When Buying a W520?

[noobpadw520]

what are some thing you must have/buy get you get a w520?

[ZaZ]

People will answer that differently depending on their needs or wants.

[Q-Ball]

I like your name. Honest (and we've been there, too).

Anyways- I'll run through the list for you.


-> If you're getting a dual-core or quad-core processor, the cheapest one is enough. Don't bother with the 2820QM or 2920XM because you could be getting bigger boosts elsewhere with that large chunk of change.

-> If you're coming from a 4:3 or 16:10 laptop with a resolution of SXGA or higher (i.e. SXGA+), get the 1920 x 1080 screen so you don't feel a downgrade in vertical resolution. If you're not, feel free to get the 1600 x 900 screen which comes stock IIRC. The 1920 x 1080 screen looks pretty good, or so I'm told.

-> The colour sensor is a waste of cash, IMHO, if you don't have the FHD screen- because the 1600 x 900 screen just can't display those colours you'd be sensing.

-> If you can get the component in question elsewhere, do so. If you want more RAM, or an SSD, you're better off installing it yourself. It will be faster and cheaper. If you don't want to do that, or want it pre-installed, however...


Anyways:

-SSD for better speed (booting and ready to load 10+ programs 20-30 seconds from power on). Get an SATA III one of at least 90 to 120 GB for best results. Also, (generally) the more expensive you get the faster you get- check a review site first before you grab one. And remember that only 2.5" drives will fit.
-If you need the hard drive's capacity, consider an mSATA SSD- keep in mind that you can't have both this and the Gobi 3000 card.

-More RAM for... the sake of more RAM. If you're just a casual user you don't need more than 4 GB.
*Remember, the dual-core model only has 2 slots for RAM, the quad-core model has 4.

-GPS and 3G card for, well... you know, GPS and 3G capabilities.


That's all I can really think of. Most of this is self-explanatory.

[noobpadw520]

I like your name. Honest (and we've been there, too).

Anyways- I'll run through the list for you.


-> If you're getting a dual-core or quad-core processor, the cheapest one is enough. Don't bother with the 2820QM or 2920XM because you could be getting bigger boosts elsewhere with that large chunk of change.

-> If you're coming from a 4:3 or 16:10 laptop with a resolution of SXGA or higher (i.e. SXGA+), get the 1920 x 1080 screen so you don't feel a downgrade in vertical resolution. If you're not, feel free to get the 1600 x 900 screen which comes stock IIRC. The 1920 x 1080 screen looks pretty good, or so I'm told.

-> The colour sensor is a waste of cash, IMHO, if you don't have the FHD screen- because the 1600 x 900 screen just can't display those colours you'd be sensing.

-> If you can get the component in question elsewhere, do so. If you want more RAM, or an SSD, you're better off installing it yourself. It will be faster and cheaper. If you don't want to do that, or want it pre-installed, however...


Anyways:

-SSD for better speed (booting and ready to load 10+ programs 20-30 seconds from power on). Get an SATA III one of at least 90 to 120 GB for best results. Also, (generally) the more expensive you get the faster you get- check a review site first before you grab one. And remember that only 2.5" drives will fit.
-If you need the hard drive's capacity, consider an mSATA SSD- keep in mind that you can't have both this and the Gobi 3000 card.

-More RAM for... the sake of more RAM. If you're just a casual user you don't need more than 4 GB.
*Remember, the dual-core model only has 2 slots for RAM, the quad-core model has 4.

-GPS and 3G card for, well... you know, GPS and 3G capabilities.


That's all I can really think of. Most of this is self-explanatory.

Yeah I planning on getting a fhd 1920x1080 srceen.
8 gb of ram(4dimm)
And a SSD.

But i don't know if i should go the ssd+hdd or msata+ssd route or just get one 250gb ssd?

[Rochefort]

...If you're coming from a 4:3 or 16:10 laptop with a resolution of SXGA or higher (i.e. SXGA+), get the 1920 x 1080 screen so you don't feel a downgrade in vertical resolution. If you're not, feel free to get the 1600 x 900 screen which comes stock IIRC. The 1920 x 1080 screen looks pretty good, or so I'm told...

Is 1920x1080 easily readable ?

[AofI]

FHD screen is very readable, glad I went with it, and if you're running windows 7 it's easy to change the dpi and scale everything up. I do sometimes use the handy 'zoom slider' in my Opera browser for web pages but there is no way I would give up the high resolution.
Raid is also something you should think about, if you ever think you'll want it then order it with. It's the only way you're guaranteed to get a motherboard that has the right hard drive controller chip set. For me the ultrabay adapter is much more useful then a dvd/cdrom ever would be.
The fingerprint scanner is also a must have, no more typing in passwords all the time. It's better for security too! You will actually lock down the computer every time you leave it for a minute or two, just because it's so easy to log back in.
Bluetooth doesn't work as well as I expected it to, with headsets at least, but better to have it built in then using up a usb port.
Don't order extra ram with the laptop, it's literally half the price and twice the speed to buy it 3rd party. DAM! just check my local shop and it has Corsair 4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz for $30 each... Paid $40 for 3 just a few months ago.... and the 8 gig sticks are $50...
Stay away from the SSD drive upgrades as well, much cheaper to buy them latter, unless you are the type who doesn't want to mess around with reinstalling the OS and such. But if you are that type of person you should be buying a mac;)

[Rochefort]

FHD screen is very readable, glad I went with it, and if you're running windows 7 it's easy to change the dpi and scale everything up. I do sometimes use the handy 'zoom slider' in my Opera browser for web pages but there is no way I would give up the high resolution.
Raid is also something you should think about, if you ever think you'll want it then order it with. It's the only way you're guaranteed to get a motherboard that has the right hard drive controller chip set. For me the ultrabay adapter is much more useful then a dvd/cdrom ever would be.

Thanks a lot
My HP 8740 is so bulky'n heavy (3,6 Kg!) than, for next year, I'm thinking about a W 5** (2,6 Kg) with Windows 8 & RAID ("more is just enough" as the sailors say )
Why Lenovo don't make a W7** with a 17' screen but lighter than the massive W 701, just a little bigger than the W 520 !?
I'm too using Opera but the portable 9.60 at 120% perfect for my eyes.
Have a nice day

[noobpadw520]

So I should wait for a SSD or order a HDD?