w510 vs. w701

[Daniel Davis]

I've boiled it down to the w510 vs. w701. Will purchase before 12/31/10. Question....what would I lose by choosing one or the other?

[AMATX]

Size vs. size on display: 15" vs. 17"
Resolutions: 1920x1200 vs. 1920 vs. 1080 on display. 16:10 vs. 16:9 aspect ratios.
Heat? W510 is smaller; search posts for heat problems.
Connectors; W701 is a bit better for monitors.
Memory slots; search posts for 2 slots on -some- W510, vs. 4 slot on all W701.
W701 has slots for two hard drives; three, if you use the ultrabay.
Price? More on W701, but sales promotions may change that.
Recently, Lenovo has been out of W701 w/one screen; only had W701ds(has a 2nd, smaller screen).
I don't know if the uni-model W701 is ever coming back. 'bout time for a model refresh, so check w/Lenovo if interested in the W701.

More comments from others on this comparisons ????

[Daniel Davis]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in such depth. Per your description, I think I'll opt for the 701. Extra size and weight are not an issue for me, as 99% of the time, it will be sitting on my desktop at work...hooked to a large external flat panel screen...Samsung.

Questions:

1. Is the 1080 vs. 1200 horizontal resolution much of a difference? I'm used to the x41, so either should be a step up. I don't do CAD. I do some photo editing, but I'm satisfied with my x41's performance with that...so the 701 should be a step up.

2. The slot for the 2nd hard drive: can that be an after market drive, or does it have to come from Lenovo?

2a. Could I use the 2nd drive as the boot drive to load faster from an SSD?

3. What advantage would the 2nd screen on the 701 be?

4. You mentioned the "uni-model W701". What's that? Are you referring to the single-screen model by that reference?

5. If there are options regarding ram....how little is enough? I don't know what it comes with natively...but is the least configuration enough ram? I know "you can never have enough ram", but I don't do anything much that requires a lot of horsepower. I'm buying the faster machine so I can grow into it. My x41 is going on 4 or 5 years old. I've been running it 10 to 12 hours per professional day..and it hasn't missed a beat.

6. Is there a swivel-screen (tablet) version of the 701? If so, is it much more expensive?

7. Does the 701 come with the finger-touch screen?

8. You mentioned Lenovo specials. Can you direct me to the url that presents these? I've been to the Lenovo site and have seen their general marketing hype, but don't recall seeing a site where I can peruse offerings that are regularly updated.

Thanks again for your advice. I'm down now to a matter of hours before I make the call and order the thing.

Dan

Size vs. size on display: 15" vs. 17"
Resolutions: 1920x1200 vs. 1920 vs. 1080 on display. 16:10 vs. 16:9 aspect ratios.
Heat? W510 is smaller; search posts for heat problems.
Connectors; W701 is a bit better for monitors.
Memory slots; search posts for 2 slots on -some- W510, vs. 4 slot on all W701.
W701 has slots for two hard drives; three, if you use the ultrabay.
Price? More on W701, but sales promotions may change that.
Recently, Lenovo has been out of W701 w/one screen; only had W701ds(has a 2nd, smaller screen).
I don't know if the uni-model W701 is ever coming back. 'bout time for a model refresh, so check w/Lenovo if interested in the W701.

More comments from others on this comparisons ????

[Daniel Davis]

I just took a look at the price of this thing..the w701. Sheesh. It's over 3grand. I'm looking to spend 2k to 2.5k max. I saw some site that had (or said they had) a 701w (loaded) for around $2200. May have been too good to be true.

Do the 201 models have the same problems the 501's have?

I guess I'd better just select some things I want, and get advice from you on things I SHOULD want, but don't know enough about them to include them on my list. So, here's what I THINK I want. Please tell me what I SHOULD want that's not on the list:

1. i7 processor
2. Finger-touch screen
3. 14 inch screen..but can settle for smaller if bells and whistles are significantly greater.
4. Swivel screen would be nice, but can live w/o it.
5. 7200 hard drive (spin) speed
6. >300g hard drive
7. Slot for removable HD would be nice, but can live w/o it, especially if there's a USB 3.0. I have 2 USB external HD's, tho I don't know if the cable supplied will work with USB 3.0.
8. 64 bit Windows
9. Phone jack for sending faxes..tho that's not an absolute necessity.
10. Must be a thinkpad.

I don't care if it's got bluetooth or not...as I've never been able to get bluetooth to work for me anyway.

So, with all that...if this was YOUR money...and you want to max out at $2500....and assuming you don't want to end up with something that has to go back to the factory for whatever reason....which Thinkpad would you buy...and who would you buy it from?

Size vs. size on display: 15" vs. 17"
Resolutions: 1920x1200 vs. 1920 vs. 1080 on display. 16:10 vs. 16:9 aspect ratios.
Heat? W510 is smaller; search posts for heat problems.
Connectors; W701 is a bit better for monitors.
Memory slots; search posts for 2 slots on -some- W510, vs. 4 slot on all W701.
W701 has slots for two hard drives; three, if you use the ultrabay.
Price? More on W701, but sales promotions may change that.
Recently, Lenovo has been out of W701 w/one screen; only had W701ds(has a 2nd, smaller screen).
I don't know if the uni-model W701 is ever coming back. 'bout time for a model refresh, so check w/Lenovo if interested in the W701.

More comments from others on this comparisons ????

[AMATX]

Try a W700 from the outlet, resellers, ebay, etc. Plenty of bang for the buck, and unless you need something specific to the W701 that's not on a W700, it'll do the job. I have one and it works just fine.

[AMATX]

I just took a look at the price of this thing..the w701. Sheesh. It's over 3grand. I'm looking to spend 2k to 2.5k max. I saw some site that had (or said they had) a 701w (loaded) for around $2200. May have been too good to be true.

Do the 201 models have the same problems the 501's have?

I guess I'd better just select some things I want, and get advice from you on things I SHOULD want, but don't know enough about them to include them on my list. So, here's what I THINK I want. Please tell me what I SHOULD want that's not on the list:

1. i7 processor
2. Finger-touch screen
3. 14 inch screen..but can settle for smaller if bells and whistles are significantly greater.
4. Swivel screen would be nice, but can live w/o it.
5. 7200 hard drive (spin) speed
6. >300g hard drive
7. Slot for removable HD would be nice, but can live w/o it, especially if there's a USB 3.0. I have 2 USB external HD's, tho I don't know if the cable supplied will work with USB 3.0.
8. 64 bit Windows
9. Phone jack for sending faxes..tho that's not an absolute necessity.
10. Must be a thinkpad.

I don't care if it's got bluetooth or not...as I've never been able to get bluetooth to work for me anyway.

So, with all that...if this was YOUR money...and you want to max out at $2500....and assuming you don't want to end up with something that has to go back to the factory for whatever reason....which Thinkpad would you buy...and who would you buy it from?

I can't address these issues, as I don't know enough about your needs and what features other Thinkpads have/don't have.

[Daniel Davis]

I'll look at some resellers..but don't trust ebay. Thanks.

Try a W700 from the outlet, resellers, ebay, etc. Plenty of bang for the buck, and unless you need something specific to the W701 that's not on a W700, it'll do the job. I have one and it works just fine.

[AMATX]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in such depth. Per your description, I think I'll opt for the 701. Extra size and weight are not an issue for me, as 99% of the time, it will be sitting on my desktop at work...hooked to a large external flat panel screen...Samsung.

Questions:

1. Is the 1080 vs. 1200 horizontal resolution much of a difference? I'm used to the x41, so either should be a step up. I don't do CAD. I do some photo editing, but I'm satisfied with my x41's performance with that...so the 701 should be a step up.

2. The slot for the 2nd hard drive: can that be an after market drive, or does it have to come from Lenovo?

2a. Could I use the 2nd drive as the boot drive to load faster from an SSD?

3. What advantage would the 2nd screen on the 701 be?

4. You mentioned the "uni-model W701". What's that? Are you referring to the single-screen model by that reference?

5. If there are options regarding ram....how little is enough? I don't know what it comes with natively...but is the least configuration enough ram? I know "you can never have enough ram", but I don't do anything much that requires a lot of horsepower. I'm buying the faster machine so I can grow into it. My x41 is going on 4 or 5 years old. I've been running it 10 to 12 hours per professional day..and it hasn't missed a beat.

6. Is there a swivel-screen (tablet) version of the 701? If so, is it much more expensive?

7. Does the 701 come with the finger-touch screen?

8. You mentioned Lenovo specials. Can you direct me to the url that presents these? I've been to the Lenovo site and have seen their general marketing hype, but don't recall seeing a site where I can peruse offerings that are regularly updated.

Thanks again for your advice. I'm down now to a matter of hours before I make the call and order the thing.

Dan

1. Yes, it's that big of a diff. Bothers some more than others. Personally, I can't stand 1080(16:9), after having used 1200(16:10) for many years.

2. Any of the drives in these laptops can be from various manufacturers. Just be sure they're SATA, etc. I usually use 2.5" generic SATA laptop drives. Egghead/ebay, etc. browsing should get you up to speed. In the W700/W701, there are two internal slots for hard drives, each of which works just fine for whatever you want. Ultrabay is usually a bit slower(others can add comments here), so I'd recommend not using that slot for booting. Note, however, that F12 during boot will allow you to select any of these three slots for booting and will work if you have an opsys on that drive.

2a. SSD work great in any/all of the slots(up to 3 w/W70x + ultrabay caddy). Get an SSD w/laptop or migrate hard drive stuff to an SSD and boot from the SSD in one of the primary slots would be the fastest way to go.

3. Can't comment much on 2nd screen, as I don't have a W700ds. Supposedly for graphics/photo use; use small/2nd screen for app that tweaks pics/video on primary screen.

4.uni-monitor = W700/W701 with one screen only. 'ds' = models with 2nd screen.

5. Memory's cheap; buy more than you need. Start out with whatever you're using now and round up. W700 = 2 memory slots; W701 = 4 slots. 4G memory sticks available now, so W700=8G max, W701 = 16G max. Some combo of 1G, 2G, 4G sticks outa get you where you need to be.

6. no swivel; fixed screens only.

7. no touch screens, either.

8. There's a section on this board that deals with discounts & coupons, poke around there a bit. You just missed a big 20% off special last week on the outlet site. Usually some activity during the holidays and after 1st of year, so keep tabs on what's happening. If you logon here to this board, select 'newest posts', you'll usually see a heads up on super duper stuff.

[AMATX]

I'll look at some resellers..but don't trust ebay. Thanks.

Outlet: http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops/thinkp ... order=name

W models from this url...outlet can be good, but warranties are only one year. If you order from there, save some screen shots of the exact specs of what you ordered, in case Lenovo messes up your order and you need to go back at 'em.

If you order through any Lenovo websites, it'll take a while to get the goods; don't expect super quick turnaround.