What ThinkPad to buy mid-2015?

[anystupidname]

Hiya folks,

I'm a big fan of thinkpads but, looking at reviews lately (since Lenovo came to be), I see some models I should probably be staying away from.What models would you recommend? I need:

-15" or 17" 1080 native 16x9 screen
-Not for high end gaming but would like a GPU that isn't too outdated in 5 years.
-~3 Ghz multicore CPU, 16GB RAM or more for running virtual machines often.
-preferably has a trackpoint (joystick thingy in middle of keyboard)
-keyboard backlight or overhead LED (or both?)
-at least several USB 3 ports
-bluetooth
-SSD might be cool
-I couldn't care less about an optical drive...

My T42 has lasted me 10 years but it is on its last legs.

Thanks!

Moderator edit: Moved thread from the Marketplace to here: "GENERAL ThinkPad News/Comments & Questios"

[brchan]

W541, W530, or W520 if you want the classic keyboard. The W530 can sport both a thinklight and backlit keyboard, but both cannot be used at the same time. W530 and W520 models seem to have no issues with throttling and have a centered keyboard, but no numberpad. W520 would be my pick.

[ajkula66]

W520 would be my pick.

+ 1 and then some. One heck of a system especially at today's prices. Just make sure to get a FHD (1920x1080) LCD.

[Pokrzept]

IMHO the correct answer at this very moment is - NONE. If i you are looking for a brand new unit I'd skip current Lenovo products and search in other brands. If you need outstanding image quality with a great performance in 15" body you should check ZBook 15 G2 with Dreamcolor panel. If you valuate ruggedness over screen quality my 1st pick would be Precision M4800. Both units offers latest full voltage Quad-core i7 processors that do not throttle after 15 minutes of solid stress, 32 GiG of RAM, good connectivity and I/O options, solid chassis, NBD warranty services, few dedicated GPU options, fair keyboard interface and trackpoint-like manipulators (not as good as former thinkpads trackpoint but still usable).

[anystupidname]

Thanks for the feedback so far, I appreciate it.
I'll do some more research on the models suggested so far.
Please keep them coming!

[Ibthink]

If you want the best GPU possible, there is no way around a current model - e.g. my recommendation would be a W541. Or, if you can wait, wait for Skylake. Not only will the CPUs get an overdue update (as the W541 is still on Haswell) but the GPUs will get one as well (W541 is Kepler, current GPUs are Maxwell). The Skylake machines will be quite a jump from the current models performance wise.

[Khipata]

W520 here Hard to find such a beast at current price.

[mpcook]

Also recommend W520, if you are looking for close-to-classic ThinkPad. By one or two if you can.

[jdrou]

While the W520 is great and probably the last Thinkpad to have the classic keyboard, it does have one issue with your requirements: the GPU is already 4 years old. It was great (for its class) when it was released and still pretty good now but GPU tech advances faster than CPU and in a few more years you might find it unacceptable. Probably still a good deal for the price though.

I would wait (and am waiting) until at least next month to see if Intel finally releases the Broadwell mobile quad-cores at Computex and hopefully we'll also see new laptops using them along with new mobile GPUs.

[laowai]

While the W520 is great and probably the last Thinkpad to have the classic keyboard, it does have one issue with your requirements: the GPU is already 4 years old. It was great (for its class) when it was released and still pretty good now but GPU tech advances faster than CPU and in a few more years you might find it unacceptable. Probably still a good deal for the price though.

I would wait (and am waiting) until at least next month to see if Intel finally releases the Broadwell mobile quad-cores at Computex and hopefully we'll also see new laptops using them along with new mobile GPUs.

I'm having the same internal debate running inside my head. This T60 is nearly down for the count. I have gone and given it an SSD and 1tb data drive overhaul along with some fresh memory to go with an optimized Win8.1 install to try and get some decent performance out of it. That's about all that can be done that's meaningful. It's running very hot, legitimate fans are no longer available (it's all refurb). Various casing is cracked and held together with tape (cheap to replace it all, but just time consuming and annoying).

I almost pulled the trigger on a helix, but it just looked too horrid and I got a $100 win8.1 tablet instead to meet the tablet/travel needs. T450p will hopefully be what I need it to be... unless the screen is low-end, which would be a dealbreaker issue. W541 is larger than what I want, but the system looks great... however, it's already old and I do not buy old tech when upgrading a laptop. I spend the premium and get top of the line and enjoy it.

T550, T450, T450s, W550s... all have some rather dealbreaker flaws for me, either memory issues, screen resolution, loss of hard drive options, graphics, etc. Waiting with hope to see something tolerable pop out of lenovo this year.