Thinkpad E540 or S540

Hello I'll be buying one of the models above but I can't decide which to buy. The main difference concerning me is the build. The S540 has a metal like case and perhaps a stronger hinge I think.
The confs are:
S540 - i7 4500U (2 cores, 1.8 - 3.0 GHz, 4 MB cache), no CD, AMD Radeon HD 8670M;
E540 - i7 4702MQ (4 cores, 2.2 -3.2 GHz, 6 MB cache), NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M;

Everything else seems the same to me.
I like better the S540 -better design, slimmer, longer battery life, fingerprint reader positioned at the right end below the keys.
On the other hand E540 has USB 2.0, CD, better CPU and better video card.
I don't know if the integrated video is the same.
The laptop is going to be used for Development (mostly WEB). Let's hope FHD display won't kill me . Won't be played games (to be exact games made in the last 10 years
I'm not sure if the slim will be powerful enough in the future. This will be a long term investment for at least 3-5 years. As long as it fits for the job and doesn't break.
The design and the build of the S540 wins me, but the more powerful CPU evens the score. (you know what they say about the condom. Better have and don't use than need it and not having it

Please give some advice. Thank you.

 

Hi lyubjmf,

did you end up buying either of these? I'd be interested to hear about the E540 in particular.

 

No actually I haven't. I was about to buy the S540 but they didn't have what I wanted. About the E540 - its great. For me it seem a little big and look more cheap made. About performance I hear only good stuff. I don't know about the noise though. Today I received that the shop has the S540 and I hope tomorrow I would be able to throw a look at it to decide will I take it or will continue searching(I liked a few more models ). Perhaps I won't cause I don't want windows and ssd at the moment and I don't want to pay for things I don't need. Hope it helps.

 

Instead of buying a brand new ThinkPad that isn't really a ThinkPad , I'd buy an older better built ThinkPad or something else like the W series Elitebooks.

 

Yeah but all of those are big stuff (3cm) and the prize is very nice here(starts from 1500$ for i3). I don't argue they are quite nice but they don't fit me. I'm web developer and I just want a decent build with 15.6" display. The S is my model its just extremely hard to find it (i7, gunmetal black, no win, no ssd) and there isn't much info about it. I started looking on other brands to find something that will suit me best. No cheap plastic and not more than I want. just need more than 3-4 hours battery, to be light to carry around and little smaller than (2.5cm).

 

Thanks for the reply - I myself am looking for something with i7 quad and 16GB of RAM and definitely and IPS screen - the E540 is a good candidate but i cannot find anything about the screen type, and there are no reviews yet...

 

@OP:
Just a note: S series doesn't have VGA port. That might something you want consider. For long investment, E540 is the one to go, because it has quad core processor.

@peterL:
Lenovo is not that generous to give IPS screen to budget thinkpads, which are E and S series.

 

Yes you are correct. For me the VGA is not that important. I will use it as is. I have another PC at home witch has all it needs to be almost perfect (when I get a decent chair it will become perfect . So I have HDMI-DVI cable witch I don't and probably won't use. About the display... ehh what Iget for this budget I get nice built, slim design and decent components. The E540 is very nice too but it is a little too fat for me and I don't like the materials used - they look cheap. The T series are good too but.... Well if you need mobility, VGA and quality I would recommend the T440s(1600x900) or x240. I've seen them and they are ..... best in category for me. I'm currently waiting for delivery and I'll write about my opinion and experince then.

 

@OP:
I'm a bit confused with your last post, so you decided on S540, T440s, or X240?

FYI, X240's keyboard is bad for developer.

Have you ever considered T440 (without s) with 1600x900? It's a cheaper version of T440s with a bit of weight increase, a bit weaker discrete VGA, and no FHD screen option.

 

Evening,

Did you make up your mind? If so, it would be nice hear your experiences since I'm currently struggling with the same question.

 

Hi,

I ended up buying an MSI CX61- i realized that nothing with an IPS would fit my budget, and this one is beefy enough for my virtual lab (4702MQ, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD).

Its been two months since I was looking, so I'm sure there's gotta be reviews now about both of the above.

Good luck with your search!

 

Hello again.
I ended up buying T440 - i5, HD+, 500GB/7200rpm
It is just perfect for my needs and the best choice for my budget. The S540 is still a great choice it was just a little big for me. I was thinking about buying the T440s i5, HD+ but it had a horrible display (actually the matte cover was terrible - when I looked at it it looked pixelized) - ugly story. Finally I decided to spare some money and get this one. I love it at the moment. It is 14" and with this resolution it lookes the same as the FHD just a little less space to work but... i don't feel the difference. For me the 15" choice is S540 the 14" - T440 or T440s if you want FHD. Hope I helped.