Lenovo SL400 Intel Core 2 P8400 2743-89U

Be aware that the product seems to have a defect with the left hinge of the screen. There are multiple complaints and it is always the left hinge. other problems are with its cooling fansin less than 1 year of owning it, I had to return it to the service center to be repaired. The laptop would get a fan error and just shut down.

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I bought this laptop for just $850 in 2009. Over the last 3+ years, I have taken on trips, meetings, airports, buses and just about everywhere and it still keeps ticking as reliably as ever. I've spilt ice water on it by accident, left it running in the backpack, dropped it a few times onto the floor from the table and couch. Yet, I have never once had a hardware issue, be it faulty screens, touchpad, mic, camera or speakers. I've owned Acers, Dells (ugh), HPs, Compaqs, Macbooks and Toshiba laptops over the last 12 years. This is by far the single best laptop I've owned to date.

The other reviews on the web will complain about this laptop's build quality. That is a fair point, BUT ONLY when comparing it other thinkpads or the macbook. The low price of this laptop means that it does not have the magnesium alloy roll cage and hinges which give Thinkpads their brick like hardness. But when comparing it to any other laptop on the market, the build quality is one cut above. Even with a plastic case, there is no flex on this laptop. You can try to bend it and it won't budge. Even after thousands of openings and closings, the lid hinges snap perfectly shut.

The keyboard is good enough to deserve a review of its own. Many thinkpad users have told me about the awesomeness of a Thinkpad keyboard. I thought it an exagerration until I used this laptop. I am now sold. The Thinkpad Island keyboard is arguably the best laptop keyboard I've ever used and possibly even rivals several desktop keyboards. Unfortunately, Lenovo has recently changed this famous keyboard and replaced it with a chiclet design on newer laptops. While most reviewers don't see this as a problem, Thinkpad diehards still believe that the Island keyboard of old is the best.

There is only one downside with this laptop, as with any Thinkpad. It won't die. After 3+ years, this laptop still looks and works like the day it was bought. The hardware inside has become outdated and while it runs Windows 7 without any issues, I can see it struggling to run future OSes. I have spent about $200 to perform some minor upgrades, by increasing the RAM to 4GB and replacing the hard drive with an SSD. I can see this laptop easily running for another 3 or more years, with occasional formats and OS reinstalls.

Thinkpad diehards will complain about the glossy finish and the recessed ports on this laptop, but both are frankly minor issues, if at all. Highly recommend this laptop or any Thinkpad of a similar size.

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I have owned this laptop (SL400) for around 1.5 years. All I can say is the build quality is horrible. I have three main issues with the laptop. The DC port on the laptop is loose and possibly a safety hazard. The LCD left hinge broke, so the LCD was dangling on one hinge (until I fixed it). The keyboard is acting up, some keys I have to press hard to get it to register. I treat my laptops with care and all of my previous laptops never had this many issues after 1.5 years of use. Time to try a different model or maybe even a different brand.

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