Lenovo ThinkPad buying advice please!

[A31]

Perhaps you could haggle with Lenovo for a slightly lower price as well? I have no experience with haggling but I have read reports from others that they were successful in negotiating a small price reduction. Just a thought and if anyone who has experience could chime in please do. Good luck A31!

I tried ringing Lenovo up the other night and they put me on hold for so long that I just ended the call.

The chances are I wouldn't save a lot of money and they'd keep me on the phone for so long that my phone bill would cost more than any discount I could get.

[A31]

Is there any way to buy from Lenovo and not have an OS pre-installed? I really want Windows 8 Pro, and I own a copy of it already, but if I get it preinstalled by Lenovo it hikes my price up.

I can get the 'vanilla' Windows 8 without any extra cost, but I was thinking maybe if there was no OS installed at all it would be cheaper?

If I got it with Windows 8, I'd probably end up formatting the hard drive and installing 8.1 Pro anyway.

[ajkula66]

Is there any way to buy from Lenovo and not have an OS pre-installed?.

Unless you have access to some type of a "school special" the answer is most likely "no". And even if you do, it's a "maybe" at best.

I can't say much for the UK, but when Lenovo used to offer machines with DOS licenses or Linux pre-installed in the U.S.there were no real savings there to speak thereof, and on many occasions the configurations were limited as well as more expensive...

Good luck.

[A31]

OK thanks for that. I'll probably get it with 8 installed since I don't have to pay anything extra. I can always install my copy of 8.1 Pro over it if I like.

Thanks again to everybody who has helped me make my decision. Hopefully buying soon.

[A31]

Hi again,

I'm looking at buying a brand new L440 once I have the funds - I'll probably be buying about August time now I think. I paid £200 or so into the bank today and I should be getting some money soon from developing a website for a customer, so I'm getting there slowly but surely.

I was just configuring a machine and I'm trying to work out if it's worth upgrading the i3-4000M to the i5-4200M. It's an £80 upgrade and I've done some research and found that the i5-4200M doesn't seem an awful lot faster than the i3. Can anybody tell me what the difference is? They're both dual-cores but I'm aware that the i5 is stock clocked a little higher and the turbo boost also clocks slightly higher. I'll be doing programming and photo editing on it mainly - maybe a little bit of video editing too (possibly).

If I can save money by going with an i3, I'm tempted to upgrade the 500GB 7200RPM HDD to an SSD. I see Lenovo has the option of a 128GB SSD for an extra £112. I've used a lot of SSDs now in my desktop and various other machines and I'm just curious to find out which SSDs Lenovo use in their ThinkPads. To be honest though, since I can get a Crucial M500 240GB for £110 here, I'll probably just buy the machine with the 500GB HDD and then replace it with this 240GB SSD. I've used Crucial SSDs in the past (several 128GB M4s) and I liked them.

Obviously if I replace the HDD with an SSD, I'm not going to have an OS. Do Lenovo ship their ThinkPads with recovery discs or is it all stored on a hard drive partition? I assume if they don't ship their laptops with recovery discs, I can inquire and get them to send me some so I can install an OS?

This is the spec I am looking at - should I choose to go i3 over i5. This is £652 and then I'll spend £110 on the SSD (or however much a 240 or 256GB SSD costs at the time - they'll get cheaper probably)

ThinkPad L440 20AT
Intel Core i3-4000M Processor (3MB Cache, 2.40GHz)
Windows 8 64
14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 4600
8 GB DDR3L - 1600MHz (2 DIMM)
Ultranav with Fingerprint Reader
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer
6 Cell Li-Ion Cylindrical Battery 56.16Wh
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 BT Combo (2x2 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
1 Year Depot or Carry-in

I went for the HD+ screen, an UltraNav with a fingerprint reader, a webcam and I also did a battery upgrade for a tenner.

An L540 with a 1080p display is tempting but the L440 is lighter and more portable, so better for school. Cheaper too!

I was going to buy a used T420 off eBay today for £340 but I decided that actually I'll wait and buy something newer. I'm getting very excited about buying a ThinkPad now.

Thanks once again for your time!

[pianowizard]

I'm looking at buying a brand new L440 once I have the funds - I'll probably be buying about August time now I think. I paid £200 or so into the bank today and I should be getting some money soon from developing a website for a customer, so I'm getting there slowly but surely.

Wow, you really are struggling financially. In this case, I highly recommend you to just get a cheap used T60. You listed several somewhat demanding applications, but you can probably do all of them on your desktop at home. The only instance where you may need a laptop is taking lecture notes in class, for which a T60 would suffice. In fact, I went through college and most of graduate school without any personal computer, because my schools had computer facilities everywhere and because I didn't mind taking notes on paper. (In fact, if you need to draw a lot, taking notes on paper may actually be easier than on a laptop.) Even now, my fastest laptop is just a crummy 8-year-old Gateway NX860X with Core2 Duo T5500, because I do my intensive tasks on my Core i7 desktops. This laptop cost me only $90 shipped when I bought it in July 2012!

Of course, if your school requires you to bring a powerful laptop to class, then you have no choice.

[A31]

I said in my last post that I was looking at a used T420 manufactured in 2011, but I decided that I'd earn and get something newer instead. The T60 is a machine from almost 8 years ago. I'm not buying something from 8 years ago. I'm sorry, but I'm looking on eBay right now at T60s and they're about 100 quid or so. Not spending that much on an old machine when I can put it towards something much nicer and newer.

I'm still young and I don't have a disposable income. I'm creating a website for a client but I won't be getting paid for a while. This is how come I won't be able to afford a brand new machine until later on in 2014. I don't have a proper job yet, but I'm looking to get a summer job (hopefully) to help fund this. Again, this is why I'll be buying later on in 2014.

I can use a laptop for school. I'm doing A level programming and multimedia. I've already inquired and I can do all of my work in these subjects on my laptop at school. The multimedia course will involve photo editing, maybe video editing, animation and web design, hence why I'd like something a bit more powerful than an old Core 2 Duo. You are quite right, I can, and do, already do this stuff on my desktop at home - but I can't carry that to school.

I could go and buy that used T420 today, but I have decided that I will wait, earn the money, and get something which I really want - and something really nice which will last me years.

Now, can anybody tell me as to whether it is worth spending an extra £80 and getting an i5-4200M over the i3-4000M and whether I can contact Lenovo and ask them for Windows recovery discs should I decide to replace the HDD with an SSD (if the machine doesn't actually ship with recovery discs).

I don't intend to sound rude at all (and sorry if I do).

[ajkula66]

Now, can anybody tell me as to whether it is worth spending an extra £80 and getting an i5-4200M over the i3-4000M and whether I can contact Lenovo and ask them for Windows recovery discs should I decide to replace the HDD with an SSD (if the machine doesn't actually ship with recovery discs).

You can create your own recovery media from the existing installation. I believe that W8 calls for an USB drive as opposed to previous versions of Windows where one would use CDs/DVDs. No ThinkPad ships with recovery disks by default.

[A31]

You can create your own recovery media from the existing installation. I believe that W8 calls for an USB drive as opposed to previous versions of Windows where one would use CDs/DVDs. No ThinkPad ships with recovery disks by default.

Yeah this procedure is becoming 'the norm' now. I've reinstalled Toshibas which allow you to create recovery media.

Thanks for that.

[A31]

I've done some research and found out that really the only difference between the i3-4000M and the i5-4200M is the turbo boost on the i5 and that the i3 runs at 2.4GHz whereas the i5 runs at 2.5GHz at stock - a whole 100MHz faster.

So what I intend to do is get the machine with an i3 and a 500GB HDD (no extra cost), then replace the 500GB HDD with a 256GB SSD. I'll get whatever is good at the time. At the moment, to have a 128GB SSD it's a £112 extra. Well, I can get a 256GB for about the same or not much more and SSDs are always getting cheaper and cheaper, so it makes more sense to replace it myself. I hope I won't void the warranty by doing that though. Need to inquire about that nearer the time.

[JohnD.]

Hi A31,

I am glad that you have figured out the requirements for the L440 machine that you want!

Concerning the warranty if you upgrade the HD to a SSD model, I don't have the answer concerning if you do it you will void the warranty. There is a part of me that says, just upgrade to the SSD, then if the machine needs to be sent in, install the HD.

Good luck!

John

[A31]

Hi John.

Good idea, probably best I keep the HDD then. I will give Lenovo a ring nearer the time and inquire about it anyway. Thanks.

[ajkula66]

You will not void the warrmanty.

[A31]

You will not void the warrmanty.

Ah excellent. Good to hear.

[A31]

Still looking to buy a laptop about August time and still looking at Lenovo, but I think the S540 Touch may actually be better for my needs than the L440.

The S540 Touch has a touch display which is 1080p, so that'll be good for photo editing and also developing touch apps with Windows 8.1 in Visual Studio, and it also has an i5 as standard as well as a backlit keyboard which might be quite cool. It's also lighter and thinner so carrying it around would be easier I think. I'd only need to add 8GB of RAM which is a £30 option and maybe a webcam if it doesn't come with that as standard. It's about £750 with that spec, so I think it is possibly within my price range (I am earning relatively good money now).

Only things I'm not sure about with the S540T are the size of the battery (which is only 4 cells and no bigger options available) and I'm not a massive fan of the looks - personally I think it looks a bit too rounded and I like the boxy looks of the L440 a lot because they remind me of my old R40 and A31.

A pretty much standard S540T with the extra RAM is slightly more expensive than an L440 with some of the 'bells and whistles' (eg the HD+ display, upgraded RAM, fingerprint reader, webcam, upgraded battery), but do you think the S540T represents better value for money and would be better for my needs than an L440? The S540T has most of the 'bells and whistles' that can be added to an L440 or an L540 as standard.

Interested to hear your thoughts!

[RealBlackStuff]

The screen is bigger than your previous wannahave L440.
Look at the crappy S540 keyboard, no keys around the touchpad.
Touch screen? After eating your hamburger/hot dog and other greasy food in college?
Lugging a heavy (5.20 Lbs, 2.36 KG) 15.4" laptop around all the time? Bet it'll break within a few months!
Think again.
You started this thread, asking for ThinkPad buying advise, IMHO both the S540 and the L440 are NOT a ThinkPad.
So why don't you start looking at T4xx/T5xx models instead?

[Ibthink]

Still looking to buy a laptop about August time and still looking at Lenovo, but I think the S540 Touch may actually be better for my needs than the L440.

The S540 Touch has a touch display which is 1080p, so that'll be good for photo editing and also developing touch apps with Windows 8.1 in Visual Studio, and it also has an i5 as standard as well as a backlit keyboard which might be quite cool. It's also lighter and thinner so carrying it around would be easier I think. I'd only need to add 8GB of RAM which is a £30 option and maybe a webcam if it doesn't come with that as standard. It's about £750 with that spec, so I think it is possibly within my price range (I am earning relatively good money now).

Only things I'm not sure about with the S540T are the size of the battery (which is only 4 cells and no bigger options available) and I'm not a massive fan of the looks - personally I think it looks a bit too rounded and I like the boxy looks of the L440 a lot because they remind me of my old R40 and A31.

A pretty much standard S540T with the extra RAM is slightly more expensive than an L440 with some of the 'bells and whistles' (eg the HD+ display, upgraded RAM, fingerprint reader, webcam, upgraded battery), but do you think the S540T represents better value for money and would be better for my needs than an L440? The S540T has most of the 'bells and whistles' that can be added to an L440 or an L540 as standard.

Interested to hear your thoughts!

The S540 is more consumer oriented and an "Ultrabook"- because of this fact, it does have for example:
- Less Ports
- No DockingPort
- More rounded Design, Aluminum lid
- No DVD drive
- Magnesium chassis
- Touchscreen (which is still matte)

The L440/L540 are more business oriented models, the L-Series is the follow-up of the old R-Series.

Oh, and I would advise you to try the new ThinkPads out for yourself before judging it, unlike the other people here...

[Adda]

The screen is bigger than your previous wannahave L440.
Look at the crappy S540 keyboard, no keys around the touchpad.
Touch screen? After eating your hamburger/hot dog and other greasy food in college?
Lugging a heavy (5.20 Lbs, 2.36 KG) 15.4" laptop around all the time? Bet it'll break within a few months!
Think again.
You started this thread, asking for ThinkPad buying advise, IMHO both the S540 and the L440 are NOT a ThinkPad.
So why don't you start looking at T4xx/T5xx models instead?

x2

If you want a THINKPAD don't look beyond the *20 series, avoid the overheating W series and go for a T510 or T520, with HD+ or FHD.
You won't get back to your ThinkPad roots by buying just any laptop with a ThinkPad logo on it.

[A31]

The screen is bigger than your previous wannahave L440.

I'm perfectly aware of that - I could get an S440.

Touch screen? After eating your hamburger/hot dog and other greasy food in college?

Good point, but I might be developing touch applications like I said, so it might be useful.

By the way, I don't buy food at school. But I get the idea...

You started this thread, asking for ThinkPad buying advise, IMHO both the S540 and the L440 are NOT a ThinkPad.
So why don't you start looking at T4xx/T5xx models instead?

Because if you had read the thread, you would know that a brand new T440 with a decent spec (ie, 1600x900 screen, 8GB RAM etc) is out of my price range. As it is, an S540 Touch is probably pushing it at £750 and the baseline T440 with an i3, 1366x768 display and only 4GB of RAM starts at £790. So a £650 L440 is looking more realistic.

I could get a used T430 or something, but I was informed earlier that the screens on those weren't very good, so I was advised to stay away from them.

The S540 is more consumer oriented and an "Ultrabook"- because of this fact, it does have for example:
- Less Ports
- No DockingPort
- More rounded Design, Aluminum lid
- No DVD drive
- Magnesium chassis
- Touchscreen (which is still matte)

The L440/L540 are more business oriented models, the L-Series is the follow-up of the old R-Series.

Thanks for that. That gives me an idea of the differences between the two.

Oh, and I would advise you to try the new ThinkPads out for yourself before judging it, unlike the other people here...

I do appreciate that a lot of people on here clearly don't like change and start freaking out whenever anything changes, but I will try my best to try out a modern ThinkPad for myself before listening to what other people have to say about them. A lot of local computer shops don't really stock them and Lenovo isn't a brand which I see a lot around here in the UK. I am looking at other brands too, but ultimately I keep coming back to Lenovo.

If you want a THINKPAD don't look beyond the *20 series, avoid the overheating W series and go for a T510 or T520, with HD+ or FHD.

Too old for my liking, sorry. I don't want anything which is more than a year old and remember I'll be buying in August. I was looking at getting a used T420 a month ago (which may/may not have been mentioned in this thread), but I decided not to and instead save and get something newer with better specs. I've probably already mentioned in this thread that I don't want something old, maybe when Pianowizard recommended a T60.

I think I'm going to make the decision on my own now. It'll likely either be the L440 or the S540 Touch - probably the L440 since it is a cheaper machine and can be well-specced. Or, if another manufacturer is offering what I want, I'll get one of those.

Thanks to all who have helped.