Macbook Pro 15 VS ThinkPad W520

hi guys,
i want to buy one of these notebooks, but I do not know which one.
please help me out. thanks in advanced!
I study civil engineering and I need it for the university and at home. I would also run Windows7 on the Mac.
(Office, Wlan surfing, CAD and Games)
(sorry for my bad english)

Legend: Black=Uncommitted, GREEN = Positive, RED = Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Macbook Pro 15
- HR 1680x1050, 15,4 Zoll ( 16:10, Matte, LED)
- AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1GB
- Intel Core i7-2720QM 2,2GHz
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Ram ( 2 Slots, up to 8GB)
- 2x USB ( USB 2.0)
- 750GB (5400RPM)
- 77,5WH Battery (ca. 7h MacOS X, ca. 3h Windows 7)
- SD CardReader
- 2,54kg
- 2,54cm x 36,4cm x 24,9cm
- Mini DisplayPort ++
- DVD-DL Burner
- Firewire 800
- Gigabit LAN
- Aluminium Case
- HD Webcam + Microphone
- 1 Year warranty
- Multi-Touchpad

- Thunderbolt (New 10 Gigabit Port)
- Backlight Keyboard
- Automatic switch off the GPU ( only MacOS X)

- ca. 2000€
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lenovo ThinkPad W520
- Full HD 1920x1080, 15,6 Zoll ( 16:9, Matte, LED)
- Nvidia Quadro 2000M 2GB ( CAD-GPU)
- Intel Core i7-2720QM 2,2GHz
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Ram ( 4 Slots, up to 32GB)
- 4x USB ( 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 Power supply, 1x eSATA/ USB-Combo)
- WLAN-N, Bluetooth 2.1
- 500GB (7200RPM)
- 60WH Battery (ca. 6h) ( Battery exchangeable with 94WH (ca. 11h))
- SD CardReader
- 2.52kg ( With 60WH Battery)
- 3,18-3,56cm x 37,3cm x 24,5cm
- DisplayPort ++, VGA-15Pins
- DVD-DL Burner
- Firewire 400
- Gigabit LAN
- Titanium-reinforced, Magnesium-reinforced
- HD Webcam + Dual Microphone
- 3 Years warranty
- Multi-Touchpad, Trackpoint + 3 Mouse buttons

- WWAN UMTS-Modem
- Ultra Fast 64GB Mini SSD (In addition to the HDD)
- Ultrabay (Drive can be removed and replaced by dummy, extra battery or additional HDD)
- Optimus (Automatic switch off of the GPU for lower power consumption)
- ExpressCard
- Fingerprint reader

- ca. 2000€
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1: you should put this inthe WNSIB forum
2: please fill out the form there as we have no Idea what you will be doing with your laptop.

 

1. sorry
2. I study civil engineering and I need it for the university and at home. I would also run Windows7 on the Mac. (Office, Wlan surfing, CAD and Games)

 

Thanks, see my other post in the IBM forum.

 

The fact that the OP does not mention the ability of the Apple unit to run OS X, while the Lenovo can't practically do so, seems to indicate that the feature is not much of a desirable attribute for the users want or need.
Hence, the Lenovo would probably suit the user more, given the amount of information furnished.

 

Like I said in the other thread, don't buy the MBP if you're only going to run Windows on this laptop.

 

You study civil engineering, so softwarewise you should be able to decide if a Mac would be useful in your situation, otherwise choose the Thinkpad. The workstation-class GPU in the Thinkpad is a big plus for CAD.
It's debatable if the aluminum case is a more positive feature, compared to the Thinkpad. The Thinkpad seems more durable than the MBP case.

 

If you are a civil engineering student, the logical and rational choice would be the W520, most of it's negatives are easily and generally inexpensively upgradeable(ie: Ram and Battery...you can carry two batteries and switch out on the spot, whereas the mac you have to find a place to plug in if you're almost out of power).

Where the Mac loses, it is not feasible to upgrade where it counts, ie: the screen resolution, which is very important when working with CAD imo, I can never have enough screen real estate when working.

Some additional notes about the Mac's positives that I will point out to negate/nullify:

*The functionality of thunderbolt is yet to be seen, and you would have a hard time in the near future finding mass support for it, 1-3 generations(notebook) from now it might be a different story, but for the short term immediate future it shouldn't be an issue, hence the utility of it may be subjective.

*(thinkpads have an over-lit keyboard, activated by a button) back lit keyboard on the Mac is matched by the "Think light" on thinkpads, I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but Thinkpads come with an LED that shines over the keyboard triggered by a toggle switch, it is not as fancy/pretty looking, but it was meant to be effective and it works nicely(I'm actually typing in the dark right now with my "think light" on).

*automatic switching of GPU, this is also available on the thinkpad w520, customizable via settings, I utilize it myself, adds about an additional hour of battery life when initiated.

*750GB HDD, easily and inexpensively upgraded, may I also mention that thinkpads have the capability to have two HDD's in use internally by swapping out the optical drive, the Mac does not have this as an option.


True, the Mac is lighter and thinner, but you have a lot more firepower and capability under the hood with the Thinkpad, in this case function over form really plays out. Of course this is just my input, based on objective rather than opinion.

Hope this helps

Best of wishes on your selection!

 

thank you all

 

Would you mind linking the thread that you're referring to? I'd be interested in checking that out

 

Where can you buy or spec out the W520? I've been waiting for it to show up on Lenovo's website, but it isn't up there yet.

 

I got impatient and just bought the MBP.

The W520 is nice, but if I was buying a windows PC I would get the new Sager.