Be My Laptop Fairy

Question

I may be smart at some stuff, but I'm a total tech-moron. I sent the email below to Lhotse, but it seems wrong to put the fairy-burden on him. So will you all be my magical laptop fairy and tell me what to do?

I am down to three options: the X60, that refurbished X40 (https://www.usanotebook.com/computer_lap ... hp?id=1758), and my IT guy's averatec. I had written off the averatec, but he's making the deal pretty sweet.

In addition to what it comes with (https://www.averatec.com/docs/2300%20Ser ... ochure.pdf ), it's got XP Pro and 2G RAM and is only 3 months old. He paid $1100, and has upgraded it. He's also willing to throw in a year of tech support from him -- he's really handy with stuff, and if I have software problems, he'll be able to help. He wants $725, which includes a fancy case...not that I care that much about the case.

I really don't want to spend a lot - I am feeling super-broke right now. Getting something for way under $1000 sounds awfully nice.

My needs/desires:

Small
Optical Drive (willing to compromise)
Durability
I have minimal tech requirements, other than microsoft/school applications

All are small. The X60 and the Avartec seem to have more than I need in terms of computing power/speed. The Avartec comes with an optical drive; I'd have to buy an external for the others. Lenovo/IBM wins in the durability contest.

The X60 is coming in around $1400-1500, and that's without the extra warranty/support (but with the optical drive). The X40 is under $700.

What do you think? Ooh! I'll make it a poll!

lhotseface · Answer

Check your email !

tkkoh · Answer

Not sure about the school that you are going to, but CMU's computer store is selling the X60 (excluding the optical drive) with 3 years limited warranty and 3 years accidental damage coverage - for US$1300. 

Which is why I was wondering - how come not many people consider the school's computer store when purchasing a lappy?

gmatmba · Answer

I voted for the x60, its light, portable and looks "strictly for business"

Im also out in the market for the x60 or x60 tablet but not able to find a good deal beyond what lenovo has on their website. If anyone comes across anything please let me know ..thanks!

pelihu · Answer

I've been doing a lot of research on laptops lately. I bought a T61, and it turns out there's something wrong with the new Lenovo's and mine crashed every 15 minutes so I returned it. I then ordered a Sony SZ480 which arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a lemon. The Ctrl keys don't work, the speakers don't work, the headphone plug (only tested because the speakers weren't working) is f'd up, the bluetooth doesn't respond to the control panel and as I was using it, all of a sudden, for no reason, it started getting really really hot. The temperature was fine for several hours, but suddenly, while the computer was more or less idle it turned into a frying pan (Mac book owners should know the feeling well

). To top it off, it corrupted the date on an external hard drive I used to load some photos and music onto it. Anyhow, I spent several hours with two different tech support people (I must say, they were really nice and answered the phone within a minute each time) who concluded that the computer is a lemon, and I'm returning it. For anyone looking for small, thin, light, really sexy with an awesome screen, the Sony SZ is for you; however it's kind of expensive. I believe my lemon was a fluke, but I actually decided that it's probably too fragile for me, so I'm not getting another one. I had heard that Sony support wasn't good, but in my experience they were extremely responsive. The strange thing is that I've never had a single problem with any of the notebooks I have used in the past. I've had 4-5 of my own, and 2 others through work, and experienced nary a single problem. Even my cheapo Acer has never had a single problem. This time around, when reliability is my #1 concern, I get 2 lemons in a row. So, now onto my third choice. I just ordered a Lenovo V200. It's smaller, but shares many characteristics with my original first choice the T61. It's not as cool as the X60/X61, but it includes a built in optical drive, and that's important to me. Most importantly, I haven't seen a single report of any errors with it. I ordered it from Euclid Computers after a recommendation from a friend. With free shipping and no tax, it's actually pretty cheap at $1,243. I decided to tack on a 3 year on-site Lenovo warranty for 2 bills (they are a Lenovo dealer and offer factory extended warranties). In the past, I always considered extended warranties to be a waste of money, but, once bitten, twice bitten, thrice shy I guess. For anyone that wants to join me, here's a link to the V200. I think it's a solid choice for carrying around business school and the reviews have been very good: https://www.euclidcomputers.com/frameset ... vo+07642CU If you're set on buying an X61, Euclid offers some pretty good prices, as well as free shipping and perhaps no tax. For those interested in the X60, Lenovo has a current sale going on. 15% off until 7/12 with this coupon code: USPX60FOR48. You can get a very reasonably equipped system for about $1200 or so, but you'll need to buy a separate optical drive (and carry around an extra part + power supply, which sucks). For those of you that have some time before school starts, check out the Dell M1330. I'd be very interested in one of those (it's like the Sony SZ), but unfortunately they won't be available in time for me. Darden requires that you drop off your laptop for configuration and that you go through computer orientation before the start of school. If you're willing to look at an older model, the M1210 has been heavily discounted. I think it's very similar to the Lenovo V200 with a 12" screen and built in optical drive, but it's on the older Intel platform. This means it's a little slower, but might mean it's more stable. So, do I get the fairy job or what?

aaudetat · Answer

Wow, that's great advice. And you can still be a fairy if you want, but I went with Lhotse's advice yesterday morning. I went ahead and bought the avartec. I'm a little nervous about it, but as he says, it's a whole lot of machine for very little money. It's still under warranty, so it'll get me through the first year.

I was interested in both Dells you mentioned, but need something that comes with XP Pro as Duke doesn't offer much support of Vista and won't for a while. 

I just couldn't imagine spending over $1000 on a computer. I'm so broke right now, it's killing me. I dumped a good part of my savings into the grad school adventure (from GMAT to deposit) -- well over 10% of my annual income. Shaving a few hundred here and there means a lot. I got the avartec for half what I would have paid for a new machine.

Now I'm just worried that I'll feel like a dork 'cause all the other kids have name-brand computers. It's like middle school all over again, where I was wearing Wal-Mart jeans and everyone else had Guess. Things never change.

09App · Answer

That orientation sounds like an annoying way to start the program. Since the majority of students are pretty proficient, it seems a bit unnecessary for it to be mandatory.

aaudetat · Answer

Ahh, that's where we differ, 09. I was just thinking how dreamy it would be to drop it off and let a whole team of fairies do their magic.

09App · Answer

Just remind them how much they overpaid for a laptop with components from the same suppliers. I'm sure you're fine -- I started building my own desktops because you get so much more value for the money, not to mention flexibility to upgrade verse name brands.

aaudetat · Answer

Can I stick out my tongue, too?

09App · Answer

Yeah, and if you're feeling it you can show them your ass.

pelihu · Answer

I think notebooks and desktops are different beasts. A desktop is pretty much a sum of its parts. You pick out the parts that you want, plug them together and you have a computer. There aren't many design decisions (I know, the supergeeks put in like 4 video cards, argue bout different memory brands and use liquid cooling and stuff like that). But for the most part, you can pretty much pick whatever you want and just plug them together.

Notebooks benefit a lot more from design decisions and the chassis available from different manufacturer's vary a great deal. Two notebooks with identical main components can be very different. Take my cheapo Acer for example. I got it a year ago, and it has top-notch parts...but it's different than a top-notch name brand computer. For example, it probably runs at least 30-40 degrees hotter than a Lenovo of the same vintage with the same processor. The fan is super noisy and the thing generates so much heat that the fan runs at full-speed almost all the time.

The bottom line is that I like my Acer and it cost about 1/2 what a good name brand computer would have cost, but I wouldn't want to take it to class. The fan would be super annoying to other people in class and the touchpad and wrist wrests get uncomfortably hot after a period of time. Of course, my Acer isn't the only one that suffers from these types of problems. Macbooks are known to run really hot (hot enough to warp the chassis and battery) and have nasty noisy fans as well. The Sony I had got pretty hot too, but it was super thin and light. Some notebooks have noisy keyboards and mouse buttons that could be annoying for your neighbors. Some have crappy touchpads and screens. Some notebooks are really durable, while others can't take the abuse. These are all things that factor into the design of a notebook and cannot be changed. A notebook is more - or less - than the sum of its parts.

gmatmba · Answer

Thanks Pelihu!! I used the coupon above to get the X60 today. Together with my amex discount it came to less than $1200..

pelihu · Answer

That's great, I'm glad someone took advantage of that. I think those are cool computers if you don't need an optical drive.

aaudetat · Answer

In a couple years, I will buy a refurbished one for $650. By then they'll be selling the X80 or something. That's me, Miss Ghetto PC.

imjimmy · Answer

i believe this was an issue with Lenovo drivers + Intel Turbo memory + Vista. It seems that Intel has issued driver updates and so has Lenovo and the BSOD's seem to be resolved (atleast to an extent)

In my case I ordered a T61 with XP pro. There are no problems at all. With 2 GB of RAM it's extremely fast and I'm surprised by how cool it runs even at peak load. Overall I'm very happy with the machine.

OasisNYK · Answer

I think I am sticking with my dell inspiron 6000 - there is nothing out that looks all that appealing over what I have now - sure dual core would be nice, but you don't need it for excel, word, and checking e-mail - plus it will save me from spending another $1200-2000 which at this point is a huge plus.

kryzak · Answer

has anyone used an X60 Tablet (Lenovo) before? I'm thinking of eventually getting that one...

drMBA1 · Answer

I haven't used an X60 but I have the X61.

kryzak · Answer

is the X61 a tablet too? how is it? Is it worth the $300 extra?

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