Laptop Recommendations - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Finner · 06-17-2011, 05:32 PM

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a new laptop. Not a desktop replacement, but something relatively portable with good battery life.

So far i'm looking at a Lenova Thinkpad X220 with a 12.5 inch IPS screen, i3 processor and 2 GB of ram (would upgrade it). With the RFD sale its 25% off plus 8% cash back so the total would be around $650.00, however it ends tonight. Also i read the fan can be annoying.

Other then that i'm looking at a Dell Vostro 3450 with a 14 inch screen with about the same specs that is 50 bucks cheaper.

Both laptops have outstanding battery life.

Outside of that am i missing any great deals or better computers? Am i better off waiting till August for back to school sales. It's not urgent, just i do some school work/browsing and my current netbook is dieing and it would leave me in a lurch if it died and i had to wait weeks for a replacement.

Thanks for all and any help!

boogerz · 06-18-2011, 07:05 PM

Acer Timeline 1830

You can get them for cheaper than $600 if you look around and/or wait for a deal to pop up. Small, light, good battery life, good build quality, and very good performance for the price(particularly for the higher end models with the dedicated GPU)

dissentowner · 06-18-2011, 07:20 PM

What is your budget like?

NiklasSundblad · 06-18-2011, 07:59 PM

Budget question aside, I've been loving my Lenovo for the last 18months. I've never loved a laptop before.

Finner · 06-18-2011, 09:12 PM

600-800.

Ended up settling on the Thinkpad x220. Has rave reviews, listed as one of the best laptops you can buy and that's when its regular price is over 1000. Ended up picking out an i5 model instead of the i3. Will likely swap in a SSD and 8gb of ram. Its listed as a top 5 ultraportable laptop on cnet and a top 10 of all laptops available on notebook reviews. All in price should be ~680. With ram it'll be closer to 760 if/when i pick it up.

The IPS screen with incredible viewing angles and the build quality of Thinkpads made it work for me. Also i hear their keyboards are fantastic to use. Battery life is over 8 hours with the 6 cell and i can always pick up the 9 cell for 13 hours of life.