New W500 - First impressions

Hi, at the risk of this sounding like a vanity thread, I thought I'd quickly jot down my initial thoughts about the W500. It's not quite as common as T-series machines, so I had a few questions myself when I ordered it, and it was tough to find good opinions all in one place.

I'm coming from a Dell XPS m1330 (specs in sig) as a personal machine, as well as a 14" T61 at work.

Build quality/keyboard - It doesn't seem quite as robust as the T61, but this might have something to do with it being a 15 versus 14 inch unit, so there's a bit more material to spread around. Still, I find the T61 to be overall slightly more tightly constructed and "matte" whereas the W500 is a little more plasticky feeling. I very much prefer the keyboard on my T61. While I don't find any flex issues with the new one (it's solid when pressed hard), it's definitely more clicky and with a seemingly shorter stroke when compared to the old one. It might be from a different manufacturer, I haven't checked yet. Build quality such as panel fit and hinge tightness are still miles ahead of the Dell consumer unit. The larger trackpad is nice too, but for some reason I keep clicking the right instead of left button - I think it's because of the increased overall width of the notebook rather than a design issue.

Screen - It's fine. And I'm fussy. By fussy, I mean that I'm a trained designer and know exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to things like panel technology, colormetrics and gamut coverage of a particular colorspace. My W500 has the WSXGA+ option, and it turned up with a Samsung panel. I love this resolution on a 15.4" - text is just big enough to be readable, and it feels roomier than the WXGA+ on my T61. I don't think I could personally handle the WUXGA - it's just too high a density for my eyes.

For a TN panel, I don't detect any graininess or opacity beyond what would normally be expected in a matte display of this quality, and text is sharp and clear. The black floor is obviously not as low as in a glossy, but in return, it is very resistant to stray reflections. I haven't had a chance to measure or calibrate for color accuracy yet, but just eyeballing it, the greyscale seems relatively linear, with an overall slightly-high color temperature, which is common. The backlight is much, much brighter than the CCFL in my T61. At full brightness, it can't quite match the LED in my m1330, but it comes pretty close, which is excellent performance for a single tube cathode. There is just a hint of bleed at the extreme lower edge when a full-black screen is presented, but it is restricted to a very small band and not noticeable during typical usage. Horizontal viewing angle is not bad - two can sit side by side without experiencing too much fadeout. Vertical angle is typical for a business notebook - no better, no worse. Once calibrated, I would not hesitate to use it for preflight soft proofing for all but the most critical applications (no, I wouldn't check color accuracy for files destined for product marketing or magazine editorial - but for casual snapshots or even event work, I personally wouldn't bother doing a recal on my studio setup unless it was a very challenging image).

Performance - Fast. Noticeably speedier on common tasks than either my T61 or m1330. The el-cheapo 5400rpm drive I ordered it with is clearly a bottleneck. I have a 7200rpm Scorpio Black hopefully arriving today, which I expect to be a significant upgrade. The OS, drivers, and my benchmarking apps correctly identify the GPU assembly as a FireGL V5700 with 512MB of VRAM. There's a new video driver from Lenovo as of yesterday that I will install once the new HD is in too. Vista Business 64 reports an experience index of 5.3 for graphics and HD - 5.6-5.9 for everything else. Without any tweaking, removal of bloatware, or any other sort of preparation, my single run of 3Dmark06 returned a score of 3981, which is pretty much exactly what the T500 typically benches.

Those were my initial thoughts from a very quick inspection last night. I'll be able to better gauge things like performance after the new HD is in with a clean install.

 

I installed a new graphics driver that was released in early April... where is the one that came out yesterday?

 

It's the generic switchable graphics driver, not the ISV certified one that locks out the integrated option.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70417


ThinkPad Switchable Graphics Driver for Windows Vista 32bit and 64bit - ThinkPad T400, R400, T500, W500

This package installs the software (display driver) to enable the following video chips on the system board.

Device name in the Device Manager
-----------------------------------------------
- ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3400 Series
- ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650
- ATI Mobility FireGL V5700
- Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family

The following systems are supported:

- ThinkPad R400
- ThinkPad T400, T500
- ThinkPad W500


File details

Version: 8.563.2.1-090401a-079160C
Release Date: 2009/04/28

 

The 7200 RPM hard drive should make your computer more snappy. Vista is slightly more sluggish with a 5400 RPM, although a high quality SSD surpasses both.

 

I love my W500, just received it a few days ago. Upgraded from a T61p. One problem though is the "clacky" keyboard towards the upper right. Not a big deal at first, but switching between the T61p/W500 throughout the day makes it really more pronounced and eventually unbearable. So I ordered a replacement keyboard and just swapped it in this morning. What a difference...back to that solid feel, it's just great.

The only other couple of issues which are minor...1) The ultra slim bay is apparantly different from the T61 series, so my older ultrabay stuff doesn't work in it. 2) I can't get the Intel Video Chipset to work with multi-monitors on my docking station. No big deal, I installed a dedicated card and run my 2 external monitors off the dedicated card ports.

I do like the speakers up top for better sound...

 

Hey, thanks for the tip. I'm also hoping to swap my keyboard soon. Could you tell me what part number or other manufacture information you may have used to order the replacement keyboard?

 

I just ordered the replacement for the T61p, I didn't specify anything as to part number or manufacturer info. I was hoping I would get a decent keyboard, but I took the chance that any T61p keyboard would be better then the W500 keyboard.

 

This talk of W500's coming with floppy keyboards mystifies me. I thought the W500 now came with a decent solid keyboard? The idea that if I order a W500 and have to immediately order a new keyboard is unfortunate...Thinkpad fame has always been based on great keyboards..

 

I hear you antskip...I was extremely dissapointed, especially after hearing that they apparently "fixed" the issue and no longer offer the old style keyboards as replacements anymore. As I posted on the lenovo forums, whoever signed off on the new design is a bozo because the keyboard is awful.

You do need to keep it in perspect though. Even if I had to order a replacement keyboard separately for $100 I would, I love my Thinkpads and I love my Thinkpad keyboards, so it's a hassle, but well worth it in the long run. I'm on my keyboard 10-12 hours a day and the difference between a nominal keyboard and a great keyboard make a big difference.

 

I agree entirely. My now almost 5 year old Dell Precision M70 has an awesome keyboard (good travel, lovely feedback, and above all, no flex) as well as a brilliant WUXGA screen. The keyboard and screen are the 2 things one interfaces with constantly, so are primary things to consider in choosing a laptop. I am looking around now for a possible replacement - and it has to equal this machine in these 2 primary interface aspects, as well as adding advances in inner technology - hopefully that will mean a quieter and cooler environment. I am sure it will be more responsive - though xp and ubuntu 9.04 with 2GB ram is very pleasant.