Ideapad u310 or Probook 4540s?

[barrywhite18]

Hello everybody, I'm glad to post for the first time here on the community. The guides are awesome and very useful, and I wanted to thank everyone who puts all their effort for this hard work. I really appreciate it.

Well, the thing is, I'm looking for a laptop to buy for my next 5 university years. My career (Public administration) doesn't require any fancy video or photography editing software, so I can go fine with an i3 or i5. I intend to take notes in class, create, edit and project my Keynote presentations and maybe playing some old games (got stuck at 2000' games hehehe) (that's where a dual-boot with Windows may be handy). With this use to consider, my concern is for it to be lightweight and with a long battery life.

I've been reading guides, and am stuck between the Lenovo IdeaPad u310, and the HP Probook 4540s. The IdeaPad u310 is the lightweight I was imagining, but I'm a hackintosh noob (I have never edited an SSDT file, but I would take the challenge), and don't know if the u310 would be that easy. On the other hand, the 4540s is an easy hackintosh-able notebook, but more heavy if compared with the u310. There again, the 4540s is cheaper, and seems to fit my performance requirements.

I would like to hear your opinions: Is the 4540s more than enough, or should I go for the u310? Is the u310 THAT complicated for it to have the latest Mavericks?

The exact models I intend to buy are:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/probook...5518&skuId=8447122&st=probook 4540s&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Ultrabook-Graphite/dp/B00ATANWLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392671836&sr=8-1&keywords=lenovo+ideapad+u310

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any thoughts!
Greetings from Chile!

 

[RehabMan]

Hello everybody, I'm glad to post for the first time here on the community. The guides are awesome and very useful, and I wanted to thank everyone who puts all their effort for this hard work. I really appreciate it.

Well, the thing is, I'm looking for a laptop to buy for my next 5 university years. My career (Public administration) doesn't require any fancy video or photography editing software, so I can go fine with an i3 or i5. I intend to take notes in class, create, edit and project my Keynote presentations and maybe playing some old games (got stuck at 2000' games hehehe) (that's where a dual-boot with Windows may be handy). With this use to consider, my concern is for it to be lightweight and with a long battery life.

I've been reading guides, and am stuck between the Lenovo IdeaPad u310, and the HP Probook 4540s. The IdeaPad u310 is the lightweight I was imagining, but I'm a hackintosh noob (I have never edited an SSDT file, but I would take the challenge), and don't know if the u310 would be that easy. On the other hand, the 4540s is an easy hackintosh-able notebook, but more heavy if compared with the u310. There again, the 4540s is cheaper, and seems to fit my performance requirements.

I would like to hear your opinions: Is the 4540s more than enough, or should I go for the u310? Is the u310 THAT complicated for it to have the latest Mavericks?

The exact models I intend to buy are:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/probook...5518&skuId=8447122&st=probook 4540s&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Ultrabook-Graphite/dp/B00ATANWLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392671836&sr=8-1&keywords=lenovo+ideapad+u310

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any thoughts!
Greetings from Chile!

If you need the compactness of the Lenovo and want the ease of installation of the ProBook, you might consider a 14" ProBook 4440s.

The Lenovo u310 has good compatibility, with a known installation process (assuming you can read and follow instructions), but it is not as easy as the ProBook.

 

[barrywhite18]

Thanks for the fast reply. Hmmm... I think I'll stick to the 4540s... I don't feel like paying a hundred dollars more for the difference. I can't seem to find any u310 easy-to-follow guides, so I'll have to go with the 4540s... The 15.6' might be better after all. AND, I get to change the processor any day, if I need it in the future.

Thank you.

 

[RehabMan]

Thanks for the fast reply. Hmmm... I think I'll stick to the 4540s... I don't feel like paying a hundred dollars more for the difference. I can't seem to find any u310 easy-to-follow guides, so I'll have to go with the 4540s... The 15.6' might be better after all. AND, I get to change the processor any day, if I need it in the future.

Thank you.

You can't beat the ease of installation with the 4540s.

The best u310/u410 info is here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/mavericks-laptop-support/114648-combined-u310-u410-mavericks-thread.html

 

[barrywhite18]

Yeah, I'll go with the 4540s... One last question though, does the VGA-out (or HDMI with a VGA adaptor) works? I need to show my keynote presentations and don't know if that works OK.

Thanks again for the help, RehabMan

 

[RehabMan]

Yeah, I'll go with the 4540s... One last question though, does the VGA-out (or HDMI with a VGA adaptor) works? I need to show my keynote presentations and don't know if that works OK.

Thanks again for the help, RehabMan

There are reports that HDMI w/ VGA adapter works (I have no need for VGA, so haven't personally tested that scenario).

The VGA port does not.