ideapad quality

hi i was thinking of buying the ideapads and have heard many great things about the think pads and their build quality, so i was wondering how the quality of an ideapad is? i know its not as good as a thinkpad but wat would u compare it too? and wat would u rate the ideapads? 1-10 1 being horrible and 10 being omg awesome. i need it for school and gaming if that helps

 

I really like the ThinkPads that I've seen/used- the 13.3" U330 and 15.4" Y530. They look great, seem to be made from quality materials and they feel solid/well-built (not cheap/fragile). The keyboard feels very much like the one I had in my ThinkPad R61, which is a definite compliment!

The audio system in the Y530 has been mentioned by several reviewers. It has four speakers (two below display and two toward the front) and a subwoofer. The overall sound quality is very impressive, especially in its price range.

I'd pick it over an HP Pavilion or even a Dell Studio 15 (which I own). The only issue I have is that you can't configure the specs like you can a ThinkPad (and most HP and Dell notebooks). But that's not an problem if you can find one of the pre-configured models with the specs you want.

You mentioned gaming, what sort of games? Any idea how powerful of a graphics card you need?

 

well i want to play a fps games and this one game i mite start playing called 4story. its requirements for the gpu is Geforce FX5700 128MB for minimum and
GeForce FX6600 256MB for the recommended, does the new y550's have atleast that of a graphics card?

 

its requirements for the gpu is Geforce FX5700 128MB for minimum and
GeForce FX6600 256MB for the recommended, does the new y550's have atleast that of a graphics card?[/QUOTE]

Seeing how the "GeForce FX6600 256MB" came out in I think 2004, I dont think you should have a problem playing it.

I like to consider lenovo "built like a rock" cant go wrong with it for whatever your using it for. Unless your in iraq and consider it your extra flak jacket.


The drivers could be a little better, but what the heck you shouldnt have a problem.

 

wow 2004? really thats awesome, would an integrated x4500 be able to handle it? lol i mite be pushing it but the one with a dedicated y530 is 120 dollars more that i dont have or the new y550s will have but way expensiver...

 

It's possible, although you may need to drop down to lower settings.

I can get older games (e.g. Civ4, Rome: Total War, etc.) to run without problems. Reasonably new games with modest graphics requirements (e.g. Company of Heroes) also work (at least at low settings).

The Intel x4500 is a great desktop level processor (plenty for Vista and video playback), uses very little power (good battery life), but it is average at best for a gaming GPU.

I personally don't have a lot of experience with IdeaPads, but the Y430/Y530 and U330 seem to be well liked (and a great value).

 

hmm i mite go to costco and check out some laptops with the x4500 or 4500 mhd and see if it plays then return it lol...if it does ill get a lenovo y530 or 550

 

The original WoW would probably play at least somehow, but all the patches and expansions added more detail, more objects (and more graphics options). So you might get a good or decent framerate on the "original" area but the expansion areas would be slower.

If you have both expansions I suggest you try out some areas in Northrend and Outland to check for performance.

 

i dont play wow lol

 

Whee, I guess I majorly misread something Need more coffee to wake up

 

dude, it's a metal. a magnesium.

j/k

 

Here are a few alternatives with low-end graphics cards...but they're ThinkPads, so we KNOW they're built like a bank vault, rock, anvil...or any other simile you want to throw at it....

These are in the Lenovo Outlet-

Note: Both have 1-year standard warranty.

NEW ThinkPad T61 - $757.00 - LINK
Windows Vista Home Premium
2.4GHz Intel T8300 (800MHz FSB, 3mb L2)
14.1" WXGA+ (1440x900) display
3GB DDR2-667 RAM
120GB 5400rpm hard drive
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M graphics card (similar to GeForce 8400M GT)
DVD RW
Intel 4965AGN wireless card
Bluetooth
Fingerprint Reader
9-cell Battery

Heck, I don't need one and I'm tempted to buy it!

The other is an Refurbished R61 14.1" (almost identical to T61 14.1") for $735.72: LINK
Windows Vista Home Premium
2.5GHz Intel T9300 (800MHz FSB, 6mb L2)
14.1" WXGA+ (1440x900) display
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
160GB 7200rpm hard drive
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M graphics card (similar to GeForce 8400M GT)
BluRay DVD RW
Intel 4965AGN wireless card
4-cell Battery

 

man the r61 has nice specs but it has a 4cell...

 

There's a 6-cell in the Outlet for $39.07- LINK

 

They have a very nice finish and feel solid. Good feel on the keyboard.

The Y430 and Y530 are good deals right now.
They have subwoofers.
They have DDR3 RAM.


I read about 1 person who put a P9600 in a Y430.

 

I saw an Ideapad machine in Compusa. Externally it looked pretty nice and had a good screen. If I was looking for a consumer grade machine, I would consider getting it. As was mentioned above, the one downside is the lack of configurability.