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Are Lenovo laptops the best in the business? Help me GAF, you're my only hope

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


I have an X230t that has a pen that's almost new that I would sell for cheap.Touchscreen with stylus. Battery is perfect. Same build as the X220, just a little newer.

I already have one that I use and I love it. It's my absolute favorite keyboard.
 
Not to hijack the thread but I'm also in the market for a new laptop
-needs to be able to run phtopshop and othe rimage editing software really well for digital art purposes
-mutitasking with multiple applications running
-good to great screen with good viewing angles, pretty important.

what do you guys suggest? budget is like 800 bucks.
Any body have an idea on what type of specs I should be aiming for?
 
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.

Honestly, Lenovo is riding on the back of IBM's legacy of the ThinkPad. They're still really good, but not as good as they used to be. They were originally built like literal tanks and meant to last forever; not so much since Lenovo bought the branding.

Software wise, there is hardly any bloat. The ThinkPad software suite is an easy place to manage things like network connections, docking, power management, encryption, and some other things. It doesn't interfere with day-to-day operation and not intrusive at all. It's almost like stock Windows.
 
Not to hijack the thread but I'm also in the market for a new laptop
-needs to be able to run phtopshop and othe rimage editing software really well for digital art purposes
-mutitasking with multiple applications running
-good to great screen with good viewing angles, pretty important.

what do you guys suggest? budget is like 800 bucks.

IPS is a must for you then.
 
I have a Y580 thanks to the gaming laptop thread. It's a $1000 gaming laptop. I've always been very happy with it and it gives me a sense of it being 'serious' hardware.
 
Does Lenovo still put the horrible malware that is impossible to remove on their laptops or were they shamed into stopping that practice?
 
It really all depends on your budget. Best build quality IMO is Apple and Dell XPS for PC side. Best keyboard is definitely Thinkpad line. Best for gaming on a budget is probably Gigabyte P series. I suggest you head over to notebookreview.com and post in the "What laptop should I buy?" forum. I've been over there for years now and if you fill out the questionaire someone will definitely give you the best choices for your needs.
 
I am a technology teacher in a well-funded technology magnet school. I get my hands on dozens of different machines from different manufacturers. Look at my desk right now:
SzNgKgs.jpg


I can confirm, MacBooks are consistently the best hardware. From the old white plastic MacBooks to the aluminum pro's to the Macbook Air's they are all excellent machines. Their trackpad's are on another level, their keyboards are always good, and the quality of their screen's put to shame many other manufacturers.

Lenovo is my favorite overall on the PC side, but some of the models are duds. The Thinkpad I posted is a solid model. That HP pictured (Envy 15) is a complete piece of trash (horrible trackpad, cheap plastics, dim washed out screen). The funny thing is that the HP has the best spec's (Core i7, 8GB Ram, Nvidia GPU with 2GB Ram) and I hate the damn thing and never use it. Using that next to the much older and lower specced MacBooks illustrates perfect why Apple has it right by prioritizing smart design and high quality materials over specs.
 
Not to hijack the thread but I'm also in the market for a new laptop
-needs to be able to run phtopshop and othe rimage editing software really well for digital art purposes


what do you guys suggest? budget is like 800 bucks.

Same here. I just started using Blender because of work (and probably Maya tho I'm not sure yet) and at the time of rendering the project it brought my laptop to its knees.
 
I am a technology teacher in a well-funded technology magnet school. I get my hands on dozens of different machines from different manufacturers. Look at my desk right now:
SzNgKgs.jpg


I can confirm, MacBooks are consistently the best hardware. From the old white plastic MacBooks to the aluminum pro's to the Macbook Air's they are all excellent machines. Their trackpad's are on another level, their keyboards are always good, and the quality of their screen's put to shame many other manufacturers.

Lenovo is my favorite overall on the PC side, but some of the models are duds. The Thinkpad I posted is a solid model. That HP pictured (Envy 15) is a complete piece of trash (horrible trackpad, cheap plastics, dim washed out screen). The funny thing is that the HP has the best spec's (Core i7, 8GB Ram, Nvidia GPU with 2GB Ram) and I hate the damn thing and never use it. Using that next to the much older and lower specced MacBooks illustrates perfect why Apple has it right by prioritizing smart design and high quality materials over specs.

You can't be a technology teacher if you call a MacBook Air an "excellent" machine and prioritize look/feel over what's actually running your software. But I guess that's how marketing successes work.
 
Lenovo's consumer-grade laptops are pretty much just as garbage as any other manufacturer's consumer-grade laptops but the ThinkPad line is still second-to-none.
It's unfortunately not as good as it used to be back in the IBM days but it seems that Lenovo is maybe starting to realize this and make them great again.

ThinkPads are the only laptops I'll ever buy from now on (excluding Apple's stuff but I'd rather have their desktops instead) unless there are some kinds of drastic changes and other manufacturers make something that can keep up.
Dell's business-class laptops are apparently pretty good as well but I admittedly don't have as much hands-on experience with them so I can't really say.
 
What's wrong with the 440p?

The clickpad really sucks. I have a 440s with the same part. It's really difficult to click without accidentally moving your cursor and easy to mix up left and right click when using the nub.

They went right back to physically separated buttons on the 450 series.
 
You can't be a technology teacher if you call a MacBook Air an "excellent" machine and prioritize look/feel over what's actually running your software. But I guess that's how marketing successes work.
Wirecutter rates the Air as the best laptop for most people.

I don't think he is alone in his opinion...
 
I've always owned Thinkpads but that was before Lenovo. My wife has a Lenovo Thinkpad and while it has decent build quality, it's not up to the IBM models. Luckily the keyboard is still great and the trackpoint is still the best pointer on a laptop.

If I was in the market for a laptop today, I think I'd look at a Surface Pro. Pricy but they seem pretty sweet.
 
You can't be a technology teacher if you call a MacBook Air an "excellent" machine and prioritize look/feel over what's actually running your software. But I guess that's how marketing successes work.
I teach (or have taught) Python Programming, Java Programming, Android App Development, Digital Video, Flash, 2D game development, Web Design, Sound Production, etc. I have tried using the Lenovo and HP pictured as my main machine but at the end of the day, they hurt my productivity. My main machine right now is a macbook air pictured here:
7u5FXAI.jpg

The sharper screen, better keyboard, better trackpad, and the more reliable OS make it the better machine imo.
 
I have a Macbook Pro and Lenovo Carbon X1 for work. They're both pretty great, the Macbook build quality is a bit better but the difference is not that dramatic, the Lenovo still has good build quality but the aluminum shell of the Macbook feels more premium. The Lenovo keyboard is much, much better though, while the Macbook's touchpad is a bit better. I have the older X1 with the much maligned touchstrip, and I actually like it. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you adjust it's pretty handy.

At home my wife has a Lenovo Yoga. The Yoga build quality is just as good as the Macbook, it's a pretty great machine overall. It has a better keyboard than the Macbook but the Macbook's touchpad is still better.

If I had to pick between these three for personal use, I'd pick the Yoga.
 
I would love a 15-inch Yoga with 6+ hours of battery that had 960m level graphics so you could game on it, and use it for heavy productivity.
 
Wirecutter rates the Air as the best laptop for most people.

I don't think he is alone in his opinion...

Sure if you like the lack of options, storage, hardware grunt and yet still high price tag it's awesome.

At least the highest end pros have some hardware grunt and decent capabilities despite the ridiculous price tag
 
Sure if you like the lack of options, storage, hardware grunt and yet still high price tag it's awesome.

At least the highest end pros have some hardware grunt and decent capabilities despite the ridiculous price tag
You were acting like the other posters opinion was one that was ridiculous to have when in reality a lot of people rate the MBA as an extremely good laptop and it is often one that is recommended by websites or people who review these things.

It is obviously not for you but you discounted the other posters opinions as if he was a Biology teacher trying to tell us that evolution was a bunch of bullshit.

The MBA has a lot of things going for it. It is extremely fast at things that most people do, extremely portable and has incredible battery life. Is it the best laptop for everyone? Obviously not, no one is going to recommend the Air if you want to do serious video editing. But for a great number of people it is a fantastic laptop.
 
Hell no they aren't. Biggest piles I have ever used. Their service is so bad they had my flex 2 for 3 months in their Depot center and I had to keep bugging them about it. Eventually they wrote me a check to buy something else. I bought a surface pro 3 and never looked back.
 
You can't be a technology teacher if you call a MacBook Air an "excellent" machine and prioritize look/feel over what's actually running your software. But I guess that's how marketing successes work.

The Air is a fantastic laptop. Got one for my gf on her bday. I prefer it over my Pro and the POS XPS/Envy I've had before. The Apple hate is real.
 
In my experience you can't really get good laptops for < 1000. They'll always crap out within a few years. It could still be a valid decision to go this route, if you need one quick and don't have a lot of money, or like to update to the newest models quicker. Get the one that seems best specs for money and has a good trackpad. MSI is pretty good in this segment though they can run very hot. Lenovo is all around decent.
 
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.
Lenovo laptops are great, but their support is absolutely abysmal. Like seriously fucking atrocious.
 
I have a Lenovo Yoga 2 13'' and am very happy with it.

Compared to everything I had before, the build quality is superb, it also feels very thin and light.

You should do some research on the Yoga 3 14'' (not the pro variant with the riciculous screen).
 
Do you like spyware pre bundled with you laptop? If so, you'll love Lenovo!

Edit: kinda surprised about all the HP hate. Their business class models are fine, I support about 1000 of them and don't have too many problems as far as the hardware is concerned.
 
Have noticed a decline in quality in general, they are deployed within local government institutions and as IT support within that sector they have a very poor reputation.
 
Their business class laptops are still pretty damn good. We still push out the T, X, and W series.

At one point someone bought a bunch of SL series for our remote sales force. Absolute nightmare lol. It might not have been so bad for corporate employees who have it at their desk most of the day but these people carry it in a bag all over.

We were getting so much damage and screen replacements that they were abandoned after a year or so. I'm gonna guess they were cheaper but someone made a huge mistake. You get what you pay for sometimes. Probably didn't have the rollcage or any of the other protection in the good lines
 
Not to hijack the thread but I'm also in the market for a new laptop
-needs to be able to run phtopshop and othe rimage editing software really well for digital art purposes
-mutitasking with multiple applications running
-good to great screen with good viewing angles, pretty important.

what do you guys suggest? budget is like 800 bucks.

Any body have an idea on what type of specs I should be aiming for?
.
 
We exclusively use thinkpads at work for everything, and some of them are really great. I've got a W530 here and as a hater of laptops I'd buy something like this for myself. Only touchpad I've ever used and liked and it's a very solidly built system.

The T540 touchpad on the other hand is garbage and I've had some hardware issues with them so I dunno about those.
 
All I have is anecdotal evidence but I went from an Acer laptop to a Lenovo G710 and other than the size of the thing and the lack of graphics card (both my fault for a not researching how big the damn thing is and also being a tightwad and not wanting to pay an extra 70 quid) I have to say that it is a perfectly decent laptop and certainly better than my Acer thing.
 
Just look for a refurbished Thinkpad. Solid machines with a great keyboard. They are resilient yet pricey. Its why Lenovo maintains a stranglehold on corporations.

~Typed from by Lenovo X1 Carbon (3rd Generation)
 
Acceptable to purchase
Dell
Lenovo

Not so good
HP


Don't even touch
Anything Apple

Haha, what is this crap? Apple laptops are the absolute best, from build quality, to the track pad, to resale value, to service and reliability. That's probably why they're the only laptop brand not cratering its sales.
 
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