Should I buy this or wait?

I found a $1000 (uses a $250 off coupon) Lenovo Thinkpad T530 and it's specs are:
- Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)
- Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
- 15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
- NVIDIA NVS 5400M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory
- 8 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
- 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- DVD Recordable
- 9 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70++
- Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
- Mobile Broadband upgradable

Is this laptop worth it? and I looked around and found some info about Haswell processors. How much do you guys think new laptops with Haswell will cost in the future? I don't want to be spending too much for a college laptop

 

Define worth, then we'll talk. Outside of the GPU bump, there's really nothing special about Haswell. I say if you like the laptop and the price, there's no reason to wait.

 

How much will you be carrying that laptop around? To the library to study? To class? That's pretty big and heavy - are you drawn to it order to be able to do some light gaming?

 

@ZaZ I was just wondering if Haswell was significantly faster than the processor the T530 I mentioned has because if it is a lot faster, then I think I should probably wait.

@grisjuan I don't mind the size and weight of the laptop; my brother has a T430 with similar size and weight and I think I'll be fine. I don't game heavily (not like Crysis 3 on max settings, but I do play lower-intensity games like Borderlands). I'm drawn to it because I heard that thinkpads have a reputation of lasting a long time.

 

To some degree that will depend on how you define significant. Some people with pay twice as much for a 5% performance increase. I personally would not. For most users the CPU doesn't matter much because they tasks they do with their PCs/notebooks like Office, Media and Internet, don't really push the CPU much. Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell won't make a discernible difference for the majority of uses. Putting a SSD in your notebook is far more likely to make the notebook seem faster than a better CPU. Where Haswell is going to shine is the GPU, which I've heard is a nice bump over the HD4000 offered with Ivy Bridge. I guess you'll have to decide whether that's worth the cost/wait.

 

Dual-core Haswell T5xxs, available to purchase, for a reasonable amount of money (i.e. there are coupons etc), are at least 6-8 months away, and possibly more. Performance wise, Haswell is unlikely to make a big difference, as the whole sales pitch is the GPU (hardly matters if you get a dedicated one) and reduced power consumption when idle.

And the benefit of Haswell reduced chipset power consumption, while huge factor for sub-2 pounds 10" screen tablets, is not as important on a 15" laptop with 90Wh+ replaceable battery. With 15" display a more important question than 'does the chipset consume 3W or 5W when idle' is 'on what brightness I'm comfortable using the screen?'.

To save money, you may actually have a look for a previous generation T/W520. Performance wise it's not very different but, if lucky, can save quite a bit.

 

Try Lenovo Outlet | Lenovo | (US)
(do NOT put in www if you type the address yourself)

Under "Shop" left click > Laptops & Ultrabooks

Under "Narrow your search" click ThinkPad and T Series and 1920x1080 (imo the 1920x1080 is a "must have" but be aware that there are some who don't think so)

This narrows available units to just the T530, which makes it easy to see that your $1,000 "deal" isn't all that great of a deal. Avoid units with SSD and anything more than a single stick of 4GB memory as Lenovo charges BIG for those (you can do way better after you get the unit).

A i5-3360M might be worth it as it's not much extra on the Outlet and it might (?) get you a more robust power supply and robust heatsink/cooling-fan in the laptop which will come in handy if you later buy an i7 on ebay as it's relatively cheap and easy to do the replacement yourself.

You might also consider the W530.

One main thing that I like of my T530 (over my slightly older X220) is how much faster it boots when on battery. When on A/C they both boot in almost the same amount of time.

Now that Intel's Haswell cpu has just been released, odds are that we'll start seeing more refurb or scratched units (T530 and W530) on Lenovo's Outlet.