Which of these budget laptops is best?

[gregrocker]

Am trying to decide between Lenovo G500 15.6" Laptop 4GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive 59399508 - Best Buy

and HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop 4GB Memory 750GB Hard Drive 17-e019dx - Best Buy.

This will be for Windows 7 multi-tasking on internet, Office, streaming video, Skype, no gaming. The RAM will be doubled to 8gb.

The HP 17" screen for about the same weight is fast with Corei3 4000 Haswell processor which compares favorably with the Lenovo's Core i5 3230. But a possible fatal flaw is the flimsy power port with elbow plug which falls out. Best Buy says they will replace the PC with another one since it isn't a known flaw for the model and extend the return period so I can compare them side-by-side.

Which do you think is best, and why?

 

[maxie]

Hi Greg .. I have two Lenovos one a Desktop which i have had for for over two years the other one a Laptop which is in my System Specs ...Neither of them have given me any bother in all that time ... So i would say for reliability Lenovo wins hands down .. Apart from that side of things i think the Lenovos are better made .. I have had an HP Laptop in the past that was a number of years ago .. And it did preform well but i think their standards have dropped .. I see a lot of Laptops on here with problems HP rate as one of the highest a long with Sony .. Maybe that is because not many people have Lenovos .. Before i joined the Forums i had all the Bloatware that came with the Laptop and even with that it was still fast booting time was around 20/30 Seconds .. Thanks to you i done a Clean Install and now it is even better .. I think your best bet is to try them both for awhile and see how they compare ...

 

[Slartybart]

I too would select the Lenvo
i5 Intel
1TB spindle

Other than that, Lenevo quality is inheirited from IBM - rock solid hardware.

 

[madcratebuilder]

LENOVO!

I bought a Flex 15 a few months ago and I'm very happy with it. Lenovo support site is very good, the LT meets or exceeds everything Lenovo said it would.

 

[TVeblen]

Differences:

HP ....................................Lenovo
i3...................................... i5 (+1)
750GB HD .........................1TB HD (+1)
HD4600 Graphics (+1) ........HD4000
DTS Sound ........................Dolby
17" Display (+1) ................15" Display
(However, longer battery life on a 15" display)

It's a tie!

But I too say Lenovo = best bang for the buck.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks, guys.

Anyone else?

 

[techtitan100]

Have had the IdeaPad N586 for over a year, not too many problems from it, so I would go with the Lenovo

 

[whs]

The Lenovo is certainly sturdier. I think the HP is a bit flimsy (same weight as the 15") and because of the size more difficult to lug around - needs a big case or sleeve. And an i5 is an i5 - I love them.

 

[gregrocker]

There's enough reviews on the HP complaining about the bad power adapter port and plug design that I'm done with it, packing it back up to take back to Best Buy.

The Lenovo which I'd hoped to exchange it for with the BB manager's help to keep my miles has arrived. First impression is that it is heavy, as heavy as the 17" HP! Not sure I want such a brick. It is Core i5 fast (Win7 installed in 10minutes) but the cursor is jumping around when I type in nearly every paragraph! I'm not touching the keypad, just the keys I want. But it will jump back to the middle of a previous sentence while I type. What nonsense! Just did it twice in this paragraph.

I will try to turn off the keypad but I'm not touching it so what gives?

 

[whs]

The keypad is probably too sensitive. Tune it down. Then the cursor jumping may stop.

And right, these bricks are heavy. Not for lugging. For lugging I just bought this one - weighs only 2.3 pounds. A good price considering it has Office 2013 included. Will be interesting to see how touch works.

ASUS Transformer Book T100TA B1 GR Convertible Laptop With 101 Touch Screen Display 32GB by Office Depot

 

[gregrocker]

There's a tab added to Mouse options when Elan driver is installed with a checkbox to "Disable when External USB point device is plugged in" which solves palm-drag causing cursor jump.

Other than that I can find no reason not to keep this Lenovo g500 which was apparently the best laptop deal during Black Friday. I had gotten the HP 17" core i3 Haswell 4000 afterwards but it appears to have come and gone as a one-time Best Buy special, maybe because of the tiny flimsy power adapter plug which caused me to return it.

The only drawback is one I won't encounter except when I pack it in backpack to fly cross-country 3-4 times a year: it is a bit on the heavy side at 5.7 pounds. But other than then it sits on a table or desk and doesn't get moved around the house much at all. So I may only notice it when I'm schlepping it around airports, but I like having a heavy pack anyway for exercise purposes.

 

[aritra2116]

I'd recommend Lenovo. I've never had any problems with my IdeaPad Z560
(except with Windows 8)

 

[indianacarnie]

You should try shelpping my G74Sx around : 9 1/2 pounds WITHOUT the AC adapter! Add in the mouse(s), externals HDD's, tools etc. and adapter and I'm pushing 15 pounds easy! I made my own backpack for it and that adds a few pounds also.I love it though even if its hard on my back at times. Will be getting either a newer G model from Asus, or an Alienware 18 this summer so I guess I'll need to hit the gym to carry it around.

Good choice by the way Greg.

 

[gregrocker]

Carrying a heavy pack is a portable gym. After a long flight I always try to walk from the airport 5-10 miles to stretch the legs while building everything. I do it all over the world - Heathrow, Sydney, Honolulu, Berlin, Dublin, Madrid. No better exercise.

 

[whs]

For flying cross country you may want to have a look at this.

ASUS Transformer Book T100TA B1 GR Convertible Laptop With 101 Touch Screen Display 32GB by Office Depot

It weighs only 2.3 pounds and with that sleeve that has a pocket on the side you can carry all the accessories. I have a stylus, the charger, a POGO cable, a 60GB SSD in an enclosure and cable for images, a 32GB USB3 stick for data and the paperwork that came with it in that little pocket.

It is a great little machine. Very fast, comes with 8.1 and Office 2013. The internal disk may seem small, but after I installed a set of my usual programs including Office I still have 15GB of free space. And after I did all the installations and setups, the battery is still at 70% of the initial charge. Other users report that the battery holds the charge for 11 hours usage.

 

[gregrocker]

Looks like a great deal, but I shy away from small screens except for phone.

 

[whs]

You know I have very poor vision. But this worked well. I set the DPI to 125% and everything is crisp and clear. Even I can deal with it.