Urgently looking for a workstation laptop

[tein220]

I am looking for a workstation laptop.

I'll be using AutoCAD, SolidWorks, AutoDesk Inventor and occasionally Maya, PS etc.
I would also be installing/managing Real Application Clusters for admin tasks.
Don't mind to play graphics intensive games as well .

I would therefore require a solid and versatile machine that can handle extreme loads. Don't like too much heavy models.
Budget being upto 1500 USD for now.

Now, based on discussions with my colleagues, I am trying to decide between a W530 and W541.
My essential needs would be 32 GB RAM/ i7 extreme (atleast 2.9 GHz) Quad, Solid GPU, 1080p display would be more than enough (I would love to have the old thinkpad keyboard but alas.. will manage anyhow).

I do need your suggestions on deciding the model or even to consider any other models which I might have not explored yet.

[WizardOfBoz]

I bought two W530s. Both 3820QM (I would have liked the 3840QM, but it's only a few percentage points different, and the 2920XM has a significantly higher - 57w vs 44w - power load). You get a very competitive CPU, good compatibility (e.g. SATA3), and with the right dock you get USB 3. I've set mine up with an install of windows 7 pro 64 bit, and just ordered 32Gb of PC3-14900 (XMP) memory from Crucial.

In looking at CPU benchmarks, only the top recent CPUs beat the 3820 or 3840. The K2000M GPU is probably a third slower than the K2100M in the W540. I don't do gaming. Not sure how Autocad rendering would be affected. So I went with the W530 because it gives nearly the same performance as later models, at a lower price (at least on the ebay market).

My main W530 came with the 3820QM, K2000M, 2x2 WLAN, and 8Gb of Memory. For $750. And it was still in warranty for another 200 days! I put in a $280 Samung 850 Pro, and the memory above is on its way. A clean load from Lenovo Restore/Recovery disks. Windows 360 gives me up-to-date apps. I'm happy as a clam at high water.

[Khipata]

I would recommend W520, way cheaper and superior keyboard. I have one and would not trade it for any newer model
Especially, if you do not do gaming, but even in that, it is adequate for most high end games on middle (average) settings.

[ajkula66]

I would recommend W520, way cheaper and superior keyboard.

+ 1

Sandy Bridge architecture will remain relevant for years to come for everything but hardcore gaming.

[tein220]

How about W541.. is it mere cosmetic changes over W530 or an way better than it...

[ZaZ]

The W541 uses Haswell CPUs, which will get you a modest performance bump over the W530 along with the better GPU. Probably the main benefit of the W541 is the 3K IPS LCD that will offer you a more pleasing viewing experience.

[tein220]

Thanks... so is there anybody who owns a W541... have anyone came across any issues with it. I haven't came across one who have actually owned a 541.. Also, all models of W530 are not currently available.

I had a old precision model with 8 GB RAM. Once I start overloading the machine with multiple VMs (only 2). it started showing signs of slow mouse movements and needless to mention wasn't a good experience at all...

[WizardOfBoz]

Saw Zaz' post and explored a bit. Both W540 and W541 use the newer Haswell CPUs. The difference between the two is minimal (as one might expect: the W541 CPUs are one rev level above the W540, e.g. 4810-MQ vs 4800-MQ). Wiki had a comparison of Haswell vs the Ivy Bridge in my W530 laptop:

Haswell, compared to Ivy Bridge:

Approximately 8% better vector processing performance.[9]
Up to 6% faster single-threaded performance.
6% faster multi-threaded performance.
A 6% increase in sequential CPU performance (eight execution ports per core versus six).[9]
Up to 20% performance increase over the integrated HD4000 GPU (Haswell HD4600 vs Ivy Bridge's built-in Intel HD4000).[9]
Total performance improvement on average is about 3%.[9]
Around 15 °C hotter than Ivy Bridge, while clock frequencies of 4.6 GHz are achievable.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

[richk]

Many people (myself included) don't like the button-less clickpad on the W540. I use a W540, but swapped in a W541 touchpad. I don't suggest that option, as it may affect warranty coverage. My prior machine was a W530, which I liked a lot. Ii is currently for sale. Send me a PM if you wish to discuss.

[tein220]

@richk.. sorry fr the late reply.. got busy with other stuffs.

I was looking for a newer model but the price is killing me. The customizable model available in lenovo website starts from $1300 which includes an i7 4710MQ (2.5GHz, 6MB) processor, Quadro K1100M 2G Graphics but only 4GB DDR3 RAM.

I however, aspire for 4910MQ (+ $400) or 4940MX ( + $930 ) processor variants and 32 G RAM (4 DIMM) ( + $700)

Initially I was planning to buy the default spec itself and then later on do incremental upgrades. However, its way overshooting my budget.

Need some more advice from y'all on how to manage the powerhouse within a sensible range and if at all the same will be worth a buy for heavy-duty tasks. In case there's no way around, I'll have to look for a reselling model .

[WizardOfBoz]

Hi, Tein.

A machine with a 4910MQ would be really nice, but I can't afford a new one right now either. So I bought a W530. Even with the third-best CPU (3820QM), the passmark on that machine is withing 15% of your high-end choice. (See cpubenchmark.com) I was able to put together a W530, with 32Gb of new XMP (14,900) memory, K2000M graphics, 1920x1080 screen, 6300WLAN, BT, a couple of docks and power supplies, and a brand-new Lenovo battery for less than $1400.

I figure the same thing in a new W540 or 541 would be double.

Anyway, that was my thinking. Good luck!

[tein220]

Guyz..
Went ahead to buy this model from lenovo us website with below config.

Again.. can anyone look into these configs and kinda let me know if any stuffs lacking ..
Lemme know... its urgent now..

Costing $1,610.10 at this moment...

Processor
Intel Core i7-4810MQ Processor (6MB Cache,up to 3.8GHz)
Operating System
Windows 8.1 Pro 64
Operating System Language
Windows 8.1 Pro 64 - English
Display
Thinkpad W541 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), with WWAN
Graphics
W540 NVIDIA Quadro K1100M 2G
Memory
16GB PC3-12800 DDR3L (2 DIMM)
Keyboard
ThinkPad New Precision Backlit Keyboard with Number Pad US English
Pointing Device
Thinkpad W541 Fingerprint Reader, 3+2BCP
Camera
720p HD Camera
Hard Drive
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm, 2.5"
Optical Device
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer
Battery
9 Cell Li-Ion Cylindrical Battery 99.9Wh
Power Cord
Country Pack AG with Line cord & 170W AC adapter
Wireless
Intel Dual Band Wireless 7260AC with Bluetooth 4.0
Integrated Mobile Broadband
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
Language Pack
Publication - US English
Warranty
1 Year Depot or Carry-in

[brchan]

Going to 16GB ram (2 modules) costs $250 on the configurator. Get the base 4GB ram and upgrade to 16GB by buying and installing your own ram like this one here http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-DDR3L-160 ... B008LTBJFW. "Mac" RAM is irrelevant and works fine in PCs.

That should save you about $150 to use on something else (SSD or 3K display). Other than that, the config looks fine.

[tein220]

Few stuffs Im not clear with ... help needed

1. Micro HDD of 16 Gigs M.2 SSD Double.. $40.00
2. 256 Gigs SSD ATA3 OPAL2.0 $280.00

Also.. what's Internal SATA RAID 0 and 1..

[WizardOfBoz]

The 16 Gig m.2 micro HDD is a small, fast solid state drive, most useful if you have a physical (spinning platter) main hard drive. The full name is MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 SATA III/6G M.2 Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF). These are "solid state drives [that] are designed to boost performance in today's compact size ultrabooks, notebooks, and tablet PCs while using less power to preserve battery life on the go."

In the W541 you have a choice between a WWAN card, and this small SSD on a circuit board. If you have a main drive that is SSD and SATA3 you already have fast memory, and probably don't need this.

SSDs that are OPAL compliant store data in a certain way and do self-encryption. See here: OPAL pros and cons

RAID stores your information on two or more drives to increase reliability. RAID 0 or 1 merely denote different ways of doing this. You need two main drives if you do RAID. If you need more reliablity and have the money, you can get RAID working on your W541. If you have to ask, perhaps you don't need raid?

Let me google that for you

[bmwman91]

I highly recommend AGAINST the W540, mainly because of the touchpad with integrated buttons. It is really awful. It misses clicks and is generally a pain to operate. Using it for CAD is completely useless since the middle button is not dedicated. This is why Lenovo came up with the W541 (one of the reasons anyway)...people hated the integrated buttons, so they brought back the dedicated ones. I think that the W541 is a better machine, but obviously more expensive since it is newer.

If performance is a big deal, then you absolutely must get an SSD. A mechanical HDD is suitable only for backup purposes these days, not a system drive.

My main machine right now is a W530 with the specs down in my signature. It is a real beast and handles all of the Matlab and Solidworks that I throw at it. I found this one on eBay for around $1800 back in January. I also went with this over the W540 because I read numerous reviews saying that the CPU on the W540 has big thermal throttling issues that force the CPU to run at a slow clock speed (and notebookcheck.net reviews also pointed this out). Other machines that I considered were the Dell M4800 (which had some throttling issues and a bad display bug along with lack of nvidia Optimus support), and the HP ZBooks (which were way too expensive in my opinion).

The K2000M GPU in the W530 is roughly equivalent to the K1100M in the newer models. I would consider looking on a site like eBay for one since it will likely cost less than a new machine, and it is a solid machine.

[1st_pad]

I got few questions reg. W541...

The current price is coming within my budget (see URL below). However, I would require a min. 16 GB ram. Can I go with the below model and later add more RAM in it? Can I do it by my own or need to take it to service center?
Also.. the i7-4710MQ processor....Do anyone used it? How's it performance in case of ISV softwares?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3O ... MPDWORMV3O

[lead_org]

you can upgrade the ram and hdd yourself. This should save you some money.

[1st_pad]

Thanks lead.. Can u share any link to ref manual or video link as to how we can modify the RAM/HDDs...

[1st_pad]

Also... what could b a good RAM considering budget but no performance cut ... crucial or G skill etc. 1x16 GB or 2x8 GB DDR3 modules.

[jedisurfer1]

Also... what could b a good RAM considering budget but no performance cut ... crucial or G skill etc. 1x16 GB or 2x8 GB DDR3 modules.

Which laptop are you getting. Think only the 50 series with take 1x16gb and the 30 or 40 series will only take 8gb modules. I've found gskill, crucial, kingston are all comparable. Just get one with lifetime warranty.

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Thanks lead.. Can u share any link to ref manual or video link as to how we can modify the RAM/HDDs...

Should be here;
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... 003_02.pdf

But HSDPA coverage is lousy here, so I don't know exactly what's inside for quite some time...

[Tim-ANC]

Good stuff here all. I'll be upgrading my business machine in January. Considering the W541 at the moment.

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Did you look at Dell M4800 too?