The T520 arrived - good and bad news

[edik]

The good news it arrived, was $400, still has 2 months warranty and looks absolutely brand new, in fact it looks like it has not even been used once. 100% Mint. So that is the good news especally as it is a Quad Core i7 8GB/320GB 7200 with webcam and 1600x900 and almost unused battery.

Build middling. Better than consumer but not classic ThinkPad. Battery wiggles (a common complain I hear), keyboard is substandard (but far better than a consumer model) and the lid seems slightly fragile and opening it is a bit of a trial as it bends a little, the hinges seem weaker and lets not speak about the base... this ain't a T2X/T30/T4X/T60 in build for sure - my T500 was close., I'd never treat this like I did my T43p or 760XL.

The bad news is that this seems like a mixture between a real ThinkPad (my old T500) and a consumer model (not even as good as the old R series).

I suspect around the T510 stage a decision was made and major changes made, so the T510 was the last classic T, the T520 middling.. I *hate* to think what the T530 is like.

All in all happy. But a shame that the classic build standards seem to be slipping.

[brchan]

The T510 - T530 are pretty much the exact same laptops except for upgraded processors and gpus. I would say that although the keyboard is not as nice as the NMB keyboard from T6x models, it comes quite close. Exterior plastics quality is lower, however, I have found quite the opposite for the sturdiness. The frame in my W530 (same as T530) is more solid than any other older thinkpad I have used in my sig, and the hinges are rock solid unlike the T6x. IMO T4x flexed quite a bit compared to most other models.

[edik]

I've never seen a T510, so I am lead to believe that the T500 was the last 'old' build ThinkPad. I used a T500 extensively (and never encountered the infamous weak frame issue, but I hear it was common) and in build I always thought it to be very close to my old T43p, it was to me a worthy T43p successor (although not in screen as many are fond of remnding me).

I am still getting used to the keyboard, perhaps I was harsh, it isn't at all bad, just a different feel from *all* my previous ThinkPads going back fifteen years or so.

Realistic enough to not expect a 770 build quality for example, after all standards have slipped over the years, that to me is undisputable, or perhaps i am just getting older and grumpier.

[that1nerd]

That's around what I paid for the T520 in my signature. It definitely saw some use, but it came equipped with some pretty nice goodies and still has quite a lot of life left in it. Even came with a 9-cell battery with around 200 charge cycles on it.

After a new keyboard, replacing the original 500 GB drive with a 1TB drive, installing 8GB of RAM, and topping everything off with an mSATA SSD, I've been quite happy with it. Rock solid performer, nice and responsive.

Still prefer my T43p, though. The overall feel just doesn't even compare.