Lenovo Refresh

I read the other day that there could be a Lenovo U330s. Is this true? Has anyone heard anything about this matter?

I would also like to know if there is a possible refresh on the W500, as in a W500s or W501 (newer GPU and/or CPU)??

 

Regarding the W500: According to the leaked Lenovo roadmap, there won't be a refresh until the W510 early next year, as with all the Thinkpads. Besides, a W500s doesn't really make any business sense anyway.

 

And any ideas on the U330?? A refresh or anything? The 3450HD inside is getting rapidly dated...and it is a consumer laptop, those get refreshes a lot faster than business ones.

At MidnightSun, what roadmap? Is there a link/PDF/site/news where I can see it? Thanks!

 

Here it is, on Engadget. The W510 is mislabeled as the T510.

 

So, the refresh might be coming when Calpella is out...hmmm

And how about GPU? The 3650HD optimized inside the W500 (V5700) is getting dated as I can see. Is there anything on that? The new version of the 3650HD is a 4650HD, right? (or something like that) So technically, there should be an OpenGL optimized version of it...

 

Have yet to see a workstation variant of the HD 46xx series, but maybe by Jan '10, there will be one.

 

Damn...I need a workstation in the near future...but I dont want to end up with something dated right away (i do know that technology refreshes every 6 months or so, but still...)...

So there is no word on workstation GPUs...hmmm this is not very nice...

And anything on the U330? (I HATE the U350...how could they do such a weak laptop?) But I love the P8600 version of the U330

 

Hey serg, I think i remember a thread with you and this machine err a LONG time ago

Anyways, since I was looking for a new laptop as well and the u330 looked very appealing I tried to find out what was "new" about this U330. It seems like the only thing new about it is the added p8600 configuration. Not quite sure though, sent an email to Lenovo but I have gotten no response yet. The fact that they already label the U330 as new makes me think that the refresh already happened and its just additional customization options.

If you do decide on a u330 though I would use some caution since on thinkpad forums there are LOADS of complaints of terrible battery issues. It seems like maximum battery life is quite poor and even under the most conservative use (screen brightness killed, no wifi) people cant even hit 3 hours, somewhat defeating the purpose of a small portable laptop.

 

Hi Euquility! Long time no see!

Yes, a long time ago I asked the same. It makes me think, I havent gone any forward in my search...lol

Yes the U330 in the website appears as a "new" model, maybe because of P8600 and VHP64 and 4GB RAM. But no newer GPU, as in 4xxx series, or anything similar

 

Might be coming out? All those business class notebooks (Dell, HP, Lenovo) always refresh their lines (with new models #s not existing, btw) whenever a new generation of Centrino comes out. They've essentially done this since Centrino was introduced in 2003.

Basically this means if I were you, I'd wait till Jan 2010 to buy a new laptop.

 

You would be lucky to get a laptop in Jan 2010. Just because they will start offering it then, doesn't mean you can get it. Past examples include the Dell XPS M1530/1330 and Latitude E series, where people ordered it when it first "came out" but the company could not meet the demand in time and hence it took a month or more before people started getting their orders. HP also experienced issues with their Elitebooks and quality control. Lenovo had problems with XP compatibility with their switchable graphics and poor quality components (screen, changed keyboard).

 

So you suggest against getting a recently refreshed laptop?
Should I just buy now or wait till 2010? I mean, I could survive till there...but if you tell me that newer models will be fully available in Q2 2010 then it could not be worth it...

 

it is a question made tough by the lack of knowledge about what the new intel calpella platform will look like in early 2010

here's the deal
intel is set to debut a new mobile platform in early 2010 (calpella)
we have good rumors that lenovo will be refreshing the t-series when this happens (T410, T510, T410S)

however, current rumors are that the calpella chips that will be released in early 2010 will be only the highest end - very expensive, quad-core, hot, power hungry

those same rumors state it could be around 6 months later when the more mainstream calpella processors come out - moderately priced, dual core, cool, efficient

if this holds true, that means that the refreshed thinkpads lenovo releases in early 2010 will only be using the very expensive, quad-core, hot, and power hungry processors. this might be just what some people are looking for, but i will dare to say that many many of us are not looking for that kind of processor in our thinkpad.

so, this leads us to think that it will actually be more like halfway through next year (one year away) before lenovo has calpella thinkpads available with processors that are actually attractive to many of us, not the first of the year.

like i said, this is made complicated by the fact that we just don't know what intel has planned for calpella's release in january. but, most of the information that is available leads to speculation that the calpella most of us will want won't be available until halfway through next year.

i hope this makes sense.

EDIT: I'd just like to hop in and say - I've done some reading since this post. Now, rumors are saying it is possible that Intel might have the moderate Arrandale version of Calpella ready for early 2009 release. So, until Intel tells us something concrete - guess it is all up in the air!

 

As been said before, buy it when you need it. If you need it in Jan 2010, maybe Calpella based notebooks will be out and available, maybe not. Either way, you still have choices that are available today, but most likely cheaper. I usually don't like purchasing right as new platforms come out because there is always some issue with them. It could be something small and random or not.

 

Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 2
Rep Power: 0 Which notebook ???

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Hi,
I’m new to this forum and I don’t know that much about pc’s.
I’ve had a XPS M1710 since 2006 and it has given me only pure heartaches.
I need a mobile workstation that has high performance and I don’t care about looks and bling.

I’m a mechanical engineer student, so I use allot of the basic office tools and some of the Autodesk ACAD programs. I am also the occasional gamer and this means, that I need a laptop that includes a discreet video card.

My questions to you guys are are:

A. If I buy a laptop should I get it with a 32 bit Microsoft OS or 64 bit, yet its hardware can support 64 bit? I can then install the 64 bit when more programs are compatible to the 64 bit system.
B. Which brand of laptop is recommended for this kind of usage?
C. Is it worth is buying the LENOVO W510 after that stunt that Lenovo has pulled on his website?

D. Is it smart buying a laptop with nvidia graphics card while it is proven that some of the cards have bad packaging material?
The whole story of the XPS M1710 is based on this fact and I have experienced it firsthand. Isn’t this why Dell is now using ATI graphic cards?

E. Is it worth it paying $200 more for the i7 820 QM CPU instead of the i7 720QM?
I’m not sure if 3 seconds is worth the $200,-

I really need some help with this since I do not want to waste my money like I did with the cursed XPS M1710.

I think these Q‘s will A allot of people’s related Q’s .

So let the A’s rip!!!
Cheers,
JT

 

Hello there JT! Welcome to the NBR Forums!

I strongly suggest using the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" Forum for your questions, and filling in the FORM would help us a lot too.

Anyways, I'll try to answer your questions.

A. My vote goes for 64bit OS. With time everything will migrate to 64bit, so no reason to use 32bit, unless you are using "old" 16bit applications, which are rather rare. For this, might want to check what software you are using, or going to use. If all of it is 32bit and 64bit, the there is no point getting 32bit OS. Most big softwares, Office, AutoCAD, Adobe, etc, are already running on 64bit environments.

B. Depends on usage. But don't search by brand, but by model. For example, if going to use AutoCAD or AutoDesk programs, it is better if going with a business laptop, more specifically a workstation. There are 3 mostly known, Dell Precisions, Lenovo W series and HP Elitebook 8x40w.

C. I am kinda lost here. What stunt from Lenovo?

D. This answer is biased, I warn you. I am an ATI fan, so I would say go for ATI FireGL or FirePro cards. I have yet to use a NVIDIA chip, after the 8400 and 8600 disaster, I looked away from consideration. So here I cannot help you. Sorry.

E. Honestly? No. The only reason I would pay for the 820QM is if I was maximizing my 720QM. But I rarely do so, therefore I dont consider it. Now, if you run CPU intensive tasks, and you need the extra power, then it might be worth it. Other thing to consider is using Arrandale i7 620M or i5 540M which are extremely good and cover all the needs. Again, if you are going to task the CPU a lot, the Clarksfield would be a better choice.

Hope this was helpful!

Bon courage,
Serg