Lenovo Notebook Selection Help (Y430, Y530, etc)!

Hello,

We're finally ready to trash our five year old Vaio as it likes to overheat on us and are looking for a hardy replacement. Would anyone here be able to help me with some advice? I'm primarily looking at either the Y430, Y530, or another Lenovo model. As we're mainly using it as a desktop replacement for word processing / internet / streaming / etc I don't really want to pay too much for it, but it would be nice if it lasted a few years.

Thanks for the help!

1) What is your budget?

US$500 - US$800

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

At least a 14ish...this probably won't leave the house too much.

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

I like the sturdiness of Lenovo

5) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Have a few Excel & Word files open, music, heavy web browsing, streaming videos, etc.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Will primarily be around the house, but not always on the desk. Lappy frequently is on the couch, floor and in bed.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?

Perhaps, but probably nothing to fancy...mostly RTS

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

3 hrs would be the minimum I could tolerate, but 4-5 hrs would be ideal

9) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Would want to have a look at it if possible.

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Will give Vista a try if the notebook is made for it (haven’t spent a great deal of time with it yet).

Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

I really don’t care too much.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

I really don’t care too much.

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Yes and no. Certainly not at the expense of reliability and sturdiness

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

I would want at least 3 years out of it. Would be very happy if I didn’t have to replace it for 5. But that’s probably asking too much

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

I think 250GB should be enough. SSD too expensive

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

Just CDRW/DVD-ROM will do

 

I'd recommend you better a HP dv-4, best all around PC than the Y line from Lenovo. If you like a business grade laptop, your best bet is the Lenovo R400/500 or for better build quality the T61 from the Outlet.

 

Does the Y line not really not have that great a reputation?

 

Well, all I can say is that the pavilion line from HP is a more mature product than the new Y line from Lenovo, I would pick the dv over the Y line, but that's just me, I mean, I can't talk about the prices, so I don't know what laptop will offer you best bang for your buck, but in terms of performance and build quality I believe the HP is a better all around product.

Maybe you'd want to post a thread in the What Notebook should I buy forum, or maybe move this over that forum, if you like a mod can do it.

 

Really? Build quality? That's the main reason I'm looking into Lenovo. My current laptop is falling apart. I'm a heavy user, and use my laptop with Serato to dj in clubs.

 

Lazygun- it sounds like you need something a little more "rugged" than a regular consumer laptop. A solid business-rugged notebook might do the trick- The ThinkPad T-series or the Dell Latitude E6400/E6500 would hold up much better than a regular (consumer) laptop.

 

I would stay far away from laptops made from HP. While they are very stylish, they do not do well with heat they produce. If you look over in the HP forum most of the people have to buy coolers just to get by. While I'm even typing on a older generation, I can admit it too can cook a egg(maybe not really but it's close)

Stick with the Lenovo, if you have a Microcenter near you check them out. The Y series are beasts..