So whats with all the fuss about Lenovo quality?

I keep hearing online about Lenovo being the quality computer, well Im here to say I am one hell of a computer user.

My dell Inspiron 1520 had to go back to repairs 5 times in 3 years.

First repair Webcam
2d Repair Fan stopped working
3rd repair GPU failure
4rth repair GPU faliure
5th repair CPU Faliure.

I Didnt do anything I was not spose to do on my machine just left it on all night sometimes running a medium of the line game. It just continued to have problems.

Thank god I had gotten the 3 year warranty on it.

Now the battery is dead and the charger does not work, the processor is starting to mess up again. I mean I use it a lot and I leave it on a lot what can I say, but what pisses me off Is I know a guy who does the exact same thing I do on his lenovo and his machine is fine. Kinda makes me wonder whats up with that?

Does lenovo = quality do they use better parts than dell? Do their computers not have all the problems that I experienced on my Inspiron in 3 years. I just want a computer that for ONCE just works and does not have a bunch of problems less than a year after I buy it. Every computer iv had has had an issue about a year after I buy it, iv had HP computers, Dell computers, and Asus computers. Right now I am looking into a Lenovo laptop with a 500-600 dollar budget. (Made a post about it on looking for computer). Basic computing and some low end - mid range gaming which mostly can run fine on a graphics chip.

Can you guys share your experiences with Lenovo, let me know what you think of them in comparison with other brands?

 

An important part of a laptop build quality is in the design. A design that minimizes mechanical and thermal stress on your system will make the same parts last longer. ThinkPads are both well designed and well built. Maybe not as well built as when they used to cost $2K a piece, but they are still well built.

That said, with electronics, there is always some luck involved. You could just have been unlucky.

 

Well there's also a difference in business laptops and consumer laptops. Consumer laptops are designed to be shiny, pretty and cheap. Business laptops are designed to be no frills and pragmatic.

You can see this with Thinkpad designs, it has had essentially the same design since its creation.

So if you want to get something more durable, then try and find a good business class laptop (Dell Lattitude/Vostro, HP Elitebook/Probook, Lenovo Thinkpad).

And looking at your repairs, it seems your computer is overheating, invest in a cooler if you haven't already.

 

One problem I always have with my regular consumer laptops is the hinges always ALWAYS get loose, does this happen to Lenovo laptops?

 

Lenovo Thinkpads are built like tanks. I'm on my 3rd Thinkpads now, and haven't considered any other brand since I got my first Thinkpad 5 years ago. My first Thinkpad (X31) still works perfectly btw, just that it doesn't have the computing power to handle what I do anymore.

How you use your laptop can easily affect how long it lives. I have friends who like using their laptops on their beds, or lying them on sofa or carpet. This always causes unnecessary heat built up, and could lead to overheating reboot or damage the hardware in the long run. Try shooting some compressed air into the air vents every few months to clear the dust hiding there too.

Also, if you leave you laptop plugged in for long period of time (say, overnight), remove the battery. If you always leave your laptop plugged in and never remove the battery, you can kill the battery in a few months to a year (that's why people complain about Macbook non-removable battery).

 

I've had my T61 for a year and a half now and I never had this problem of yours.

 

What do you guys think about maybe not Thinkpads but for example this laptop which I am looking into

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...569A&filter=Starting at Price_0,Screen Size_7

The first one on this list. the G550. My budget is roughly 500 bucks. Maybe 600 but only if its something really strongly better.

Are those laptops sturdy?

 

Honestly, seeing as Thinkpad prices are so low now, you could probably snag an R-series for that budget. It'll be built much better than Lenovo's budget line G-series.

That's not to say the G-series is bad, it's actually quite durable as seen in the NBR review of it.

 

Whats a thinkpad do again? I kinda don't feel to confident because the screen hinges do not look so sturdy on them...

I'll see if I can look into some of them.

 

Get a R, T serie laptop if you want a Lenovo. those series are dirt cheap in the outlet if you are in the US.

 

Thinkpad hinges are known to be very durable. I can pick up my T500 by the screen and the laptop body will not swing downwards (although I usually do not treat it so roughly...), and that's after slightly more than a year of opening and closing it multiple times daily.

 

So its safe to say that even Lenovo Laptops share similar quality with Lenovo Thinkpads? Also, do lenovo laptops surpass dell in many ways?

 

Thinkpad hinge is made of Stainless steel, it is the strongest of all hinges currently fielded by any business laptops from Dell or HP, which usually use cheaper steel varieties. Usually, if there is any quality problems with the thinkpad hinge it would usually be evident within the first year.

Lenovo have driven a truck over the T400s with much of the laptop intact.

 

ThinkPad SL510 A good machine ?

 

ThinkPads have very durable hinges. The hinges on my X30 (bought in 2003, it has been my main machine for 6.5 years) are still going strong. Designers at the Lenovo Yamato facility wrote about ThinkPad hinges about a year ago:

http://lenovoblogs.com/yamato/?p=291&language=en

The only ThinkPads I know that have weak hinges are the X22-X24 models, but those are ancient history (around 10 years ago, back when ThinkPads were still made by IBM).

 

IMO i would never go with any purely Lenovo inspired line of laptops... buying a real ThinkPad is worth it, you can't have quality and still expect it to be cheap, computers are a luxury still IMO, yet many people think they should be able to buy a computer for 300 bucks..

 

I would go with the G550 over the SL510, better screen and battery life. Even though it's not branded a Thinkpad, the SL510 isn't exactly a bonified Thinkpad either.

Like other said, try the Outlet if you can, or try a trust worthy Ebay seller.

 

LMAO The review for it said "Almost tough enough to stand on" That sold me right there on the G550. Guess ill become a Lenovo owner next week then. Hopefully I don't need to worry about it messing up hehe.

 

If you are impressed by "almost tough enough to stand on," then you definitely need to see this.

Motorcycle on ThinkPad R61 with Display Roll Cage

 

It's funny that you would think Thinkpad's hinge looks week. They are the strongest hinge you can find on any laptop.

 

the outlets being stupid right now and repeatedly timing out due to "too many connections".

 

Ya well the sale...

 

you cannot find a more sturdy and durable laptop than a thinkpad at the same price range (yes there are panasonic toughbooks and so on, but the are veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery expensive)

the same CANNOT be said for the non-thinkpad lenovo's

for the best thinkpad experience, stick to either the T, X, or W series.

 

R series is a good entry point for first time thinkpad owner, R400 is pretty much a T400.... and there is some good deals to be had with the R400.

 

Just be patient. There's still some good deals to be had.

 

Same with the T61 except some T61's use the crappy hinge with 1" of bloody play, which is annoying as hell, i have the crappy one on my T61p, it's stiff as hell when you get past the 1" play, but loose as hell when it's just on it's own, then they make up something like we're supposed to be grateful for this "design" innovation, claiming that it's a feature that saves the screen or something, i hate it either way, getting it repaired when the GPU fails on this in warranty.

 

Actually, its not so much in the build quality but the after-repairs troubles thats more an issue recently. Ive sent my T61 to replace the LCD and it came back with loose hinges, creaking palm/keyboard rests. It seems to me that the Techs simply rushed to get the job done nowadays.

 

with these defective hinges, it is usually evident by itself from the very moment you got the laptop.

 

My paws have been on many Thinkpads over the years, they have all been very good.

 

in my experience with lenovo, it was either a quality computer that lasted a long time from the start, or a complete lemon full of "birth defects" from day 1.

their design is nice and is made to last, however the intial quality can be rather shoddy. I had one new thinkpad arrive with defective screen and another with warped chassis. Lenovo, however were good about replacing them with a good working units. The quality of my current T400s is fantastic. I am now crossing my fingers that the W510 I have ordered is not going to have any "birth defects".

 

So basically from what Im getting, if it is going to have a problem it is most likely going to show some signs of it within the first few months?

 

From my personal experiences this is correct. Unless the parts from the other manufacturers have some design fault, i.e. the Nvidia GPU issue.

 

alazar,

Read this:

http://gizmodo.com/5159091/lenovo-t...ed-certified-to-withstand-+beatings-mr-freeze


drake

 

I have had no issues with both my T61 (that is now over 2 years old), and my new X301. Both are almost perfect (knock on wood). The only *minor* complaint I have, is that my T61 has that hinge play (of about 1" or so) on the screen. No big deal, it's had it since day 1, I just never thought anything of it. If I have to adjust the screen, it's a bit of a PITA that the screen has the extra "wiggle room" but it honestly doesn't bother me. Both of my Thinkpads are simply fantastic and, if I didn't spend so much on these things already, I would already be ordering another one lol
However, I will most likely be holding off on all computer purchases for at least another 3-4 years.