W530 vs. T530 vs. ?

[Mike02906]

I am in the US and am thinking of a new laptop this year. I have a T510 that is 3 yr old. It was a good choice, but I use the laptop more than I had anticipated, and it's seeming too slow.

(1) I'm not sure of the main differences between T530 and W530 series. My impression is that the display is the same, the weights are similar, and one can configure a T530 to be similar to some models of W530. Is there a clear distinction in size or weight or reliability or ??

(2) What month does Lenovo typically introduce new models? For tax reasons, I would like to get something this year, but I prefer to wait for the new models if practical.

(3) Will the CD reader from the UltraBay in the T510 fit the T530 and/or W530?

THANKS!
Mike

[QWERTY Andreas]

1) The W530 and T530 is similar machines, except that the W530 can be configured better than the T530 (Colorcalibrator, Core-I-Extreme processors, 4 RAM slots, RAID, faster Graphic Cards etc.)

2) The new T440s and X240s have just been introduced. I guess there will be more soon, but AFAIK the K2000M doesn't have a replacement - so the W530 might wait a Little more.

3) It should be possible.

[Ibthink]

2) The new T440s and X240s have just been introduced. I guess there will be more soon, but AFAIK the K2000M doesn't have a replacement - so the W530 might wait a Little more.

The K2100M was announced last month, see: http://www.nvidia.com/object/mobile-wor ... -gpus.html

[ZaZ]

it's seeming too slow.

How does you T510 seem slow? What's the configuration?

[Mike02906]

it's seeming too slow.

How does you T510 seem slow? What's the configuration?

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. I'll probably wait until later this year. I just want to spend the money this calendar year, for tax reasons.

My T510 has the original 7200 RPM hard disk, i5 processor at 2.4GHz, and 4Gb of memory. It's 3.5 yr old.

I have considered changing out the disk (new ones may have better throughput), and/or adding memory.

I use it for numerical work, among other things. I usually have multiple windows open, etc. It is fine for routine tasks, such as email, writing, and so on. Where I notice the slower response (in comparison to my desktop computer) is with several windows open and when compiling or running compute-intensive programs.

Mike

[ZaZ]

Better yet, get a SSD and throw the hard drive in the modular caddy. You can always take the SSD to the next machine you buy.

[Mike02906]

Better yet, get a SSD and throw the hard drive in the modular caddy. You can always take the SSD to the next machine you buy.

The SSD is a great idea! Much cheaper than a new laptop, that's for sure. Since I've already got 1Tb (with my music library) in the Ultrabay, the old drive will probably get junked.

Thanks! :)

[Cigarguy]

You'll be amazed what a SSD and a fresh install of Windows will do in terms of improving the overall computing experience. Once you've tried a SSD, it's hard to go back to a HDD for the OS and programs drive. It's the single biggest improvement you can make.

And, as suggested above, put the HDD in the Ultrabay and viola! You have speed and capacity. For me I hardly ever use the CD/DVD drive. The only time I ever use it on my laptops is to upgrade the BIOS. Even on my desktops, I very seldom use the DVD burner.

[Mike02906]

You'll be amazed what a SSD and a fresh install of Windows will do in terms of improving the overall computing experience. Once you've tried a SSD, it's hard to go back to a HDD for the OS and programs drive. It's the single biggest improvement you can make. [...] I very seldom use the DVD burner.

I have an SSD in my desktop system, where it's used for programs and OS. But now, SSDs have become big and cheap enough so that I can use one for OS, programs, and data (except music library) in my Thinkpad. I look forward to replacing even the Ultrabay disk with an SSD eventually.

I've ordered a SanDisk Extreme II and migration kit. l'll post after I've installed it.

Agreed on the DVD drive. On my desktop machine, I use it for ripping music, but the DVD drive for the Thinkpad has been at home in a case for the last three months.

Mike

[Mike02906]

I got the SSD today and installed it. The machine is noticeably quieter and faster. Great idea, folks!

For anyone interested in the steps I used:

• Remove existing second disk from Ultrabay caddy
• Add new SSD to caddy
• Clone system disk to (larger) SSD using Macrium Reflect (which I use for backup), running from a bootable flash drive
• Remove SSD from caddy, swap into main disk bay
• Reboot
• Image-backup Lenovo recovery partition
• Remove Lenovo recovery partition
• Enlarge data/system partition, leaving a 12 Gb partition for Lenovo recovery
• Restore Lenovo recovery image to blank partition
• Change drive letter of new recovery partition from D: to Q:
• Test. Done!

This was all absolutely trouble-free; no need for repair disks or any other kluge.

I have decided to hang onto the original system disk and put Linux on it. I have occasional work requiring Linux, and I hope to be able to boot Linux from the Ultrabay when needed. Anyone tried this?

Mike

[wolfman]

Yes you can easily do that (boot a second OS from the ultrabay). You may want to just install Linux in a VM (I use VirtualBox, VMWare is another option) - that way you can use both OS'es at the same time.