Are Lenovo laptops any good?
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honey the codewitch wrote:
I'm looking for something... sportier? I want to fall in love with it.
Well, take a look at Alienware then. Just like Lexus is made by Toyota, Alienware is made by Dell. On a different note, while some manufacturers indeed only make junk, most have different lines aiming for different customers. Dell and Lenovo both makes junk less good computers, while both also make good stuff. I've personally have had VERY good experience with Dell Latitude, but they also produce junk I'm afraid. The lineup from Dell goes like: AlienWare -> Gaming, Performance, big and heavy Precision -> Workstations, Performance, almost as big and heavy XPS -> small and Light Latitude -> Business, long lasting, compromise on everything except price Inspiron -> Cheap Vostro -> Garbage G Series -> Dunno, have to check them out I have no clue what the current lineup from Lenovo is I'm afraid
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Just supplementing this post, Dell has a Precision that is a business class XPS. I believe it is the 5000 series Precision. The G Series was an evolution of their Inspiron gaming series, and both were pretty solid (I've had my Inspiron gaming laptop for 7 years now). However, last years G series were plagued with all sorts of issues and would not recommend purchasing. @Honey the codewitch if you want a good Dell laptop go with the XPS or the Precision equivalent if you need the extra business features.
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I'm with you on the eraser nib. I cannot work without it. Although some Dell and Toshiba computers also have them, the do not work as well. The IBM laptops WERE tops in quality. Lenovo design and build are not quite as good, but stick with the Thinkpad models and they are plenty good enough. I get lots of use out of my Thinkpads. I'm still using two 2013 vintage i7-based W520 laptops that have 32Gb RAM and just keep running. These were the last Thinkpad to have real keyboards. I also have two recent P-series laptops that seem to be their current line of workstation replacement laptops. My 2nd choice would be Dell high end models. I have to use one for one of my clients. Solid build quality, durable, and an eraser nib that is usable but not a pleasure to use.
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
After my first, and definitely last, experience with Lenovo I will NEVER give them my money again. For starters, I experienced frequent BSOD events for some weeks. No one at Lenovo was ANY help - and that's a theme that is consistent. Eventually that issue just magically cleared up. I read online that folks had been having an issue with connecting anything to the thunderbolt and dock ports simultaneously. (See ports 2 and 3 in the link provided). https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadt/t490/22tp2tt4900?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.bing.com%252F&cid=us:sem|se|msn|brand\_commercial\_think\_t+series|lenovo+t490|lenovo thinkpad T490|e|402399263|1271036205890394|kwd-79440208754324:loc-190|text|brand&msclkid=9b305a7c9564133e2cd63e5d331f574c I CALLED Lenovo and asked about this before I purchased their Cat 5 adapter and explained that about 70% of copmplaints I found online were about this issue. He gave me smarta$$ answer about percentages and assured me there'd be no issue. I purchased the adapter and - SURPRISE! - the internet was right. You CANNOT use both ports at once, the plastic base of their proprietary dock adapter is too wide for that. Tried calling them back and spent HOURS on the phone being routed in circles. Eventually I gave up. So now that the BSOD issues have stabilized the machine works pretty well, but after the stupidity evidenced in such poor engineering, and the insufferable attitude I got after waiting hours to speak to a "human," they can pound salt.
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
Yes. I've got a 2019 P1 & the build quality is very good. The RAM slots and drives (2 x M2 NVMe SSD) are easily accessible. The keyboard's much better than the HPs and Dells that work has lumbered me with. And yes, they still have pointing nubs.
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
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Hmmm. everywhere I need to go with something like a laptop there's a TV to plug into, and this is primarily for taking to my sister's place. Being able to game a little wouldn't hurt. I'll definitely consider it. Thanks. Very outside the box solution to my overarching problem. I like it. :)
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
Are you aware that you can buy a standalone Trackpoint keyboard? ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II (US English).
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I have a Dell laptop I bought in 2009 for personal use. The only issue was battery life. After about 10 years, because I couldn't increase the memory, I decided to get a new one. Got an HP 4 years ago and regretted it very soon afterwards. It was a little cheaper than Dell by cost but a lot cheaper by quality. I've replaced the motherboard and the hinges. My work has issued me 2 Lenovo ThinkPads throughout the years. The first one from 5 years ago was crap all around. The second one has held up better, but I still consider my old Dell from 2009 a superior machine. Because of the issue with my HP, I bought a new Dell last year, and I am glad to be back with them. They still have superior quality for reasonable prices.
Bond Keep all things as simple as possible, but no simpler. -said someone, somewhere
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honey the codewitch wrote:
I'm looking for something... sportier? I want to fall in love with it.
Well, take a look at Alienware then. Just like Lexus is made by Toyota, Alienware is made by Dell. On a different note, while some manufacturers indeed only make junk, most have different lines aiming for different customers. Dell and Lenovo both makes junk less good computers, while both also make good stuff. I've personally have had VERY good experience with Dell Latitude, but they also produce junk I'm afraid. The lineup from Dell goes like: AlienWare -> Gaming, Performance, big and heavy Precision -> Workstations, Performance, almost as big and heavy XPS -> small and Light Latitude -> Business, long lasting, compromise on everything except price Inspiron -> Cheap Vostro -> Garbage G Series -> Dunno, have to check them out I have no clue what the current lineup from Lenovo is I'm afraid
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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Are you aware that you can buy a standalone Trackpoint keyboard? ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II (US English).
Yes, but then I wouldn't have my wonderful Das5QS. The only thing that isn't perfect about it is the lack of a pointing nub. I'll never go back to a membrane keyboard.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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Back before Microsoft made it easy to disable the trackpad via settings, I would tape a piece of thin cardboard over the trackpad.
I have ALWAYS used a mouse with my laptops. I too had a Thinkpad and I agree with @honeythecodewitch on all points. The only 'built-in' pointer I ever used. I am basically a desktop guy, not a gamer. I have owned a couple of Asus Zen, low end and they are performed very well. I think my favorite was a Sony Vero (I think) that was a 'desktop replacement' back in the day that I bought because I was in temporary housing in a different city for two years due to herself's assignments. Big capable machine in its day, big speakers, etc. I think around 2005. Currently, we have a couple of HP's that are OK, but HP likes to be pretty intrusive. Since desktop is my preference with lots of monitors, etc. I normally look for lightness in laptops. LG is advertising one that looks pretty light, but I have no experience with it. Have fun
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I am currently eyeing up a Asus Zenbook Duo - the keyboard is at the front, so no reaching over the touchpad to type. The only problem is they are expensive - especially the i9 version :-D
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I am currently eyeing up a Asus Zenbook Duo - the keyboard is at the front, so no reaching over the touchpad to type. The only problem is they are expensive - especially the i9 version :-D
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I am currently eyeing up a Asus Zenbook Duo - the keyboard is at the front, so no reaching over the touchpad to type. The only problem is they are expensive - especially the i9 version :-D
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I am currently eyeing up a Asus Zenbook Duo - the keyboard is at the front, so no reaching over the touchpad to type. The only problem is they are expensive - especially the i9 version :-D
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I am currently eyeing up a Asus Zenbook Duo - the keyboard is at the front, so no reaching over the touchpad to type. The only problem is they are expensive - especially the i9 version :-D
Please have a little patience: if your message doesn't appear immediately, then posting it again and again, and again just aggravates the automated spam detection system and pushes more of your messages into moderation. Where we have to let them through and then hunt down the duplicates and kill them to prevent you getting kicked as a spammer ... which is not what I want to be doing at 22:31, thank you very much! Moderation normally happens pretty quickly, so please give them a few minutes to appear?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
Check out MSI. I've had good experience with them (2 for me, 1 for my SO). XOTICPC has great prices and you can custom build. The Windows key is on the wrong side of the keyboard, though (right instead of left)! For me it doesn't matter as I use an external keyboard most of the time and suffer during those times when I have to use the built in keyboard.
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Check out MSI. I've had good experience with them (2 for me, 1 for my SO). XOTICPC has great prices and you can custom build. The Windows key is on the wrong side of the keyboard, though (right instead of left)! For me it doesn't matter as I use an external keyboard most of the time and suffer during those times when I have to use the built in keyboard.
I didn't even think MSI made laptops. I'll have a look. They're my second choice for motherboards. That's a positive. I'm very selective.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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I didn't even think MSI made laptops. I'll have a look. They're my second choice for motherboards. That's a positive. I'm very selective.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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I wasn't saying I didn't believe you. :laugh: I just didn't know they made laptops, so it didn't occur to me to look. :)
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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I now own my 3rd Vostro and they've been reliable machines (2 laptops, 1 desktop). Until you've owned one, you don't possess the right to bad mouth it.
tchris wrote:
Until you've owned one, you don't possess the right to bad mouth it.
Correct.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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I loved IBM Thinkpads. It's as if they sat me down, interviewed me for two hours, and then built a laptop based on their findings. The little eraserhead pointer that everyone hates I wish I had on all my keyboards. I can use the mouse without taking my hands of the home row and my wrist isn't clicking an annoying trackpad all the time. But it's more than that. They had the build quality, top tier LCD tech at the time, great bleeding edge hardware (first laptop with a mobile Pentium III for example), and stellar support. I had video hardware on one go tits up and IBM sent a tech to my workplace the next day who replaced my lappy's mainboard. I lost maybe 5 hours of productivity to my primary dev machine going out. That's not bad, actually. The only real achilles heel they had were the HDDs - the "IBM DeskDeathStar" drives. Most were good, but they had a run of them that were just junk - but it was a misstep from a company that was usually pretty reliable about quality. The situation stood out for being the exception to the rule. Then they sold everything to Lenovo. I haven't touched Lenovo machines. How's the build quality? Are there laptops that have supplanted the thinkpad's former niche at the high end**? Especially with those little pointing nubs. Love them. ** non-gaming
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
I have a Lenovo Flex 5 15. It's a so-called "two-in-one," which means the screen can wrap completely around the keyboard. This machine checks every single box on my wish list: Windows 11 Pro, Intel i7-11th gen processor, 1TB SSD main storage, 16GB RAM, a 3840 x 2160 4K touchscreen with a 2GB NVidia GPU, two USB 3 ports (among others), two charging options (USB C or pin plug) and a ten-key pad with a NUM Lock light. It is not easy to find another machine like it, especially with a ten -key. Now, every laptop's got your CAPS lock light, and maybe even a FUNC lock light, but nobody, I mean nobody has a NUM lock light. Does yours? If you use a ten-key as much as I do, you'll understand how important this one little LED can be. My earlier laptops didn’t have one and it drove me crazy. Why does the cursor skip around? Oh! Because the ten-key got unlocked. Okay, it's not a huge deal and I've lived for years without it, but it's this sort of "icing on the cake" thing that makes this laptop so darn perfect for me. And, I bought the little darling at Costco, where they offer 90 day returns and double the manufacturer's warranty.
