T520 buying suggestion (developer, not for games)

I am planning to buy T520 fo rthe thanksgiving. I was using a laptop dell 1520 for development. I am planning to buy T520 but struck with some options

1) intel HD 3000 will be fine for development or do i need to choose Nvidia nvs 4200m . I don't play games but i need a good display as i am choosing for HD+(1600X900) screen.

2) I want the laptop to be fan noise free, so will i be fine with I5 or go with I7. in I5, I can take a more GHZ processor as my budget is 1100$

3) 500GB 7200rpm or 128GB SSD . SSD is fast but i will be booting the system not more than 3 times a day.


My typical day runs few instances of visual studio and some other .net related software plus remote desktop to few VM's

Please guide me

 

1.- The Intel HD 3000 will be fine for all your purposes. You really only need the Nvidia discrete graphics if you're doing 3D modeling or gaming.

2.- Assuming you're only talking about dual core CPUs, the heat output would be similar. Whether you need the i7's higher clock speed is a different story, though.

3.- An SSD will give you snappier overall system performance, although CPU-bound tasks will not change (ie: compiling a program). Your choice as to whether it's worth it. Also, generally I suggest that you upgrade to an SSD aftermarket rather than as a customization option since you can control what SSD you get and you can save money.

 

I agree that the HD 3000 will be fine for your purposes. I have a Latitude E5420 (HD3000 graphics) with a 1600x900 screen and it does everything other than gaming more than adequately. I had an E6520 (stolen) with the 4200m before, and for me the battery life reduction was never worth the performance boost I never realised unless playing a game. Also, with the HD3000, high def video is decoded perfectly, and the GPU part of the chip consumes ~1W during playback.

If your CPU spends most of its time idle, the difference in power consumption between a 2 core i5 and a 4 core i7 is ~1 watt. I wouldn't consider the fan noise between the processors when making your decision because if you're doing something processor intensive the fan will spin up either way, and the i7 will be finished the task first. idle consumption is ~3.5w for dual core and 4.5 for quad core.

 

how does it sound?? customized in lenovo site


Processor: Intel Core i7-2640M Processor (2.80GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz)
Operating system language: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 US English(anyways i am going to install enterprise on day1)
Display type: 15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Total memory: 6 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Hard drive: 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

 

1. The integrated HD 3000 is good for your purpose.

2. Stick with i5 and allocate some money to additional RAM (8GB total).

3. 500GB 7200rpm HDD for now. Get a small SSD later (I use a 64GB Crucial for OS and apps), then install Windows on the SSD and make the 500GB HDD a storage drive by using a ThinkPad HDD adapter for the ODD bay. Keep in mind that this part (43N3412), while perfectly functional, leaves a gap of 2mm at the top.

Also, consider the FHD display option.

 

SSD improves things significantly, as compiling is not only CPU bound, but also reads and writes many small files. If you run VMs, it's night and day compared to a HDD.

If SSD is the only drive, 120GB maybe rather tight, as not much is left after Windows, all needed tools, page file, hibernation file etc. etc. 160GB+ may be a better option. Also, as said above, upgrading the laptop at Lenovo is expensive. I would suggest going for the cheapest HDD they have, for space/backup/bulk data, and getting 80GB Intel mSATA drive for boot/OS/some source code/temp files.

As to noise, using tpfancontrol tool it's possible to make the device almost, or completely, silent when the machine is idle/almost idle. If you do a lot of C++ development with large projects, or need more than 8GB of RAM, it may be worth going for a quad-core CPU, as it comes with 4 DIMM slots.

 

They'll stuff it with 2GB and 4GB sticks.

I'd buy it with 2GB RAM, then get 2x4GB sticks from newegg. Same money, or cheaper. Faster. More memory. The only drawback is unscrewing 2 screws.

 

I am a developer and here's my take on this, a bit different than the ones above:

1) When I purchased my T520 only a few wks ago, the price diff betw two systems with and without the NVidia, configured identically otherwise, was $30. Well worth it, in my opinion. And it powers down completely when not in use, so there is zero drain on the battery.

2) It is the TDP of the processor that will trigger the fan or not. All dual-core processors sold with the T520 were 35W last I checked. I got the i7-2760, which is 45W. The fan does not rev up most of the time, and when it does, is real quiet. No issue there. However, I am really glad to have gotten a quad-core processor, because the T420 I owned right before this had a i5-2520 and the difference is noticeable.

3) Get a SSD. But not from Lenovo. A SSD with low power consumption. I have an Intel. I use it for my boot + dev drive, and keep the rest in an Ultrabay 1TB HDD. When was the last time you used your DVD drive? I have all the DVDs I need in iso files in my HDD, and I use VirtualCloneDrive to mount them.

So get the Nvidia, get the quad-core. Get a single stick memory option and get your second stick from Crucial for $30/4GB.

 

Agree but there is a better alternative which is 12.7mm hight (3rd party one though).

 

Yes. And less expensive.

 

many Thanks for your views guys... i am going for

Processor: Intel Core i7-2760QM Processor (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
Display type: 15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System graphics NVIDIA NVS 4200M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)


I will think about SSD in future.. but i just want to know how HARD is it to put one more 4gb stick into laptop .. i used to play a lot with my desktop CPU but i never touched laptop..

i upgraded to 2yr next bus day warranty.. it's better right rather than sending it to depot?

 

I'm using an ultrabay adapter, 12.7mm, that I got from ebay for $9. This is my fourth from ebay, and they work just as well as the one I'd gotten from lenovo for a ridiculous sum of $45.

and adding a second stick of ram (different from the first which requires more disassembly) takes all of 2 minutes.

If you've not hit the buy button yet, consider getting a 80GB intel ssd for less than $200 (elsewhere) instead of the 2yr warranty. you can add warranty anytime within the first year. so you either get the ssd or the warranty now. extra warranty later is the same, ssd now is better

you can use the recovery dvds and recreate the factory state on any hdd (larger than a minimum size of, what? 40GB?)

 

The FHD (1920 x 1080) screen is of better quality and offers more working space.