Lenovo Thinkpads - good, bad, ugly?

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Slartibartfast

Supreme [H]ardness
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Hey everyone, I am a total laptop n00b (never had a use for one) and my gf is in the market for a new one. I was always under the impression that the thinkpads were pretty solid, and was wondering if that was still true now that they are technically "Lenovo" instead of IBM. Any good/bad experiences out there? I am mostly interested in build quality and stability. I can get a good deal through my job on a few very specific machines so I don't need any model recommendations or anything. Thanks in advance :)
 
Slartibartfast said:
Hey everyone, I am a total laptop n00b (never had a use for one) and my gf is in the market for a new one. I was always under the impression that the thinkpads were pretty solid, and was wondering if that was still true now that they are technically "Lenovo" instead of IBM. Any good/bad experiences out there? I am mostly interested in build quality and stability. I can get a good deal through my job on a few very specific machines so I don't need any model recommendations or anything. Thanks in advance :)
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Get one. that's all you need to know. They are the best out there as far as build quality goes.
 
My job is to repair, test, audit, upgrade laptops all day long at work. Thinkpads are still the #1 quality unit in my experience and opinion.

Lenovo has actually been building most of the Thinkpads for quite a while, long before the actual sale of IBM's PC/laptop division to them, and hardly anybody ever noticed. Even though as far as I know, all Thinkpads are still IBM's own design, and Lenovo has yet to design and build one entirely in-house, they will still keep the quality high, as they know the Thinkpad name is well respected and is associated with business class, quality laptops.
 
yeah, they are solid. i'm on mine right now. :D

only flexing is by the cd drive because there is a small gap (r50 series) and other than that, i love it. i mean it's stable, always boots, feels solid, quiet, may be a little ugly but hey it's still a thinkpad. also, i love the cooling. the hsf can drop temps from 60-40 in about 10 minutes, simply amazing. i gurentee you will love it.
 
I saw an IBM R52 that was built afte Lenovo took over and it seemed just as good in terms of build quality as an R50 that I saw (pre Lenovo).

If you don't need all the horsepower (mostly as it relates to the graphics capabilities) then I'd say IBM/Lenovois the way to go. I've seen people really abuse IBM machines and they always seem to work. I've seen people who have broken the jacks on thei machines and IBM has fixed them (not sure on Lenovo's stand on this issue) which is over the top service in my mind. I really love the solid feel of the Thinkpad machines.
 
Thanks for all the input guys, we ended-up ordering an R50e for only $699 :D It should be more than enough for what she wants to do. I have another question now: I'm going to look into selling her old laptop for her. I think it's a gateway, it's a 700mhz p3, but the battery is dead and so is the optical drive (it doesn't close properly, nor does it read CD's). Any ideas as to what it might be worth? I don't have any more detailed specs offhand but can get them tonight.

edit: I called lenovo because I wanted to see if I could push back the ship date, because nobody was going to be home around xmas. The guy I talked to was really nice, and changed the ship date from dec 22 to dec 30 so that it would arrive in early january. I was expecting it to be difficult but it only took a few minutes. Thumbs up!
 
Slartibartfast said:
Thanks for all the input guys, we ended-up ordering an R50e for only $699 :D It should be more than enough for what she wants to do. I have another question now: I'm going to look into selling her old laptop for her. I think it's a gateway, it's a 700mhz p3, but the battery is dead and so is the optical drive (it doesn't close properly, nor does it read CD's). Any ideas as to what it might be worth? I don't have any more detailed specs offhand but can get them tonight.

edit: I called lenovo because I wanted to see if I could push back the ship date, because nobody was going to be home around xmas. The guy I talked to was really nice, and changed the ship date from dec 22 to dec 30 so that it would arrive in early january. I was expecting it to be difficult but it only took a few minutes. Thumbs up!
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she'll love it ;)

p10100053gf.jpg
 
Can't say enough good things about my T42. It's handled whatever I've thrown at it so far, that includes any game I've wanted to play since I got it last September.

Only two little complaints I have is the 40gb hdd (school laptops, so I didn't have the choice) and the cd drive eject button is way too sensitive. Keeps opening on me :p

But if I would be buying a laptop, I would seriously consider an IBM/Lenovo.

Oh, and this years freshman class we're given T43's versus our T42's and I think, given the choice, with the same performance features in both (Their's have a slghtly higher clock speed and a 64MB X300 versus a 64MB 9600) I would still take the T42 over the 43. Much more portable, and the screen size difference isn't all that big.
 
thanks for all the input guys, it should be arriving in early-mid january, so I'll let you know how it works out :)
 
Thinkpads = awesome. I run an old 600e (built like a tank and still only 5 pounds), one of my friends has a T43, another has an R50e. They are all incredible machines...I'd never consider anything else. I've dropped my 600e, spilled drinks on it, used it as a cutting board (seriously...my sandwitch had to get cut SOMEHOW) and it still works perfectly. I honestly don't think it will ever die. ever.
 
Two thumbs up for my T40. Much better then the Compaq laptop I used to use.
 
Other than shipping delays, there really has been no big impact yet from the lenovno takeover. So far they seem to be staying the IBM course.

The R50e deals have been around forever. Search on R50e on fatwallet, it's an old model they keep on putting on sale for almost nothing (even to the general public).

It might be a girl thing, but my wife hates her T43.

Dislikes are battery life, touchpad, screen brightness (and we have the flexview), keyboard (to clacky, does not like the feel, wakes the baby etc), and it "has no pizaz".

And I thought I was being nice to her getting the top of the line, top rated laptop with a throng of raving fan bois backing it up.

Other than her hating it, it's fairly well built. Not as sturdy as my dell, really lacking in the USB ports, has some flex on the hand rest but overall it's OK.

For myself, I hate the keyboard. No windows key, function and esc key in weird places etc. Things can be remapped but it never seems to feel like a smooth transition from a normal keyboard (always have to remember where I put that dang windows key).
 
trikster2 said:
Other than shipping delays, there really has been no big impact yet from the lenovno takeover. So far they seem to be staying the IBM course.

The R50e deals have been around forever. Search on R50e on fatwallet, it's an old model they keep on putting on sale for almost nothing (even to the general public).

It might be a girl thing, but my wife hates her T43.

Dislikes are battery life, touchpad, screen brightness (and we have the flexview), keyboard (to clacky, does not like the feel, wakes the baby etc), and it "has no pizaz".

And I thought I was being nice to her getting the top of the line, top rated laptop with a throng of raving fan bois backing it up.

Other than her hating it, it's fairly well built. Not as sturdy as my dell, really lacking in the USB ports, has some flex on the hand rest but overall it's OK.

For myself, I hate the keyboard. No windows key, function and esc key in weird places etc. Things can be remapped but it never seems to feel like a smooth transition from a normal keyboard (always have to remember where I put that dang windows key).
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If you bought your wife a Dell and let her use it for a week or two I would not believe it if she didn't go back to the IBM. Dells are the crappiest of the crap. You want a flexy crappy klaky keyboard, get a dell. You want something that will die from a two foot drop, get a dell. You want the worst battery life ever, buy a dell. Heavier than necessary buy a dell. Hot as hell on your lap, dell. Pay extra for a 3 year warranty??? DELL.

"Pizaz?"....who ever thought throwing a ton of high powered blue LEDs on a mobile, battery operated computer is a ****ing retard. Buy your wife $30 in some [size=-1]Swarovski crystals and some krazy glue to pizaz her Thinkpad.

I personally think the Thinkpad is the only laptop that looks like a laptop anymore. Every other company has tons of cheap plastic ugly moldings on their laptops, they look ridiculous.

There are two good laptops to choose from today. IBM Thinkpads and Fujitsu Lifebooks. Most people don't think of fujitsu as being a great manufacturer of laptops, but don't knock them until you've tried them. They're faster, smaller, more effecient, more durable than, sony, gateway, HP/compaq, dell, and in most cases cheaper.
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Thinkpad keyboards are one of the longstanding strengths of IBM Thinkpads. Feel is so good that it's sometimes hard finding a desktop keyboard to live up to them. They may not be whisper quiet but I don't think that is a primary objective when designing a keyboard. Anyway, to each her own.
 
Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

I'm on my X41 tablet right now and can't find a thing to complain about. More props for ThinkPads.
 
X40 here.

doesnt get much better than the X's and 14" T's. especially keyboard-wise.
 
A thinkpad is the only way to go. Im sitting on the pot right now using my x41! LOL It makes a great bathroom gift!
 
The ONLY possible gripe with Thinkpads are the screens. Other than the 15" Flexview (which I don't like) the 14.1" and 12.1" T Series and X Series screens are quite dim, and have poor viewing angles. Of course, the only laptop screens that are brighter with better viewing angles are the glossy type of screens which have glare as their negative. So, really, there is no perfect solution.

However, Thinkpad screens are very old in terms of technology.

Andrew
 
gokibogey said:
Thinkpad keyboards are one of the longstanding strengths of IBM Thinkpads. Feel is so good that it's sometimes hard finding a desktop keyboard to live up to them. They may not be whisper quiet but I don't think that is a primary objective when designing a keyboard. Anyway, to each her own.
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Yet my wife hates her thinkpad keyboard and to me it is just "eh" for feel and dang annoying for the lack of winkey, misplaced ctrl/fn key, misplaced ESC key etc.

Lot of mis/non information here.

>>> Wonderful 600E experiences are like telling you boeing made great bi-planes when you are shopping for a 777. Who cares?


T42 is more portable than the T43? If you mean because it has a longer battery life, sure, otherwise the laptops are the exact same size/weight.

"Lenovo has actually been building most of the Thinkpads for quite a while, long before the actual sale of IBM's PC/laptop division to them,"

Is just plain wrong. Lenovno had no part in the Thinkpad production line before the sale. A chinese competitor to Lenovno did make some thinkpads, but I guess to tdg one chinese company is the same as another

Regarding vesuviouses anti dell rant. I own both a dell business laptop and a T43 and the Dell is better in every way except weight. I'll gladly trade a pound or two for a better keyboard, better construction, much better performance, much better screen etc. But that's just me. For some people a pound or two is everything, especially frequent travelers.


Whatever.....

It would be nice if Slartibartfast come back to let us know how is GF liked the laptop...

Sincerely hope she fell in love with it and called it george. Laptops are a personal thing, and for some people that little black shingle is love at first site. Or not.
 
lenovo is very very BAD. cause i'am a chinese i understant the fuck damn lenovo,
lenovo's mother was a bitch, lenovo is a beast, Remember!! don't buy anything from china(PRC) ,china (PRC) is the worst people in the world. here had cheat everywhere, here had dummy everywhere.
 
wocen said:
lenovo is very very BAD. cause i'am a chinese i understant the fuck damn lenovo,
lenovo's mother was a bitch, lenovo is a beast, Remember!! don't buy anything from china(PRC) ,china (PRC) is the worst people in the world. here had cheat everywhere, here had dummy everywhere.
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wtf!? so yea, don't listen to this guy and like everyone else said, you'll be happy with a lenovo.
 
wocen said:
lenovo is very very BAD. cause i'am a chinese i understant the fuck damn lenovo,
lenovo's mother was a bitch, lenovo is a beast, Remember!! don't buy anything from china(PRC) ,china (PRC) is the worst people in the world. here had cheat everywhere, here had dummy everywhere.
Click to expand...
tard.gif


The Lenovo Thinkpads really impress me with their build quality. My brother has an R51, and it is built very, very well. Pretty snappy too (P-M 725, 768MB PC2700, Mobility Radeon 9000).
 
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