New laptop what a mistake

[alonebfg]

I dont know where to start my laptop arrived and I hate it i have felt like throwing it out the window 3 times already. 1 it has vista ultamate and that is nothing but problems and the second it is 64 bit ok it is like a rocket but it dependes what i can install most programmes keep telling me that they are not 64 bit compatable and will not install grr I hate this fing thing.

[FN-GM]

Install 32bit then...

[kmount]

Try 32bit Vista, or downgrade to XP.

 

I use 64bit linux and asides from the few teething 64 versus 32 issues I'm quite happy and wouldn't trade.

[EduTech]

Put XP on it lol cure all your problems then you will LOVE it

[mattx]

I dont know where to start my laptop arrived and I hate it i have felt like throwing it out the window 3 times already. 1 it has vista ultamate and that is nothing but problems and the second it is 64 bit ok it is like a rocket but it dependes what i can install most programmes keep telling me that they are not 64 bit compatable and will not install grr I hate this fing thing.

 

Lordy - whats amazing is that you managed to get hold of 64bit drivers !!!

32 bit virtual system on your 64 bit perhaps ?

[FN-GM]

The guy who i work with purchased a new HP laptop for home. When he turned it on for the first time he got the option to use XP or Vista, Then he got the option to use 64 or 32 bit.

 

Want to try recieving your shiney new laptop to find the Optical Drive is faulty and so are the lovely media touch buttons. Cue call to Indian call centre.

 

Dell?

Edited July 23, 2008 by FN-Greatermanchester

[FN-GM]

Yep XPS. I have been spoilt with Latitude support.

 

I have gone off Dell for home products. For school Servers are pretty good and so is the support. The good thing with Dell is the warranty work its so easy to get them to come and fix something at work. On the other had getting them to fix the home products isn't so easy.

 

z

[richard.thomas]

Oooo I was just looking at getting my self a Dell laptop! I guess I should be looking else where then?

[FN-GM]

Oooo I was just looking at getting my self a Dell laptop! I guess I should be looking else where then?

 

I would go for HP at the moment.

[Dos_Box]

I'm eyeing up a Vostro for later in the year. I don't have a problem with Dell and after using their kit almost exclusively for 6 years I've had very, very few problems. Compared to other companies such as Acer and Sony their support is first class.

[Ric_]

If you guys won't buy Lenovo what do you expect Yes, the build quality isn't quite up to that of when IBM was making the Thinkpads but do you really need to be able to jump up and down on top of your laptop?

 

Don't buy the consumer-grade Lenovos though... that is how they can afford to make such high quality business notebooks

[torledo]

If you guys won't buy Lenovo what do you expect Yes, the build quality isn't quite up to that of when IBM was making the Thinkpads but do you really need to be able to jump up and down on top of your laptop?

 

Don't buy the consumer-grade Lenovos though... that is how they can afford to make such high quality business notebooks

 

just wish they'd join the 21st century and offer a glossy screen on any of their models. The thinkpad keyboard, trackpad and robustness are second to none, but the design, screen and standard battery are poor. I know it's a business laptop but the whole design could do with a refresh in order to compete with the macbooks and to a lesser exten the vaios...macbook air incidentally is a fab business laptop. It's actually quicker and less fuss to get windows xp installed on a macbook with install from CD than it is on any other laptop i've used. One OSX install disk in the slot after xp installation is complete then the bootcamp installer launches in windows and ALL bootcamp drivers are installed without prompting or restarting until the end. IBM's system update and CD based driver installs were a PITA by comparison.

 

Only two 'PC' laptops i'd consider using and that's the thinkpad X300 or the Dell latitiude D420...even then the Dell needs a successor. The sluggish processor and lack of built-in CD/DVD makes it less appealing.

[CyberNerd]

just wish they'd join the 21st century and offer a glossy screen on any of their models. The thinkpad keyboard, trackpad and robustness are second to none, but the design, screen and standard battery are poor.

 

I'm looking at a glossy screened R61i now. so whats wrong with the design/batteries. top quality IMO.

[torledo]

I'm looking at a glossy screened R61i now. so whats wrong with the design/batteries. top quality IMO.

 

My mistake about the glossy screens, last time i checked in the T61 range that were available there were no glossy screens.

 

The design is horribly dated, other than moving to a widescreen design, nothing has changed design wise for years. But i suppose the dsign is a matter of opinion.

 

The 4-cell battery is shockingly poor....i've got both the 4-cell and larger 6-cell batteries for the T61, and while the 6-cell does provide adequat battery life but as a result it adds a noticable amount of weight and it juts out of the back about 2 inches.

 

Overall i think they are overrated, what are they doing that a cheaper laptop with better multimedia capabilities isn't capable of doing ? draftN - well apparently schools and business alike are sticking with a/g, and has anyone actually order either the T61 with the WWAN option? There's a dock for business use, but Dell and HP do docks and port replicators, and even the basic thinkpad docks are quite expensive.

 

The R61 is more keenly priced, but it is neither the most portable, best designed or feature-laden laptop around at a competitive price. As i said robustness, keyboard and touchpad is all they have over the competition - ....that could be more enough to sway most people, but i'm not convinced.

[Ric_]

As i said robustness, keyboard and touchpad is all they have over the competition - ....that could be more enough to sway most people, but i'm not convinced.

 

You forgot about the little light for illuminating the keyboard

 

I like the look of the ThinkPads... wish I could afford an X300

 

I've had to use the ThinkPad warranty twice... the first time was a DOA battery. An engineer insisted on coming with a new battery and replacing it himself - now that's servcie for you! The second occasion was a mainboard fault... took the guy ages to change that! Both occasions were next day on site.

[torledo]

You forgot about the little light for illuminating the keyboard

 

I like the look of the ThinkPads... wish I could afford an X300

 

I've had to use the ThinkPad warranty twice... the first time was a DOA battery. An engineer insisted on coming with a new battery and replacing it himself - now that's servcie for you! The second occasion was a mainboard fault... took the guy ages to change that! Both occasions were next day on site.

 

The light i find hilarious....it does do it's job, just about!!!

 

But when you see a macbook pro and every single key illuminate automagically without having to hunt for a flippin' fn+pg up key sequence in the dark you realise that lenovo/ibm engineers must have come up with the light thing at the end of a particularly long, sleep deprived session. It has to go down, along with the macbook air 1 usb port braindump, as a 'what were they thinking' moment.

[Midget]

i use mainly latitudes, D630 FTW as the kids may well say. Good spec options, well built and even survive being used as a club against a mugger.

 

Bought a pile of Vostro 1000s for cheap (~£250 ex software) and they are good value for money but don't expect latest design, they're giant and chunky and have great trackpad buttons that actually click down.

[CyberNerd]

 

But when you see a macbook pro and every single key illuminate automagically without having to hunt for a flippin' fn+pg up key sequence in the dark you realise that lenovo/ibm engineers must have come up with the light thing at the end of a particularly long, sleep deprived session. It has to go down, along with the macbook air 1 usb port braindump, as a 'what were they thinking' moment.

 

The Thinkpads we have cost around £290, the macbook pro's are over £1000 each.

The thinkpads are robust and represent excellent value for money.

[localzuk]

The Thinkpads we have cost around £290, the macbook pro's are over £1000 each.

The thinkpads are robust and represent excellent value for money.

 

I think you need to compare like for like. A 290 quid thinkpad will most certainly not have the same spec as a MBP...

 

Doing a part by part comparison, the basic MBP available on Insigh has a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, 256MB Nvidia 8600GT graphics card, 15.4" WXGA (1440x900) display and a battery that'll last 5 hours.

 

The comparable Lenovo would be the T61p 6460, which has a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo, 2GB RAM, 15.4" WXGA (1920x1200, which would be ridiculous on a 15" screen), 100GB HDD, Nvidia Quadro FX 570 256MB Graphics card and a battery that lasts only 3.3hours. Oh and it weighs 0.2kg more.

 

The Apple is 1105.99 and the Lenovo is 1383.99 after a 100 quid rebate.

 

Which is the better deal?

[CyberNerd]

I think you need to compare like for like. A 290 quid thinkpad will most certainly not have the same spec as a MBP...

 

This is exactly the point I was making

 

personally I'd get this one (£255 ex) and stick ubuntu on it. Its better value than either you mention

dabs.com - Lenovo R61i Dual Core T2310 1GB 120GB DVD±RW Vista Home Premium (NG1A6UK)

[localzuk]

This is exactly the point I was making

 

personally I'd get this one (£255 ex) and stick ubuntu on it. Its better value than either you mention

dabs.com - Lenovo R61i Dual Core T2310 1GB 120GB DVD±RW Vista Home Premium (NG1A6UK)

 

What point are you making? That you'd rather buy a cheap and cheerful model? The processor in that is slow, the memory low and the graphics quite simply suck. It only has a 5400RPM hard disk too. It also weighs more, and has a screen capable of lower resultion (1280x800). I don't think it is very good value at all!

 

I'll stick to buying a laptop that I know will last me 3 years. That would barely survive a year without driving me nuts because of its low spec.

[CyberNerd]

What point are you making?

 

That I'd rather buy 4 lenovos at a quarter of the price - and keep 4 more teachers happy than buy one macbook. The thinkpads are reliable, easy to maintain have excellent support and are very robust. Anyway - this was all about glossy screens and keyboard lights.

 

These computers are not slow (unless you keep vista on them) but they are a higher specification than the majority of the computers we have in our school and my home machine (at 6yrs old functions rather well I hasten to add). Because I am able to maintain computers and keep them running efficiently and with appropriate (rather than unnecessary and bloated software) the school can afford 4 times as many.

[torledo]

That I'd rather buy 4 lenovos at a quarter of the price - and keep 4 more teachers happy than buy one macbook. The thinkpads are reliable, easy to maintain have excellent support and are very robust. Anyway - this was all about glossy screens and keyboard lights.

 

These computers are not slow (unless you keep vista on them) but they are a higher specification than the majority of the computers we have in our school and my home machine (at 6yrs old functions rather well I hasten to add). Because I am able to maintain computers and keep them running efficiently and with appropriate (rather than unnecessary and bloated software) the school can afford 4 times as many.

 

The R61 is far better value for money than the T61....aside from a few differences in spec that most users won't notice and the 802.11n and WWAN options in the T61 there is little to choose.

 

But tbh i don't think anyone should be looking at a screen larger than 14.1 for a 'portable' machine unless it's a magnesium alloy lightweight. And they come a premium. 14.1 and under and maximum 1280 x 960 (or is it 1020??) glossy screen is ideal. 1440 x XXX on a T61 with matte screen is little on the small side imo.

 

I'm sure though you can find equavalent products to the R61 form dell's latitude range and from HP. Build quality probably goes in lenovo's favour but Dell may beat them on support.

 

And weight is an issue with cut price laptops...2.5-2.6kg is portable, once you start going above that and nudging 3kg you then have to consider how portable they actually are especially if a user has documents, power packs and other accessories to lump around.

Edited July 26, 2008 by torledo