Lenovo G770 for university?

[big_monchhichi]

Hi Everyone, I don't know much about computers and would appreciate it if someone can offer some advice.

I want to get a laptop for my graduate school study. I wanted to get a macbook pro but it is way too expensive. So I'm looking for something ideally around $600. I currently have a Toshiba and absolutely hate it. So I don't want to buy anymore Toshiba.

I need a laptop for:
1. Carry it around for practicum
2. Use it at my residence to do assignments (need MS Word and powerpoint)
3. Webcam to communicate with family members
4. Fast and stable Internet to do teleconference, web courses , check emails
5. listen to music and watch online TV shows (not often but maybe once a week)
6. Fast start up

So I came across Lenovo G770... it seems the reviews on a couple of computer websites and amazon are quite good. In general people give it 4 out of 5 stars. But I was wondering if anyone has other suggestions or have used G770 and don't like it.

Thanks in advance!

I was also thinking of Dell new inspiron 15 r or 14z, but not sure about the quality.

[easylistener]

I have to say that the G770 looks quite good, and as you've said it's getting decent reviews, the only problem might be its weight and dimensions. A 17 inch laptop isn't exactly the lightest thing to carry around. If you want something more portable, take a look at the G580. It's essentially a G770 in a 15 inch form factor.

I have no experiences with Dell computers in recent years, so I can't help you out in that department.

[MacGyver]

I find myself going from job site to job site all over town. I wish I had something smaller than my Lenovo T500. And I drive everywhere. Take that for what it's worth.

[george__]

Get something that will last you a while. Lenovo T series and HP Business Line are better bet for the long run but they will cost a tiny bit more initially!

My personal experience has been with the newer T series, which were a bit of a disappointment and the newer HP business line were a little better. But the newer T series could be had for a much better deal.

My experience was the T510, which I kept, but it has been a horror story
- CPU whining issue
- Random dead pixels that came out of nowhere
- Flexing
Compared to my T43 it was realllly disappointing but I paid like 2k less for the T510... Also compared to consumer grade laptops like the Lenovo you mentioned, the t510 is STRONG. I've dropped it 3 times (carpet and wood) and still no cracks anywhere. Whereas I dropped a HP DV series laptop and the first time I dropped it on the carpet, it cracked EVERYWHERE.

[big_monchhichi]

Thanks for everyone's advice! Really appreciate your input!

easylistener, you mentioned the G580, is the size the only difference between it and G770?

[easylistener]

Sorry for the late reply, but yes, the G580 is essentially a smaller G770. I did some snooping around on Lenovo Canada's site, and it seems that the $600 G580 model is comparable in almost everyway to the $600 G770 model that's currently on sale. Both have an i5 processor, plenty of ram (either 6GB or 8GB) and a large hard drive (either 750GB or 1TB).

There are however, a few intricacies that differ between the two. The $600 G580 has a third generation i5 processor instead of the second-gen processor used on the G770. The third-gen processor is notable in that it has a much better integrated graphics solution (~50% faster than its second-gen counterpart). This might tip the scale in favor of the G580 if you like to play games, but I doubt it will given your checklist. On the other hand, the G770 does have a 1600x900 resolution screen versus the 1366x768 one used on the G580. In other words, there are more horizontal and vertical pixels on the G770 display. This translates into less scrolling when viewing webpages, documents and so on.

In the end, it all comes down to what you value the most. The G580 is more portable, while the G770 has an arguably better screen. If you plan to carry the laptop on a daily basis, my vote goes to the G580.

[big_monchhichi]

easylistener, thanks again. I saw that from Lenovo Canada website soon. I have just placed the order for G580 because of portability, 3rd gen processor, more ram and the larger hard drive. I do need to carry my laptop to different places for practicum and classes. So hopefully it's a good choice :)

Thanks a lot! Really appreciate everyone's help!