Thinkpads Forum

Alright. To make a long story short I'm changing my school plans and steering towards becoming a CNC machinist. Obviously, I'm going to have to be familiar with professional CAD programs and I've heard that gaming-grade GPUs like the Radeon offerings in my T500 and Asus G73 just aren't going to cut it with these kinds of programs. Therefore, I'm looking at mobile workstations.

Since I'm mostly familiar with ThinkPads(other than my G73 and a few scattered Dell models), I'm specifically looking at the W520 and W530. Since I'm posting in the classic section, it's pretty obvious as to which model I'm leaning towards.The problem is that I'm unsure which one will better fit my needs.

The new system will become my primary computer. The base configuration will be the best GPU(either the Quadro 2000M or the K2000 in the W530), FHD display, and the best CPU I can find in my budget. I'll be replacing the optical drive with a 1TB HDD for personal/documents/backup and throwing one of my current SSDs into the primary drive slot to store programs. Finally, an aftermarket mSATA drive will be used for the OS and other programs. I require a large amount of space for what I like to take on the go.

In addition to professional applications for school and writing(which I do as a hobby), the new machine will be used for mid-end gaming(right now I play the Stalker series, Call of Duty shooters, Skyrim, Source games(Half-Life 2 and the like), and the Mass Effect series) and the typical Web/video use that most computers end up being used for. I like to dock to my desktop peripherals, including three(I might add a fourth) desktop monitors, keyboard, mouse, webcam, printers... all that kind of stuff. My audio setup for all this is a home theater receiver which is connected via HDMI(I use my G73 for this setup right now) and shunted through a 5.1-channel surround sound system. I'm pretty sure I saw that both models support audio through DisplayPort; the only fly in the ointment is figuring out what kind of adapters I'd need for a direct connection to my receiver(primary display is a 23" 1080p monitor that's hooked up to the receiver's video output). I'll be getting the Series 3 dock to work all this out.

The devil, unfortunately, is in the details. As I'm sure has been hashed over and over again here, the W530 has the new 'precision' keyboard with the completely different layout. This is a major strike against it as I'm extremely familiar with the classic layout. Considering the classic layout is similar to the Model M which sits on my desk and I'm very picky about keyboards, you can guess where I'm going with this.

However, the W530 has some advantages over the W520. From what I've been reading there's better multi-monitor support which would be a major plus to me. The battery life seems to be significantly improved; since I'm coming from a T500 with a dying battery(maybe 30 minutes out of a full charge) and my G73(an hour on a full charge, and that's on a pretty good battery) it would be great to have a system where I can do light work without worrying about plugging in. On paper the CPU and GPU are somewhat better. The W520's 2000M is a little slower than my G73's Radeon HD5870; the K2000M is a little faster than the 5870. Those are pure gaming benchmarks. I don't have any pro app benchmarks on the 5870 but my assumption is that it'd be significantly worse than either Quadro in those scenarios.

So, in a nutshell I'm trying to figure out which machine would be a better fit for me personally. Would the W530's better internals and multi-monitor support trump the "improved" keyboard, or are the differences minor enough I can stick with the W520 and feel like I didn't miss out? Has anyone spent time on both systems? I saw a new in box W520 on the Feebay for about $1600 with the configuration I was looking for. Right now a W530 config I wouldn't be too upset over is about $1700, so there's not an incredible price difference between the two. So... any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

It's unfortunate that Lenovo didn't improve their thermal handling to be able to offer the K4000M/K5000M with their 100W dissipation; did anyone other than HP ever take up that challenge?

Can't help you much with the gaming side except that I can easily hook my W520 to the front-panel HDMI of my Yamaha A/V receiver and it does get both audio and video. All you need is a DisplayPort - HDMI cable. No challenge there. Don't *need* the dock for this; the DP on the W520 does the job.

W520 is unfortunately limited to 3 monitors, yes. I've found its battery life to be more than acceptable for coding / email type of tasks.

My feeling has been that there were much more significant incremental improvements seen with the release of the Sandy Bridge systems (W520) than Ivy Bridge (W530). I haven't felt any particular desire to upgrade this round. That's a very different analysis than for you buying a new machine, of course.

If you plan to do much of your work docked anyway, maybe you shouldn't worry so much about the keyboard and just get the newer, factory-warranty machine? (Unless the eBay seller is an authorized dealer and you confirm that with Lenovo, I have no idea what warranty you'd get.)

CPU, GPU a little faster; power management a little better; keyboard a little worse. (OK, maybe a lot worse.)

There was one thing I posted about that they dropped from the W530 that made me think I didn't want one. What was that... have to go open a new window; hold on... oh, right: They got rid of the eSATA port. If that matters to you, you could still plug a couple into the ExpressCard slot.

W520 for the keyboard.

Personally I'd ask the question to how seriously you need a laptop. For this particular application a desktop is much more powerful, customizable and a lot better value.

Thanks for the replies so far!

As far as going for a desktop is concerned that's kinda out of the question. I'm pretty heavily mobile and besides wanting to set up a file/print server using an old tower(and I mean old, Pentium D 950, I think?) my primary machine needs to be a notebook. I change locations quite a bit and the ability to do work outside of my home office is very important. I do have my desktop peripherals whenever I'm in my office, but I need the power on the go, so to speak.


David, I've been scoping out some competing systems and it seems like the Dell Precision M6700 can be ordered with the K4000/5000M. However they're quite expensive; the M6700 Covet I priced out was about twice as much as the W530 I configured as a comparison; about the same kind of specs except with the K4000M. Granted it's a 17" form factor rather than the 15", but it's still an option.

I was looking at the dock for more multi-monitor support. I was hoping to use at least three panels(without using the notebook's internal display) when docked. If the W520 can drive one analog and two digital displays that's a major plus for it. I would prefer its keyboard as the "improved" layout just doesn't do it for me.

Alright. To make a long story short I'm changing my school plans and steering towards becoming a CNC machinist.

Good for you. The old guys are retiring/dying/moved up to management and GOOD machinists are hard to find. It doesn't pay particularly well at entry level, so one option is take machinist courses first (both manual and CNC, manual is far from dead and many profitable shops use a mix of machines) so you have a solid "clue" then take CAD courses and work toward an engineering degree.

You might check the Practical Machinist forums for some professional opinions on what works for them.

I'd buy both a Thinkpad for mobile work AND build a full tower desktop for home use so as not to be interrupted WHEN one machine goes down for whatever reason. Having at least one tower available for drive rescues etc is always handy and computers are cheap.

Most CAD is 2D and not particularly demanding, so it's a gaming box you are wanting. That's cool.

If money matters, I'd take the machinist courses before buying another computer and spend on QUALITY measuring tools first. The Practical Machinist "Metrology" section is worth your time. Ebay is a great place to save money on machinist tools. You'll want a Mitutoyo 8" digital caliper and their one and two-inch digital mics. Get IP65 "coolant proof" since you will NOT be pleased when the coolant from a CNC gets into lesser gear. Quality gear will make you smile. Junk will make you rage.

Good luck. Machining is BIG FUN, goes with every other gearhead interest, and if you take Mechatronics courses and welding, millwrights make phat bank!