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    New Business Laptop L540 or T540

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by mason_721, Oct 30, 2013.

  1. mason_721

    mason_721 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I need to pickup a new laptop for work, however it needs to be a lenovo model. I could order the L540 today, or wait several weeks to get the T540p. Is there really a difference between the two besides the T540 having a Magnesium casing, and the L540 being plastic? Also, I need to use a docking station for the laptop, whichever one I get. I didn't find much literature that says what dock the L540 can use.

    Thanks
     
    mason_721, Oct 30, 2013
    #1
  2. ibmthink

    ibmthink Notebookcheck Deity

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    - Higher resolution and better display available on the T540p (2880x1620 IPS)
    - GT 730M option
    - Faster CPUs
    - Better chassis (Magnesium structureframe + Carbon displayunit, rubberized materials on the T540p, vs. pure plastic on the L540)
     
    ibmthink, Oct 30, 2013
    #2
  3. phamhlam

    phamhlam Notebook Evangelist

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    You have a choice of the basic, pro, or ultra (90 or 135W) dock. The ultra dock is mostly for triple monitor display (it has dual displayport compared to the pro 1 display port.)
     
    phamhlam, Oct 30, 2013
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  4. kordis

    kordis Notebook Consultant

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    Also 2 USB 3.0 ports (T540) vs only 1 3.0 port on L540 and no minidisplay port.
     
    kordis, Oct 30, 2013
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  5. mason_721

    mason_721 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Graphics won't be a big deal for me, and I would be sticking with an i5, not the i7. Also, i'm considering the 14" T440p as well. Not sure which one, of the three, would be the best choice. Most of the time it will be docked with 2, 22inch monitors connected to it.
     
    mason_721, Oct 30, 2013
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  6. phamhlam

    phamhlam Notebook Evangelist

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    This is the dock you would want to use. Ultra Dock.
     
    phamhlam, Oct 30, 2013
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  7. mason_721

    mason_721 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you!
     
    mason_721, Oct 30, 2013
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  8. Sam K

    Sam K Notebook Enthusiast

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    Sorry to dig up an old thread but I was chatting with a Lenovo rep earlier today and I asked which 15" ThinkPad model he would rank right behind the T540p in terms of features and durability, the L540, E540 or S540 and he answered the L540 because he said they have similar construction. After looking at the comparison chart on the bottom of the Lenovo ThinkPad page I can see that the L540 has the same military spec testing for durability but without the roll cage technology in the T540p. The T540p also has a backlit keyboard but the L540 keyboard is not backlit. The only option available in the L540 that's not available in the T540p is the 16gb NGFF/M.2 micro hard drive and there's no charge for it.

    So I priced out similarly configured L540 and T540p models (i.e. same processor, display, ram, hard drive, OS, battery, wireless card, etc) and the price difference before coupons is $170 more for the T540p. Obviously coupons affect the price drastically but their coupons tend to be similar percentages off so it doesn't really affect the price difference. So if you don't need discrete graphics or a 3K IPS display is the T540p worth the premium over the L540 just to get a roll cage, metal case and backlit keyboard?

    Btw, I confirmed that the L540 has almost the exact same ports as the T540p including the VGA and mini DP using the Lenovo Product Specifications Reference. In fact the L540 has one always on USB 3.0 port but the T540p has one always on USB 2.0 port.
     
    Sam K, Jan 23, 2014
    #8