
| From: William Park via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | | I just received email promo from Lenovo: | | ThinkPad T14s Gen 2 Intel (14”) - Black | https://s.bluecore.com/Utrkeyg72dZq_0DQf820_NrJxD | | Is this a good deal? The more precise question would "is this a good deal for me?" Unfortunately we don't really know what you need or want. My current ideas about Lenovo: - they have horribly high list prices - they often put stuff on sale. Usually 40-50+ percent off. - (all brands) expandability of notebooks is being reduced. Different models are different. Pro Tip: apparently no LPDDR4 DRAM is in sockets. Many machines have no RAM sockets -- all soldered. Some have soldered RAM + 1 socket (a lifeline but annoying because two matched SODIMMs perform better). - they have a changing array of coupons to give you additional discounts. They are not secret but they are sometimes hard to find. - sometimes you can get significant cash-back by going through rakuten.ca 10% yesterday and today but that is higher than normal. I've seen it at 14% a couple of weeks ago. Note: rakuten does not combine with some coupons (hard to figure out which) - there is an educational / first responders discount through id.me I know little about it because I don't qualify. About this particular computer: - for that much money, I'd demand perfection. - I'd prefer a better screen (more pixels, more nits, better colour perhaps, maybe touch) - I'd prefer a later generation Intel CPU. They really seem to be getting better in each recent generation. I also prefer AMD but I think that Intel is now getting close and has some advantages (Thunderbolt, "efficiency cores"). (AMD Ryzen CPU naming is a misleading mess. You have to look up the particular chip to find out the microarchitecture generation.) - I have not bought ThinkPads recently because the price premium has been too high. I certainly liked much about my ancient ones. Exception: I bought ThinkPad C13 ChromeBooks but they were less than $200. - 16G RAM is much better that 8G but is it enough for the long amortization period of such an expensive notebook? (Three years ago I threw 32G in my main notebook because it was so cheap; I don't know if I need it) For most people, 16G is comfortable. For you: I have no way of knowing; probably you don't either. - I find interesting deals on redflagdeals.com, in the Hot Deals Forum. Deals come and go. - Randomly, this is cheaper and has better features but is a ThinkBook rather than a ThinkPad (not the same quality). Note: I'm not recommending it (I haven't looked closely at it) <https://forums.redflagdeals.com/lenovo-canada-thinkbook-14p-14-2-2k-ryzen-7-6800h-16gb-512gb-895-after-codes-2596420/> - if still available, this is a little more than half the cost of the ThinkPad and better in some ways. You may detest the format: touch screen, can be folded into a tablet. <https://forums.redflagdeals.com/lenovo-canada-yoga-6-13-c-amd-dark-teal-aluminum-top-cover-starting-714-now-690-2600460/#p37263784> If you don't mind a barely used ThinkPad, this guy bought one at a very good price from Lenovo, decided he didn't need it, instead of returning it offered it to the community at cost, got stiffed, and is probably stuck with it. So: he might accept a bit less than his asking price: <https://forums.redflagdeals.com/open-box-lenovo-thinkbook-14p-ryzen-5-6600h-16gb-512gb-ssd-2-2k-screen-835-2600803/> Somewhere in the forums he mentioned why he didn't like it as much as other choices. Note: his price will not be subject to HST. He might be able to give you a copy of his original invoice which will show the HST he paid. Note: I haven't talked to him about this so much is guess-work on my part.