BYOD for High School - School Has Offered Lenovo ThinkPad L13 $1078

jonagrah on 03/09/2021 - 12:10
Last edited 03/09/2021 - 19:08 by 1 other user

Our youngest starts high school next year. I've been putting aside money to buy her a new laptop after Christmas. She's just been using a hand me down iPad & Chromebook at home.

Her future high school sent an email this week regard BYOD and offer this laptop:

Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Silver Gen 2 - 13.3" FHD Non Touch - 8GB, 256GB
Product Code: LEO4605412-10807599
13.3" Non-Touch (1920x1080)
Intel Core i5-1135G7 (8M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz)
8GB DDR4
256GB SSD
Integrated Keyboard
Up to 9 Hours
1.38KG
Front Facing
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Academic
802.11ac/a/b/g/n/ax
Standard
3 Year Onsite Warranty - 3 Year Battery

$1,078.00

Specs seem run-of-the-mill, but the 3 year onsite warranty is very appealing.

I know ThinkPad's aren't pretty, but the E595 I use at home is built well.

Would you purchase this laptop through the school or get something else?

Thanks for your input!

• 

  KaTst3R on 03/09/2021 - 12:24

  Is the ThinkPad E595 a 15.6 inch model? It might be a little too big to be carrying around at school. The Lenovo has a much smaller footprint and lighter which has less strenuous.

  • 

    jonagrah on 03/09/2021 - 12:27

    Yeah, the E595 would be way to big and heavy for her. Just commenting on how I believe ThinkPad's are built well.

    • 

      KaTst3R on 03/09/2021 - 12:29

      +1

      Ok i misread, i thought you meant buying the L13 or handing down the E595. The L13 is a good laptop.

• 

  onetrickpony on 03/09/2021 - 12:45

  +1

  Ask about accident cover, if its not included. My daughter is in year 11, her second year of BYOD with her Dell. Last year Dell replaced the cracked screen for free. I sent them photos on a Tuesday, the shipped the parts to Bris overnight, and the tech arrived at our house on Wed afternoon and repaired it here. All free, no questions asked. We're going to deal with the cracked case in the next few weeks as well.

  It wasn't cheap, but well worth it for 3 years peace of mind.

  • 

    jonagrah on 03/09/2021 - 12:52

    +2

    Lenovo 3 Year Accidental Damage Protection - $100 excess - 3 Claims Over 3 Years - Please read PDS all insurance has limits
    $143

    • 

      scrimshaw on 03/09/2021 - 13:53

      ADP is worth getting for $143.

      The $100 excess stings a little though, make sure you thoroughly read the PDS before you buy so you know what is covered and whats not.

  • 

    furyou on 03/09/2021 - 13:58

    how much is accident cover? your home ins may cover it too

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  trex on 03/09/2021 - 13:19

  $1078 is a good price. Same model is $1449 on Lenovo's website.

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  Seraphin7 on 03/09/2021 - 13:52

  I like the Lenovo laptops.

  I'd look for something in the T series. I think the model I recently acquired was the T490 for a similar use case to yours. It's a step up in price point, but the T series are of much more study construction.

  I would certainly be suggesting 16GB RAM. Ideally also 512GB SSD, although this is probably not critical.

• 

  wongcr on 10/09/2021 - 07:55

  I just got my L13 Yoga Gen 2, after 3 months wait. Nice ergonomics and usual Thinkpad quality EXCEPT for 1 fatal flaw.

  It runs Really hot, even on idle or low cpu < 10%. Approx 85C with hot base and keyboard near CPU. Some internet discussion claim poor heat pipe design, one posted that they opened it up and replaced the thermal paste which seemed to help the problem. When I ran benchmark app cpu @ 100% temps hit over 95c and the machine throttled but temps didn’t get much lower.

  I also only get 6 hours on default balanced power mode, suspect the 9 hours is on battery saver with lowest brightness.

  It also doesn’t have that nifty retracting keyboard when in tablet mode, but I can live with that.

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  tonyjzx on 10/09/2021 - 15:25

  If it was my kid I would just pay it. That's an extremely fair price. I suspect lower than aus. rrp.