Would you recommend 2 laptops(1 powerhouse, 1 ultraportable) or 1 multipurpose?

Have you guys had any experience?

I am shooting for either of the following two options:

1) Thinkpad W520 + Thinkpad X120e(or possibly a Samsung Series 9 or... I dare say MBA)

2) Thinkpad T520 or T420

Even though the W520 and T520 share the same chasis, the power brick's significant size difference makes T520 a bit more mobile. Also, I would get Quad core for W520 and dual core for T520 for longer battery life with T520.

Apart from the specifics(laptop model, performance, etc), what are your experience of having such a setup with two laptops? Is it inconvenient? Cumbersome?

FYI, I'm a college student who will be attending classes with my laptop. And the price difference between the two options is not one of the deciding factors.

Any opinions would be appreciated!

 

Why not a X220 and build a desktop?

 

Hmm, because I sometimes need the screen real estate and power on-the-go. Which is not too frequent, but does happen. Also, moving from dorm to dorm and going home for breaks, I cannot manage to have a monitor, desktop, mouse, keyboard, etc..

 

As a recent college graduate who did the former (two laptops) in my freshman year of college, i can tell you that having two laptops can (sometimes) be an inconvenience.

depending on how many of your courses allow computers is the first thing you should look at, and if you are using the computer to take notes, how easy would it be to do so in those classes? i was in engineering and math classes, so I had to contend with a lot of graphs and equations, making taking notes with a laptop to be a huge bother.

keeping the two laptops updated will also be annoying unless you plan on using both of them while in your dorm room as well. I found i tended to use my "primary" laptop 3/4 of the time and generally forgot to do even updates and stuff to my secondary laptop. (my primary was an Asus G1s gaming powerhouse while my secondary was a Lenovo R61 that I just about only used in class).

I would highly recommend either an all-in-one option or desktop-laptop combo. My current set-up is now desktop-laptop and it's much easier keeping the laptop updated when I'm bringing it everywhere, not only the classroom now.

*EDIT*
Also, one of your reasons against having a desktop is the inconvenience of moving it. Honestly speaking, if you are living on campus, you really shouldn't be moving around your desktop too often. You would bring it home maybe twice during the school year before moving out (winter break and spring break) and the money you'd spend on a decently powerful laptop you could easily get a MUCH more powerful desktop

 

hmm.. if that's the case, then a MBA or a series 9 would not be an economical/smart option as I too will most likely use my primary most of the time..

I guess I'll go with a multipurpose.. thanks!

 

Tough choices.
On one hand I wouldnt mind specced X220, but it has very low resolution screen, only 1366x768 available, so as a main machine its a big no no. I prefer to have my screen to be 1440/1600x900 for my traveling machine or at least 1280x800 so I dont loose all of my vertical space.
You could opt for desktop bound laptop such as 15-17" quad core FullHD resolution laptops and 10" hi-res screen tablet as your note taking companion at lectures.
Thats what Ive been thinking about, given that in near future tablets will become quad core and with as much power for everyday tasks as average laptops then why not getting powerful tablet that would be much smaller, lighter, with comparable or even better battery life than laptops, such tablet would be easy to use and carry around as an addon to your main laptop?
For me its a tough call what to choose, loaded 15-17" laptop where weight, thickness and battery life are all secondary to performance and build quality together with powerful Androind/Win8/Other OS tablet on the cheap with enough power to handle all daily tasks OR simply 12-14" laptop with highest possible resolution screen, fully loaded, great battery life and with 24" or hihger FullHD monitor at home when Im docked.

But Im not in a rush, Ill wait

 

If you have the money, W520 and an x220.

But what do you do with your laptop? If you don't really do anything graphic intensive, you can stick with a T520 and save quite a bit of cash.

 

I'll choose an X220/ T420s and use an external monitor through a mini dock. The 1 laptop solution is always more preferable. You save so much time from transferring and finding files.

 

I'd get a desktop for computing/gaming, and an X220 for mobility. When I go home for holiday or something I don't really need my desktop.

 

That is my combination at the moment (X220 + 24" display) and I am very happy with it. In the past I had a powerful desktop + laptop, but keeping all the files in sync is just a pain. I don't really need a big screen when I'm on the road, and even if, it's not like the X220 screen is completely useless. It just takes some getting used to.

 

I would third this recommendation. You seem to be trying to balance mobility and performance. The X220 is good for both, and only really loses the screen size, graphics card, and optical drive. Add a dock, and you can have the screen size and optical drive in your dorm room, and get better mobility than any of your listed options.

You could even consider the X220t, which would give you the option of using it as tablet. (With the loss of a bit of choice on docks: Only the Ultrabase 3 is listed for it.)

(Personally, I keep things in sync with a central server and either NFS mounts or cvs as appropriate, but I'm a computer geek.)

 

I think things like the cloud and dropbox, et al, and SynchPST for Outlook, make the managing of multiple machines a lot easier.

Tools to be most useful need to be very specific to the task at hand. Compromises are ....well, compromises.

If you have ever priced a professional mechanics tool chest and contents, a couple of laptops and a desktop are very inexpensive by comparison.

 

I keep asking for a W320, a 13" compact i7-2620 machine with a eager dedicated GPU, but still none.

 

I have a T500 and a X120e--for me, it's the perfect combination. The T500 is more convenient than a desktop, since I fly between UCLA and my home (and it would therefore be extremely inconvenient to lug along a desktop), and can still bring it home for breaks. I use the X120e in class to take notes, and its light weight and small form factor are great assets for the tiny lecture hall tables.

So, I would highly suggest a portable + power machine setup, whether that's an inexpensive portable (ie, X120e) and larger laptop (ie, W520/T520) or a portable and a desktop.

 

Imho T420.

Or T420s if you want more portability.

 

I'd go for a T420 and x120e, but everyone has an opinion.

 

Dell tried a 13" mobile workstation, and it was killed for a reason, it doesn't sell.

Go for a higher spec'd T520 and like an x220/x121e.

 

No x121e if you're in the States.

 

Not going to lie, I thought the same as you. But now I wish that I could have a desktop for gaming. My next purchase will be an ultraportable. At that point I'll probably use the ultra for almost everything. I no longer have time to game on the go

 

Tough call the way you described your environment. As far as a 'powerhouse' computer goes....for exactly what purpose do you need something significantly above the norm? Or is it just to have a nicer machine? The way things are these days, there are very few people that actually need anything more then midrange specs. Of course it's always nice to have better specs, but if there are other important aspects to consider, I wouldnt place overall specs ahead of other aspects these days.


Anyhow, I have had experience with both options. I used to have a powerfull 17" laptop and a 10" netbook, and would take whichever with me the situation suited if not both. The 17" was great for if I was staying in one spot for several days or more. The netbook was great for short trips I wanted to pack light on and didnt need to get anything to pressing done on it. On longer trips with decent ground times I would take both, and use the netbook on the plane and 17" in the hotel rooms.

Then, I picked up my X220. While not only turning in to the sole laptop I take on the road with me, it may also replace my desktop eventually and be my sole computer period since I picked up a dock for it. It's great for the plane, and even to park it on a hotel desk for a few days, while it would be nice to have a larger screen and higher res, I get by just fine with it. Sitting on the dock at home, it works just as well as a normal desktop. It has plenty of power to anything I need it to do except for gaming, which I have gotten away from on a pc anyways. Even though it's not an i7 quad with the latest high model video card and all that I would normally go after, this mid spec'd i5 laptop really does OK. While the x220 may not be good to you if on the go screen size is a major factor, I think finding a model with an agreeable screen size should be your focus, and not so much the underlying specs. In other words, no need to discount an otherwise great for you machine simply because it has only an i5 and integrated video vs the fastest i7 with high end discrete video and all if you dont legitimately need that stuff, for example.

 

There are times where I need both and times I dont. Honestly I would love to have a w520 type and my tablet. Why a tablet? much easier then carrying around 2 full laptops and performs the tasks the x220/MBA would cover in that situation.

My next setup will be similar to what I do now with a powerhouse and tablet with keyboard dock. Works great and better then my old setup of carrying 2 laptops around.