Need buying advice on T series 520 vs 420 vs W series vs MBP

[Pirx]

Hi all,
will need to purchase a laptop for work within the next 2 - 3 weeks. My primary activities would include heavy database (MS SQL, mySQL) and .NET development (VS2010, VS2008) plus a few virtual machines to run test web server instances. These are the heaviest of tasks I could think of. I'd like plenty of screen real estate, so I want to be able to hook up a two-monitor set up when I'm at the office or have a generous screen when travel, so 14" might not quite cut it (although I'd consider it if given arguments solid enough). I will be traveling, so I can't really use my W701 which doesn't fit any of the backpacks I have (and don't even get me started on the size of power brick). I would also appreciate decent battery life, somewhere around 4 - 5 hours would be perfect.

My first priority is RAM - I want 16GB and was hoping T520 can fit that much. If none of T models can accommodate that - I'll agree to 8GB, but would strongly prefer 16G. I would like to choose W series only if there are no other options, otherwise I'd like to stay away from these beasts.

Second priority is CPU - I'd rather have more juice there but how much of a real world difference would I get by moving from i7-2630QM to i7-2860QM and how much of a battery life I would have to sacrifice?

Third priority is screen size and that's why I have MBP there - I want to have more vertical space and as far as I know MBPs are the only laptops with 16x10 screens available. Besides, Lenovo does not make neither T nor W series with 17 inch screens, so MBP is definitely an option here.

Let me know your thoughts, I need to finalize my requirements in a next day or two.

Thank you all.

[Colonel O'Neill]

You can consider the T520 with quad-core; you can get 4 RAM slots on that for 4x4GB. Otherwise, you're out for astronomically pricey 2x8GB modules. MacBook Pros come with two slots regardless. That said, you'll get a 135W adapter stock on the T520.

I wouldn't go for the 14" if you want a large screen. Besides, the 15.6" FHD screen is plenty nice.

Your battery life shouldn't change too much as long as you're not compiling a lot of running intensive VMs. My W520 with a quad-core can go 8 hours on note-taking on a 9-cell (which sticks out; you can consider a 6-cell for 4-5 hours if appearance matters).

You can indeed get 16:10 screens on the MBP, but the only case where vertical resolution would be greater is the 17" one. The T520 can get 1920x1080 on the 15" whereas the 15" MBP maxes out at 1650x1080.

[Pirx]

You can consider the T520 with quad-core; you can get 4 RAM slots on that for 4x4GB. Otherwise, you're out for astronomically pricey 2x8GB modules. MacBook Pros come with two slots regardless. That said, you'll get a 135W adapter stock on the T520.

Just want to reconfirm if I understood you correctly - are you saying that T520 can indeed support 16GB? Which model would that be?

[Pirx]

One more thing I've noticed while trying to configure T520 system on Lenovo's site - it looks like a lot of options that are available (i7 QM CPUs for example) that are not in the tabook. What gives?

[lead_org]

Does the Quad Core T520 have 4 ram slots? i thought it only had two.

Each ram slot on the T520 supports 8 gigs ram module, so two ram slots = 16 gigs of ram. While, a 4 ram slot equipped quad core W520 supports 32 gigs of ram. T420 supports 2 x 8 gigs = 16 gigs, X220 supports 2 x 8 gigs =16 gigs.

[Pirx]

Each ram slot on the T520 supports 8 gigs ram module, so two ram slots = 16 gigs of ram. While, a 4 ram slot equipped quad core W520 supports 32 gigs of ram. T420 supports 2 x 8 gigs = 16 gigs, X220 supports 2 x 8 gigs =16 gigs.

This is not what the tabook says. Hence my question above.

[AMATX]

8G memory sticks have come down a lot in price recently. ~$200 or less if you look around. I picked up one recently on ebay for ~$150.

So, having just two memory slots is not the deal killer it was a few weeks/months ago.

[Colonel O'Neill]

A T520 with a quad-core CPU will have 4 RAM slots, whereas a T520 with a dual-core CPU will only have 2.

There are indeed reports of 8GB sticks working. tabook has been known to list "maximum RAM" as the maximum amount it can be configured with from the factory.

When you configure on the Lenovo site, you get a CTO machine, aka. a custom machine, that doesn't necessarily follow tabook models.

[antskip]

No T520 has 4 ram slots (Including the quad-core). The W520 quad does.

[craigmontHunter]

One thing to look at is if you need hardware virtualization - I don't know if the MBP has the option for that to be enabled, if it is always enabled or if it is not available.

Secondly, the W520 and T520 share the same chasis, so there is no physical size difference between the two, and the quad core T520 ships with the 135-watt adapter, which can also run the W520.

Ultimately from your description of your situation, I would reccomend the W520 with a quad core for the 4 ram slots, which would allow for you to upgrade to 32gb in the future if you so required.

Here are some blog posts about the W520:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/a ... eview.aspx
and
http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/a ... eally.aspx

[ThinkRob]

This is not what the tabook says. Hence my question above.

That's not what the tabook says, but it *is* what dmidecode says. I trust the latter a lot more.

[Pirx]

I have spoken with Lenovo's sales on their chat line and over the phone - sales rep Adam was really helpful and, as many other Lenovo employees, a long time owner of ThinkPad line laptops. According to his words the W520 model is indeed the same size as T520, but slightly lighter and can accommodate 32GB of RAM which is absolutely awesome for machine I intend to use for next 2 to 3 years.

This and many suggestions of this thread lead me to making my decision.

I have ordered W520 Friday, should come with 16GB of RAM and Core i7-2820QM CPU. I have Intel X25-M 80GB laying around unused, so I will make use of it as soon as my new machine arrives moving the other HDD into UltraBay slot. Sorry T line, you'll get to see very little of me now that I will have two W series machines and none of T series anymore (except for occasional fix for those I gave away to relatives).

[makaveli559m]

Macbooks look good dont get me wrong but if you drop it I know I seen some you get a really expensive paper wieght. You drop ur Thinkpad and it still works Drop it anywhere with your back pack and still you will know it works!