Need help picking new Windows (Lenovo) laptop

[NYCfixie]

Hi all-

This may seem ironic but after working in technology for more than 20 years I am the worst about picking my own technology.

Currently I have the following personally owned machines at home:

• 2010 MacBook Pro 13" (upgraded to 8GB and 256 SSD)
• 2013 HP 9470m 14" Ultrabook (8GB and 256 SSD)
• iPhone4 (soon to be iPhone SE because Google voice no longer works on the 4)

At work:

• 2008 MacPro Tower (16GB and 128 SSD)
• 2010 ThinkPad T series (Win7)

We are a 99% Apple School and I always give myself the oldest crap I can find so that end users can have the better machines. Except for mine, everything is at least 2013 or newer. I inherited this piece of crap from my predecessor who ordered a computer that was way too much and wasted the school's money but it is finally time to retire it and my ThinkPad.

I really only need Windows at work but Windows runs like a dog on the MacPro.
My team has MacBook Pro Retina 13 with VMWare Fusion and a Win7 install because they support both.
I just want things to work and do not want to deal with a virtualized version of Windows on a Mac.

Every once in a while I get a 50% off retail offer from Lenovo and I received one a few days ago.
They will be Windows10 because I really need to test it for work.
I will get the most loaded spec because my work budget is only paying 50% of retail so I might as well.


I can purchase any two Lenovo computers for 50% of retail price so what should I get?

• X1 Laptop
• X1 Laptop/Tablet
• Yoga
• T Series
• X260

Thanks!

[spopepro]

I really like my thinkpad yoga. I have it dual booting 10 and Arch. Win is a requirement for me because of Adobe Captivate, and I use the digitized screen to teach and record classes. It's way too heavy to hold like a tablet, but it's nice to have the different ways to set the screen for assorted uses. We also ended up selecting them as the computer for all of our teachers at windows schools for the latest tech refresh.

[NYCfixie]

I really like my thinkpad yoga. I have it dual booting 10 and Arch. Win is a requirement for me because of Adobe Captivate, and I use the digitized screen to teach and record classes. It's way too heavy to hold like a tablet, but it's nice to have the different ways to set the screen for assorted uses. We also ended up selecting them as the computer for all of our teachers at windows schools for the latest tech refresh.

I live in Excel, Project, and Visio.

[Powerfibers]

I had a Thinkpad Yoga from school. Was a great machine with good battery life. Almost never used it as a tablet, but it was a workhorse and ran Zwift well on the weekends! LOL!

[MarkC]

Can't help you on the professional side of things and won't try. But at work I live with an X250. It has been a good travel machine. Small, light, good battery life, large enough screen for routine corporate stuff. When not on the road it drives dual monitors fine via a dock.

It's just a little box, not sexy or exciting, does the job. My preference for work is the smallest and lightest box possible as I travel frequently. I run it docked at the office (both home and work). Since we are a Lenovo shop that means the X factor gets the nod.

Bon Chance,

Mark

[NYCfixie]

Can't help you on the professional side of things and won't try. But at work I live with an X250. It has been a good travel machine. Small, light, good battery life, large enough screen for routine corporate stuff. When not on the road it drives dual monitors fine via a dock.

It's just a little box, not sexy or exciting, does the job. My preference for work is the smallest and lightest box possible as I travel frequently. I run it docked at the office (both home and work). Since we are a Lenovo shop that means the X factor gets the nod.

Bon Chance,

Mark

Because I can get two, I was thinking a convertible laptop like the Tablet X1 or Yoga to try/test for meetings and then a X260 or X1 carbon laptop with a dock for desk/travel. I don't travel much but when I do I hate lugging anything over 3lbs. My younger brother is an attorney but is stuck with a desktop at work due to company policy so he bought himself the Yoga to travel with and he loves it mostly due to the size.

Again, my main needs are simple: eMail (Google Apps), Excel, Word, Visio, and Project.

I was hoping someone who had gone from a laptop to a convertible laptop or a Yoga could share how it totally changed their working style for the better (or not).

[spopepro]

Yeah, the feature list never changes how you use the computer... if you have the use need then you get the feature. I got the thinkpad yoga specifically because of needing dual boot (might have grabbed a surface pro otherwise) and a wacom screen. I've later found it nice to set it up tent style for video watching and stuff, but that's about it. I used it as a tablet a couple of times with vnc to have control over the presentation computer and walk around.

I've never seen anyone with a convertible (either yoga or X1 tablet) use it in tablet mode for extended periods of time. It's just too heavy.

Since I refuse to use excel without a ten key and would despise using visio without a mouse, I'd say get the platform for which you have a dock. Remember that the x260 and x1 use a different dock.

[sk_tle]

Because I can get two, I was thinking a convertible laptop like the Tablet X1 or Yoga to try/test for meetings and then a X260 or X1 carbon laptop with a dock for desk/travel.

Note quite familiar with the convertible laptops but can't you dock them too ?

Once the laptop is docked and plugged to wide screens and desktop mouse/keyboard, it shouldn't be much different than a bigger laptop right ? It's not like gapps, excel, word, vision and project needed huge amount of cpu. As long as you can spec them with a sufficient amount of memory everything should be fine right ? I'm not sure I see the point having both types of laptops.

[dogrange]

Note quite familiar with the convertible laptops but can't you dock them too ?

Once the laptop is docked and plugged to wide screens and desktop mouse/keyboard, it shouldn't be much different than a bigger laptop right ? It's not like gapps, excel, word, vision and project needed huge amount of cpu. As long as you can spec them with a sufficient amount of memory everything should be fine right ? I'm not sure I see the point having both types of laptops.

Thanks, I had this question too.

[spopepro]

Note quite familiar with the convertible laptops but can't you dock them too ?

Yeah, it doesn't matter a ton, but there are differences. The thin "dock" (really a big plug on the side) has slightly different functionality than the push-down type. There are a variety of small compromises made to make it tablet-able. Lenovo laptops typically have the only built in keyboards worth using but the ones on the convertibles ones suck because of both having to make them thin, and the keys are pulled out of the way (lowered) on the yoga when it's flipped around in tablet mode. Battery life is much more limited in convertibles due to space and weight. Connectors are either missing or the mini versions due to thinness (my thinkpad yoga only has mini hdmi out for video, so I must carry my own cable because no one will have one). And something that probably only matters to me is that there are a variety of position sensors that will automatically change the screen orientation and lock the keyboard and touchpad in Windows that can cause issues in Linux when dual booting.

[NYCfixie]

Yeah, it doesn't matter a ton, but there are differences. The thin "dock" (really a big plug on the side) has slightly different functionality than the push-down type. There are a variety of small compromises made to make it tablet-able. Lenovo laptops typically have the only built in keyboards worth using but the ones on the convertibles ones suck because of both having to make them thin, and the keys are pulled out of the way (lowered) on the yoga when it's flipped around in tablet mode. Battery life is much more limited in convertibles due to space and weight. Connectors are either missing or the mini versions due to thinness (my thinkpad yoga only has mini hdmi out for video, so I must carry my own cable because no one will have one). And something that probably only matters to me is that there are a variety of position sensors that will automatically change the screen orientation and lock the keyboard and touchpad in Windows that can cause issues in Linux when dual booting.

My younger brother has a Yoga 900s and loves it but it is a secondary computer to both his work and home desktop computers.

I cannot order "consumer" models with the 50% offer so I am limited to the ThinkPad versions: X1 Yoga, Yoga 460, and Yoga 260 which all have HDMI and USB ports so a dock is not really needed. All I need is an HDMI cable and a USB cable from my keybaord if I want to use it in a "dock" setup. It appears the slimline dock would be redundant and only take up unnecessary extra space on my physical desk.

[MarkC]

Dont know what you call it but they have a box (dock) that requires one USB connection to the laptop. Plus power supply and you dock and undock (so to speak) with just two cables. Monitors, mouse, keyboard, Ethernet hard wire all plug into the box / dock. Seems to work fine and as well as the old style dock using the large connector on the baseplate of the PC.

[fastupslowdown]

My best laptop was when IBM made the think-pad. The Lenova version isn't as good when it comes to the keyboard, but I think its still ranked relatively well. -Mike G

[NYCfixie]

My best laptop was when IBM made the think-pad. The Lenova version isn't as good when it comes to the keyboard, but I think its still ranked relatively well. -Mike G

My current favorite laptop/ultrabook is my personal HP Folio 9470m mentioned above: i7, 8GB RAM, 256SSD, Win7 (upgrading to 10 this weekend). It has a full Ethernet port (unlike most ultrabooks), really nice 14" screen, VGA port, Display port for other video connection options, media card reader, and a great keyboard. It is a bit heavier than other Ultrabooks at 3.5lbs. but you get the extra full sized ports which was worth it to me.

Unfortunately, HP never offers these 50% off deals to corporate customers.

IMHO the "Lenovo" ThinkPad is as good as the original "IBM" ThinkPad line. In some respects I would say it is better. The "T" series is still the best business class notebook. The "X1 Carbon" was created by Lenovo and is often rated as one of the best in its class. The Yoga line (both consumer and enterprise versions) is a game changer.

Being able to choose 2 Lenovo options at 50% off retail is an embarrassment of riches when you think about it. One will be for me at work and one I will probably pass around for others to test Win10 and the Yoga/convertible need versus standard laptop. Right now I am thinking X1 Carbon Yoga (14" screen) and X260 Yoga (12.5" screen).

[dogrange]

This thread is totally selling me a Yoga.

[spopepro]

IMHO the "Lenovo" ThinkPad is as good as the original "IBM" ThinkPad line. .

Yep. We don't go through a ton of computers (13000 student school district, about 600 employees), but the construction and specifications of Apple and Lenovo laptops has meant that they last at least a year longer in the field than anything else we have purchased.