Help me pick a Lenovo

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I'm indecisive as hell and in need of a laptop for college (lots of papers and internet browsing and occasional streaming). So I decided to let you guys decide. Even though this is the off topic sub I know I'm talking to a predominantly ancient group of people, but I know from previous talks with some members that there's many tech geeks around here, so here's our two options:

Lenovo yoga slim 7: ultra sleek and ultra thin. Crazy powerful to boot. Ryzen 5 4500u + 16gbs ram + 512 SSD.

Lenovo Thinkpad 490: although it comes with the laughably slower i7-8565u it's still should be fast enough for my regular uses. Also comes with 16/512 gigs. These things are still portable enough and they're built like tanks with magnificent keyboards by all accounts.

So here's my predicament, would you go for the thinner sleeker or the better built one? The mid tier faster one or the high end, premium but slower one?
 
I know I'm talking to a predominantly ancient group of people

cheers

So here's my predicament, would you go for the thinner sleeker or the better built one? The mid tier faster one or the high end, premium but slower one?
Do you cart it around a lot? Does the weight matter? Will you be doing a heap of typing on it? Is either screen better for reading? Will it usually be plugged in or do you need to think about battery life? These things matter more than the processor, usually.
 
cheers


Do you cart it around a lot? Does the weight matter? Will you be doing a heap of typing on it? Is either screen better for reading? Will it usually be plugged in or do you need to think about battery life? These things matter more than the processor, usually.
I was joking with age comment!
And that's the thing that got me unsure. Non of the other specs matter. The thinkpad is only 250g heavier and 2.4 mm thicker. My current laptop is a 9 year old 17 inch HP. Once you're used to lugging that fridge around these 2 seem very movable. The screen on the thinkpad can be upgraded to basically the same as the other one and the battery life is also very similar. Id be using it to type papers 50% of the time (+1 for Thinkpad) and media consumption and reading and such the other half (+1 yoga)
I know these things matter more but it's pretty much 50-50, it's basically down to the processor and build now, but due to covid I can't try either laptops
 
I'd go with the Thinkpad if all the nifty features of the Yoga don't sound like something you would use a lot.

I just got a Lenovo Yoga 740, quite happy with it. I do find that I'm not using the touch screen or tablet mode.
I wouldn't use them either honestly, but the yoga slim is more of a better built IdeaPad, its not a 2 in 1 or even a touch screen laptop
 
Assuming both screens are serviceable, which these days at that level they are, I'd be getting the Thinkpad on the basis of that amount of typing, as much as anything. Until we get to being able to input data telepathically or with solid voice recognition, the keyboard is an incredibly important interface for those who use it a lot.
 
I’ve had a surface laptop. for the past 3 years and found myself actually using and liking the touchscreen. But don’t listen to me cause I just bought a MacBook Pro. Generally AMD handles multi threading better. The yoga will do better with multitasking. But just choose what you want.
 
Assuming both screens are serviceable, which these days at that level they are, I'd be getting the Thinkpad on the basis of that amount of typing, as much as anything. Until we get to being able to input data telepathically or with solid voice recognition, the keyboard is an incredibly important interface for those who use it a lot.

Agreed on picking the one with better keyboard.
 
I’ve had a surface laptop.
I've still got my SP3. Great device, really like it. I used it at uni, and the sub-optimal typing experience is what makes me lean towards the better keyboard.

But don’t listen to me cause I just bought a MacBook Pro
They've FINALLY fixed the keyboards on them now, haven't they? The last few years KBs have been dreadful.
 
My work computer is an X1. It has treated me very well so far. Comes home every night and gets used both as a laptop and docked desktop. I’ve used the touchscreen functionality only rarely. If you’re a student and not gaming with it, I’d go for the lighter weight. Throw in some books and notepads to your backpack and you won’t want any extra weight.
 
Didn't they basically revert to the old switches basically? I never got the change honestly. They're great devices overall and would be my automatic choice had they not been painfully expensive (the two laptops I mentioned are under 800 dollars compared to twice that for mac) and my utter disdain for macOS
 
Didn't they basically revert to the old switches basically? I never got the change honestly. They're great devices overall and would be my automatic choice had they not been painfully expensive (the two laptops I mentioned are under 800 dollars compared to twice that for mac) and my utter disdain to macOS

I don’t know if there similar to the old ones. This is my first Mac. So far I’m enjoying it, I still have my desktop windows machine.
 
This is my day job as an IT consultant - I do hardware/software management and deployment for SMB's

Between the two, if you're consuming content, go for the Yoga. If you're creating content, get the T490.



*written on my daily-driver T460
 
I'm indecisive as hell and in need of a laptop for college (lots of papers and internet browsing and occasional streaming). So I decided to let you guys decide. Even though this is the off topic sub I know I'm talking to a predominantly ancient group of people, but I know from previous talks with some members that there's many tech geeks around here, so here's our two options:

Lenovo yoga slim 7: ultra sleek and ultra thin. Crazy powerful to boot. Ryzen 5 4500u + 16gbs ram + 512 SSD.

Lenovo Thinkpad 490: although it comes with the laughably slower i7-8565u it's still should be fast enough for my regular uses. Also comes with 16/512 gigs. These things are still portable enough and they're built like tanks with magnificent keyboards by all accounts.

So here's my predicament, would you go for the thinner sleeker or the better built one? The mid tier faster one or the high end, premium but slower one?

i have had lots of pro/business grade laptops. I think lenovo T series are the best. best keyboards and best ergonomy when in use. i liked the older t400-t420 when they still had hardware buttons for volume so you could raise or lower volume by feel in the dark. only the T/X/W series are real thinkpads with good build quality, just so you know.
one can save a lot of money by buying the 1 year old models when new ones comes out.

dell latitude atg has also been good but has sharp corners where you put your hands, so not nearly as ergo. the carrying handle is nice. these use lots of magnesium instead of carbon fiber that the thinkpads use.

i also have a dell latitude rugged and its thicker and beefier, more rubber bumpers, the handle is now non tilting. very good. good ergo in use because of the handle.

any of those would be good for about 5-6 years if you get the latest or next latest gen cpu.
try to avoid the most powerful cpus because of heat/sound. get something in the middle imo, then it will be cool and quiet. avoid slim models for the same reason, they have no cooling capacity.


see the 3 silver buttons here, those were worth much imo.
35856_09.jpg


atg with separate volume and mute buttons
Dell-Latitude-E6420-ATG.png

newer semi rugged latitude with hidden ports


Dell_Latitude_5404_i7_Rugged_Laptop_679fb4aa-604a-43e9-b566-2567a9a438bc_1024x1024.jpg

really solid build with rubber bumpers allround.
_57_15_5956.jpg


i used to fly a lot with one of the rugged ones. best part is when the computer goes through the xray-machine and the customs people asks me to remove the computer from the carrying case, and you explain to them that there is no case. "the case" is the computer! :)
 
I was facing this same situtiation as I start school soon and ordered Lenovo e14 gen 2 amd, with ryzen 5 u4500, 8gb ddr4 and 256gb ssd

+ side is that you can update ram and ssd later, for it has free slot for both and chassis should be sturdy enough even thought it is just e series.

Downside I think will be the smaller battery size and screen with only 250-300 nits depending which manufacturer screen you get in the lottery. But you could just update screen later on if it really bothers you.

I was on pretty tight budget and decided to pick e14 with these specs, instead of yoga, which would have been 150€ more with same specs.

I ended up paying around 600€ with some discounts. E14 with amd have since been taken off from site due to high demand attleast here in Finland.

Haven't received it yet, so cannot comment further about quality. Should get it in few weeks.
 
I bought a T490 for my mother last Black Friday. I think they're thin and light enough and you don't need a dongle for every freakin' thing because THIN THIN THIN at all costs. One RAM is soldered, so I went with 16GB soldered and put in a spare 16 in the free slot myself. Upgrade cost to 512GB NVMe SSD was stupid expensive if ordered through Lenovo so I went with the 256 and put in a 512GB Samsung 970 myself. Went with the low power IPS display option.

Removing the bottom cover is kind of a pain - you have to pry it off and a few of the clips don't want to let go easily and it feels like it's gonna break. Keyboard is top load, so if it needs replacing it's not too bad.
 
I think they're thin and light enough and you don't need a dongle for every freakin' thing because THIN THIN THIN at all costs.
Good decision, I reckon. That trash can Mac Pro was the height of stupid design, needing breakouts for everything because it was peak Jony Ive.
 
I was facing this same situtiation as I start school soon and ordered Lenovo e14 gen 2 amd, with ryzen 5 u4500, 8gb ddr4 and 256gb ssd

+ side is that you can update ram and ssd later, for it has free slot for both and chassis should be sturdy enough even thought it is just e series.

Downside I think will be the smaller battery size and screen with only 250-300 nits depending which manufacturer screen you get in the lottery. But you could just update screen later on if it really bothers you.

I was on pretty tight budget and decided to pick e14 with these specs, instead of yoga, which would have been 150€ more with same specs.

I ended up paying around 600€ with some discounts. E14 with amd have since been taken off from site due to high demand attleast here in Finland.

Haven't received it yet, so cannot comment further about quality. Should get it in few weeks.
Here in the Netherlands both the yoga and the E14 are around 750, I was actually initially torn between those two but decided that if I'm going the Thinkpad route I might want to go all the way and get a T series. The E looked a bit chunkier and I wasn't impressed by the i/o but there's none to be found in shops, just online. Can you share pics and your thoughts on it when it arrives?
 
Can you share pics and your thoughts on it when it arrives?

Sure, but take it with grain of salt. I haven't had laptop in 10 years, so anything new to me will be giant leap sized of grand canyon compared to what I've used in the past. 😅
 
Following.

I'm in the process of replacing a failed laptop. Prob going with an HP at the 600 price point. Big attraction is Costco sells it and doubles the mfr warranty. I do no gaming. Zero. Some "work" stuff from home - will load the microsoft knock offs. Internet, streaming, etc.

Heard good things about Levano, is it worth more shopping? It's probably dating me but my only experience with Dell is a laptop I bought awhile ago that came with a POS modem in it. Yes there was life before wi-fi.
 
i have had lots of pro/business grade laptops. I think lenovo T series are the best. best keyboards and best ergonomy when in use. i liked the older t400-t420 when they still had hardware buttons for volume so you could raise or lower volume by feel in the dark. only the T/X/W series are real thinkpads with good build quality, just so you know.
one can save a lot of money by buying the 1 year old models when new ones comes out.
+1 for Lenovo T series. Extremely well built, and good keyboard too. I have used a T460 for work and an old T420 at home for the past several years
 
Following.

I'm in the process of replacing a failed laptop. Prob going with an HP at the 600 price point. Big attraction is Costco sells it and doubles the mfr warranty. I do no gaming. Zero. Some "work" stuff from home - will load the microsoft knock offs. Internet, streaming, etc.

Heard good things about Levano, is it worth more shopping? It's probably dating me but my only experience with Dell is a laptop I bought awhile ago that came with a POS modem in it. Yes there was life before wi-fi.

imo most if not all laptops under a grand will be POS. unless they are pro grade, last years model.
if you buy a pro grade laptop you can have it for 5-6 years most likely until it gets too slow. and it will last mechanically for that time.

all the laptops above i posted i have had/used for 3-6years. the rugged one is 3-4y now. all of them were used every day.

just look at the dell/lenovo sites and look at the current models.

buy once, cry once!!

most of these cheap laptop are cheap for a good reason. its **** hardware. its only made to last 1-2 years.

started up my thinkpad T about 1 year ago. hadn't used it for 2-3 years. the battery was still at 85% when it booted up. and i had lost about 3-4% in total. and that computer is 10 years old now!
 
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