Thinkpad l420

Gwillz91

Gwillz91

Gwillz91

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1 Mar 2010
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9
Hi everyone, I'm new here so if I do anything wrong please feel free to flame me.

I'm looking to buy a laptop in the next month or so, I've been looking at Thinkpads as I know they're renowned for their build quality etc. I was just wondering if anyone knew what the L series in particular was like as this seems to fit the bill spec and money wise.

Any recommendations other than this laptop for a £650 ish budget are also appreciated :P

Thanks.
 
Welcome to the forums :)

I'm not too clued up in laptops, but te think pad series probably do have the best build quality I've seen in a while. Some other things you could consider are te MSI laptops (forget which ones) that are roughly £700. Theyre good specs at reasonable prices.

EDIT: it wasn't an MSI I was thinking about, they're more expensive!
 
L-series are OK, but I'd stretch to a T-series if you can afford it as it's thinner, lighter and less plastic-y.
 
Ive just bought a Thinkpad Edge E520, and I absolutly love it. Switchable graphics, and the 9cell battery and the battery life likes to tell me its got between 7 - 12 hours.

What are you using it for? Mine was a present from my business tome, as I need it for on-the-flydesigns and examples pictures etc.
 
Loads of choice with the thinkpads.

Consider a thinkpad edge for better value for money

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Part Number: NZ3B3UK

Stock Code: 5010511

Intel® Core™ i5-2430M Dual Core Processor, 15.6" HD Screen, Windows 7 Professional Edition 64-bit, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 750GB HDD, DVD Rewriter, Dedicated Graphics Ati 6630.

£582 including VAT. Extra £50 for 3 year lenovo warranty if you want it.
 
Hi guys thanks for the responses!

Basically I want it for web browsing(obviously) uni work (programming and web stuff etc) and also some games, but I'm not interested in playing skyrim or anything mad like that as long as it plays fairly recent games i'll be happy.

I guess the main thing I want is a laptop that's going to last me a couple years, I know technology advances rapidly, but I thought I'd try and get a lappy with some lasting ability. I'd like to have a lappy that has the potential to go up to 8 gig in the future and maybe an SSD one day.

One thing that I can't get a clear answer on is this 1366 x 768 business, some say it's rubbish and others say it's fine. Also a fairly good battery life would be nice, that 9 cell on the edge sounds good to me! I also forgot to mention that I'm considering the L420 because it's 14" but i guess 15.6 isn't much of a difference.

Thanks all!
 
Gwillz91 said:
Hi guys thanks for the responses!

Basically I want it for web browsing(obviously) uni work (programming and web stuff etc) and also some games, but I'm not interested in playing skyrim or anything mad like that as long as it plays fairly recent games i'll be happy.

I guess the main thing I want is a laptop that's going to last me a couple years, I know technology advances rapidly, but I thought I'd try and get a lappy with some lasting ability. I'd like to have a lappy that has the potential to go up to 8 gig in the future and maybe an SSD one day.

One thing that I can't get a clear answer on is this 1366 x 768 business, some say it's rubbish and others say it's fine. Also a fairly good battery life would be nice, that 9 cell on the edge sounds good to me! I also forgot to mention that I'm considering the L420 because it's 14" but i guess 15.6 isn't much of a difference.

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

I have a 13.3" HP Probook, anything higher than 1366 x 768 would be no use on this size screen. I find 1366 x 768 on a 15.6" fine as well and again anything higher is futile or headache inducing from ones I have tried.

If I need to do graphics work etc etc then I just plug into a 22". It is much cheaper and ultimately a much better overall experience to get a normal laptop and then a monitor for docking with. You also get much better colour reproduction docking with a decent screen.

Having used a 13.3” for 6 months now, I could never go back to a larger notebook and even 14” would be too large for me.

One thing you will find on business laptops is restricted viewing angles though. This is a feature not a failure as it helps increase privacy esp when on the train, in a public place or in an office. Anti-glare screens are also pure win.

The only reason a 1080 screen on a 15" or smaller laptop would be worth having was if this was your only screen for doing hi-res image and mapping work like CAD / GIS etc but it really isn't the way to go. Any work-places would require you to dock for H&S reasons anyway if doing this kind of work.

If you are self-employed or just a home user / student but doing work and need a portable notebook then having an external monitor is a real bonus.

Home users who just keep their laptop at home for media and games should just buy a 17” laptop as most come with the next res up from 1366 x 768.

User comfort is hugely limited by overall screen size and a higher res does not improve this, you can just see more if your eyes can sustain it.
 
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Scrutinize said:
I have a 13.3" HP Probook, anything higher than 1366 x 768 would be no use on this size screen. I find 1366 x 768 on a 15.6" fine as well and again anything higher is futile or headache inducing from ones I have tried.

If I need to do graphics work etc etc then I just plug into a 22". It is much cheaper and ultimately a much better overall experience to get a normal laptop and then a monitor for docking with. You also get much better colour reproduction docking with a decent screen.

Having used a 13.3” for 6 months now, I could never go back to a larger notebook and even 14” would be too large for me.

One thing you will find on business laptops is restricted viewing angles though. This is a feature not a failure as it helps increase privacy esp when on the train, in a public place or in an office. Anti-glare screens are also pure win.

The only reason a 1080 screen on a 15" or smaller laptop would be worth having was if this was your only screen for doing hi-res image and mapping work like CAD / GIS etc but it really isn't the way to go. Any work-places would require you to dock for H&S reasons anyway if doing this kind of work.

If you are self-employed or just a home user / student but doing work and need a portable notebook then having an external monitor is a real bonus.

Home users who just keep their laptop at home for media and games should just buy a 17” laptop as most come with the next res up from 1366 x 768.

User comfort is hugely limited by overall screen size and a higher res does not improve this, you can just see more if your eyes can sustain it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I see what you are saying, I have a 22" monitor available hooked up to my desktop, so I'll probably get a 1366 x 768 res lappy and like you say if I ever need to do something that requires better colour etc I'll just hook it up to that. I've built several desktops but want something portable for a change and my desktop is sluggish as hell these days :(.

I believe the L series may have an anti glare screen which i've read is good...I never knew the viewing angles were actually a feature? I guess as along as I can see from straight in front there's no problem :P Thanks for the info.
 
The i3 L420 can be had direct from Lenovo UK for £518 with the following spec.

Intel Core i3-2350M Processor (2.30GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 English
14.0 HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 3000, Mobile Broadband Ready
4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard UK English
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
720p HD Camera
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable
6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55+
Country Pack United Kingdom with Line cord & 65W AC adapter
Bluetooth 3.0
ThinkPad b/g/n
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable

Add £79 for an i5 and £133 for 3 year on-ste next day warranty. You can go with the stock 2gb memory and save £33 then upgrade yourself cheaper.

As for CPU, I have an i3 380m in my HP and it is still quick enough for everything inc Adobe CS and CAD. Unless you are gaming, which this is not designed for I doubt you would notice the leap to an i5. Perhaps an SSD (self upgrade) would be a better option
 
Thats pretty much the spec I got, but mine is the E520:

- Intel Core i3-2330M Processor (2.20GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz)
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 English
- 15.6 W HD (1366x768) Anti-Glare, Midnight Black
- AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6630 Switchable (2GB VRAM, mSATA capable)
- 4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
- Keyboard UK English
- Fingerprint Reader
- 720p HD Camera
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
- Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
- 9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery
- Country Pack United Kingdom
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000

And I got a sleeve for a total of £535.88

There was a deal on
 
The 1366x768 screens are the new standard and appear to have replaced 1280x800. The L420 will not have a glossy display.

To be perfectly honest most of the current 1366x768 screens are very underwhelming. The T420 one is rubbish compared to the 1280x800 in the previous T400/T410 models and has terrible viewing angles. It's down to the big screen suppliers, it would cost £hundreds use to fit a better screen.
 
Gwillz91 said:
That's a hell of a deal to be fair! the 1080 screen usually makes prices go sky high from what i've seen
Click to expand...

Indeed it was. And it's a really nice screen.

My requirements were pretty much identical to yours and this is what I went for.

I don't really have any regrets... well maybe one, I was originally going for the E6420 (14 inch) but an E6520 came up with the spec I wanted first so I went for it. I find 15.6" pretty big and sometimes wish I went for the smaller model.

One thing to note is that I got a 3 year warranty with mine too :)
 
Disco Boy said:
Indeed it was. And it's a really nice screen.

My requirements were pretty much identical to yours and this is what I went for.

I don't really have any regrets... well maybe one, I was originally going for the E6420 (14 inch) but an E6520 came up with the spec I wanted first so I went for it. I find 15.6" pretty big and sometimes wish I went for the smaller model.

One thing to note is that I got a 3 year warranty with mine too :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I think I've decided I want something a bit smaller than a 15.6, I've got a netbook and that's simply too small to do anything apart from web browsing and even then It's a pita, so I want a 13 to 14 or if a good deal comes up I might get a 15.
 
That latitude is the ultimate in portable CAD machines. I used to have a works one.

For normal work though the screen is way to high res @ 15"

13" is the way to go for a notebook imo, you get a full size keyboard although no numpad and you know you can still get it out and work in a tight space like on a train if you don't manage to get a table. Easy to put out the way on a desk if you dock with a KB / Monitor.

An HP Probook 4330s with i3/4GB mem etc etc comes in at around £500 including vat, you get a 5-6 hour battery life, lots of metal on the chassis/lid, spill resistant keyboard etc etc.

You can usually find the 3 year HP warranties for £15-£30 as well.
 
Scrutinize said:
That latitude is the ultimate in portable CAD machines. I used to have a works one.

For normal work though the screen is way to high res @ 15"

13" is the way to go for a notebook imo, you get a full size keyboard although no numpad and you know you can still get it out and work in a tight space like on a train if you don't manage to get a table. Easy to put out the way on a desk if you dock with a KB / Monitor.

An HP Probook 4330s with i3/4GB mem etc etc comes in at around £500 including vat, you get a 5-6 hour battery life, lots of metal on the chassis/lid, spill resistant keyboard etc etc.

You can usually find the 3 year HP warranties for £15-£30 as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I wasn't sure what size to get but it seems 13 or there about is the way to go, especially when I have access to plenty of larger monitors around the house which I can hook it up to.

That seems pretty nice, HP were my other consideration so I'll look into it, where did you find this price? That's good for 3 year warranty as well, I think Lenovo's price is higher. Do you think there's any need for an i5? bare in mind I want this laptop to last me a couple years at least.
 
Email me in trust if you want details as google doesn't bring this one up with the re-seller I would use or recommend.

HP Probook 4330s Part Number: LW820EA#ABU

£505.97

Stock Code: 2663326

Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Dual Core Processor, 13.3" HD Screen, Windows 7 Professional Edition 64-bit, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB HDD, DVD Rewriter, Integrated Graphics,

I have the 4320s with an i3 380m (benchmarks 10-20% lower than the 2330M) and this still runs everything I throw at it from CAD /GIS to Adobe CS. Memory is king here and since it is still cheap, Kingston DDR3 is about £35-£40 for 8GB or depending on the configuration you may find you only need 1x4gb extra.

You won't really need an i5 imo, nice to have but as you won't be gaming then it’s probably not needed.

Warranty prices vary, I got mine for £13 off ebay (probably an HP employee who buys the e-warrnty packs in job lots). When you register your laptop online you may find the warranty runs short. This is because HP esitmate a point of ship to point of sale date. All you need to do is call buisness support and they will update it correctly.

HP business support is great.

The re-seller who does these Probooks does the HP 3 year C&R for £49.99.
 
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Scrutinize said:
Email me in trust if you want details as google doesn't bring this one up with the re-seller I would use or recommend.

HP Probook 4330s Part Number: LW820EA#ABU

£505.97

Stock Code: 2663326

Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Dual Core Processor, 13.3" HD Screen, Windows 7 Professional Edition 64-bit, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB HDD, DVD Rewriter, Integrated Graphics,

I have the 4320s with an i3 380m (benchmarks 10-20% lower than the 2330M) and this still runs everything I throw at it from CAD /GIS to Adobe CS. Memory is king here and since it is still cheap, Kingston DDR3 is about £35-£40 for 8GB or depending on the configuration you may find you only need 1x4gb extra.

You won't really need an i5 imo, nice to have but as you won't be gaming then it’s probably not needed.

Warranty prices vary, I got mine for £13 off ebay (probably an HP employee who buys the e-warrnty packs in job lots). When you register your laptop online you may find the warranty runs short. This is because HP esitmate a point of ship to point of sale date. All you need to do is call buisness support and they will update it correctly.

HP business support is great.

The re-seller who does these Probooks does the HP 3 year C&R for £49.99.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I've found that price on a reseller through google, whether it's the one you recommend I don't know haha.. The other thing I kept forgetting to ask was does anyone know which companies allow student discounts?
 
I didn't want to create a new thread, but does anyone know if Lenovo do student discount in the UK? or any other companies for that matter?

Thanks all
 
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