Lightweight laptop for programming (no gaming)

[fayden]

pepper_john, it would be a no brainer in favor of the ThinkPad if it wasn't for the price. If I upgrade the screen, the HDD (320GB 7200RPM to 500GB 5400RPM) and the battery (4-cell to 6-cell), it brings the price to 1080$ (default was 1000$) which is quite more than what I expected.

I'll think about it, I guess the price difference isn't so huge when you use a laptop over a 3 year period.

[ZaZ]

- i3-2367M (VAIO) vs i3-2370M (ThinkPad), does it really make a difference for my use?
- is a 5400 RPM hard drive disk really less noisy than a 7200 RPM?
- VAIO T Series' default screen vs ThinkPad's Premium HD, is the ThinkPad's screen really better?
- Would the Thinkpad's 4-cell battery be enough, or should I invest in a 6-cell or even 9-cell? For about 5 hour sessions.

Most uses don't push the CPU much. The CPUs should be fairly similar performance wise. Anything processor intensive, the higher clocked CPU on the X230 will offer a significant advantage.

In a general sense I would say yes. 5400RPM drives spin more slowly, which tends to cut down on the noise and vibration, though this can vary a bit from one drive to the next. The X230 can do the mSATA SSD plus keep the platter drive in the main bay, which would give you speed and storage.

Yes, it is.

When I got my X220i, it offered a little over six hours of battery life. It's down to around 5.5 now after just over a year. If you get the four-cell, it's best time will probably be about four hours and batteries degrade over time. If you want to hit six hours for years, perhaps the nine-cell is worth considering, though it will add weight.

I've at time seen some good Lenovo coupons in Canada. If you can wait you may get closer to your ideal price.

[panda889]

I recommend Sony VAIO T SVT13112FXS Ultrabook, the price is around $780, see the comparison about some popular Ultrabook here, I think it is the best cheap ultrabook, it features a i5 processor, 4G ram and hybrid hard drive that can satisfy your need well.

[Promedeus]

As a programmer myself, I can tell you there are needs for graphics cards (gaming computer essentially). Especially if you are interested in any kind of theoretical Computer Science field or game design. Artificial Intelligence and is one of those subtopics of CS that you must have a good computer for. This is because with a dedicated Graphics card you can use the GPU's 128+ (sometimes more, like 198) parallel processors to perform a lot of calculations, which would normally take around 250 times longer with any 3rd gen i7. Also, if you're thinking about possibly diving into game development, then you would need a Graphics card.

Also, I wouldn't want to compile some of my projects on an i3 O_O, that could take a while. Not only will compiling be slow, debugging could be VERY SLOW. If you're looking for a good laptop for the price, check out the Lenovo Y580, not exactly lightweight, but it gets the job done, and it does it very well too.

BTW - They're having a sale that ends 7/18 and with the sale + student discount you can save up to like $700 bucks on some models. I'd give them a look if I were you.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...7A&action=init

[fayden]

Promedeus, I actually have another computer which I can use for more intensive tasks. I know what to expect from a low performance laptop, and I want a lightweight computer that I can move around.

ZaZ, thank you for your answers. I'll keep an eye on discounts for the X230.