Lenovo thinkpad

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Well, I've heard some good things about Lenovo Thinkpads. What model would you guys recommend? I'm thinking about getting the T410. Is the i5 option worth it?</p>

2

<p>Hello GregC123,</p>

<p>Thinkpads are very dependable laptops. Things to consider when buying a laptop in descending priority: </p>

<p>1) Price <em>smacks forehead</em>
2) RAM (2GB is the WORST case scenario)
3) CPU type/speed (2.0GHZ is typical =/ and at least an Intel Duo core)
4) Graphics Card (Make sure it has at least 256MB of dedicated memory, which is essentially RAM that is reserved for graphical processes and gaming)
4) Hard Drive (200GB is plenty unless your modeling the climate for NASA)</p>

<p>Here is what I think:
Processor is great and you should have no problems with the awesome 2.53GHz clock speed, which just tells you how many calculations it can manage per second. Hard rive is PLENTY big, and you can always get an external for all of your downloads. Now the graphics card is not the greatest for gaming it’s designed for business applications, but it will get the job done for all of your college needs unless you are in engineering and are rendering 3D images in which case you may experience a little lag here and there. Overall it is a good PC for your typical college experience, though a wee bit pricey. Check out Toshiba’s satellite models. I have one and, well, I can’t really tell you what I do on it or I’d have to kill you. Ok good luck!</p>

<p>Review on your model: [Lenovo</a> ThinkPad T410 - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine](<a href=“http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358979,00.asp]Lenovo”>Lenovo ThinkPad T410 | PCMag)</p>

3

<p>I like the Thinkpad T-series because of their ruggedness. It’s mighty difficult to do significant damage to those.</p>

4

<p>How does this setup sound for $1235</p>

<p>Intel Core i5-540M Processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 3212
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
Intel HD Graphics
3 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
128 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode60
Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 625010
Integrated Mobile Broadband
1 Year Depot Warranty</p>

5

<p>It’s not bad. If you took the SSD out, it would cost a lot less.</p>

6

<p>Would it be worth it to upgrade system graphics from intel hd graphics to:</p>

<p>NVIDIA NVS 3100m Graphics 512MB DDR3 with AMT</p>

7

<p>Java, I have to disagree with your post:</p>

<p>

</p>

<ol>
<li>That one I’ll give to you.</li>
<li>2GB of RAM is plenty for most people. Unless you play intensive games or do some sort of media editing, you probably won’t notice the difference between 2GB and 4GB.</li>
<li>See #2.</li>
<li>Most people don’t even need a dedicated card. Again, unless they game or do media editing, and esp if all they do is homework/web surfing/video streaming/music playback/light gaming, a standard integrated GPU is more than enough for them.</li>
<li>Again, 200GB is plenty of space for most people. Usually it’s only enthusiasts like me who need more space than that. For the average user who again does homework/web surfing/video streaming/music playback/light gaming, 200GB is plenty of space.</li>
</ol>

8

<p>In reply to above posts, I don’t think you need an SSD hard drive for college. It’s overkill and SSDs cost to much currently. I’d recommend a 7200 RPM standard hard drive with more storage.</p>

<p>Depending on your activities, you might want that nvidia nvs 3100m graphics card. But, if you just watch movies/youtube/flash games you’ll be fine with the intel HD graphics.</p>

9

<p>Heres one I customized for $1100. What do you guys think? I could remove the 4 GB and replace it with 2 GB and get it for $1020.</p>

<pre><code>Intel Core i5-540M Processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 3212
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
Intel HD Graphics
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)5
9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode60
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
2516: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7
</code></pre>

10

<p>your config looks very stable and future-proof.</p>

<p>also, if you haven’t seen a thinkpad in person yet, you should go to your local staples or office depot.</p>