NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Lenovo Forums › Lenovo Notebooks › Solid notebooks (other than IBMs)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Solid notebooks (other than IBMs)

post #1 of 5
1/31/05 at 2:01am
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for a solid notebook, but not an IBM (mainly because of price and proprietary features). However, I'm a cheapie, so I'm also looking to economize I'd like to spend under $2000 CAD if possible (~ $1600 USD).

while I like SXGA+, I've decided that I would settle for WXGA or maybe XGA if it's a good deal, and I'd prefer something with dedicated RAM, although a Radeon IGP would suffice quite well (just not Intel Extremely Crap Graphics ). Either a Centrino or AMD would make me happy - just not P4Ms and the like.

One of the most important aspects for me is that it's solid: keyboard, build, etc. I hate flimsy construction. It would be nice to have something near the quality of IBM, but I must say that I like the keyboards on Fujitsus, some Sonys, and Asus.

Are there any notebooks out there like this? (BTW, I don't want a Sony either )
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 5
1/31/05 at 2:08am
I think Fujitsu is the closest thing you'll find... ASUS is great too, but I don't think they have something that really fits your description.
They are often expensive though...
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 5
1/31/05 at 2:46am
CL56 all the way. It's not ruggedized, just well built. I've actually disassembled a CL50 (a cousin of the CL56), and I can tell you that there's nothing flimsy about it.

It's Pentium-M based, has Mobility Radeon 9700 128M graphics, an SXGA+ display, Intel Pro/Wireless 2200 WIFI, and a nice keyboard. Battery life is excellent, around 4 hours with wireless on and brightness at max. The unit is very quiet, not too heavy, and, agian, very well built. There's no "creaky plastic" here.

It starts at around $1305 (US) with a P-M 1.7GHz and 512M of DDR. I'd recommend adding the Hitachi 7200RPM 60GB HDD and a DVD burner, for a total of $1497.44 (US).

Discountlaptops.com sells the Cl56, and I would highly recommend them. You get a 2-year warranty, plus 24/7 support from ChemUSA (the OEM). They are responsive and helpful.

I would not recommend the Clevo (Sager) notebooks. A friend of mine has a NP4321 and the plastic around the display is now cracking. He hasn't abused it, it just appears to be a bad design. Your mileage may vary, though, as I've heard a number of nice things about the Clevo notebooks on this forum.

I've heard good things about the Asus M6Ne, but I don't see any advantage that it has over the CL56 unless you like widescreens, need Gigabit ethernet, or want a CD bay battery. It's also more expensive than the CL56 and has less VRAM.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 5
1/31/05 at 4:23am
Asus makes Solid notebooks.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 5
1/31/05 at 10:23am
Thread Starter 
While I think I like the CL56, the keyboard (flex) and lack of LCD screen backing would be my main concerns.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Lenovo Notebooks
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Lenovo Forums › Lenovo Notebooks › Solid notebooks (other than IBMs)