Macbook Pro 13 vs Thinkpad T410 vs Toshiba R705

Hi,

I'm about to buy a new laptop and I'm having trouble deciding between the Macbook Pro 13, Thinkpad T410, and Toshiba R705.

Basic Specs
macbook pro 13 ---------- thinkpad t410----------toshiba r705
core 2 duo ---------- i5-540----------i3-350M
4 GB ---------- 4 GB----------4 GB
250 GB,5400 RPM ---------- 500 GB, 7200 RPM ----------500 GB, 5400 RPM
$1200----------$875----------$800


Each has its advantages, macbook is sturdy, great screen, battery life, lightweight (though expensive and has an old processor); thinkpad is powerful, sturdy, and relatively cheap (though battery life is OK and screen is not great), toshiba is extremely light and portable, relatively strong performance, relatively cheap, great battery life (chiclet keys are tiny, is toshiba reliable?).

Would appreciate any tips or advice. I've had a PC for all my life. I'll be using some engineering applications, but nothing too intense (might be a problem for the mac (don't want to have to run parallels or bootcamp)). I also want to use the laptop for multimedia (basically just watching movies/youtube).

 

The T410 is the value-for-money choice. If want to perhaps have accelerated desktop graphics via the expresscard slot ( DIY ViDock) then consider either the Toshiba R700 with expresscard slot ($1000) or the T410.

 

thanks nando!

i was leaning away from the macbook anyway...the lenovo obviously has the more powerful processor and faster hard drive plus a nicer keyboard, but i really like the screen on the r700 and it's sooo portable plus it has more than double the battery life of the t410. do you think the i3-330 processor will be able to handle tasks such as photoshop, illustrator, and some light engineering software? if so, i think i'll go with the r700

thanks again!!

 

So, which one did you pick?

(btw I think its an i3-350 not i3-330)