machine. Has like 16GB of ram or something in it. It came fully loaded when I got it.

Glad I didn't have to pay for it. :3

 

[Noobcraft]

Their build quality has been poor on their cheaper offerings in the past few years. Their upper range stuff is great though.

 

[Daria]

I don't want to derail the thread but what make the Thinkpads so much better? Purely speaking software wise compared to a regular Windows laptop since better hardware is a common known factor.

 

[Iorv3th]

I have a lot of reservations about Lenovo on the low end. The workstation grade stuff is fabulous, but it's clearly made from a different cut than their regular consumer stuff.

Their low end stuff is garbage. School I started working at had bought some Lenovo laptops with i3's in them. Didn't last 2 years before we had to replace them. We had some Core 2 Duo and Centrino laptops that were 7-8 years old still going strong (dells).

The desktops are ok for the price point though.

Save yourself the headache and get a refurbished MacBook Air

Depends on who you ask. For me Macs are a pain in the ass and I want no part of them.

OP was specifically asking about a PC though.

 

[Alucrid]

Had an X220i that lasted me for a good 4 years or so, and still works fine, but I replaced it with an X1 which is even better for me. Would only ever get their Thinkpad line though.

 

[Hollycat]

The only one of the laptop I ever had was a piece of junk. And after all the hullabaloo with the spyware and all that I will never buy another one of their products

 

[dr.rocktopus]

Bought one a used W520 last year, been solid ever since.

The consumer line is nothing special though from my experience (some random IdeaPad)

 

[cameron]

I don't want to derail the thread but what make the Thinkpads so much better? Purely speaking software wise compared to a regular Windows laptop since better hardware is a common known factor.

No real difference in software compared to the consumer line (excluding the superfish malware and other crap). It's pure hardware spec, build quality, and ease of repair/disassembly.