Laptop, medical school, no gaming, prefer lightweight but functional/fast
OK so I'm not sure how Lenovo's are. I've heard lots of good things about their quality, but I've had a couple friends who have problems with them. I also have heard their customer support is awful. How about ASUS? How is their build quality? How is their customer support?
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Country of purchase: Canada
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Budget range: < $1500, but I hope I can get one for maybe $1100 or so (before tax/shipping)
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Purpose: I have a desktop, so this will be mainly for use during school. I don't need to play games on it, but I would like it to be decently fast. Maybe like 4 GB of RAM, core i5, and so forth. I would like it to be fairly portable and with good battery life (5+ hours).
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Screen size preference: 12.5 inch minimum, 15.6" maximum. Probably 13.3" if that makes the most sense.
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OS preference: Windows 7
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Gaming requirements: none
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Performance requirements: nothing particular
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Method of computer support: not sure what this means
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Brand preferences and reasons: OK so I feel like Dell has the best customer service; I hear horror stories from almost any other company (except Apple, I suppose) about their awful customer service. I'm not sure whether it is true or not. So I would lean towards Dell, however if there is a company with good customer support / reliability then I could go for that too. I think reliability is important but I'm not sure what companies are reliable.
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Any particular style that you like: Well something portable, so maybe an ultrabook - however, I think having an optical drive would be nice, as well as ethernet port, HDMI/VGA etc. I know the Dell XPS 13 ultrabook doesn't have an ethernet port which is kind of annoying.
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Which of the following qualities would you prefer?
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Long battery life -vs- Low weight: balanced
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Build quality -vs- Low price: build quality
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Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: performance
Would you pay a premium for something that has:
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High resolution screen: I could pay some for this yes
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A great keyboard: I would prefer this if possible
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A great touchpad/mouse buttons: probably not, since I will be using an external USB mouse
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Great audio: not really
List any features that are critical:
I would prefer an optical drive if at all possible.
USB 3.0 - not really necessary
Ethernet port - highly preferred
VGA/HDMI - preferred
Thanks a lot!
Posted Jul 19, 2012, 8:30 PM UTC
Sounds like a Macbook Air is perfect for you. It doesn't come with an ethernet port, but you can get a gigabit adapter for the Thunderbolt port for ~$40. Keyboard is second only to a Thinkpad's, so if you prioritize that, the X230 from Lenovo is also a superb machine (and might be a couple hundred dollars less).
Seconded, a Macbook Air sounds perfect for what you want to do. Its an ultrabook, with a fantastic keyboard, awesome battery life, quality construction. And Lenovo hardware is excellent, but their customer service can be rather out to lunch.
Yes, I was worried about their customer service. But what company (besides maybe Dell/Apple) has good customer service? As mentioned above, my only concern with the Macbook Air is the Mac OS and how it's likely going to be rather different compared to what I am used to in terms of Windows 7. But do you think that is a non-issue? Thanks for the reply.
EDIT: Also please keep in mind I have a desktop with Windows 7, and I would like them to be synced in some ways (e.g., dropbox).
I think you can pick up mac pretty easily. Besides, most everything is done through a browser now anyways. I think it mostly is a non issue. I run a Win7/Win8 workstation, linux home server, and mac laptop. Between the mac and the win7 I have almost zero issues with files. The only small one is that Windows doesn't support Mac filesystems (without kinda-pricey 3rd-party plugins). But Mac supports Windows filesystems. So keep your usb flash drives and other portables in NTFS (Win7's native filesystem) and you won't have any issues.
I am unfamiliar with their consumer customer support, but Dell has some serious quality and reliability issues in their non-premium (and non-enterprise) laptops. In a perfect world, a Windows laptop would have Lenovos hardware and Apple's CS. But if you decide you want a Windows laptop, probably better to have good hardware IMHO.
Hi, thanks for the reply. The only concern I have with a MBA is the Mac OS. I'm not sure how big of a switch it would be and whether I would find it annoying or not, coming from Windows.
How do you feel about the Lenovo X230 vs a MacBook Air, keeping in mind my hesitation about switching away from Windows 7? Do you think the X230 is overall worth the cost?
Thanks!
EDIT: Also please keep in mind I have a desktop with Windows 7, and I would like them to be synced in some ways (e.g., dropbox).
Using Bootcamp, you're able to dual-boot windows and MacOS. Even so, today they're more compatible than they were 5 years ago, and something as simple as the file extension on a Dropbox download won't be a problem at all.
If you don't mind, can I get your thoughts on the Thinkpad X230? I was looking at the Lenovo site and I customized what I would want to get and it's about $1022, $1150 after shipping/tax, which I think is reasonable. Right in my price range.
It's just as good as any MBA and even better, since it's processor isn't ultra-low voltage. They're built very well, and their support (when it works) can be very good. It's a business-class laptop and it shows.
Also, google "Barnes and Noble Gold Lenovo", and create an account. Might save you some more money.