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Lenovo 3000 N100 for $700 as a first notebook for grad school?

post #1 of 8
8/16/06 at 6:44am
Thread Starter 
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?...0625&An=browse

I started another thread where I concluded that the Asus Z96j is a good first laptop for me. For $1,300 to 1,500, I get a good notebook with a nice 15.4 SXGA+ screen, plus a solid graphics card for the occasional graphics work or gaming session.

However, I saw an Office Depot coupon for the Lenovo 3000 N100, at $700 with rebates.

I am thinking about this Lenovo model because if you cut out the Z96j's graphics abilities, the Lenovo is not that far off in terms of performance. Even factoring the price of a memory upgrade, the Office Depot promo looks hard to beat.

Might this Lenovo promo really offer such good value for ordinary tasks that you'd pass up the Z96j which costs twice as much (but, well, won't give you twice the computing power)? Comments please?
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post #2 of 8
8/16/06 at 12:38pm
comparing that to the Z96j is apples and oranges. If you have no need for a dedicated GPU, then save your money and go for the lenovo. You need discrete graphics go for the Asus
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post #3 of 8
8/16/06 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm. Choices, choices. Is there any old thread that helps you decide just how much graphic ability you need? I imagine the Lenovo would be fine for the usual photo editing and DVD viewing and that won't be significantly improved by the discrete graphics. However:

1. Just how much does a SXGA+ screen make ordinary tasks more comfortable?

2. What kind of gaming do you expect on the Lenovo? I imagine you can't even run things like Rome Total War?

Otherwise, is the Lenovo for $700 pretty much one of the best deals for that price?
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post #4 of 8
8/16/06 at 12:55pm
the lenovo is a fine deal and that res is pretty decent. you can probably play games like cs and stuff.
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post #5 of 8
8/16/06 at 1:45pm
Thread Starter 
One more thing... I plan to use this notebook for at least two years. Should I think about the lack of upgradeability especially where the graphics card is concerned? Or will I not need an upgrade unless I start gaming anyway?
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post #6 of 8
8/16/06 at 1:50pm
notebooks arent really upgradable... in the core duo case, you can upgrade the processor to a core 2 duo or merom, but that will work in any core duo laptop.

but the thing is, with the $700 you save you can get a desktop that'll be able to game.. so maybe that's a better option for you
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post #7 of 8
8/16/06 at 2:11pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm, that's a very VERY good point.

However, I was thinking that I'd be in a dorm room so I'd rather have everything in one package. I was working before signing up for grad school, and it can be a hassle to switch this and that file between computers. However, this is a very practical argument you presented me...
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post #8 of 8
8/16/06 at 2:41pm
(overlooked the above answer. please disconsider).

anyway, "to not lose the trip", I agree that if you really game, the best answer by far (performance and money wise) is a desktop. not only you will spend less to buy, but it also help you to stay quite on par when new gpus are released.
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