Advice: Lenovo Edge 15 vs. Probook 4520s (anyone own these?)

[kwo]

Requirements:
<$500 and W7Pro

Here's the head-to-head:

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 15 (core i3-390m)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-0301J9U/15939836
$470

HP ProBook 4520s (core i3-380m)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157673
$485

I just can't decide between the two. I have just picked up the Lenovo from Walmart, but am trying to decide if I like it enough to keep, or whether I should try the HP from the 'Egg. Of course, with Walmart, I can just return this puppy anytime in the next 30 days. However, with the HP, returning a fully functional laptop would be a problem (e.g. RMA charges). Hence, I didn't want to order the HP unless I was absolutely sure I was going to keep it...

This Lenovo seems ok, but it feels kinda cheap (yes, I *know* it's not a real Thinkpad) and the plastic on the inside is squishy, especially around the right of the keyboard over the optical drive. No latch on the display, either.

Anyone have a Probook they'd care to comment on? I'd appreciate comments.

 

[Emulex]

lenovo puts too much junk into the required thinkvantage software imo. probook can rock without all that junk software. it's a personal preference but i wouldn't touch any lenovo except the top end models. seen alot of problems with the cheap ones.

 

[Ultralight]

I've purchased two Lenovo Edge, one in December for my wife and one in March for my daughter to replace her failing HP two months out from her graduation from college. One has the i3 and the other the Turion II.

To me they don't feel cheap in the least. The keyboard is solid as are the hinges and depending on what you want to do it should easily do you fine. The one you linked to has the slower 250 gig 5400 rpm hd with two gigs of RAM.

For about $100 more you can get a 14" with a 320 gig harddrive and four gigs of RAM. The 14" with the i3 and i5 was a best seller: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-057...ndingMethod=rr

* I suggest you check out Lenovo's website as they have just released the new Edge 420 (E420) models. They are also having really good deals with the AMD models if you are at interested. I wouldn't consider the Athlon II however; go with the Turion II.


Now here is my personal experience: I will never buy an HP again after the issues I have had with my latest. It was a nightmare.

 

[kwo]

I've purchased two Lenovo Edge, one in December for my wife and one in March for my daughter to replace her failing HP two months out from her graduation from college. One has the i3 and the other the Turion II.

To me they don't feel cheap in the least. The keyboard is solid as are the hinges and depending on what you want to do it should easily do you fine. The one you linked to has the slower 250 gig 5400 rpm hd with two gigs of RAM.

For about $100 more you can get a 14" with a 320 gig harddrive and four gigs of RAM. The 14" with the i3 and i5 was a best seller: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-057...ndingMethod=rr

<snip>

Thanks for the feedback. The 13" and 14" Edge models got a much better review than the 15" (which I got). I'll have to agree with the reviews regarding the feel, even after one day of use I'd take my Inspiron 8600 over this for build feel (if only I hadn't killed the graphics card...). It sure is a lot faster, though.

What has really disturbed me is the resolution. Just one day of staring at this was all it took. As discussed in another thread (http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2158290) I've come to agree that this low resolution in these lower model laptops just doesn't cut it for a large (>14") screen. All I can see are the pixel lines through all the text...it just.....bothers me.

I'm returning this Edge tomorrow and am going to either get a used D830/M4300 with higher resolution screen or try to figure out whether feeding my kids is really that much more important than spec'ing a better resolution laptop....

*sigh* why oh why do I have to be so picky?

 

[alent1234]

lenovo

avoid hp like the plague if you can

 

[Bootleg Betty]

Why can't they make edge 14 with 1600x900 dislay? :'(

 

[Ultralight]

Why can't they make edge 14 with 1600x900 dislay? :'(

They do now with their brand new Edge 420 models called the E420.

 

[uallas5]

Have a 15" Lenovo Edge here at work. I'll agree with Kwo, it doesn't seem cheap by any means. The only prob with it is that it even though it came with 4Gbs of RAM, it also came with Win7 32bit. So by the time the Intel video reserves it's 1Gb of RAM (even though it's might only be using 256mb) Windows only has about 2Gbs to work with. If you get one, get it with 64bit so you can grab that xtra 756Mb of RAM that the 32bit can't.

 

[kwo]

Have a 15" Lenovo Edge here at work. I'll agree with Kwo, it doesn't seem cheap by any means. The only prob with it is that it even though it came with 4Gbs of RAM, it also came with Win7 32bit. So by the time the Intel video reserves it's 1Gb of RAM (even though it's might only be using 256mb) Windows only has about 2Gbs to work with. If you get one, get it with 64bit so you can grab that xtra 756Mb of RAM that the 32bit can't.

Heh, actually, I am the one who said they did feel somewhat cheap. But, I'm glad you like them. I decided to forego my tablet purchase this year and use that "set-aside" money to bump myself up to a Latitude E6520.

Thanks again for everyone's responses.

 

[Kerio_Orisa]

Requirements:
<$500 and W7Pro

Here's the head-to-head:

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 15 (core i3-390m)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-0301J9U/15939836
$470

HP ProBook 4520s (core i3-380m)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157673
$485

I just can't decide between the two. I have just picked up the Lenovo from Walmart, but am trying to decide if I like it enough to keep, or whether I should try the HP from the 'Egg. Of course, with Walmart, I can just return this puppy anytime in the next 30 days. However, with the HP, returning a fully functional laptop would be a problem (e.g. RMA charges). Hence, I didn't want to order the HP unless I was absolutely sure I was going to keep it...

This Lenovo seems ok, but it feels kinda cheap (yes, I *know* it's not a real Thinkpad) and the plastic on the inside is squishy, especially around the right of the keyboard over the optical drive. No latch on the display, either.

Anyone have a Probook they'd care to comment on? I'd appreciate comments.

I would go with HP Probook because a lot of metal used in construction. Lenovo Thinkpad Edge is all plastic.

 

[pcgeek11]

Zombie thread....

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Inevitable "Holy necro, Batman!".

Those laptops are so bad...

 

[nerp]

...posted on my ThinkPad x260.

 

[fire400]

the lenovo edge computers are 10x better than the hp probooks. the t-edges aren't exactly t-series laptops, but they're a great budget computer for those that want a quality product from a trusted store.

but seriously, if you're going that route and spending that much..., might as well just get your stuff from eBay?
in the month of August, I made this purchase in a single day.

$140 – USED Thinkpad t420s / i5 / 8gb / 500gb / win7 / GRADE_A_Physical_Condition
$50 – NEW Toshiba 256GB mSATA SSD (THNSNS256GMCP)
$18 – NEW Genuine 90w power adapter
$11 – NEW Heatsink FAN Assembly

total: $219

and I was going to order a new keyboard, too, but the photos of the kb looked so new, I decided to hold off on it, and I'm glad I did, 'cuz when i got it, the keyboard was absolutely flawless. win7 is nice, but prefer the newer flatter looks of win8.1, and prefer largely improved and unrestricted OS tweaking on 8.1 that win10 took away (unfortunately), so just got a windows 8.1 pro x64 license from http://www.play-asia.com for $17.

also, t420s motherboards are $30 shipped on eBay. units can upgrade to 16gb RAM, and has 3 SSD options on mSata, ultrabay and regular 7mm_HDD slot.

tax-free, free shipping, and money back guarantee, seller almost always pays return shipping.

skip feeling safe about the retail dream team of computer purchases, there's enough money and extra options circulating the economy to put all your eggs in one basket.

 

[corkyg]

What's the point of comparing 5-6 year old laptops? Zombie and necro are good adjectives here.