laptop purchasing advice
 

guys, it's been a while. i need some advice on a potential laptop purchase, hopefully someone can give some info.

the field has been narrowed to the asus u46 and thinkpad t420 -- fairly similar specs, apart from the graphics cards (nvs4200m vs gt540m), the asus comes out slowly cheaper. i'm using them for work and light gaming (no crysis 2 or anything similar but hopefully some sh4!!).

my big question and the deciding factor relates to build quality and durability -- both manufacturers are known for solid build quality. a couple of family members have had thinkpads w/ no problems, i have an old asus f6 where the only issue is the battery (my own fault, poor management).

any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated

Hard to get any clear info on these things, but my impression is;

1. Gt540m definitely holds the advantage in gaming.
2. Lenovo generally scores high marks on ergonomics and apparently the t420 is a solid performer for general computing.

Don't think you really need a gt540m for SH4 though; it supposedly runs current games on medium-high settings at 1360x768. SH4 isn't all that demanding. Still, if you plan on doing any gaming at all it's nice to have a half-decent chip powering it.


Basically, I'd say grab the Lenovo for business or the Asus for gaming. You'll have to decide yourself where your priority lies. ;)

We use T410's and 420's. As the IT guy for the region - I got the 420 before anyone else.

Its a good business machine - but have never tried gaming on it. For "light" gaming you should be fine with a 420 - but how much are you going to lug it around?

The 410/420 series has an issue where if you shut the lid (and not have it set to sleep/power off) it can press the del key. Have had a few execs delete stuff by accident due to this. Also - the fan on the series is a bit flaky, as is the touchpad.

I can't recommend it given its current pricing. Sorry.

thanks v much for the input guys