Recommend me a laptop

Scoops Bolling

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Jun 19, 2007
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I could've sworn there used to be a thread devoted to this subject, but I'm not finding it here or TBLTS. I'm looking for my first new laptop in about 3 years. I'm coming off a relatively crappy Lenovo G570 that served its purpose well, if not spectacularly. My needs aren't particularly huge; I don't play that many games (outside of Crusader Kings II...that I do play on occasion), I don't do too much graphic work (occasionally I'll have to do a little design work with GIMP), no huge data analysis (outside of the occasional regression model, but usually those are fairly limited). I do occasionally stream stuff to it, and it's not atypical for me to stream from my laptop to my TV through HDMI. I work from my laptop at home 95% of the time, using my tablet when I'm away, so size and weight isn't a huge issue, although being able to travel with it is still nice. 
 
I am not interested in a Mac, only in PCs. Ideally, I'd like something with a SSD because the fast boot is really appealing after the slog that was my old machine. Ideally I'm looking in the $500 to $700 range, but if there's a great model I should be looking at that's a couple hundred more, it's worth suggesting (the $3,000 rig on the other hand is right out). I have no idea if there's been any other major updates or improvements that I'm not aware of, and clicking through a few threads I haven't found anything. 
 
One point of note: I'm looking to buy something by the end of the week. I had planned on starting this search in the next month or two anyway as my old laptop was showing signs of impending demise, but it suddenly died on me tonight and the chances of resurrection look very low indeed. So, what's my replacement going to be?
 
EDIT: Also, any device I get has to have an optical drive. Or I guess I could buy one of those separately and just connect by USB.
 

Couperin47

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Optical drive pretty much eliminates any of the ultraslim minimalists and schlepping along an external drive is not only clumsy, it's useless on a train or plane.  Lenovo's build quality these days is, imho, a smidge above HP and they both are better than Dell.  Asus has some pretty inexpensive laptops but they definitely will not stand up to heavy business use. This brings us to Thinkpads, which are more rugged, albeit clunkier. I don't believe in buying anything less than a dual core i5.  The Lenovo Outlet has been sparse of late, understand anything bought from them arrives pristine, whether new or refurbed, you get a full year warranty and they are indistinguishable from "new".
 
http://shop.lenovo.com/outlet_us/laptops/#facet-1=1,2,3,4&facet-6=2
 
Right now they have 14 T440p: i5-4200M, 14" HD 1366x768 screen, 4 Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200 rpm HD and DVD burner. All of these you can add an M.2 2242 SSD (Amazon sells a 120 Gb one of these for $65 now:
http://www.amazon.com/MyDigitalSSD-Super-Drive-128GB-120GB/dp/B00KBZH72I/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1428519351&sr=8-5&keywords=M.2+2242).   $759, a few for $714...
 
The problem is Lenovo does not sell any of these models with the M.2 already installed.  The physical install is relatively easy: remove the bottom cover, plug the tiny card in (label down) and use the one screw provided to lock it down. This site shows how it's done on a T440s, it's substanitally similar: http://blog.laptopmag.com/install-m2-ssd-lenovo-t440s
 
The more complex issue is reinstalling the OS onto the SSD and making it the boot drive, but several here have done it...including me and we'll be willing to help, the above site also describes how this is done. BTW I don't suggest the larger 256 Gig and even larger M.2 cards: they sit in a very cramped location with no real ventilation and there are more than a few reports that larger capacity drives in this tiny formfactor are frying themselves to death.
 
The other caveat is the lack of actual physical buttons on the trackpad which is annoying the living hell out of many users of Lenovos, Thinkpads, HP and Dell laptops.
 

Scoops Bolling

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Couperin47 said:
Optical drive pretty much eliminates any of the ultraslim minimalists and schlepping along an external drive is not only clumsy, it's useless on a train or plane.  Lenovo's build quality these days is, imho, a smidge above HP and they both are better than Dell.  Asus has some pretty inexpensive laptops but they definitely will not stand up to heavy business use. This brings us to Thinkpads, which are more rugged, albeit clunkier. I don't believe in buying anything less than a dual core i5.  The Lenovo Outlet has been sparse of late, understand anything bought from them arrives pristine, whether new or refurbed, you get a full year warranty and they are indistinguishable from "new".
 
http://shop.lenovo.com/outlet_us/laptops/#facet-1=1,2,3,4&facet-6=2
 
Right now they have 14 T440p: i5-4200M, 14" HD 1366x768 screen, 4 Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200 rpm HD and DVD burner. All of these you can add an M.2 2242 SSD (Amazon sells a 120 Gb one of these for $65 now:
http://www.amazon.com/MyDigitalSSD-Super-Drive-128GB-120GB/dp/B00KBZH72I/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1428519351&sr=8-5&keywords=M.2+2242).   $759, a few for $714...
 
The problem is Lenovo does not sell any of these models with the M.2 already installed.  The physical install is relatively easy: remove the bottom cover, plug the tiny card in (label down) and use the one screw provided to lock it down. This site shows how it's done on a T440s, it's substanitally similar: http://blog.laptopmag.com/install-m2-ssd-lenovo-t440s
 
The more complex issue is reinstalling the OS onto the SSD and making it the boot drive, but several here have done it...including me and we'll be willing to help, the above site also describes how this is done. BTW I don't suggest the larger 256 Gig and even larger M.2 cards: they sit in a very cramped location with no real ventilation and there are more than a few reports that larger capacity drives in this tiny formfactor are frying themselves to death.
 
The other caveat is the lack of actual physical buttons on the trackpad which is annoying the living hell out of many users of Lenovos, Thinkpads, HP and Dell laptops.
I actually managed to snag the last available T440 with a 128 gig SSD. Insane bargain at $615 refurbished.
 

Couperin47

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Scoops Bolling said:
I actually managed to snag the last available T440 with a 128 gig SSD. Insane bargain at $615 refurbished.
 
Things change there fairly fast, good deal. It should show up pristine as I said. There were a bunch of T440's listed which did not include an optical, which is normally standard. Even if yours doesn't include one, it's easy to grab one on eBay and it takes all of 2 mins to slide into the machine.
 

Scoops Bolling

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Couperin47 said:
 
Things change there fairly fast, good deal. It should show up pristine as I said. There were a bunch of T440's listed which did not include an optical, which is normally standard. Even if yours doesn't include one, it's easy to grab one on eBay and it takes all of 2 mins to slide into the machine.
Is it better to buy an optical and install it or just get an external?
 
Alternatively, I have the optical drive from my dead G570 (and another one from an old Vaio). Could I just pull that out and use it?
 
EDIT: In terms of usage, I only use the optical to load music from CDs into my computer and to burn mixes, rarely for anything else. Occasionally might toss a DVD in there, but if I'm travelling, odds are good I'll just download something to my tablet instead.
 

Couperin47

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Scoops Bolling said:
Is it better to buy an optical and install it or just get an external?
 
Alternatively, I have the optical drive from my dead G570 (and another one from an old Vaio). Could I just pull that out and use it?
 
EDIT: In terms of usage, I only use the optical to load music from CDs into my computer and to burn mixes, rarely for anything else. Occasionally might toss a DVD in there, but if I'm travelling, odds are good I'll just download something to my tablet instead.
 
As you can see here, brand new T440 drives can be had for around $40 and it takes all of 2 mins to remove the blank from the side of the case and insert the drive. I dislike the clutter of external drives, but that's just my preference....
 
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XT440+dvd+drive.TRS0&_nkw=T440+dvd+drive&_sacat=0
 

Couperin47

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Newegg ShellShocker TODAY ONLY
 
http://www.newegg.co...=2267858&et_p1=
 
Gigabyte Gaming Laptop     $999
   The whole concept of a gaming laptop is more than a bit silly, you can't really pack what a serious gamer wants into one (starting with the hopelessly inadequate keyboard), anyway think of this as a seriously strong laptop for one who wants something truly desktop like that's portable:
 
i7-4710HQ  Quad cpu (2.5 Ghz)
15.6" 1920x1080 TN screen
128 GB SSD AND 1 Tb 7200 rpm HD
8 Gb DDR3 ram
Nvidia FTX 860M video with 4 Gb of GDDR5 video ram
DVD burner
Gig LAN & WLAN b/g/n & 4.0 BT
Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad
1.3 MP webcam
 
Win 8.1 x64
 
5 Lbs and 2 yr warranty
 
It even includes an extra caddy that lets you remove the optical drive and mount any additional standard 9.5mm drive you like. This is really walking around with a desktop. The battery life for all of this is undoubtedly silly/limited, but who really cares...
 
Everyone else wants at least $1,250 for this today.
 

god loves the sox

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Looking for a new laptop fur an older friend......your suggestions appreciated. Hoping he can stay under $500.
PC, Windows 7 rather than 8.

Would like to use these as my gauge:
Intel iCore 5 or better
8GB RAM or better
500 GB Drive. 7200 RPM would be nice
As much video RAM as possible.
Web Cam
Wired and wireless LAN
USB Ports
HDMI Ports
Card Reader
 

Couperin47

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god loves the sox said:
Looking for a new laptop fur an older friend......your suggestions appreciated. Hoping he can stay under $500.
PC, Windows 7 rather than 8.

Would like to use these as my gauge:
Intel iCore 5 or better  
8GB RAM or better  
500 GB Drive. 7200 RPM would be nice  
As much video RAM as possible.  
Web Cam
Wired and wireless LAN  
USB Ports  
HDMI Ports
Card Reader
 
Right now the Lenovo Outlet can oblige:
 
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/20C5X021US/445
 
The 'problem' is this is a refurb of a very current laptop:
 
Good i5
14" 1366x768 screen
Intel 4600 graphics
4 GB Ram
500 Gig 7200 rpm drive
DVD burner
Intel b/g/n wifi and BT
fingerprint reader
2 USB 3.0 & 1 USB 2.0
HDMI video out
Card reader
 
It's almost exactly what you want: but Win 8.1 (install Classic Shell and he will be happy), buy a 4 or 8 Gig SODIMM (under $50 more)
 
Right now there are 4 for $364, with a fully 1 year warranty from Lenovo.. it will arrive indistinguishable from brand new.
 
If you want to go crazy you can add an M.2 2242 SSD card (120 Gig for around $70) and booting from that makes it a real speed demon...
 

Couperin47

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In a non Thinkpad, the Lenovo Outlet also has a large quantity (80) of refurb Edge 15 atm:
 
i5-4210U  (1.7 Ghz)
15.6 1920x1080 Multitouch Led backlit IPS screen
Intel 4600 Graphics
6 Gb Ram
1 Tb 5400 rpm HD
Dual Band AC wireless & BT
1 USB 3.0 & 2 2.0 USB
HDMI video out
Card reader
Win 8.1
 
usual full 1 year warranty and they show up pristine:   $424
 

Scoops Bolling

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Couperin47 said:
 
As you can see here, brand new T440 drives can be had for around $40 and it takes all of 2 mins to remove the blank from the side of the case and insert the drive. I dislike the clutter of external drives, but that's just my preference....
 
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XT440+dvd+drive.TRS0&_nkw=T440+dvd+drive&_sacat=0
With the laptop now in hand, as best I can tell, there is no space for an optical drive. There doesn't seem to be a space anywhere around the edge that it'd go.
 
That said, entirely different question. I have a i7 from an old VAIO that got ruined by some morons I hired to repair it (all that was broken was the power port, or whatever the term is, which would no longer charge the battery. The battery itself was fine, it was just that port thing that had to be replaced...and they ended up frying the motherboard and bricking the computer). Is there any risk in removing that old i7 and trying to install it into the new T440? It's possible that some of the other parts of the old laptop might actually be upgrades too, I'm not sure (it was an absolute top of the line VAIO when I got it, but that was almost 5 years ago), but I know it had a i7. I just don't know if the fried motherboard or whatever the hell happened would have affected it, and if putting it into this new laptop is potentially risky.
 

Couperin47

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Scoops Bolling said:
With the laptop now in hand, as best I can tell, there is no space for an optical drive. There doesn't seem to be a space anywhere around the edge that it'd go.
 
That said, entirely different question. I have a i7 from an old VAIO that got ruined by some morons I hired to repair it (all that was broken was the power port, or whatever the term is, which would no longer charge the battery. The battery itself was fine, it was just that port thing that had to be replaced...and they ended up frying the motherboard and bricking the computer). Is there any risk in removing that old i7 and trying to install it into the new T440? It's possible that some of the other parts of the old laptop might actually be upgrades too, I'm not sure (it was an absolute top of the line VAIO when I got it, but that was almost 5 years ago), but I know it had a i7. I just don't know if the fried motherboard or whatever the hell happened would have affected it, and if putting it into this new laptop is potentially risky.
 
Apparently Sony made a few series of laptops that were socketed, they were pretty much alone in doing this. Current laptops never do, and the cpus used in current series are not compatible with either the pinouts or the voltage envelopes of current series laptop cpus. I can assure you the cpu in the T440 is soldered and can't be replaced.  Also of the T440, the T440s and the T440p...only the T440p has a bay for an optical drive.
 

Reardon's Beard

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My wife's been using the newer HP Streambook. 13 inch touch screen, full keyboard, and an SSD with USB aplenty.
 
$280.
 
Downside is the SSD is very small and somewhat limited RAM, but if all you're doing is Microsoft Office or streaming media, it's been rock solid thus far. If you keep it to simple tasks, a couch browser, or need something for a college kid you could certainly do far worse at that price.
 

Couperin47

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Lenovo Outlet this weekend
 
Single or 2 of several very good buys: all i5 2.5 or 2.6 Dual core refurbs:
 
Thinkpad E540  15.6" screen, 4 Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200rpm HD, DVD burner    $354
Thinkpad E440  14" screen,  4Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200 rpm HD, DVD burner      $424
Thinkpad E540  15.6" screen, 8 Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200 rpm HD, DVD burner   $424
Thinkpad E531  15.6" screen, 8 Gb ram, 500 Gb 7200 rpm HD, DVD burner   $424
 
All have Win 81. x64 or Win 7 Home Premium x64 and all are current enough to include USB 3.0 ports and have an M.2 slot so you can add a bootable SSD.
 

Couperin47

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CoffeeNerdness said:
Can anyone comment on the trackpads on those Thinkpads?  They sound rather dodgy.
 
Almost all the trackpads on everything from Lenovo (including Thinkpads), HP and Dell are made by Synaptics and use their drivers...those with no real mechanical buttons, are all somewhat annoying compared with older designs, some find this very annoying, others don't seem to have issues...ymmv. I despise the virtual button designs...
 

leftfieldlegacy

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I fried my old laptop trying to use it for storing way too many photos and now need to replace it. (Yes, everything was backed up).
This new laptop will be a light duty computer: Internet, email, basic word and excel. 
(No photo/video storage or editing,)
 
Saw this at Lenovo outlet for $368 

Lenovo G50-80 - Refurbished
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-5200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.70 GHz)[/size]
Operating system: Windows 8.1 Standard 64
Display: 15.6" HD WXGA (1366 X 768) LED Backlight w/ 0.3 MP Camera
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
Memory: 6GB (2+4) PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz SDRAM SODIMM Memory
Hard Drive: 500GB, 5400RPM SerialATA 2.5" Hard Driv
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable Serial ATA
 
Any opinions
 

Couperin47

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leftfieldlegacy said:
I fried my old laptop trying to use it for storing way too many photos and now need to replace it. (Yes, everything was backed up).
This new laptop will be a light duty computer: Internet, email, basic word and excel. 
(No photo/video storage or editing,)
 
Saw this at Lenovo outlet for $368 
Lenovo G50-80 - Refurbished
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-5200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.70 GHz)[/size]
Operating system: Windows 8.1 Standard 64
Display: 15.6" HD WXGA (1366 X 768) LED Backlight w/ 0.3 MP Camera
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
Memory: 6GB (2+4) PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz SDRAM SODIMM Memory
Hard Drive: 500GB, 5400RPM SerialATA 2.5" Hard Driv
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable Serial ATA
 
Any opinions
 
Damn good buy for the $$, it's even a model with real physical buttons on the touchpad.
 

TimNJsoxfan

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Couperin47

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TimNJsoxfan said:
Is this a good buy... looking for something for my son for HS the next two years and hopefully into college.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6ZIFAQ/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687662&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00K6ZID58&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16FRVT9X8A6H3PN28673
 
this one came up in the comparison tables Amazon does
 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010SBAJDS/ref=psdc_565108_t1_B00K6ZIFAQ
 
Which would be the better buy?
 
Toshiba is nowhere near the presence in the laptop market they once were, but the Toshiba is clearly the better value:  it's the latest model i5 (the 5500 graphics are the giveaway), far far more powerful than the i3, more memory, double the size of hard drive, and pretty much equal in all other specs.
 
What blows my mind is if you want THE EXACT SAME LAPTOP with Win 8 instead of the new Win 10, albeit from a different supplier at Amazon... they want a $130 premium.
 
The equivalent Lenovo machine, at their Outlet is in the same ballpark with very similar specs, but may be gone almost instantly, and has Win 8.1 which I would prefer, ymmv:
 
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/80E5X012US/445
 
This would arrive looking brand new and with full warranty.
 

Alcohol&Overcalls

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TimNJsoxfan said:
Is this a good buy... looking for something for my son for HS the next two years and hopefully into college.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6ZIFAQ/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687662&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00K6ZID58&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16FRVT9X8A6H3PN28673
 
this one came up in the comparison tables Amazon does
 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010SBAJDS/ref=psdc_565108_t1_B00K6ZIFAQ
 
Which would be the better buy?
 
First, I'd compare the G50 to what Lenovo has available from their outlet here:  http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/laptops/#facet-1=1,2,3,4&facet-3=6
 
Second, in general, I vastly prefer Lenovo/Thinkpad laptops over what Toshiba produces, but there are significantly different specs to the Toshiba here that make it the better buy.  Play around on the Lenovo site for a few minutes, though, and you may be able to get to the same specs/price point. 
EDIT: This might work ... http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/80E5X010US/445
 

Couperin47

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Alcohol&Overcalls said:
 
First, I'd compare the G50 to what Lenovo has available from their outlet here:  http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/laptops/#facet-1=1,2,3,4&facet-3=6
 
Second, in general, I vastly prefer Lenovo/Thinkpad laptops over what Toshiba produces, but there are significantly different specs to the Toshiba here that make it the better buy.  Play around on the Lenovo site for a few minutes, though, and you may be able to get to the same specs/price point. 
EDIT: This might work ... http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/80E5X010US/445
 
Yeah, that's their equivalent spec machine, sadly there is only one atm
 

TimNJsoxfan

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Should I be wary of their refurbed machines?  I know they have a one year warranty but I don't want to be sending it back after 2 months.
 

EricFeczko

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TimNJsoxfan said:
Should I be wary of their refurbed machines?  I know they have a one year warranty but I don't want to be sending it back after 2 months.
Depends on the model, but FTR, I've never had an issue with a refurbed machine.
 

EricFeczko

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Detts said:
There is not a lot of detail on the specs, and at least one reviewer found snapfish on the computer (surprising, given lenovo has removed it since the news came out). I'm concerned this is an older model that best buy is trying to get rid of.
The deal seems shady. I'd check the outlet store above first.
 

Couperin47

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TimNJsoxfan said:
Should I be wary of their refurbed machines?  I know they have a one year warranty but I don't want to be sending it back after 2 months.
 
These come factory direct from Lenovo, aside from a different color box inside they are identical to brand new and include a full 1 year warranty. Once you open the box you will not be able to tell they are not brand new machines.
 

twibnotes

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Jul 16, 2005
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Looking for some guidance as my wife (MAC) and I (PC) try to move to one laptop.

Some factors for consideration:

- Want to buy a laptop that will last and perform basic functions (music, browsing, etc.), i.e., we are not gamers
- I am fairly proficient in Excel and use it for household finances, etc. I worry about having to learn new keytstrokes etc if using Excel on a MAC
- We both have plenty of files (pictures, word docs, music, spreadsheets) we would want to port over to the new machine
- I'm not a fan of the chicklet keyboard; my current laptop is a Lenovo and has a normal keyboard

So I guess I'm looking for guidance on PC vs. MAC (I know this is a can of worms), and suggestions on a model. Looking to spend up to ~$1,100 and can get good discount for HP/Lenovo/Apple/etc through my company.
 

Couperin47

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How good is your discount ? Example: The Lenovo Outlet currently has Lenovo Z70-80 laptops, brand new for $553. That's an i5-5200U dual core, NVIDIA GT840 graphics, 17.3" IPS screen, 8 Gb ram, a 1 Tb HD and DVD burner. It's considered a gaming laptop. For serious performance, the DVD can be replaced with a standard caddy, insert an ssd to that caddy, make that your boot drive and it will really scream.

http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/80FG0036US/445
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Looking for some guidance as my wife (MAC) and I (PC) try to move to one laptop.

Some factors for consideration:

- Want to buy a laptop that will last and perform basic functions (music, browsing, etc.), i.e., we are not gamers
- I am fairly proficient in Excel and use it for household finances, etc. I worry about having to learn new keytstrokes etc if using Excel on a MAC
- We both have plenty of files (pictures, word docs, music, spreadsheets) we would want to port over to the new machine
- I'm not a fan of the chicklet keyboard; my current laptop is a Lenovo and has a normal keyboard

So I guess I'm looking for guidance on PC vs. MAC (I know this is a can of worms), and suggestions on a model. Looking to spend up to ~$1,100 and can get good discount for HP/Lenovo/Apple/etc through my company.
How much do you value your marriage? I am not a Apple guy by any stretch of the imagination but I suspect that your transitioning to Apple will be better for your relationship than she transitioning to PC?
 

B H Kim

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Unless one of you is prepared and willing to switch OS, I'd recommend buying a MacBook Pro, which can run both Windows and OS X.
 
Last edited:

twibnotes

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Thanks, all, for the helpful feedback - really appreciate it.

My wife does have some PC experience, but the Mac Pro approach with both operating systems sounds almost too good to be true. Any meaningful downsides? Expensive? (That Lenovo is a heckuva a good price!)
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Are you going to use boot camp to take turns booting either OSX or Windows, or are you going to use something like Parallels or Virtual Box to run Windows as a guest under OSX? Because Windows won't be able to see the Mac file system in the first scenario, and my experience is that battery life will suck in the second. (My experience is more than two years old, so maybe they've done a better job virtualizing power management since then, but prepare to be disappointed.)
 

B H Kim

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Are you going to use boot camp to take turns booting either OSX or Windows, or are you going to use something like Parallels or Virtual Box to run Windows as a guest under OSX? Because Windows won't be able to see the Mac file system in the first scenario, and my experience is that battery life will suck in the second. (My experience is more than two years old, so maybe they've done a better job virtualizing power management since then, but prepare to be disappointed.)
I've never done it, but I understand that you can create a separate data partition and read and write files to it from both Windows and OS X using Boot Camp.
 

Max Power

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You haven't told us what the rationale is for wanting to go to one laptop for the two of you. Why not just stick with two and upgrade each when it's necessary?
 

djbayko

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Are you going to use boot camp to take turns booting either OSX or Windows, or are you going to use something like Parallels or Virtual Box to run Windows as a guest under OSX? Because Windows won't be able to see the Mac file system in the first scenario, and my experience is that battery life will suck in the second. (My experience is more than two years old, so maybe they've done a better job virtualizing power management since then, but prepare to be disappointed.)
I've never done it, but I understand that you can create a separate data partition and read and write files to it from both Windows and OS X using Boot Camp.
The types of questions twibnotes was asking leads me to believe that he's going to need a professional help him sort through these types of issues and configure a dual boot machine exactly the way they want it.

Twib - No offense if I've misjudged and you're more of a power user than it seems.
 

twibnotes

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More thanks for all the feedback - you all are great.

Both laptops are on their last legs so makes sense to consolidate

I'm not married to Windows per se but do want to be able to use excel and word as I always have. Does Microsoft office run about the same on a Mac (i.e., same key strokes etc)?

I assume a Mac costs more so - not trying to open a huge can of worms - what's the upside? (Besides easier to use for those familiar with it)
 

luckiestman

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You shouldn't have any issues at all using excel or word on a Mac. It's 99% identical IMO.
Not if you use keyboard shortcuts. It really comes down to how you use it. I have a really nice MacBook(from work, I didn't buy it) and I always do excel work on my pc.
 

derekson

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Macs tend to have good longevity and they actually retain value. My last iMac lasted 7 years. My parents just replaced a 6 year old MacBook, though my father is actually still using the old one mostly instead of sharing the new one.

Mac Office is pretty comparable these days unless you need to use macros in Excel.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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I've never done it, but I understand that you can create a separate data partition and read and write files to it from both Windows and OS X using Boot Camp.
Maybe it works, but I don't want to suggest it because I can't support it.

For instance, what kind of partition? FAT32? Ugh. Now I can't use Time Machine on those data files, and TM is one of the coolest things about MacOS.
 

twibnotes

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Forgot one important question: if I port over excel or word files from my pc to a new Mac, will they work?
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
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I'd still recommend getting two of them. You can get a 13" Macbook Air for $900 at Microcenter and a 13" Asus ultrabook for a little less than that. An Office 365 Home subscription is $80 to $90 on Amazon and gets you Office on both, three other devices, and 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage for 5 people. There are sync clients for OS X and Windows, plus apps for phones with automatic picture backup. The things you want to share with each other or back up can go there.

Total cost for all of that would probably be less than a Macbook Pro with an extra Windows license.
 

derekson

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IMO the 13" MacBook Pro is a much smarter buy than the MBA. It's only ~100-150 more and has a higher powered chip and a massively better screen. The screen is both HiDPI and better in terms of color reproduction and brightness. And it's only like half a pound heavier.

This is what I had my parents buy, and on sale it was only like $1150 for one with 8 GB RAM, vs like 1050 for a 13" MBA with 8 GB RAM. If you want to buy it and have it last for 5+ years, 8 GB RAM is a good idea since you can't upgrade it, and the base MBPro has 8 GB.