Lenovo ThinkPad Core i5-8250U 8GB 256GB SSD @ €786 - Worth it?

Standman · 26-09-2018 08:03PM #1

Hello, wise sages of the laptop forum. I'm thinking of getting a laptop that I will use mostly for music production and a bit of photo/video editing on the side. My budget's around €800.

Was thinking of pulling the trigger on this but thought it best to get your opinions first:

https://www.laptopsdirect.ie/lenovo-thinkpad-e580-20ks-core-i5-8250u-8gb-256gb-ssd-15.6-inch-windows-10-20ks001juk/version.asp

8th-gen i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and the only thing that isn't clear is the graphics card. It says "AMD Radeon discrete graphics" in the blurb but no more details.

Do ye reckon this is the best I could get for the price?

Thanks!

Gerrymandering reborn · 26-09-2018 08:12PM

Id get this https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/game/dell-g3-17-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-17-3779-laptop/cn37717

Gtx 1050 4GB, better cpu

12% off atm

AlmightyCushion · 26-09-2018 08:17PM

Gerrymandering reborn wrote: »

Id get this https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/game/dell-g3-17-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-17-3779-laptop/cn37717

Gtx 1050 4GB, better cpu

12% off atm

It's also bigger and about 50% heavier.

Alanstrainor · 26-09-2018 10:28PM

Standman wrote: »

Hello, wise sages of the laptop forum. I'm thinking of getting a laptop that I will use mostly for music production and a bit of photo/video editing on the side. My budget's around €800.

Was thinking of pulling the trigger on this but thought it best to get your opinions first:

https://www.laptopsdirect.ie/lenovo-thinkpad-e580-20ks-core-i5-8250u-8gb-256gb-ssd-15.6-inch-windows-10-20ks001juk/version.asp

8th-gen i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and the only thing that isn't clear is the graphics card. It says "AMD Radeon discrete graphics" in the blurb but no more details.

Do ye reckon this is the best I could get for the price?

Thanks!

From the Lenovo site, the graphics card is:

AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB

It's not one I'm familiar with, so you'd be best to do some research. But it seems like a grand machine. It's a decent looking machine and should do what you need. The SSD might be a bit small for video/photo storage, but that's not a huge deal.

TerrorFirmer · 27-09-2018 08:49AM

If you're not gaming you're paying a lot for the decent graphics card, which would run most new games well enough - unless you video software can make use of a dedicated GPU?

Eg this is a lovely highly portable laptop for about €650.

You might want the full 15.6" screen size though....or you might not care about weight either!

What are the priorities? Power, screen size, portability, etc.

Standman · 27-09-2018 08:54AM

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I missed the 12% off the above Dell. In any case, although it is more powerful I checked some reviews and they weren't glowing compared to the ThinkPad, which I would trust more as a brand to be honest.

I'm so indecisive when it comes to buying a laptop. As soon as I'm about to buy, a little voice in my head starts piping up saying I should spend all that money on building a PC a get way more bang for my buck. Decisions decisions.

Standman · 27-09-2018 09:13AM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If you're not gaming you're paying a lot for the decent graphics card, which would run most new games well enough - unless you video software can make use of a dedicated GPU?

Eg this is a lovely highly portable laptop for about €650.

You might want the full 15.6" screen size though....or you might not care about weight either!

What are the priorities? Power, screen size, portability, etc.

Sorry, missed your reply.

Biggest priority would be power: a good CPU, a nice amount of RAM and an SSD are essential.

Screen size is not a huge priority but I wouldn't be too keen on a 13-incher (although it wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker).

Good portability would be very nice, but again I'd gladly sacrifice it for a more powerful machine.

It would also need to have 2 USB ports at the very least, and the more ports in general the better as I'd like to use various peripherals (midi controllers, musical keyboards, possibly a monitor, etc.).

Gaming isn't a huge priority, and any photo/video editing would be purely recreational so the graphics card doesn't have to be mindblowing.

I'm basically looking for the most solid all-rounder that I can get for around the €800 mark.

Standman · 27-09-2018 08:24PM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

...
Eg this is a lovely highly portable laptop for about €650.
...

Went for this in the end. Thanks for the help!

28-09-2018 11:14AM

Standman wrote: »

Went for this in the end. Thanks for the help!

for 70 more, in Ireland, for same specs but in a much lighter (1.2kg), premium build nicer all-metal machine with better screen you could have this

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-zenbook-ux430-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-blue-10176442-pdt.html#srcid=11026

the acer swift 3 is 50% heavier than it.

28-09-2018 11:15AM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If you're not gaming you're paying a lot for the decent graphics card, which would run most new games well enough - unless you video software can make use of a dedicated GPU?

Eg this is a lovely highly portable laptop for about €650.

You might want the full 15.6" screen size though....or you might not care about weight either!

What are the priorities? Power, screen size, portability, etc.

i wouldn't call 1.8kg highly portable these days really.

28-09-2018 02:48PM

VonZan wrote: »

After your recommendatio to me I was told that Asus model won't be available in RoI again by PC world customer service. I was in Newry and noticed the price was £599 there but it's gone upto £799 online in the UK. If it does come back in I'd expect it to increase in price.

Was told they were flying out @ £599. It's worth nothing that Asus like to create an artificial demand for products by withholding stock.

I don't think that that was the case with this one - it was just very very good value - big reduction.

did you manage to get one in Newry?

Lenovo ThinkPad Core i5-8250U 8GB 256GB SSD @ €786 - Worth it?

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