Am I looking at the right computer? (Laptop for Engineer)

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I am going to be majoring in Mechanical Engineering next year, so I've started looking at laptops, since I currently use a five(ish) year-old desktop computer that I'm sure isn't going to last for much longer. I'm hoping to get one that I will be able to use for all four years and not have to upgrade after sophomore year.</p>

<p>I've read on this forum that Lenovos are popular among Engineers, and looking at their website, they have three different types. (IdeaPad, ThinkPad, and Essential) I was looking at mainly the Essential G-series laptops. (link</a> here) </p>

<p>They are all pretty much the same, and have crappy battery life :(. I was looking at the G460 since it has a better processor for the same price, and the 570 is a bit large (15.6" monitor). </p>

<p>The other Lenovo I was considering was the IdeaPad u160 Models (click</a> here!), since it is the same price as the G460 but has the i7 instead of the i5 processor, and a longer battery life, but they are out of stock at the moment. I'm going to keep my eye on them, though, because they seem like a better deal than the G-series.</p>

<p>Am I looking at the right computers? I don't know if I need the power of the i-series processors but, if I don't, my Dad probably isn't going to get anything cheaper since my brother got a MSI that uses the i5, and he's not even going into a STEM major.</p>

<p>Note: I also looked at ASUS for laptops but honestly, they had too many to look through on their website, LOL. So if anyone wants to recommend an ASUS, be my guest. </p>

<p>Note #2: I am not interested in Macs at all, because (a) I hate them; and (b) they are not in my price range.</p>

<p>Any help would be appreciated. :)</p>

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<p>Asus has several high battery life computers in the U and UL series.</p>

<p>For lenovo: check the T-series.</p>

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<p>I checked out the T420 (because it was the cheapest one, not going to lie). It doesn’t seem like the T-series has that much of an advantage over the U-series when it comes to the specs, but correct me if I am wrong. I am not trying to argue or anything, just trying to get the best deal for my $$. (If they sold Lenovos in stores, I would be bothering a salesmen with these questions.) All the specs below are standard:</p>

<p>T420:

[ul]
[<em>]Sticker Price: $1,290
[</em>]OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
[<em>]Display: 14" (1366 x 768)
[</em>]Processor: Intel Core i5-2520M (2.5 Ghz)
[<em>]Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000
[</em>]2 GB Memory
[<em>]250 GB Hard drive, 5400 rpm
[</em>]UltraNav Pointing device
[<em>]DVD burner
[</em>]4 in 1 Card Reader
[<em>]6 cell battery
[</em>]ThinkPad b/g/n (??)
[/ul]</p>

<p>U460:

[ul]
[<em>]Sticker Price: $1,199
[</em>]OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
[<em>]Display: 14" (1366 x 768)
[</em>]Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-560M (2.66 Ghz)
[<em>]Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 305M
[</em>]4 GB Memory
[<em>]500GB hard drive, 5400
[</em>]Industry Standard Pointing device
[<em>]1.3 MP Camera
[</em>]8 cell battery
[li]Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 1000[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>I don’t know which graphics card is better, but from specs alone it seems like the U460 is a better buy. Is there anything unique to the T-series that is beneficial to engineers? And a bigger battery means a longer life, all else equal, right?</p>

<p>I looked at the ASUS U30SD but there is a lack of prices on their website for some reason? If you can’t tell already, price is kind of a large factor for me. lol</p>

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<p>The ThinkPads will most likely have more battery life than IdeaPads/Essentials. Also, make sure you get a processor that begins with a 2 (i.e. Intel Core i5-2520M) as opposed to the ones with 3-digit codes. The 2 means second generation, and even though the speed is slightly lower, the performance of the T420 will be better. </p>

<p>Also, on Lenovos, make sure you look for coupons. They have some huge sales every once in a while, and you could get at least $100 (if not 2-300) off.</p>

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<p>Suggestion: Have your computer purchased with a CC that gives an extended warranty. BOTH of our kids’ laptops died while in college & resisted attempts to repair. The extended warranty by AmEx Costco card gave them a FULL REFUND. They ended up buying NETBOOKS and desktops to replace their broken laptops. S is an EE & much prefers the lighter weight of the netbook over the laptop. He uses it sort of like an extra hard drive with a keyboard. He was very happy with his solution, which was cheaper than his ViSIO Sony Laptop. Would strongly recommend AGAINST HP laptops–their customer service is quite poor.</p>

<p>You may wish to communicate with your U & see what they recommend & if there are student discounts. Some Us are more “Apple” while many are PC & some don’t much care. Both bought their computers shortly before they left for school, so they could get the latest model & fully load it before they left, fixing any bugs. Some folks prefer to just got their computers once they reach their Us.</p>

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<p>You were looking at the T420s which is sandy-bridge and more expensive. There have non sandy bridge laptops also in the T series that aren’t nearly as much.</p>

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<p>In general, for a college student, there are three lines of laptops that I’d recommend:</p>

<p>Lenovo Thinkpad T-series
Dell Latitude E-series
Macbook Pro</p>

<p>While all laptops available generally tend to have the same stuff inside, as real business-class laptops, those three have much higher build quality than the rest and tend to use slightly (but only very slightly) better quality components. As a college student, your laptop is going several places, and sitting in your backpack, it’s going to suffer several times more wear and tear compared to the average user. For most people, the concern is the hardware getting too outdated to run the most recent software, but for college students, the laptop usually physically falls apart before that happens. Yes, you can care for your laptop, but the effort just isn’t worth it.</p>

<p>Since you said you didn’t want a Mac, you’re left with the Thinkpad T-series and Latitude E-series. It’s really all about the build quality, as what’s inside is quite similar to the rest.</p>

<p>As for Sandy Bridge: I suggest you get it because it’s newer and will likely last you a little longer. Don’t pay any attention to how Intel names their models: it’s so off from what actually goes on that it’s actually all marketing. There are several i5s and i7s of different generations and architectures, and some newer i5s can actually outperform older i7s.</p>