New WIN 7 Laptop needed...

[Rockrz]

Anybody know where I can get a decent deal on a WIN 7 laptop where the hard drive and RAM are easily to get to for upgrading purposes? (I figure if it's cheap deal, I'll have to upgrade the hard drive and the RAM, which I don't mind doing if it's fairly easy to get to).

I know alot of folks are here are very knowledgeable in not only computers, but also where the deals are. I'm needing to replace my wife's laptop so I figured I'd make a Christmas present out of it (gotta milk this stuff as much as possible ya know)

Please let me know....

[Rockrz]

OK, so what do you guys think of the deal here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-4334EEU-15 ... vo+laptops

It's in my price range, and the RAM and hard drive should be easily accessible from the bottom.

[RealBlackStuff]

The G570 seems to suffer from weak hinges, just check Google for "lenovo g570 hinge problem".
It also seems to have an over-sensitive touchpad.

You'd be better off going for a business class laptop.
Here's a nice T500 for sale in our Marketforum: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=106859
Has some warranty left as well.

[Rockrz]

No OS, I'll pass on that one.

The hinge thing on the other one is just the screws, which is easily fixed with screw glue.... they'll never get loose again!

[pianowizard]

No OS, I'll pass on that one.

That T500's product code is 20552CU, which has these specs:

T9400(2.53GHz), 2GB RAM, 160GB 5400rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 256MB ATI Radeon HD3650, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32

Thus, if the COA sticker is still present, you can put Vista Business on this machine for free by following these instructions: http://en.community.dell.com/support-fo ... river.aspx . I understand that you are looking for 7, but Vista with all service packs installed and User Account Control disabled is very similar to 7. Technically speaking, Vista is Windows 6.0 and "7" is actually Windows 6.1. Microsoft cheated by marketing 6.1 as "7".

The hinge thing on the other one is just the screws, which is easily fixed with screw glue.... they'll never get loose again!

Are you sure it's that easy? In general, loose hinges can be fixed only by replacing the hinges.

[Rockrz]

Are you sure it's that easy? In general, loose hinges can be fixed only by replacing the hinges.

If you can get to them, then yes you can put lock tight on the threads and this will essentially cement the screws in place once you screw them in and let it cure.

I'd have to look at it to see if the screws are accessible without taking the screen out of the lid er somethin.

[TuuS]

If you can get to them, then yes you can put lock tight on the threads and this will essentially cement the screws in place once you screw them in and let it cure.

I'd have to look at it to see if the screws are accessible without taking the screen out of the lid er somethin.

I personally don't waste my time with disposable laptops like that model, but unless you're certain that exact model is only an issue with the screws, then I'd consider it to be much more. I can assure you that the hinge problems that plague other thinkpads have nothing to do with the screws, it's basically a "D" shaped peg in a "D" shaped hole that stretches to become "O" shaped, and only replacing the hinge will fix it.

[ajkula66]

If you can get to them, then yes you can put lock tight on the threads and this will essentially cement the screws in place once you screw them in and let it cure.

The above concept - presuming it's doable in the given case - will put a lot more pressure on the lid and LCD panel, and cracking them becomes far more likely.

The hinges are supposed to have *some* play.

Make them airtight and you'll bust the screen, lid or both sooner or later, especially on a cheapo laptop like the one that you're contemplating.

[Rockrz]

OK, so Lenovo is not smart enough to fix this design flaw by now... considering other manufacturers have decent hinges and we can put a man on the moon? (we have the technology to build good hinges now)

I find it hard to believe Lenovo would allow every last one of these laptops to continue having issues.

Is it true, that every laptop of this model has been shipped with bad hinges?
Or, has this just happened to a higher than normal percentage of customers?

I doubt it's even possible to know.

I do know that I can buy it on my Visa business credit card (not a debit card, but an actual credit card) and that gives me like 2 or 3 years of warranty against defects thru Visa where if it is proven to be defective during this time Visa will MAKE Lenovo take it back, or they will charge the funds back to Lenovo (take it out of their bank account, if I buy from Lenovo) and put that credit back on my card.

Anywho, I find it hard to believe that every laptop sold is defective and Lenovo continues shipping defective laptops out without fixing the design flaw... on the other hand, this is Communist China we're talkin 'bout so I guess it's very possible.

[underclocker]

My advice, just watch the Lenovo Outlet - outlet.lenovo.com

They frequently offer T410, T420, T420s, T510, T520 models in the $500 range - often with SSDs! Not to mention Edge machines in the $350 range. All with 1 year warranties. Very tough to beat.

Note: They have sales nearly every week. So the standard "sale" prices are further discounted. Also, they load up their inventory around midnight, every few days. It's best to search early morning.

[Rockrz]

Eh, to heck with it... I just bought her a Dell Latitude E5430 for $675.38 delivered.

All this talk about screwed up hinges made me not want to have that hassle, even though one would Lenovo has that fixed by now.
Her last one was a Dell with XP Pro and it still works great except for the occasional glitch in the screen where you just re-boot it and it's OK (I have updated drivers, and went through all that and it still does it occasionally...but I got a new one, so now it's her turn)

The Dell I got has...

2nd gen Intel Core i3-2328M Processor with 2.2GHz, 3M cache
8.0GB, DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM
320GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM
14.0" HD (1366x768) Anti-Glare WLED-backlit
Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit
90W 3-Pin, AC Adapter
8X DVD
Noise Cancelling Digital Array Microphone
Dell Wireless 1504 802.11g/n Single Band Wi-Fi Half Mini-card
6-Cell (60WH) Primary Lithium Ion Battery, (2.8Ah) ExpressCharge Capable
Resource DVD with Drivers, and Media Kit,Win 7 Home Premium 64bit
(these are for re-installing everything if needed)

It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it's all brand
new and I've given away several Dells in the past and have
had a couple of Dells and they've always performed decently
with minimal issues.

[pianowizard]

OK, so Lenovo is not smart enough to fix this design flaw by now... considering other manufacturers have decent hinges

This problem is not specific to Lenovo but is shared by all manufacturers and brands. Making a laptop hinge that is guaranteed to never fail might indeed be technologically (not financially) more difficult than sending people to the moon.

Eh, to heck with it... I just bought her a Dell Latitude E5430 for $675.38 delivered.

I would have rcommended you to get an E6430 or E6530 from the Dell Business Outlet. It would have come with a 3-year warranty (versus the 1-year for the E5***) and it would probably have cost you about the same amount of money, or even less if you wait for a coupon. The E6*** and E4*** are Dell's premium Latitudes, whereas the E5*** is not. It might be possible to cancel this order.

[Rockrz]

This problem is not specific to Lenovo but is shared by all manufacturers and brands. Making a laptop hinge that is guaranteed to never fail might indeed be technologically (not financially) more difficult than sending people to the moon.

That's not true... I've had several laptops and haven't had any issues with the hinges at all... notta, zip!

They can and do build good hinges. I'll betcha alot of the problem is that some of them are being built in
communist china where they are not building them to specs and are not using the materials and manufacturing
procedures called for by the designers....for the purpose of saving money which allows them to make
more profits.

Nothing worse than a greedy capitalistic communist. This is a common theme coming from state
owned companies in china in numerous industries. If they do this with kids toys and baby formulas,
then you know they are willing to cut corners when building computer parts!

It's ludicrous to think mankind just can't figure out how to build a quality hinge for a laptop seeing most
laptops have hinges the are made with enough quality to never be a problem through out the lifetime
of the laptop... that's just crazy, man!

[ajkula66]

Most of the laptops of any kind - apart from Panasonic's offerings - were built in China over the past decade. IBM moved their production there as well in 2003...

So, if you want *proper* QC you really can't be looking at the price range that you were interested in to begin with...

[Rockrz]

That's the responsibility of the companies selling laptops... to make sure their customers are getting decent products.

Regardless of the price range, the hinges should last the life of the laptop... at least 4 to 5 years.

If you have to buy a high end laptop to get good hinges... then the companies selling them have failed
as this is a simple, basic part that is easy and simple to build with quality to be long lasting! Mankind
has been building hinges for at least a couple hundred years now, so we know how to build them with quality.

The problem is el cheapo corner cutting by the communists. They're probably laughing about it
over a few shots of vodka imported from the mutha country... Russia.

I was thinking back and I've only owned 3 laptops and the first two were Dells and they never had
any problem with the hinges whatsoever. My laptop I'm using now is my new Lenovo X220 and it's
hinges are working perfectly.

It's funny... I've never heard anybody say they've had hinge problems before looking in to
this one Lenovo laptop I was considering at the start of this thread, so it doesn't seem
like hinge problems are something that have been dogging the laptop manufacturers.

Anyway, I'd better jump off this thread cause it's ridiculous to think you have to pay
alot more to get decent hinges when very few people are having hinge problems on other
laptops, even the entry level models.

[RealBlackStuff]

Stop making immature redneck remarks about production in communist countries.
The Dell you bought was almost certainly also made in China, as are e.g. most, if not all Apple products, and a slew of other brands.
Nuff said!

[killer]

Stop making immature redneck remarks about production in communist countries.
The Dell you bought was almost certainly also made in China, as are e.g. most, if not all Apple products, and a slew of other brands.
Nuff said!

Quite perfectly worded, RBS.

[ajkula66]

It's funny... I've never heard anybody say they've had hinge problems before looking in to
this one Lenovo laptop I was considering at the start of this thread, so it doesn't seem
like hinge problems are something that have been dogging the laptop manufacturers.

I don't know where you've been over the past decade, but when it comes to ThinkPads hinges were a known weak spot on 14" T4x models, all T6x units as well as on T400...

[sysiphus]

I don't know where you've been over the past decade, but when it comes to ThinkPads hinges were a known weak spot on 14" T4x models, all T6x units as well as on T400...

I didn't know the hinges were known to be bad on the 14" T60...perhaps I just got very lucky on the two I had, but they were both impeccable.
Still, I know you've seen far more ThinkPads than me, so...

[pianowizard]

So, if you want *proper* QC you really can't be looking at the price range that you were interested in to begin with...

Excellent point. Sometimes (though not always), when people's cheapo laptops have issues, they should blame themselves for being cheap rather than blame the laptop makers. Just a decade ago, even the cheapest laptops were at least $1K and the average (i.e. not premium) laptop was between $1,500 and $2,500. Since then, extreme cost cutting has driven prices down to the $200-$300 range, about the same price as two or three nice dinners, but some people still expect these craptops to last forever. Give me a break! These craptops are meant to be disposable. If it breaks, you sell it for parts for $20 and get another one. If you don't want to replace your computer once every year, buy a $2K high-end Panasonic Toughbook. You get what you pay for.