Opinions on Thinkpad Edge Laptops?

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I am in the market for a Thinkpad laptop. I prefer these as I had an excellent experience with both an IBM desktop and thinkpad in 2005 for work and home, just as Lenovo was taking over the IBM "business".

The Edge Thinkpad is about right for what I need in a general use laptop. I don't do much heavy computing but run MS Office pretty full on.

This computer.

I am considering the E520, E530 (Intel based) or E525 (AMD A4 to A8 chips).

ANy opinions on these? I would probably go for the mid range i5 or AMD A6 chips, with 64 bit windows and 4 GB RAM, and 500 GB storage.

Any benefits to picking intel over AMD or vice versa? I am set on a 15" as any smaller would hurt my eyes and be too little dekstop space.

Deals are hot right now.
 
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As an IBM employee, I had Thinkpads for many years. Now that they decided to free up my office (and me) I am using HP laptops and prefer them.

But I have not looked at the Thinkpad Edge.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
As an IBM employee, I had Thinkpads for many years. Now that they decided to free up my office (and me) I am using HP laptops and prefer them.

But I have not looked at the Thinkpad Edge.


IBM using OTHER companies computers!? Never heard of such a thing! Certainly NOT good advertising.

My son is a lawyer, and while he was studying at the University of Chicago (the 4th rated Law School), he used an IBM Laptop, it was recommended. It was a sturdy, well built computer.
 
I prefer the X100 series over the Edge models at that price point. X series tend to have smaller screens than you're looking for. And Intel processors tend to run cooler than AMDs in our experience. So pick your poison.
 
Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
IBM using OTHER companies computers!? Never heard of such a thing! Certainly NOT good advertising.


IBM has been out of the PC business for quite a few years now. They owe no loyalty to Lenovo at this point, and their business model has evolved elsewhere.
 
Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
Originally Posted By: Donald
As an IBM employee, I had Thinkpads for many years. Now that they decided to free up my office (and me) I am using HP laptops and prefer them.

But I have not looked at the Thinkpad Edge.


IBM using OTHER companies computers!? Never heard of such a thing! Certainly NOT good advertising.

My son is a lawyer, and while he was studying at the University of Chicago (the 4th rated Law School), he used an IBM Laptop, it was recommended. It was a sturdy, well built computer.


I think he's implying that he got let go and refuses to use their products now.
 
I purchased an Edge 420 or 520 (no longer remember), thinking it would be at least somewhat similar in construction to my T61 Thinkpad. There were none on hand in the store, so I had to order it.

Bad assumption. I found it to be insubstantial, and cheesy, frankly. I returned it and purchased an equivalently feautured and priced Samsung, which was much better built.
 
Yes, I have seen and used all the prior generation generation Thinkpad Edge models: 13, 14, and 15.

They are cheap constructions. The only thing I liked about them is a decent keyboard (the only island keyboard I can tolerate, although I dislike how all the function keys are crammed together when there is no shortage of space) and a nice touchpad. The rest of the unit is no more than a bargain laptop.

The LCD on the 15 is the worst.

With the Edge 14 that failed under warranty, Lenovo responded poorly. IBM's service on the Thinkpads used to be excellent, I guess now you have to buy an upgraded warranty for Lenovo to fix your hardware failure.

Here is what happened with the Edge 14:

- Began freezing randomly just over 11 months old. Lenovo contacted. Unit sent to Lenovo for repair.

- Lenovo sends it back two weeks later with a replacement hard disk. Attempting to restore all the software and data lost due to the disk swap, the unit continues to freeze. Lenovo consulted again. Too bad, you're now a few days out of warranty.

- Unit taken to independent shop where they determine that the motherboard is bad. Repair cost over $200.

- Unit junked after salvaging a few good parts.
 
Just to underscore the obvious: not all Lenovos are created equally. An Edge or "E" series Lenovo is not part of their "Thinkpad" line. And they're priced accordingly.

Anyone expecting metal hinges, alloy cases, magnesium roll cages, and a good keyboard with spill drains on a $500 Edge model is going to be sorely disappointed.

The X100 series is a little closer to a real TP, but still has a good bit of plastic. That one's a "tweener". Still, it's better than an Edge for materials and build quality. If all I had was $500 to spend on a Lenovo, I'd get an X100 series. My wife tosses about an X100e, and it's been rock solid. I think the current one is designed for education, so might be hardy where it matters.

But you get what you pay for. A Thinkpad with the more traditional features and build cues costs more money. Like $800+.
 
I had one of the first Lenovo manufactured thinkpads after the takeover. Complete garbage. It's safe to say, it is highly unlikely I will be buying another Lenovo product.
 
The thinkpad edge is like not special

With deals the t420-t520 start 660$ or so.

the new intel ivy bridge models will be out soon so there may be no discounts or slightly better ones to clearance out the old ones.

T or W series are the serious thinkpads. Nothing available that compares.. although some of the 1000+ commercial series dell laptops are nice.. as are some hp models.
 
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Originally Posted By: Miller88
I had one of the first Lenovo manufactured thinkpads after the takeover. Complete garbage. It's safe to say, it is highly unlikely I will be buying another Lenovo product.


Not to burst your bubble, but the early Lenovo branded production was from the same Chinese plants as the later IBM branded production.

FWIW, Lenovo still maintains the same design and support complex in North Carolina that IBM sold them.
 
I actually had an Edge E420 for about two weeks. For the most part, I liked it--and the E430 seems to solve most of the issues I had with it.

The good: I loved the keyboard compared to my T61, or any other laptop keyboard. Seemed well-spec'd for the price, screen was reasonable (not great).

The bad: an incredibly annoying seam around the case which dug into your wrists when typing, tiny arrow keys. Both of these issues appear to have been addressed with the new ones.

I ended up getting an X220 to replace it (long story), but overall I didn't find the build quality per se to worse. I had issues with mine, but they were the sort of build issues you'll have regardless of model, and probably had a lot to do with buying it from Lenovo's outlet.

It seems to me that the biggest differences between the E430 and the new T430 will really only matter if you're traveling a bunch with the machine. The magnesium roll cage and heavier-duty plastics probably won't make much of a difference if your laptop lives mostly in the house. If you are traveling with it a lot, the more robust T-series may be a better bet. Otherwise, I'd go with the Edge. I think it looks like a good machine, and the case differences should make the E430 a lot more comfortable for typing than the E420.
 
Since the X220 has now been mentioned, I have something to say about it.
grin.gif
I like it! But someone I know has one 9 months old and the spacebar has already failed. This happened to another friend's Ideapad last year, I would think a Thinkpad keyboard would be better built!

Anyway, we shall see if Lenovo handles this repair better than the Edge 14 last year. Fortunately, this should be a simple keyboard swap.

The Edge series have a nicer touchpad than the X220, but otherwise I like the X220 better in every way. This particular one has the upgraded LCD, it's night and day compared to Lenovo's standard 1366 x 768 panels for both viewing angles and colors. And despite the small laptop size, I find the X220 keyboard with its full size keys and 'proper' layout to be very nice.

And indeed, it was $800 for the X220 vs $550 for the Edge 14.
 
I went with an E530 thinkpad with intel i5 2nd gen (2520M), 4 GB Ram. 320GB hdd - I don't onerous storage requirements.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

What I liked is that the keyboard comes with side keypad.

It's use would be limited to home mostly and very occasional car trips. I use desktops for work, this my my private laptop.

The price was ultimately $540 inclusive of delivery.

FWIW there was an option for 3rd gen Intel i7 for $750 odd. For my private use I wasn't really in a position to chase the "technology curve".

The major reason why I am buying this laptop is that we bought an iMac in January. That was a mistake (for me). I am too hardwired for windows unfortunately. Now having had the two I must say I prefer MS. Was an expensive mistake but my wife says the only way I learn is to try it myself even if she knows what the outcome will be. At least her and the kids can use the iMac to their hearts content.
 
I had a T60.

I owned it for two years, and, thank god, had the 3 year warranty with it. In the two years I owned it:

6 motherboards
CPU
Fan module / heat sink
3 power adapters (One smoked, one smelled horrible and one melted)
RAM

After I sold it:
LCD panel failed and was replaced
Motherboard twice
Battery
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I had a T60.

I owned it for two years, and, thank god, had the 3 year warranty with it. In the two years I owned it:

6 motherboards
CPU
Fan module / heat sink
3 power adapters (One smoked, one smelled horrible and one melted)
RAM

After I sold it:
LCD panel failed and was replaced
Motherboard twice
Battery


That is NOT typical. Were you using it in a soup kitchen? LOL
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I had a T60.

I owned it for two years, and, thank god, had the 3 year warranty with it. In the two years I owned it:

6 motherboards
CPU
Fan module / heat sink
3 power adapters (One smoked, one smelled horrible and one melted)
RAM

After I sold it:
LCD panel failed and was replaced
Motherboard twice
Battery


I had a T42.

I owned it for seven years, and thankfully, I'm glad we bought it. In the seven years I owned it:

I used it every single day, no less than 2hrs/day.
It was thrown into a wall by a crazy cleaning woman (took a chunk out of the drywall).
It was sat on by careless visitors two or three times.
It was dropped . . . at least four times (once by me).
Someone spilled a small cup of coffee into the keyboard (just a few ounces).
It went through 3 trackpoint nibs, 3 batteries, two memory and one HDD upgrade. The 3rd battery is still limping along.

In the seventh year, the original MB finally succumbed to a well-known "flex" failure. A replacement MB (with upgraded processor and ATI video section) cost $55 off of Ebay.

It is presently running W7x86 and used by a 70+ year old relative who doesn't mind a slight wait while playing on Yahoo. She's into her second year with it. It is left on 24/7. The left cursor button now has a polished dent from all the use.

Neither of these examples are typical. But I thought some balance was warranted.

Thinkpads at the usual price point are still some of the most durable and useable laptops made. And I will repeat, an Edge is NOT a Thinkpad in that context.
 
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