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I'm looking for some advice/recommendations. Up until a few months ago, I had been using an HP Pavilion dv6700se I got back in 2008, but the bezel/hinge broke and that subsequently caused the backlight on the screen to fail. Since then, I've been using an Asus TF700T for day-to-day use, but I'm back at school now and I don't think a tablet will cut it for everything I'll need as a student. I'll mainly need a machine for working in Eclipse, word processing, general internet usage, some light gaming if I ever find time for it, and potentially Mathematica. I also commute to campus, so battery life and durability (I like to think I'm pretty careful with my electronics, though) are pretty important as well. I was holding off for the T440s, but after thinking about timetables and seeing the most recent info on them, I'm taking a second look at alternatives. Possibilities include a semi-tricked-out T430, a Y410p, one of the MBAs, or anything else if there's something that'll be a better fit for me. I took a look at the Airs in Best Buy today on my way home and they look nice and are incredibly thin, but I've been raised on Windows all my life and have basically never used a Mac, so I'm completely when it comes to anything related to them and don't know if it would be such a good idea getting one. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Budget is pretty flexible, but I'd prefer not to spend frivolously.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 01:28 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 01:58 |
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Auralsaurus Flex posted:I'm looking for some advice/recommendations. All of the Y410p buyers have been perpetually high fiving each other all week. It's a solid laptop with a great price and power, not without its problems but in my opinion it's the best game in town right now for people looking to spend under $1k and will continue to be that for at least the next couple of months QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 01:52 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 01:50 |
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unpronounceable posted:Googled Lenovo barnes and noble canada, and on the notebook review forum, I found this link. Sorry I should have mentioned - I do know of that site from Googling but I didn't know the password. mewse posted:Yup, password is fndepp For anyone else who uses this later - the password is case sensitive. I typed "fndepp" a bunch of times before I tried it in all caps and it worked. Thanks! Edit - so for clarity, it's actually FNDEPP Shofixti fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 02:18 |
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Srebrenica Surprise posted:Games on HD4400 will probably suck, though. The T440 will probably use a full-TDP processor and therefore HD5100, so that might be a better pick if you plan on doing anything more intensive than 2D games. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lenovo-ultrabooks-219-haswell-radeon,24063.html posted:The Lenovo T440 is a four pound, 21mm thick 14” ultrabook. It can be configured with an HD+ touchscreen display, Intel Haswell i5 CPU with HD 4400 graphics, up to 12GB of DDR3L memory, and a 1TB hard drive or a 512GB SSD. There is some faint hope that the US versions will not totally suck, though, as apparently some of the Lenovo training docs and whatnot have pointed to AMD dGPUs and possibly 28W processors. Who knows? DrDork fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 02:23 |
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Shofixti posted:Sorry I should have mentioned - I do know of that site from Googling but I didn't know the password. I'm not sure what happened when I copied it, but the link on that forum works just fine; I didn't need the password at all for it.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 02:25 |
Auralsaurus Flex posted:I'm looking for some advice/recommendations. For what it's worth, I've been a life-long windows user as well that got a macbook air. Sure there are a few idiosyncrasies that you have to get used to, like cut/paste being weird, navigating right click menus, and button combinations, but after a couple weeks I'm getting the hang of it. For the stuff that osx can't do or do very well, I just use a windows vm (which is only ~10gb for the base install).
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 02:46 |
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On Terra Firma posted:So here are some specs that I'm thinking for the 430s. I hate to be someone going "hey, hey" but does anyone have any recommendations about this build of the 430s? Flying blind in laptop land.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 03:08 |
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On Terra Firma posted:I hate to be someone going "hey, hey" but does anyone have any recommendations about this build of the 430s? Flying blind in laptop land. The i7 is still dual-core and at most 10% faster than the i5, so keep that in mind. Otherwise it's fine.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 03:29 |
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Bob Morales posted:The i7 is still dual-core and at most 10% faster than the i5, so keep that in mind. Otherwise it's fine.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 03:56 |
Bob Morales posted:Everyone hated the black color scheme of the old ThinkPads. Now everyone is bitching about the gray ones! There's a huge bunch of people who just hate jive shiny plastic poo poo in general, and love anything in matte (that's me). I don't think the new ones are too far from matte black, so I'd say the color is the least of its trouble. I'd say they're probably still worth buying over the rest of the brands involved in the race to the manufacturing pits of hell. Power users and business buyers may not like to admit it at all, but the aesthetics of the Thinkpad are a huge reason they're into them, and I think that part of the line has been roughly maintained.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:03 |
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DrDork posted:Yeah, I bet you'd like that. Too bad you'll be stuck with the HD4400 because Lenovo wants literally no one to be satisfied by the T440: e: there was some hubbub over HD5000 in a driver download for the T440s but who cares about HD5000, the TDP limit makes it as pointless as Lenovo's model differentiation strategy Srebrenica Surprise fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:20 |
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Srebrenica Surprise posted:What the gently caress why are they using a 15W TDP processor in a full-size SKU. If they do this for the mythical -p model I am going to scream. It might be a supply-related issue, with the later -p model indicating the introduction of regular powered mobile chips. Of course I'm basing this only off of a hazy recollection of Intel's cryptic press releases referring to Iris Pro slowly spreading out over its model range over the next year and a really slow rollout of Haswell or something like that. Either that or it's just because the exec in charge of non-Thinkpad Lenovo USA is now running Thinkpad and is working the same magic on the Thinkpad model lineup that he used to do with the regular consumer Lenovo lineup, with its long lists of nearly indistinguishable models. OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:25 |
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Also possibly a wait for new Quadros for the -p announcement, but there's been pretty much nothing but silence on that front.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:29 |
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DrDork posted:Also remember that you can get 4GB of RAM (like this for $40, so if the 4GB -> 8GB upgrade is more than that, consider doing that part yourself and saving a few bucks. Is it ok to mix and match ram like this? Will any PC 12800 stick do? Also learning to use the clit mouse is really hard.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:38 |
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Dunno, after seeing a friend's T431s and trying out the horrible new clickpad, I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope that enough big corporate clients complain that they eventually change things back. Though I doubt that will ever happen unless some internal politics goes down and there's another executive reshuffle. Which may well occur, since their idea to turn the Think brand into a premium consumer line (with even proposed brand stores like Apple stores) is kind of retarded and will probably only end in tears.
OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 04:43 |
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I hate to ask this, because I know it's been answered here before, but I can't find it: As someone whose work is primarily text-based (not coding, but lots of writing/editing), should I be wary of going with the 1920x1080 display on the T530 for fear of too-small text? Or, if that's a problem, can I scale it upward without serious issue? My memory suggests that the answer to this question is, "It's not a concern," but I've been reading notebookreview's forum thread on the T530 and a bunch of people there advised purchasing the middle-of-the-road display for this reason. On the other hand, that was like 6+ months ago, so maybe text scaling is a lot better now? A handful of other questions before I finally click that "Buy" button: - What sort of use case would I need to have in order for the i5-3320M to make sense instead of the i5-3230M? It seems like a very slight (imperceptible?) power difference. - I'm 99.999999% certain that the answer is yes, but this SSD is compatible with the T530, right? - Is this a good/compatible stick of RAM to add to the base 4 GB of RAM? Is it OK for the two sticks to have different amounts of RAM? If I went with this instead, would I actually notice a difference for the premium price? - If I don't intend to play any games made after 2010 (and even then, only very rarely), should I add the NVIDIA Optimus dGPU, or should I skip that? - (Take it or leave it questions, for those with extra time) What the hell is an Express Card? What's a 4-in-1 Card Reader for? Why would I need a Smart Card Reader? Looking around, apparently the T530 has a tendency to creak if it has a Smart Card Reader that isn't actually being used. After reading the little "Help me decide" explanation, I'm still not too clear on it, but I suspect that that means that I probably won't end up using any of it anyway. Help is much appreciated, thank you!
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 05:01 |
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surf rock posted:I hate to ask this, because I know it's been answered here before, but I can't find it: As someone whose work is primarily text-based (not coding, but lots of writing/editing), should I be wary of going with the 1920x1080 display on the T530 for fear of too-small text? Or, if that's a problem, can I scale it upward without serious issue? My memory suggests that the answer to this question is, "It's not a concern," Quoth the OP; code:
3320 has some additional high end VM things which you won't use (google VT-d) but I bought the 3320 upgrade anyways because I am goony as gently caress, and that stick of RAM is fine
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 05:42 |
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QuarkJets posted:All of the Y410p buyers have been perpetually high fiving each other all week. It's a solid laptop with a great price and power, not without its problems but in my opinion it's the best game in town right now for people looking to spend under $1k and will continue to be that for at least the next couple of months The capdoorbuster sale is over.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 05:46 |
QuarkJets posted:All of the Y410p buyers have been perpetually high fiving each other all week. It's a solid laptop with a great price and power, not without its problems but in my opinion it's the best game in town right now for people looking to spend under $1k and will continue to be that for at least the next couple of months The reviews I've seen for the Y410p all mention that the wireless reception is a bit weak, is there anyway to fix that or are you just stuck with it as is?
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 05:53 |
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USB Wifi adapters are around. Some of them are the size of like a jelly bean these days.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 06:17 |
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Jean Eric Burn posted:USB Wifi adapters are around. Some of them are the size of like a jelly bean these days.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 06:24 |
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Jean Eric Burn posted:USB Wifi adapters are around. Some of them are the size of like a jelly bean these days. Any recommendations that'd work well with the y410p? Also while it's a nice computer everyone who says "Lenovo computers take a month to arrive" do mean a literal month.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 06:24 |
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MatCauthon posted:The reviews I've seen for the Y410p all mention that the wireless reception is a bit weak, is there anyway to fix that or are you just stuck with it as is? From what I've read, it's just a bug with its IPv6 settings, so you can disable it for now until there's a patch that fixes it
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 08:20 |
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Back in early 2011 I bought a TimelineX 3820TG from Acer. Since then, I have managed to pour about half a liter of water over it and I have dragged it across the Atlantic a few times. It is definitely showing signs of aging and damage and I am looking to buy a replacement. Are there any spiritual successors to the TimelineX series or similar releases from other brands that I should have a look at? The main thing I liked about the TimelineX was the balance between size (13" screen), battery life and performance (it still runs new games, albeit not on high, but I don't care too much about that).
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 10:16 |
MatCauthon posted:The reviews I've seen for the Y410p all mention that the wireless reception is a bit weak, is there anyway to fix that or are you just stuck with it as is? I asked about this earlier in the thread but it got lost between all posts about which shade of gray the T440 is, is there a way to replace the 6230 or whatever it comes with, with a 6300 or one of those Killer cards? or is it soldered in or something?
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 10:28 |
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I doubt the card is the issue, its more likely to be the antenna
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 10:38 |
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Hadlock posted:Quoth the OP; Thanks!
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 12:16 |
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http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/05/lenovo-yoga-2-pro-hands-on/ Well gently caress me. I hope I can still return my yoga!
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 12:55 |
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dissss posted:I doubt the card is the issue, its more likely to be the antenna Actually, most of the reading I've done on it indicates it's a driver issue. Apparently if you uninstall Intel Proset and roll back to the built in windows version of the driver (14.x), the wifi is fine.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 13:38 |
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Holy balls! 1080p would have sufficed for a Haswell Yoga and then they go and pull this crazy poo poo. Not too sure if lopping off all that weight is such a great thing though if it means taking it out of the battery. A smaller battery could just wipe out the gains from Haswell, leading us nowhere.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 13:42 |
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Seamonster posted:Holy balls! 1080p would have sufficed for a Haswell Yoga and then they go and pull this crazy poo poo. Not too sure if lopping off all that weight is such a great thing though if it means taking it out of the battery. A smaller battery could just wipe out the gains from Haswell, leading us nowhere. The battery life is up to 9 hours from 6, as well Edit: just talked to lenovo, I'm able to return mine WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 13:54 |
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Brut posted:I asked about this earlier in the thread but it got lost between all posts about which shade of gray the T440 is, is there a way to replace the 6230 or whatever it comes with, with a 6300 or one of those Killer cards? or is it soldered in or something? Unless Lenovo has changed their position since 2008, you cannot install 3rd party internal wireless cards into their laptops. The BIOS/UEFI has a card whitelist, and halts the boot process if it detects a non-Lenovo card. Getting around this either hacking the BIOS, card ID/driver, or a second mini PCIe slot and some tape. Their stated reason for doing all this is to enforce regional regulations on frequency use and transmission power.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 14:45 |
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TasogareNoKagi posted:Unless Lenovo has changed their position since 2008, you cannot install 3rd party internal wireless cards into their laptops. The BIOS/UEFI has a card whitelist, and halts the boot process if it detects a non-Lenovo card. Getting around this either hacking the BIOS, card ID/driver, or a second mini PCIe slot and some tape. Also isn't the line between the various wireless options the number of antennas? If so then I think that means you'd have to also route and install another antenna.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 15:02 |
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Lets just hope that Lenovo is using a U series (15W) CPU and not one of the new Y series (11W) to get that battery life.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 15:49 |
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Haven't seen much about the X240 in this thread. Apparently it will also have a 1920x1080 IPS option. AnandTech also says late October for the new models, so 8 more weeks of waiting. e: Doesn't actually say IPS in the article. X240s? butt dickus fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 15:57 |
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Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:Haven't seen much about the X240 in this thread. Apparently it will also have a 1920x1080 IPS option. AnandTech also says late October for the new models, so 8 more weeks of waiting. There was a X230s (formerly x231s) that came out in China with a clickpad, thinner design, ULV chips, internal battery, and reduced connectivity (only 2 USB ports, no VGA, and no dock due to new hinge design). OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 16:06 |
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I am looking for a laptop upgrade for my wife, budget is USD 900. We are coming from a netbook which she was mostly happy with aside from a bunch of Windows 7 starter edition complaints. We would like to have it on hand by the end of September. She would like to keep the screen under 14 inches. She will be using it to browse the internet, facebook, and some photo editing. I had a T430 spec'd out and ready for purchase but it is a non-starter for her because she hates the design. I started poking around Amazon and saw these listings and wondered what the thread thinks of them: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Zenbook-Ultrabook-i5-3317U-Processor/dp/B009SV0SHM/ http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Ultrabook-S7-391-6413-Touchscreen-i5-3337U/dp/B00BJOWXMY Any input is appreciated.
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 16:08 |
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Cream_Filling posted:There was a X230s (formerly x231s) that came out in China with a clickpad, thinner design, ULV chips, internal battery, and reduced connectivity (only 2 USB ports, no VGA, and no dock due to new hinge design). Where can you get one of these? A budget-spec Thinkpad would be really nice (because the x130e was a bit weird when it came to QC).
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 16:53 |
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Asus just announced a buttload of new products, including 2 nice looking Zenbooks. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048142/asus-demos-two-new-zenbooks-three-transformers-and-an-ultraportable-laptop-at-ifa.html What's the general consensus on Asus build quality?
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# ? Sep 5, 2013 17:14 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 01:58 |
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sports posted:Where can you get one of these? A budget-spec Thinkpad would be really nice (because the x130e was a bit weird when it came to QC). It's China-only and more expensive than a regular X230 with an msrp of 7400 yuan (about $1300 US) vs. ~5300 for a regular x230. It's supposed to be a sort of carbon version of the x series. I also bought a new x130e for like $275 hoping it would measure up to the x120e, and I agree that they're pretty awfully designed machines. It wasn't a terrible deal because of the price but I can't imagine paying full price for one. And that screen, my god. The worst screen I've ever seen. Like borderline unusuable because of the horrible view angles worse than my 00s era LCDs. OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Sep 5, 2013 |
# ? Sep 5, 2013 17:25 |