13" laptop: thinkpad edge or HP dm3z?

[greg_atlanta]

Any advice on a 13" Win7 laptop w/out optical drive in $600 range for light use at home (less than 1 hr per day on average)? Doubt I will travel with it or drag it to coffee shops. Nothing more graphics/processor intensive than netflix streaming or itunes. Basically looking for a netbook for large hands (12" and under doesn't work for me).

No, I don't want a 13" macbook or macbook pro..... so don't waste your time.

Looking at Lenovo Thinkpad Edge (AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core L325 1.50GHz 1MB, 3 G RAM, $629) and HP Pavilion dm3z (AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core Processor L335 1.6GHz, 4 G RAM, 1130us quick ship model, $566 w/employee purchase plan). Both have bluetooth, HDMI output, 320G HD, 6 cell battery, etc.

The Thinkpad has a larger touchpad but ctrl and del keys are not in the corners (annoying with big hands). HP has a smaller touchpad but ctrl and del keys are in opposite corners. HP has a smooth bottom but Lenovo has a hump on the bottom (like a papertowel roll) with 6 cell battery. Otherwise they're very similar.

I'm worred about HP from a reliability standpoint. Are the complaints about HP justified? Or do more people complain about HP because they sell more laptops? I've tried the HP hands-on in a store and it's nice enough. The new thinkpad model isn't in stores, online only (but based on past experience with work laplop I know the keyboards are good).

(Laptop forums aren't too helpful since people only want to talk about what they already have.)

Which would you choose? If I get 3 good years out it, I'll be happy. Would rather not purchase an extended warranty, Amex will double the 1 yr warranty.

 

[GQgeek]

My experience with the ThinkPad is with the T series, which is their business notebook, but thinkpads are awesome. I imagine that the cheaper ones aren't built to the same level of quality, but that they're almost certainly better than HP.

 

[sonick]

Thinkpad no doubt

 

[DNW]

IIRC, the trackpad on that HP is a PITA to use. Go Lenovo, or go home.

 

[greg_atlanta]

The bulky/heavy 6 cell battery on the thinkpad worries me, I think I may go with the low end model w/4 cell battery, no bluetooth, and 2 G RAM. ($579 plus 5% off with coupon)

Will 2 G RAM be tolerable on win7 for running 1 or 2 apps at a time? (I know I can easily add more later if needed.)

Is there much use for bluetooth other than phone pairing? I have a USB cable for current phone and laptop.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

The bulky/heavy 6 cell battery on the thinkpad worries me, I think I may go with the low end model w/4 cell battery, no bluetooth, and 2 G RAM. ($579 plus 5% off with coupon) Will 2 G RAM be tolerable on win7 for running 1 or 2 apps at a time? (I know I can easily add more later if needed.) Is there much use for bluetooth other than phone pairing? I have a USB cable for current phone and laptop.
I have an "old" dual-core amd turion with 2gb running windows 7 and it's absolutely fine.

 

[greg_atlanta]

Thanks. Just ordered the entry level Thinkpad Edge, will let you know how it goes. I'll have to get an external optical drive at some point (appx $50), but no hurry.

I was at a friend's house last night and played with his new 13" toshiba with similar specs, hated the keyboard and mousepad. That helped seal the deal.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Your computer needs are pretty similar to mine. Let us know how it works out. Did you consider a computer in the IdeaPad line?

 

[TwoPynts]

Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser

Your computer needs are pretty similar to mine. Let us know how it works out...

I have the 1130us and really like. My needs were similar the the poster above. I wanted a MacBook, but didn't have the budget. I got this for $500 on sale. I'd be happy to answer any questions, but I wrote a detailed review for it at Amazon if you want to check that out.

There a lot of positives. The only negatives I can come up with are the left wrist rest get a bit warm and the power button isn't super user friendly. The speakers aren't great but most laptop ones aren't. I have it hooked up to externals and am streaming Pandora stations right now, sounds excellent. Trackpad issues were fixed in a BIOS update and I don't mind the trackpad. I use a wireless mouse most of the time though. The keyboard is great for my large hands. The screen is quite nice and it handles graphic well. My son has even played some 3D games on it.

Anyhow, check out my review if you'd like to know more. Helpful votes are always appreciated!

 

[DNW]

My Lenovo ideapad U450p just came in today. I'm very pleased with it so far. I used to have a S10-2, but it was just too small for any real work. The U450p comes with a 14" screen, a SU7300 1.3Ghz CULV chip, 4Gb of mem, and weighs just under 5lbs. Although it's nice to have all this real estate, I think it's slightly too big for me. The performance is great otherwise. I think I'll keep it for a week or two to see if I like it. If not, I'll go down to a u350 (similar performance, but with a 13.3" screen and thus, a longer battery life). (This is probably my 4-5th IBM/Lenovo laptop and none disappointed me in terms for built quality, reliability, and performance.)

 

[greg_atlanta]

I thought about the ideapad U350 but prices went up recently and it's only available with an 8 cell battery right now -- which I don't need for basic home use (plugged in most of the time). The pics on the lenovo website show the smallest battery, then you look at reviews elsewhere and it's a huge battery.

One thing I've always wondered..... does a laptop battery wear out if you're plugged in most of the time? I'm assuming it does since the power is channeled through the battery at all times (allowing you to disconnect and reconnect power any time).

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

One thing I've always wondered..... does a laptop battery wear out if you're plugged in most of the time? I'm assuming it does since the power is channeled through the battery at all times (allowing you to disconnect and reconnect power any time).

I don't think having your laptop plugged in affects the battery significantly. Keep in mind, you might not have power going through the battery all the time, i.e., if you unplug the battery, your laptop will still be running. The battery gets worn out from the charge/discharge cycles, so if this doesn't happen often, your battery life will be preserved (more so than if you charge/discharge it all the time).

I haven't read much on this topic, but that's what I think happens, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[rocks]

I've had my T43 since January 2005 and the battery is still fine after being left plugged in numerous times over those years. My Thinkpad is used rigorously too(24/7 365) since it is my only computer....

 

[greg_atlanta]

I've had the laptop a few days, good so far. Love the clean industrial design. Keyboard is not quite as good as an old thinkpad I had for work a few years ago, but it may just be the sound of the keys I'm missing from the older thinkpad.

It's a bit of an adjustment from a 15" 4:3 to a 13" widescreen. The lower group of right and left click mousepad buttons are sitting right at the edge (hard to rest your palm on the edge and use those buttons). But I will adapt.....

What's the current thinking on anti-virus and spyware programs for Win 7? I'd rather not bother. The spyware program on my old Win XP laptop was pretty helpful in speeding things up, but the McAfee program never found anything (or if it did it never told me). 95% of my web use is "respectable"

and I know not to click on weird things and install stuff liberally. Should I bother with either?

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

I've had the laptop a few days, good so far. Love the clean industrial design. Keyboard is not quite as good as an old thinkpad I had for work a few years ago, but it may just be the sound of the keys I'm missing from the older thinkpad.

It's a bit of an adjustment from a 15" 4:3 to a 13" widescreen. The lower group of right and left click mousepad buttons are sitting right at the edge (hard to rest your palm on the edge and use those buttons). But I will adapt.....

What's the current thinking on anti-virus and spyware programs for Win 7? I'd rather not bother. The spyware program on my old Win XP laptop was pretty helpful in speeding things up, but the McAfee program never found anything (or if it did it never told me). 95% of my web use is "respectable"

and I know not to click on weird things and install stuff liberally. Should I bother with either?

I use kaspersky. It does the job, and even on my older slower laptop it doesn't seem to have an adverse affect on performance. Windows 7 is actually much less vulnerable to almost all types of malware and viruses but I still wouldn't tempt fate.