Shopping for a fast, light, affordable laptop for college

[cestlecutee]

it's no problem. if you don't mind a larger computer (15.6" screen) the T530 is fine, but it may go over your budget. same with the T430s, but it's slimmer than the T430. both of those have 14" screens.

Well, I double checked them just now, and found even T430 is a little bit over weighted than ideal one. lol. And indeed T430s is sold at premium for the ultrabook feature.

Thanks.

[mariol90]

the X230 is 3.3lb with a 6-cell battery, which fits into your weight requirement. there's a good X230 vs T430 comparison here: ThinkPad T430 Vs. X230 Comparison, Choose Portability or Bigger Screen?

[cestlecutee]

the X230 is 3.3lb with a 6-cell battery, which fits into your weight requirement. there's a good X230 vs T430 comparison here: ThinkPad T430 Vs. X230 Comparison, Choose Portability or Bigger Screen?

Fantastic!! You really help me a lot~~
I will think about it with the new information that you provided!!~~

[User Retired 2]

HP 2560P off ebay. You will be hard pressed to another 12.5" businesss notebook available for ~$600 in new or as-new condition with remaining balance of 3yr onsite global warranty. A 2560P can be user upgraded to a 45W i7-quad (note: warranty conditions), has 9-cell battery option, SIM slot, 6300AGN wifi, etc that you've listed. See pics/details at *HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge*

Consider too that a HP 2570P has been announced which looks to use the same chassis. Meaning a IVB upgrade may be simply a systemboard swap if you want the USB 3.0, faster iGPU. There is some prelim suggestions on how a IVB CPU could be run on a Series-6 system in the 2560P Owner's thread too.

If contemplating a Lenovo then I'd suggest review this example of poor build/support to decide what warranty option to go for. http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series...rt/td-p/670587. The suggestion is for accidental damage cover, which adds more $$. In case that link is redirects you to Lenovo sales, please cut-and-paste it to see the correct info:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Crack-in-X220-casing-poor-support/td-p/670587

[cestlecutee]

HP 2560P off ebay. You will be hard pressed to another 12.5" businesss notebook available for ~$600 in new or as-new condition with remaining balance of 3yr onsite global warranty.

It can be user upgraded to a 45W i7-quad (note: warranty conditions). Has 9-cell battery option, SIM slot, 6300AGN wifi, etc.

See pics/details at *HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge*

Consider too that a HP 2570P has been announced which looks to use the same chassis. Meaning a IVB upgrade may be simply a systemboard swap if you want the USB 3.0, faster iGPU. There is some prelim suggestions on how a IVB CPU could be run on a Series-6 system in the 2560P Owner's thread too.

You may want to see a a very poor Lenovo warranty servicing example at Crack in X220 casing + poor support - Lenovo Community before you jump in, or at least consider their accidental warranty cover. In case that link is redirects you to Lenovo sales, please cut-and-paste it to see the correct info:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Crack-in-X220-casing-poor-support/td-p/670587

Great! Finally some one came from a different brand camp~~

Got confused though.. the prices I saw in HP's website are about twice as much as you wrote here...

[User Retired 2]

Great! Finally some one came from a different brand camp~~

Got confused though.. the prices I saw in HP's website are about twice as much as you wrote here...

No idea why HP new pricing is so high. HP does offer Lenovo comparable 'smart buy' units with the same 1yr depot warranty as the base price Lenovo stuff.

I avoid depot warranty where you consider ebay 'new' or 'as-new' options with remainder of their 3YR NBD warranty. Consider the following as meeting your needs plus some:

~$600 12.5" HP 2560P off ebay + $140 i7-2630QM - $100 (sell i5 that comes with the 2560P). It has an expresscard slot too so can add a ~$200 x1.2Opt GTX460 DIY eGPU for gaming or additional CUDA processing capabilities.

So can have a i7-quad 12.5" tiny beast of a system for $640 (or $840 with gaming/CUDA). While we have proof the 45W i7-quads work in a 2560P it's worth checking if HP will honor the warranty with one in it, as none left the factory with one. See *HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge* for pics/details.

NOTE: You need a Lenovo T420/T430 or greater to have a socketted CPU. The T420s/T430s or X220/X230 all have soldered CPUs. Means no user upgrades are possible.

[cestlecutee]

No idea why HP new pricing is so high. HP does offer Lenovo comparable 'smart buy' units with the same 1yr depot warranty as the base price Lenovo stuff.

I avoid depot warranty where you consider ebay 'new' or 'as-new' options with remainder of their 3YR NBD warranty. Consider the following as meeting your needs plus some:

~$600 12.5" HP 2560P off ebay + $140 i7-2630QM - $100 (sell i5 that comes with the 2560P). It has an expresscard slot too so can add a ~$200 x1.2Opt GTX460 DIY eGPU for gaming or additional CUDA processing capabilities.

So can have a i7-quad 12.5" tiny beast of a system for $640 (or $840 with gaming/CUDA). While we have proof the 45W i7-quads work in a 2560P it's worth checking if HP will honor the warranty with one in it, as none left the factory with one. See *HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge* for pics/details.

NOTE: You need a Lenovo T420/T430 or greater to have a socketted CPU. The T420s/T430s or X220/X230 all have soldered CPUs. Means no user upgrades are possible.

OK! That's interesting to learn!

But so many modifications and updates sound too complicated for me, and I believe it hurts the warranty. And I don't like the idea to sell parts replaced, since it takes much more efforts. I can accept to add something into the computer, for example add another 4G memory lol~

However, I do appreciate that you mentioned the socketted CPU in thinkpads. It's hard for me to figure out these sort of facts~ Thanks!

[cestlecutee]

not sure if there's an easy way to do that, but you could do a search for the computer's model and "msata". the T430 and X230 have one.
most new laptops have one, and if it says it comes with a small SSD cache (16GB or something) then it's probably msata. good luck!

Well, could you teach me more about mSATA, SATA II, SATA III? I checked many online stores, and found SATA cards are specified in many different terms. Got confused... Some only mention SATA with a 3GB/s speed.. what does that speed indicate?

[cestlecutee]

the thinkpad X230 looks like it would work for you, plus you could add an IPS screen if you wanted. another option would be the T430 if you wanted a larger screen. the optical drive can be replaced with a second hard drive.
both also support mSATA SSDs.

I'm now looking at four deals. Could you help me to decide? See the other post for details~

[cestlecutee]

Help me decide....Check the other post for details...