Are any other makes upto Thinkpad standards yet?

BoomAM · 4 Feb 2008 at 13:03

Hi.
Im considering replacing my current laptop with a new'en.
Problem is that im so used to the high quality of my Thinkpad that other laptops ive used as of late seem a bit shabby. Having said that though, it is just Dells and some cheap Toshibas ive used.

Anyway, are any of the other makes upto thinkpad quality yet?

Thanks in advance all.

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Indy500 · 4 Feb 2008 at 13:08

Build quality tends to scale with cost. The £300 laptops use cheaper materials and more plastic than metal, for example.

BoomAM · 4 Feb 2008 at 14:19

True, but ive seen multi-grand Dell laptops made of cheaper materials and have creekier construction than a £400 R41 Thinkpad...

Indy500 · 4 Feb 2008 at 14:21

BoomAM said:
True, but ive seen multi-grand Dell laptops made of cheaper materials and have creekier construction than a £400 R41 Thinkpad...

Don't buy Dell then.

BoomAM · 4 Feb 2008 at 14:25

sr4470 said:
Don't buy Dell then.

lol.

Sony's dont appear much better either though. Nor do Toshibas?

What are HPs like now a days?

merlin2k6 · 4 Feb 2008 at 14:27

I have found my HP DV6000 lappy to be very well built indeed, its been dropped, stood on, the works, no issues here. Quite stylish as well.

Indy500 · 4 Feb 2008 at 14:27

BoomAM said:
lol.

Sony's dont appear much better either though. Nor do Toshibas?

What are HPs like now a days?

I've used a few Toshibas, they seem solid enough to me. As for HP I don't know, I haven't tried any recent models.

Dr House · 4 Feb 2008 at 17:08

not that i have found yet, I nomrall buy a Txx every year.

I have tried dell, sony, toshiba and the only thing that has come close to the IBM is apple.

BoomAM · 4 Feb 2008 at 17:18

Although the Thinkpad Tablets dont meet my needs in many areas, im considering getting one.

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MivkM · 4 Feb 2008 at 23:25

Got a Think pad T61, 2GB ram, 2.33GHZ processor with vista ultimate. Runs Vista nicely and is very well built. They do come in at about £1400 i think it was last time i looked.

devilkazuya · 5 Feb 2008 at 18:28

Sony Vaio AR series have excellent build quality, but are all 17inch large desktop replacements. The top of the range AR51SU (my laptop) has a full HD 1080p display with excellent colours and viewing angles. Every aspect of this laptop is great, except for battery life. I always have it plugged in anyway and it isn't considered a portable laptop.

Check out eh Sony Vaio TZ series if you want a small portable laptop of high quality. If you want it a little bigger the FZ series is meant to be very good.

The Toshiba Qosmio laptops are meant to be good. The top of the range Qosmio G40 looks excellent and is the equivalent of the Sony AR series, except that the Qosmio G40 has a HD DVD drive instead of a Blu Ray drive.

blueboy2001 · 5 Feb 2008 at 22:01

We've just switched from Dell to Lenovo at work. I've got Dell D620/630's in my department and users who've seen the Lenovo samples have said they are heavy and bulky by comparison. Some of the lower end Dell's with plastic housings other departments buy are nowhere near as nice.

bigredshark · 6 Feb 2008 at 17:10

devilkazuya said:
Sony Vaio AR series have excellent build quality, but are all 17inch large desktop replacements. The top of the range AR51SU (my laptop) has a full HD 1080p display with excellent colours and viewing angles. Every aspect of this laptop is great, except for battery life. I always have it plugged in anyway and it isn't considered a portable laptop.

Check out eh Sony Vaio TZ series if you want a small portable laptop of high quality. If you want it a little bigger the FZ series is meant to be very good.

The Toshiba Qosmio laptops are meant to be good. The top of the range Qosmio G40 looks excellent and is the equivalent of the Sony AR series, except that the Qosmio G40 has a HD DVD drive instead of a Blu Ray drive.

I wouldn't say anything in the sony range is particularly high quality, too much plastic, too easy to damage the screen.

I'd say HP are about the best at a reasonable price these days (I haven't looked at thinkpads since lenovo took over though)

BoomAM · 7 Feb 2008 at 18:02

Can HP laptops specs be customised, or are they like IBM/Lenovo where we're limited to certain specs on certain models?

JonnyT · 8 Feb 2008 at 00:03

BoomAM said:
Can HP laptops specs be customised, or are they like IBM/Lenovo where we're limited to certain specs on certain models?

Large corporates can get them Configured To Order (CTO) depending on quantity but for one offs sadly not.

Some of the modern HP corporate laptops (6700 series etc) are getting closer to ThinkPad quality levels but are not there yet - no solid metal hinges and nothing such as the full metal rollcage for the chassis and screen as on the T61(p).

BTW there's about to be a Lenovo Ultraportable launched (X Series) which hs a 13.3 widescreen and integrated optical drive, called the X300. There's previews on various websites so google is your friend!

Energize · 8 Feb 2008 at 15:35

BoomAM said:
What are HPs like now a days?

My hp laptop is fantastic. Was only £700 when I bought it just over a year ago, yet is as thin as a macbook and very sturdy.

yak.h'cir · 8 Feb 2008 at 16:17

I've got the HP8510p and it's pretty decent. It has become a little bit creaky around the touch pad after a couple of months use but apart from that it's good.

BoomAM · 8 Feb 2008 at 22:34

JonnyT said:
BTW there's about to be a Lenovo Ultraportable launched (X Series) which hs a 13.3 widescreen and integrated optical drive, called the X300. There's previews on various websites so google is your friend!

Ive seen the X300. Looks nice. Looks expensive.

Is it just Thinkpads that have the trackpoint?

Doohickey · 9 Feb 2008 at 05:03

Haha. Just examined my Acer. Creak-tastic.

Guru · 9 Feb 2008 at 11:55

I think the New HP laptops are VERY well built! I had an HP Pavillion DV9646em and it was probably the best build quality lappy I've personally seen.

Also the NX7000 I'm typing this on is excellently well made compared to a lot of new laptops.