Thinkpad L540 at $983, worth it?

ThinkPad L540

• Intel Core i7-4702MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.20GHz)
• Windows 8 64
• 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display WWAN (lenovo cs said it's IPS)
• Intel HD Graphics 4600
• 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM
• 720p HD Camera
• 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
• 16GB NGFF Memory
• 6 Cell Li-Ion Cylindrical Battery 56.16Wh
• Intel Dual Band Wireless 7260AC with Bluetooth 4.0

I will add an SSD later.
My ideal form factor is something between T440s and Thinkpad Yoga, however, as haswell ultrabook thinkpads are way overpriced right now. I might get an L540 and use it for 1-2 years, then sell it and get an ultrabook when their power get even better.
I don't really feel I could use all the power of the i7, but it's only $100 from i5, for resale value and power efficiency I feel I should get one.
I'm a computer engineering major and it will be my all purpose laptop. It will connect to my 23'' monitor a lot of the time. I don't really care about games as I could even run my games on HD 3000 graphics with my current i5-2410m.

The price difference is:
I7-4702mq (quad 2.2-3.2)vs i5-4300m(dual 2.8-3.3, 1.25ghz GPU vs 1.15 and $100 cheaper) vs i5-4200m(dual 2.4-3.1, 1.15ghz GPU)

Any thought? Is $983 for i7 worth it?

Thanks!

P.S: Now after BN gold, I consider T440s more.

 

Bull on the IPS. They don't know what they are talking about. It would have been clearly labeled IPS in the tech spces if it was IPS.

Anyways, It seems like a good machine. Just make sure to use the B&N Gold discount which is 15%. As a computer engineer major, make sure to add more RAM and a SSD.

 

If it is an IPS, that is a pretty good deal, I want that to be confirmed first, i might consider the L series because of the num pad if it has the IPS, it is a pretty powerful machine for the price

 

For normal discount L540 only get 4% instead of 10% off, which is weird. In BN gold, it also only get 5% off instead of 15%.

Now I kind of look for T440s with FHD multitouch which has 15% off, I'm wondering if I should get i5-4200 or i5-4300? the difference is $100 but it's about 10% more power at same energy cost. It's really hard to justify.
It'd be about 1220 with i5-4200U now, about 1300 with i5-4300U.
Portability is indeed important, as well as backlit keyboard as I work in the dark sometime.
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btw, what is bn gold exactly?
Also, can I use bngold offer along with my email 10% off?

 

I just got one with more or less same config. I got one with 2 GB memory and added more later. I removed windows 8 and installed windows 7 on it. Problem, I get battery life of only 3 hours.
I dont know whether it is the problem with windows 7 or battery or my machine is defective. Another major boner is the non-centered touchpad. It is incredibly hard to type on it. Some
people might appreciate numkeys but for me it is just a waste. I mainly got it for trackpoint and keyboard, both are severely flawed. So I am not 100% happy.

 

Return it, then...it's not that difficult to do.