Best 14" laptop (to buy, not build)?

[radhak]

A friend's son has come over from India to begin his MS in Computer Sciences. He needs a laptop and I have offered to buy it for him for now, and he could pay me back later.

He says he likes the Lenovo Ideapad U400, primarily for the 14" size. I see that the i3 version had better reviews than this i5 version.

So instead of opting for an older version CPU, I wanted to check out other 14" laptops. So my question is, could he do better, at the same price range? I am not even sure what he will need the laptop for, so feel free to educate me.

 

[corkyg]

OK - moved from General Hardware. Housekee[ing done. The U400 is an older model. I would avoid Tiger Direct - go directly to Lenovo and get exactly what you want. The EDGE series comes in 14-in, and should be price competitive.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...sbs2e43000744&

You should now get more suggestions from notebook mavens. The key is to match budget against capability. If portability and lightness are important, look at the Ultrabook series.

 

[crab0]

A friend's son has come over from India to begin his MS in Computer Sciences. He needs a laptop and I have offered to buy it for him for now, and he could pay me back later.

He says he likes the Lenovo Ideapad U400, primarily for the 14" size. I see that the i3 version had better reviews than this i5 version.

So instead of opting for an older version CPU, I wanted to check out other 14" laptops. So my question is, could he do better, at the same price range? I am not even sure what he will need the laptop for, so feel free to educate me.

Amazon has a good deal on now for the Sony Vaio T ultrabook.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Series-SV...ductPromotions

It would entirely depend on his usage and needs if the extra battery life, hybrid drive and portability is worth the trade-offs.

 

[Sunburn74]

Dunno... I think I'd lean towards the u400 simply because you can cheaply throw in a SSD into that machine and still be quite cheaper than the sony. Remember he has to pay you back right which indicates he probably doesn't have cash to throw around all that freely. Plus the u400 has a built in dvd drive. Granted dvd drives are not super useful in this day and age, but I assume your son will be without a desktop PC of his own meaning he will need some access to a DVD drive. Sure you could buy a separate USB drive, but again money is the issue.

 

[slugg]

I'm currently doing my masters in computer science. Feel free to ask away.

But my question to you: what's the budget?

 

[kbp]

Thinkpad E430

 

[paul878]

Buy the real thing, Thinkpad instead of the U400.
Go through the Barns Noble Gold portal and get a big discount from Lenovo.

http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...ovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=barnesnoblegold

 

[Dman8777]

I got a chance to play around with a U400 display model two weeks ago and found that the monitor hinge was pretty loose. It may just be because it was a display model but I went with a thnkpad edge e430 instead. If the discreet graphics in the U400 had been a little better, I may have gone for it but that model has too many complaints against it (trackpad, display) imo.

Newegg had the base model e430 with Windows 7 Professional for $500 w/free shipping when I ordered last week.

 

[radhak]

Thanks everybody - lots of help and information.

I am looking at the Edge too. Seems to be well received. If he's okay with the 15" laptops, I have more choices - Dell Inspiron, Toshiba and Samsung.

I did have another question - how is after-sales support if purchased online from Amazon or Newegg, as compared to BestBuy or Staples? Does he have an option of taking it back to the store within the initial days to return or have something fixed?

 

[biostud]

The lenovo has been updated to U410

Maybe look at the samsung series 5 530U4C

 

[paul878]

Thanks everybody - lots of help and information.

I am looking at the Edge too. Seems to be well received. If he's okay with the 15" laptops, I have more choices - Dell Inspiron, Toshiba and Samsung.

I did have another question - how is after-sales support if purchased online from Amazon or Newegg, as compared to BestBuy or Staples? Does he have an option of taking it back to the store within the initial days to return or have something fixed?

Support is the same no matter where you buy it from.
If you buy Business Computer you get Professional support, if you buy consumer computer, you get people that don't speak English very well.

 

[oslama]

Staples and BestBuy do have instore support, If you buy from local store.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+...&skuId=5560019

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+1...&skuId=5570055

 

[slugg]

Support is the same no matter where you buy it from.
If you buy Business Computer you get Professional support, if you buy consumer computer, you get people that don't speak English very well.

Exactly. This is why I'll never buy a consumer grade computer ever again; laptop OR desktop. It's totally worth the extra money for the better build quality and better support!