Thinkpads Forum

Hi Guys,

I am thinking about renewing my company Thinkpads which are now T510s. I ve made really good experience with them so I d like to keep on the thinkpad train.
However I think the time may be ripe to upgrade within 5-12 months.

that said I was looking for some suggestions which might fit below tasks:

It is about screencasting / camtasia
Video editing (which we now do in Sony Vegas mainly) - but we will upgrade to latest Camtasia which probably reduces Vegas work. Vegas animations also required Photoshop simulatneously - sometimes we had up to 10 tracks in Vegas for ilustrations etc
And one of the machines will also be tough on big data analysis in the future

With the current setup: which is T510, 4GB RAM, i5 Processor (the data for 1 of the computers is: M480, at 2.67GH), 125 GB SSD computer 1, and 320 HDD computer 2, and there seems to be limitations on the graphics as well
One machines runs Win 32 bit the other one 64 bit

So with this setup we are running into more and more limitations - the SSD with ca 125GB is nearly full with windows 7, and some graphics programs alone, so we have to use externals for storage. Furthermore it appears that the graphics here are maxed out (its the 64bit Win7 on it) which gives us problems during screencasting
And on top of that the fan noise is suboptimal (to put it mildly) for our screencasts
No noise during screencasting is probably the most important thing in the decision!

I would be delighted to hear suggestions for replacement - and it would be also cool to hear which specifications I need to watch for in this specific case, maybe I need to change configuration at ordering (getting higher RAM, storage, etc)

My current research: I ve found a refurbisher with w530 lease backs from a bank. Maybe they take the stock back I already have as a downpayment and I pay the rest in cash.

The w530 is a good choice, under power saving mode with the GPU disabled, it can run with the fan disabled for extended period of time.

Agreed, W530 is suited ideally for your needs. And is a video editing powerhouse. Sensible choice.

Have you tried your current machines with 8gb of ram and a 64-bit operating system?

If no noise is the most important thing:

1. consider adding a large diameter fan under the notebook
something like this: http://www.acousticpc.com/sitebuilder/i ... 00x383.jpg
2. use TPfancontrol and set the fan to OFF for temperatures under 70 C, then run at minimum between 71-80 C
3. replace thermal paste and clean fan

I would also recommend the W530. Powerful, cool, and reasonably quiet. The fan rarely gets noisy.

The W530 is a great choice, but has been discontinued by Lenovo - although you can likely find it elsewhere.
I went with the P50s for editing on the road and outdoors but it's far more expensive.
I would look into at least 16G RAM and a newer i7 - this isn't cheap but order one and clock the difference in rendering times and you may find it pays for itself.
Speaking of which, depending on the return policy of who you order from, you can buy several models, spend a day stress testing, analyzing fan noise (if you need to know how bad max fan will be - try a fan speed control program), and testing rendering times. Then return the units that are incompatible and order more of the winner.
As for GPU the 2G VRAM should be enough, any more and you'll find yourself forking out ridiculous amounts of money. If you have truly ludicrous GPU needs you could get a graphics amp - it's not recommended, but it will allow you to use lightweight, travel-friendly laptops and export your GPU needs.

I actually prefer to edit my work on a cardboard box with a gameboy and rotary phone taped to it and the words "VIDEO MACHEEN" scribbled all over in magic marker.