Thinkpads Forum

My Thinkpad journey has been long and fulfilling, but I am down to my last 520, so it's time get a couple near new laptops. I am hoping that there is something better than Lenovo.
Whats the best on the market? For comparison purposes say if IBM were still making laptops what would be the equivalent of T540P or W540?

I was thinking of looking for a W530, but that doesn't get me very much more technology than a 520. From what I see basically just a slightly faster chip. Problem is that i am not sure of the keyboard without having tried it.

Thanks

In terms of speed, W530 and W540 will be virtually identical in cpu performance, but the gpu in the W540 will be decently faster. You also get a thunderbolt port and optional 3K IPS display, while the W530 is limited to FHD. Also note that the W540 has an unergonomic offset chiclet keyboard with numberpad.

xx30 models can now have working classic keyboard support with a bios mod: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 6&start=60

Swapping out the keyboards are easy and I have a tutorial in my sig.

Considering my subjective point of view I'd recommend to stay away from T/W 540 series unless you're working 24/7 with an external mouse hooked to your laptop. I did had T540p for a brief and get rid of it quickly due to HORRIBLE pointer manipulators - both clickpad and trackpoint - without dedicated buttons but on the other hand with a wobbly touchpad surface. I didn't liked keyboard either but that but the evaluation of the keyboard depends on personal preference - some of us like it some other don't. I did replaced it with an Dells equivalent - Precision M4800 - and so far I'm satisfied in most aspects ie. ruggedness, performance, battery life, screen brightness, keyboard feedback. But - as always - there have to be downsides too: it's thick and heavy and the trackpoint response is far worse than those you may find in a classic thinkpads (but still way batter than those in HP or Fujitsu), and - most important - it is not a classic ThinkPad

I am not necessarily worried about the "thick and heavy, and the Trackpoint response is far worse than those you may find in a classic thinkpads" I don't use the Trackpoint, never have. I need the quality, performance, durability, and a keyboard / touchpad that actually works.

I will look in to the Dell Precision line, but to be honest I have never heard of a Dell Laptop with anywhere near the quality of a classic Lenovo.

Folks are there any other lines for me to look into? What about Toshiba, they used to make bad [censored] laptops. Do they have a line that is concerned more with functionality than looks? As well as Durability, performance, quality.

How about Panasonic?

Thanks folks. I really appreciate. I have been on the this forum for a long time but my account got purged somehow.

Dell consumer laptops are generally pretty poor quality, but the precision line has generally been regarded to be better than recent Thinkpads in quality. Only the keyboard and trackpoint are a different matter.

Toshiba's 'professional' line is still no comparison to either.

Panasonics's Toughbook line (semi rugged and fully rugged) will have the most durability, quality and reliability by far. Some even come with IPS WUXGA or FHD screens. I also found the keyboard on the CF-53 to be surprisingly nice, if you can live with the layout. However, these models won't be much quicker than a T420, and they are quite expensive new.

BRCHAN, thanks so much for your all help. You mentioned the keyboard being problematic on the M4800? What's the problem and does that apply to the M4300? Thanks again.

I wasn't specifically mentioning the M4800, but more about the precision/latitude line as a whole. I have typed on numerous D630 keyboards (m4300 shares the same keyboard) and although decent, they still didn't match thinkpad level quality. However, they were much better than the mushy HP 2440p keyboard I used last summer.

I wasn't thrilled with all of the offset number keypads, so I ended up buying a W530 with the 3920XM processor, SSD, and K2000M. I am going to put in 32 GB RAM and ride that into the ground for a years. I will be on the lookout for another one just like it to use as a back up. Thanks again for all your help.