Should I get a new laptop for school?
I have a Lenovo Thinkpad X220 loaded with the following:
- i5-2540M
- 4GB DDR3
- 480 GB Intel 520 series SSD
- 1366x768 IPS panel
- Dual boot of Ubuntu 16.04 and Win8.1 x64
I absolutely love this thing for the robust build quality, long-ish battery (I get 6-7 hours with the 6 cell battery option; 9 cell too cumbersome), and the portability being a 12.5" form factor and fairly light weight. Most of all, I love the keyboard and trackpoint (I can’t stand trackpads).
There are a few issues I have with the laptop. two have to do with the screen
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the resolution is too low. I can’t effectively have more than one window up at a time and that’s only because Ubuntu/Unity allow me to work effectively by making efficient use of screen real-estate, but ideally I’d like to have higher res screen. I have a similar laptop for work, the x230, and I can’t work the the database program at all while undocked, so I can’t even effectively use one program at a time on that.
-
It leaves static after-images, similar to burned pixels, but temporary. As an example, I’ll see an afterimage of Chrome’s URL bar burned in the top while watching a video with dark scenery.
I also recently acquired a Heroes of the Storm habit. While the CPU/iGPU is listed as a minimum requirement, it is unplayable, even with all the tweaking (disable shadows, lower sound quality, setting to performance power profile, etc). I get about 25FPS, but it’s erratic, peaking in the mid 40s, while also getting frequent dips in the teens, and sometimes in the single digit FPS.
However, performance overall is becoming a little bit of an issue as well. When loading script-heavy sites, it will peg the CPU, which bogs performance, and causes the fan to kick-in (which is annoying). Performance is still very satisfactory, but it is showing its age.
If so, what are my options?
With that said, my top requirements are:
- Quality screen - at least 1600x900, but 1080p preferable. Matte finish, and IPS or other technology tech that doesn’t color-shift (i.e. not TN).
- Quality keyboard - As mentioned, I love the keyboard of the older Thinkpads, such as x220. Even though it was a membrane, it was tactile enough and had a very standard layout designed for productivity. The chicklet of the new Thinkpads is do-able, but loses a lot of points due to newer, less functional layout, especially since I rely heavily on keyboard shortcuts. However, I’ve been known to use that over a standard layout membrane keyboard, so some tactility is a must. Bonus points for a pointing stick (e.g. TrackPoint).
- Portability - I need lightweight laptop as I will carry it everywhere, 5lbs max, but ideally 4lbs (~1.8kg). I’ll need about 6+ hours of battery life as well.
Windows 7 compatibility(I suppose this is actually a moot requirement as I will be primarily using Linux) Linux compatibility - will likely use something debian/Ubuntu based due to stability requirements. Maybe Ubuntu GNOME, or Mint based on LTS releases.
And bonus points for some light gaming ability. As stated, I mainly play Heroes of the Storm, but if I can play low demanding or older titles on native res (e.g. 1080p) on low settings and fluent framerate (40-60 FPS stable), I will be a happy camper. I mainly want HOTS at 1080p 60FPS at whatever settings.
Thanks for any input.
