Lenovo laptop Thread poster: Susanne Kress
|
|---|
Susanne Kress 
Spain
Local time: 03:42
Member (2010)
Spanish to German
+ ...
Dear colleagues,
I am looking for a new laptop to use as a backup and occasionally while travelling, not as my main working machine. After looking around and reading the fora I’m about to go for a Lenovo Thinkpad E550 (15,6’) with the following upgrades:
Processor: Intel Core i5-5200U (from i3-5005U)
Display: FHD 1920 x 1080 (from HD 1366 x 768)
RAM: 8 GB (from 4GB)
Hard drive: Here I have my biggest doubts between these options:
- HD... See more Dear colleagues,
I am looking for a new laptop to use as a backup and occasionally while travelling, not as my main working machine. After looking around and reading the fora I’m about to go for a Lenovo Thinkpad E550 (15,6’) with the following upgrades:
Processor: Intel Core i5-5200U (from i3-5005U)
Display: FHD 1920 x 1080 (from HD 1366 x 768)
RAM: 8 GB (from 4GB)
Hard drive: Here I have my biggest doubts between these options:
- HD 500GB, 7200 rpm
- SSHD 500GB5400 with 8GB cache
- SSD 128 GB S128GB, SATA III
Taking into account the opinions I’ve read, I should go for the SSD and use an external hard drive if necessary. Or would the hybrid option be okay as well?
Is there anything else I should consider? I know that the E-series is the basic one, but it seems to fit my needs, or not?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Susanne ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 09:42
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Andrej Fric
Slovenia
Local time: 03:42
Member (2011)
German to Slovenian
+ ...
| You can never have too much | Jun 26, 2015 |
RAM and disc. 8GB is minimum for today. Processor i5 is okay. And SSD is just great. I have mine separated in 2 partitions, one for the OS and 2nd for frequently used programs and TM's. Works perfectly. Obviously you'll need 2 discs (one SSD and one HDD) or one hybrid drive (SSD + HDD combined in one unit).
[Edited at 2015-06-26 10:48 GMT]
| | | | andrejc
Slovenia
Local time: 03:42
German to Slovenian
+ ...
I would not go for SSHD (8GB SSD + ...HDD)
If possible take the SSHD with 24GB SSD. That allows the system to operate smoothly on SSD and it has enough cashe space. You will use HDD part as storage disk. In this case you do not need to devide anything.
Or better, take SSD only and devide it into 2 partitions, as previously mentioned.
Once you buy the laptop you will not want to change anything inside it. It is so that the machine is optimised for the defaul... See more I would not go for SSHD (8GB SSD + ...HDD)
If possible take the SSHD with 24GB SSD. That allows the system to operate smoothly on SSD and it has enough cashe space. You will use HDD part as storage disk. In this case you do not need to devide anything.
Or better, take SSD only and devide it into 2 partitions, as previously mentioned.
Once you buy the laptop you will not want to change anything inside it. It is so that the machine is optimised for the default hardware. If you do anything later, it will be better, but not as good as it could be.
Andrej ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Susanne Kress
Spain
Local time: 03:42
Member (2010)
Spanish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you very much for your replies.
Unfortunately, the only hybrid option for this machine is 8GB SSD + 500 GB HDD.
So it seems that I should go for the 128 GB SSD. As far as I understand (sorry for my ignorance) I could make 3 partitions (OS/programs/data) on this SSD until for lack of storage space I will have to add an external HDD. Or will this HDD be necessary right from the beginning?
Thanks and regards
Susanne
| | | | | Change the SSD yourself | Jun 26, 2015 |
Susanne, if you are a little "technikaffin" (or have someone who is) and dare to unscrew some cover on your new laptop, you can change the SSD yourself. For Lenovo laptops this is usually a very easy task.
I would order the cheapest version with the 500 GB hard drive, remove that and insert a 256 GB or 512 GB SSD instead. You can by a 256 GB SSD for somewhat like 90 EUR. Some SSD manufacturers (e.g. Samsung) provide a tool which allows you to clone the whole system including operati... See more Susanne, if you are a little "technikaffin" (or have someone who is) and dare to unscrew some cover on your new laptop, you can change the SSD yourself. For Lenovo laptops this is usually a very easy task.
I would order the cheapest version with the 500 GB hard drive, remove that and insert a 256 GB or 512 GB SSD instead. You can by a 256 GB SSD for somewhat like 90 EUR. Some SSD manufacturers (e.g. Samsung) provide a tool which allows you to clone the whole system including operating system to the new SSD, so that you do not have to install the operating system yourself. This takes some time, but is absolutely safe (from my own experience). The "old" hard drive you could use as external backup (get a cheap USB enclosure for that).
This is what I would do, since 128 GB is very little nowadays. However I understand if you do not want or dare to open your new device. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Susanne Kress
Spain
Local time: 03:42
Member (2010)
Spanish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you, Tobias, that is certainly an option I will consider! Although I would have to ask somebody to do this for me.
Danke nochmal und beste Grüße
Susanne
| | | | |
|
|
|
Susanne Kress
Spain
Local time: 03:42
Member (2010)
Spanish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I'll think about it | Jun 26, 2015 |
Thanks again for taking the time to look into this, Tobias. It seems to be very easy, but of course, it's not the screws that scare me, but the transfer.
Perhaps I'll order it with the HDD or the Hybrid drive (practically no price difference) and change the drive in one or two year's time. I know that then it will cost more time to transfer everything, but if I change it right at the beginning there could be warranty issues as well perhaps?
I'll make my mind up during ... See more Thanks again for taking the time to look into this, Tobias. It seems to be very easy, but of course, it's not the screws that scare me, but the transfer.
Perhaps I'll order it with the HDD or the Hybrid drive (practically no price difference) and change the drive in one or two year's time. I know that then it will cost more time to transfer everything, but if I change it right at the beginning there could be warranty issues as well perhaps?
I'll make my mind up during the next days.
Thanks a lot and have a nice weekend.
Susanne ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:42
Serbian to English
+ ...
| most efficient: upgrade the RAM to 16GB | Jun 27, 2015 |
this model can take 16 GB RAM
http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory-ram-upgrades/lenovo/thinkpad/e550
if they don't sell a version with 16 GB RAM, buy one with the lowest RAM they offer (you'll have to throw them away) and replace the memory bars - it's the simplest replacement, and the most effective way to improve the overall performance. Absolute... See more this model can take 16 GB RAM
http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory-ram-upgrades/lenovo/thinkpad/e550
if they don't sell a version with 16 GB RAM, buy one with the lowest RAM they offer (you'll have to throw them away) and replace the memory bars - it's the simplest replacement, and the most effective way to improve the overall performance. Absolute no-brainer on ANY laptop - just put the max RAM possible!
next possible improvement: the largest HDD possible or even better a SSD
not to forget the OS: get rid of the OS ["Newest" versions of OS are all often a way of turning users in paying guinea pigs for half-baked software] and "downgrade" to Windows 7 64bits version
That's about all you can do to a laptop... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No warranty issues | Jun 27, 2015 |
Hi Susanne,
The manufacturer makes a difference between FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) and CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit). According to the HMM for the Lenovo E550 the hard disk is a part of the CRU components. That means that there should be no warranty issues when replacing it, but of course I don't give you a guarantee on that.
Regarding the system transfer: if you buy a SSD you should watch out if that particular one includes some cloning software. In this case you ... See more Hi Susanne,
The manufacturer makes a difference between FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) and CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit). According to the HMM for the Lenovo E550 the hard disk is a part of the CRU components. That means that there should be no warranty issues when replacing it, but of course I don't give you a guarantee on that.
Regarding the system transfer: if you buy a SSD you should watch out if that particular one includes some cloning software. In this case you just install the software on the operating system on the hard drive, connect the SSD via USB cable, and the software will transfer everything to the SSD for you. Then physically replace the hard drive with the SSD and that's it.
Have a nice weekend too,
Tobias ▲ Collapse
| | | | Susanne Kress
Spain
Local time: 03:42
Member (2010)
Spanish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Nearly there | Jun 28, 2015 |
Thank you again for your inputs, Daryo and Tobias.
Daryo, the do sell it with 16 GB RAM, but of course there is a considerable price difference (about 120 €), and as it was not supposed to be my main working machine, I thought that it would probably be ok with 8 GB. So I still have to decide if I add the extra 8 GB directly or via DIY like the hard drive following Tobias' advice.
With all this I already see myself working on this laptop every day ... See more Thank you again for your inputs, Daryo and Tobias.
Daryo, the do sell it with 16 GB RAM, but of course there is a considerable price difference (about 120 €), and as it was not supposed to be my main working machine, I thought that it would probably be ok with 8 GB. So I still have to decide if I add the extra 8 GB directly or via DIY like the hard drive following Tobias' advice.
With all this I already see myself working on this laptop every day
Kind regards
Susanne ▲ Collapse
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Lenovo laptop | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
