I will be purchasing a 17" Laptop in the next few days; I am looking in the $500 price range. Haven't decided between a Dell, HP or Lenovo. Primarily it will be used for surfing, emails, Facebook and I will be using most of the Microsoft Office programs as well as filing taxes for family members. Any advice for someone who has never owned a laptop? Not that I ever will but probably should be able to upgrade whatever I end up getting. Most likely the time I will be on the laptop I will be in my living room a distance of about 50 feet from my modem; hopefully this will not be a connectivity issue. Any advice or recommendations a member may make will be very much appreciated. As always I appreciate all replies and would thank you in advance. John
Personally I would recommend buying a refurbished business laptop from any of those brands rather than buying a new laptop. The quality of business laptops are usually much better than that of regular consumer laptops. Dell Lattiudes, HP ProBooks/EliteBooks and the T, W and X series of Lenovo ThinkPad (other ThinkPads are often are not as good) all offer very good quality. I have not purchased a new laptop for 10 years, and my last few laptops have all been used ones I've purchased from eBay. When it comes to buisness laptops, there is a limited choice with a 17" screen size, but you will be able to find some. If you find something you like, do a Google search for the model number and review, and read reviews on it, and also do a search for the model number and Amazon, to read opinions on Amazon as well, to find out if that model has any problems.
I have a Lenovo T420 thinkpad, its 7 years old is built like a tank..Its been dropped countless times by the kids, flooded with soft drinks, left lying in the sun! I don't know what the build quality is today but if I had to choose between it and my other pads and laptops that are all Hp I would keep it and give up the rest, its still fast and has a solid performance
I've got a T410, X61s and have owned several other ThinkPads, and can't fault the quality. However, I'm typing this on an HP ProBook, and the quality is also excellent (as was my last ProBook), except my T410 has a slightly better keyboard in my opinion (although the ProkBook keyboard is very good.
Then get a PC, not a notebook. Notebooks are proprietary and not designed to be upgraded. Typically, you might be able to swap in more RAM, or swap out a hard drive for a SSD, or bigger drive, but that's it - especially in your price range. If you will be using this notebook for hours on end, you want one with a quality monitor to avoid eye strain. I also recommend going with a SSD. If only those 3 brands are available, I would pick Dell, then HP. I recommend avoiding Lenovo. They make decent quality products but you cannot trust the company. Again, it is not about quality - it is about principle and security. The Chinese company (and their Chinese government overseers) cannot be trusted! Lenovo has a long history (since buying out IBM's PC business in 2005) of shipping computers with malware and spying on customers. The "Superfish" scandal in February 2015 is a huge example. And they admitted it! But note they said they stopped, not because it presented a security risk to its customers, but due to some browser pop-up behavior! Lenovo products have been banned from sensitive UK, Australia, NZ, Canada and US government agencies May 2015, BBC News, Lenovo: researchers find 'massive security risk' And, despite their claims to stop, they keep at it! August 2015, The Guardian, Lenovo does it again. December 2015, Fortune.com, Another Huge Security Hole Has Been Discovered on Lenovo Computers. May 2016, MakeUseOf.com, 4 Security Reasons That Explain Why you Should Avoid Lenovo PCs. Since the Chinese government has no qualms conducting cyber-warfare on democratic, free societies, or their private citizens, I recommend sending Lenovo a message that we consumers will not tolerate (or reward through purchases) their malicious behavior and urge consumers to avoid Lenovo products. Even IF Lenovo management and executives are not active participants in all these repeat malicious activities, the fact it keeps happening over and over again (and with new code too) is a clear indication they are not doing much, if anything, to prevent it from happening again and again! Whether it is because they are lining their greedy pockets, or it is through intimidation and coercion by the corrupt and hostile Chinese government, or both, Lenovo computers cannot be "trusted". Again, I am not disputing the quality of their products. The problem is, the company behind them have demonstrated over and over again, they take an active role in malicious activity against their customers.
I can relate to this, or rather, my sturdy little Lenovo workstation can. You need to be flexible with your screen size requirements, you're not going to get a decent one in that price range. If going Lenovo, beware of wanting to upgrade CPU, drives, and video, Lenovos can be nasty. Better to invest in a little more at the start and get something that expands with your usage rather than playing with risks. I also know this.
If your Lenovo doesn't have any Lenovo bloatware or diagnostic junk on it, NONE, then I'd be more worried about the Intel Management Interface. I trust my machine is clear of "malicious" activity from the manufacturer unless proven otherwise.
That's a huge IF! And how are you going to know? That's the problem. The very first time you power up the computer, you have to go through the steps of setting up user accounts, entering passwords, setup networking, etc. before you can even run your first malware scan to see what's there. All factory built computers include bloatware. And much of the diagnostics is actually beneficial. But malware is the problem. And if it was just 1 or 2 cases with Lenovo, it maybe could be overlooked. But this company has repeatedly, over and over again, year after year intentionally included malicious code in their products! We are not talking about spyware - but malicious code that changes your security settings without notice, and more! There is a fully documented, distinct, pattern of systemic abuse against their customers. This extremely well documented malicious abuse (which Lenovo admits to) and repeated blatant lack of respect for their customers is well beyond anything that any other company has done. If you are not happy with Microsoft's tracking in Windows 10, you should be totally disgusted with, and fearful of Lenovo. Microsoft may be guilty of violating our privacy, but Lenovo has no qualms with violating our security. And there is a HUGE difference between privacy and security. I say don't reward this company - even if they do make quality products.
I have used several Lenovo computers and found no trace of this, I doubt it´s true. Perhaps an alternate fact?
Alternate fact? In other words, a falsehood! A fact is a fact. If it is not a fact, it is not true. I "only" included 8 links to different sources - including where Lenovo themselves admits it! Here's another - with a link to Lenovo themselves. How much evidence do you need, Robin? I do! But the key thing there is Dell did not repeat the offense over and over again, year after year. FTR, I always build my own computers, in part to ensure there is no bloatware, spyware, malware or other junk foisted on my computer. But sadly, there is no ATX Form Factor standard for notebooks, therefore there is no thriving self-build industry for compatible, industry compliant notebook parts for builders to build their own notebooks. So we are pretty much stuck. It is bad enough when companies "unknowingly" produce products with security holes that bad guys can exploit. But Lenovo knowingly and intentionally produced many products that they themselves exploited. But don't believe me! Read for yourself! Google: Lenovo malware.
So now they don't ship products with superfish I'd like to know what other security issues potential buyers of Levano should be aware of?
First, Lenovo's Superfish was not just one event. This offense was made several times over an extended period of time. And the Superfish malware was just one of several malicious acts in a long line of offenses the company perpetrated. The fact they keep doing it over and over again - even after they keep getting caught suggests they will keep at it. So who knows what they will try next? My point is, I see no reason to give them a chance since it seems apparent, they will do it again. A great product, for sure and one I recommend too with factory built computers. But again, this is something you can only use AFTER you first turn the computer on and setup your networking and accounts. It is great for extra bloatware and such, but not for hidden malware. There's a difference between bloatware and extras you can readily see that's put there earn the company more revenue and hidden malicious code that is, by design, intended to threaten your security.
Okay, you clearly distrust due to the superfish fiasco...I spent the past 30mins or so (having googled "Lenovo 2016 reviews") and read many from mags, blogs, forums etc...They get very good reviews on all their products, nobody mentions the 2014-2015 superfish that was attributable to some of their models...Aside from the superfish the only other criticism I could find in a general search of Lenovo "spyware\malware" was a few users suspected the integrity of the Lenovo update software although no examples of what it consisted of is never stated.
You are in denial. I never said their products were unreliable. In fact, I repeatedly said they made good products. That does not mean the company behind the products does not have nefarious intentions. I have now posted no less than 11 links to countless sources (which apparently you didn't bother to read since several go back way before 2014) - that confirm what I say - that this was no accident by Lenovo. That these events were not due to negligence, or disgruntled employees. But rather intentional management decisions (which they admitted!) to conduct malicious offenses against their customers - over and over again. Now you can choose to ignore the overwhelming evidence put in front of you. You can only lead the horse to the water, you cannot make him drink. If, in spite of their long history of repeated offense you still trust this company has your best interests in mind, then by all means, buy them. Your choice.
Next time I want to buy a laptop I will consider Lenovo if its competitive in performance and price-wise against other choices...I'm still waiting for mbam to sort out their latest release and I'll use that despite the fact they wiped out many users computers by deleting C:/windows files a few years ago...This all of course has drifted a long way from the op's question, perhaps he's best off doing a little google research on the three manufacturers himself...As for me, I'm out a happy Hp and Lenovo owner\user.
Full discloser - no relation to Peter Bright (that I am aware of). As for user review and reader comments, I don't pay much attention to them either. For one, happy people don't generally complain or comment so such comments are often skewed from the start. For another (at least with user reviews) products are often down graded because they were the wrong color than shown on the Amazon page, FedEx delivered it next door, the box looked like it fell off the UPS truck, or the post office delivered it a day late. So I only pay attention to such comments (1) if there are many saying exactly the same thing and (2) if they are commenting on the exact same model. As you noted, some down grade just because it says Microsoft, Asus, Acer, or whatever on the label. Hardly fair when a maker produces dozens or even 100s of different products. Not all can be bad (or great). I agree, but choose carefully there too. Some may be inclined to push the models that have the bigger profit margin for them.
Is that based on business models (ProBook/EliteBook) or just the consumer models? I'm on my second ProBook and have been impressed with the quality of both of them, but I don't like consumer models, i.e. the Pavilion series. I recently briefly owned a 17 inch Pavilion with good specs - i7 CPU and 1GB decidcated video, and was unimpressed with the quality. I really like that I can remove the bottom panel of my ProBook, to access the RAM, storage, and even the fan, without needing to unscrew any screws. I had to replace the fan in it, and it was very quick and easy to do.
Having used all 3 in enterprise environments. I would go with Lenovo. My wife has a Lenovo T440. Before that she had a Lenovo Ideapad (forget the model), but my daughter now uses it 3 years later without issues. The quality of Lenovo is enough for me to consider it even with their security blunders. That being said I would not get anything less than an i5, 250Gb SSD, and 8Gb of RAM. Anything less than that is already outdated equipment.
You are correct roger. It's the consumer models I'm referencing. And most typical are overheating problems. Coincidence you mentioned the fan issue?
lol! I have a Lenovo laptop preinstalled with Ubuntu and as far as I know there are no super Chinese fish or alternative facts on it. I don't know whether it's been waterboarded though.
