lenovo for college

I'm starting to look at lenovo laptops, and to be quite honest with you all, I'm extremely confused. I'm going to be studying biomedical engineering. Lenovo's website recommended a thinkpad notebook, but I like how the ideapad seems to be more multimedia friendly...
specs I would prefer:
14 inch screen
core i5 processor
500gb hd with 7200X

is there any particular line of notebooks you would recommend? Thank you for your help.

 

I'd say the T410. It's well built and durable with good support, which should last you through college, though luck always plays a role. I'm curious, in what way would you say the IdeaPads are more multimedia friendly?

 

if you are doing biomedical engineering i would say a Thinkpad would a good laptop to use for these subjects. As later on you would start to use some softwares that require you to run the laptop for days on end, this is where the superior thermal management of the Thinkpad T series come through.

Also, Thinkpad T, X and W series have a much superior hinge (the best in the class) and an easy to access heatsink/fan where regular cleaning are possible. None of these apply to the ideapad.

you need a robust laptop if you are going to do the engineering course, even people doing commerce whom put lot less strain on their laptops would get a business class laptop.

Thinkpads are laptops for engineers.

 

^ I second this. I don't see where a ThinkPad would do better as far as multimedia applications go except for gaming, and the discrete T410 should be able to even play most current titles at low settings fairly well. For movie watching and etc. I doubt you'll notice a difference between the two lines.

You will, however, notice the difference in durability and thermal management. Since you'll be going through school with it you'll appreciate those aspects sooner or later.

 

definitely get a thinkpad. i've had mine for the last three years, going into my senior year now, and it's been rock solid even as i've carried it in my bag (wrapped in a neoprene sleeve) and used it daily.

multimedia shouldn't be an issue with discrete graphics and headphones.

 

my thinkpads have been rock solid even when i dropped it on concrete a few time (not suggesting you should try it), consumer laptop you would be lucky if you can run it after just one drop.

 

I'd also recommend the Thinkpad T410.
GREAT laptop, especially for college !

 

I'll look into the t410. On lenovo's website the ideapad seems to be marketed more as a multimedia laptop with jbl speakers and what appears to be better graphics. Thank you for all of your help.

 

I would definitely get the T410 over the ideapads. These consumer laptops hinge design are pretty woeful, and they are not easily serviceable by end users.

 

As an entering bioengineering student myself, I would recommend a solid Thinkpad - it'll be far more durable in day-to-day use and slinging around campus.

Personally, I would suggest the T410 as the largest notebook you should look at. Beyond that, the weight gets to be too much of a hassle. The X201 is a great option as well, although the screen real estate is a bit limited at 1280x800 (I did use a 12.1" laptop with that resolution as my only laptop for 3+ years though).

 

@Midnightsun, are you doing biomedical or biochemical engineering?

 

A college student myself, I bought a T400 followed shortly thereafter by an X200 last year. The smaller screen on the X200 doesn't bother me at all since mobility is the reason I bought it for and man, does it excel at that. Though I started out looking for a 14" in laptop I found myself using the X200 increasingly more over the T400, and since they had similar configurations in terms of CPU, GPU, RAM, and HDD, I decided to sell the T400 and built a desktop. If I were to do it all over again I would go straight for the 12". It follows me everywhere and is light/small enough to carry along with my notebooks, water bottle, and lunch box. I would recommend the 12", be it the X200 or the X201. If you want to watch movies and worry about screen real estate just get an external monitor - they are so cheap nowadays anyways.

 

X200 + desktop is a great combo if you're the type to want a full setup in your room but mobility on the go.

When I had to start paying for power though later during school I would dock my x200 and share a fileserver with my roommate for our massive amounts of storage.

 

Thanks for all of the responses. I found a really well equiped t410 on the lenovo website that costs 944 after the student discounts. Now I have to justify the almost 200 dollar price difference between a very similarly equipped toshiba and see what my parents think. I have also heard the speakers on this laptop are lacking, is that true?? Once again thank you for the help.

 

Thinkpad speakers are not the greatest. Tell them that the T410 would last longer than a Toshiba. It is like buying a Merc over a Mazda, you are getting a bargain.

 

I think the student discount only runs until the 28th so I have to act quick how low does the 6 cell run?

 

the 6 cells with the intel gpu can last around 4 hrs and 30 minutes on battery saver mode with brightness turned to around 50%. That was achieved using the i5-520m.

 

Don't worry about the discounts, its the way Lenovo works. They put a very high initial price and then follow with big discounts. Basically noone buys a ThinkPad without a 15%> discount. Coupons come up every 2 weeks. Currently there is a 35% off discount in Canada.

I'm in EE myself and bought a T410s with an 80GB SSD and i5 for $1300.
-Performance wise its perfect
-its uber light
-build quality is top notch
-battery life sucks
-screen sucks (its ok for work but watching movies on it is awfull)

If you're driving a car then go for a T410 its build quality is superb and its cheaper than the T410. However if you're like me and walk/metro/walk I'd recommend the T410s. A few extra pounds make a surprisingly big difference when carrying it back and forth.

 

I had an IdeaPad Y560. It's really no better than any other "consumer" laptop. If you really want your money's worth and care about the longevity of your purchase, get a ThinkPad "T", "X" or "W" Series. I traded my Y560 for a T410 because I could tell that the build quality of the IdeaPad wasn't very good and there were issues with the screen.

It was great for gaming but I could tell it wasn't built to last and I could fry eggs with the heat from the exhaust vent. The i7-720QM + the ATI 5730 makes for a laptop furnace. You'd need liquid nitrogen to keep that laptop cool. Get a desktop for gaming.

 

Or just use it as a source of central heating during the winter month.

 

Bioengineering, on the premed (biomedical, you could say) track.

Thinkpad speakers are not great, but they're not too horrible either. I'd say they're on par with other non-media-oriented laptops' speakers - of course they wouldn't compare with laptops that have subwoofers. However, if you do want good sound even if you have relatively good laptop speakers, you'll have to get external speakers.

The Thinkpad is most definitely more durable than the Toshiba, and will likely take the battering of daily university use much better, especially if you're not all that careful with your computers. The price difference is quite justified, in my opinion, for the better-built product.

 

nice... so is Bioengineering in your sense same as Biochemical engineering?

 

Thanks for all of the help!

 

one more question....what is the difference between the regular display and the "+" display??

 

you mean HD versus HD+? The HD+ resolution is higher than the HD display resolution.

 

is it worth the extra 20 bucks or so? also is there a difference between the intel centrio wireless card or the thinkpad card? I'm going with the t410 that is labeled as "As advertised" on the lenovo website. With my student discount it comes in around 960, but I need to order it today.

 

The WXGA is 1280x800 and the WXGA+ is 1440x900. The T410 I had was the WXGA+ and I liked it very much.

As far as Wi-Fi cards, if you don't use Linux at all then the "ThinkPad b/g/n" card should be okay for you. I ditched that card for the Intel 6200 because support for the Intel cards is built-in to Linux. The ThinkPad card is actually a RealTek card rebranded by Lenovo. In my opinion, the extra $20 for the Intel card is well worth it in the long run.

 

I ordered the thinkpad T410 yesterday!!
Specs:
Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 5700MHD - AMT
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Camera, 2.0 MP
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
Battery: 9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000

The cost before tax came to 988....This laptop was 150 dollars more then the toshiba i was originally going to purchase, but I know I've paid for a much better built machine.

 

seems to be a good spec machine for the price.

 

Anyone thought of buying a W series instead of T ThinkPad for college.

Let's say these two spec machines are in similar price category, and I really like or need these powerful features in the W machine. Is it the W series ThinkPad a better "buy" with just a 1lb weight gain. (5lb Vs. 6lb)

Now, my question is how bearable is carry a 6lb vs. 5lb machine in a daily basis with college textbooks....How bearable is the 1 extra lb in the back?

Any comments?

 

I'm starting to regret choosing the n-1000 card, I'm going to call lenovo tomorrow to see if I can switch to the n6200.....

 

I've seen many wireless cards. I honestly can't tell much of a difference any of them. I would note that if you wish to change your order, Lenovo will require you to cancel your original order and make a new one, which will put you at the back of the line.

 

it's probably easy to find a lenovo branded intel 6200 on ebay and install it yourself since it has the same amount of antenna (if i'm wrong then please correct me)

 

hopefully lenovo won't charge a cancelation fee or something...

 

If you really need the power, then I'd say the extra pound won't be too hard. Adding in the power adapter, the percentage greater weight is even less.

Although, I don't know how it is for everyone else, but I never carry my textbooks anywhere. Maybe I would carry them to the library to study, but a college library usually has the textbooks for you to check out.

 

one extra pound is not going to kill you. Your body would ge use to it.

 

You have to call lenovo about the changes because your order gets to send to build you machine in China. Last time, I called to make some changes to my machine after I placed an order just day, but the changes never made to my machine, ended up returning to lenovo without any fee and shipping cost because its their mistake. Keep in mind, you order will be delayed because of the changes..

My advice is to act fast, and follow through your call and make sure the changes get to send out to the factory to "opening-up" your order again. Or else, you will waste a lot of time in the process..