Thinkpad w500 worth it under 900?

Through my company i think there is a special going on where after customizing my W500 is under 900 dollars. ( like $840ish i think)

heres the sample config:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W 1
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic 1
Operating system language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic US English 1
Display type: 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight 1
System graphics: ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 with 512MB VRAM 1
Total memory: 1 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) 1
Keyboard: Keyboard US English 1
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) 1
Hard drive: 160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm 1
Optical device: CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)

is this cpu worth another 175 in upgrades? P9500 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2)

I know the ram and harddrive is small but that is not a concern as i plan to upgrade it myself.

This will be a shared laptop btwn me and my wife. she will surf and do daily task and when i use it , it will be for some gaming. MMO's like World of Warcraft or Warhammer.

So far i think this is the best deal i found... do you guys agree?


I am really unhappy that i dont get a decent LED screen for for this price it seems rather insane to pass up. what nit is this panel rated for?
I really wanted our next laptop to be LED but

ALso is the W500 like the T400 where its more rectangle shaped since its widescreen than a traditional square laptop? I have seen the T400 in person and that format is what i am looking for, not a real tall laptop.

 

The panel is 200-nit - on my Thinkpad, it's quite nice. You can read my review for some more information (it's the same screen as on the T500).

That's a great price, and once you upgrade the RAM and harddrive, you'll have a more than capable machine for your needs. You may want to note that there's no DVD burner on that specific configuration, if that matters to you.

 

The CPU upgrade is not worth it, you will not notice any difference.

And yes, it's a great deal.

 

Try to include a dvd burner. unless you have external dvd writer, it will take ages to make the back dvds. the cpu upgrade is not worth it. for 30$ you can pick up a 2GB ddr3. i would recommend getting the webcam(good quality) and the WWAN card (for GPS).

it is a pretty good deal

 

1GB ram is barely sufficient for XP, let alone Vista. Make it easy for yourselves and start with 3GB ram - avoid hassle of buying and putting more ram in. Also go for the DVD/CD-write drive; a well-worthwhile upgrade to DVD-read/CD-write.

 

but i mean ram is pretty cheap and very easy to install. it depends if you can do it or not but it's pretty simple to upgrade the ram and HD.

 

He said he's adding it himself, which is a smart choice. It's a lot cheaper to do so than to order it with 3-4GB RAM.

 

That seems like a great deal overall.

I would recommend sticking with the P8600. It is a very solid CPU and it's unlikely that you would notice a significant difference with the P9500 (130 more MHz, and double the L2 cache, otherwise identical). I certainly don't think you will find $150 worth of extra performance (if CPU speed is really an issue, you should look at the T9600; but the P8600 will almost certainly be plenty for your needs).

Stick with the 1GB internal and buy a 2GB DDR3 DIMM yourself to take it to 3GB. A 2GB DIMM should cost <$40 and is relatively easy to install.

A DVD burner may be worth considering, but I hardly consider it to be mandatory.

The w500 should be comparable in layout to the T400. Just add a little less than an inch to the width and depth (it's 15.4 vs. 14.1" diagonal). All of Lenovo's current laptops are 16:10 (widescreen) vs. the old standard 4:3.

 

yes, quite right. missed that. sorry.

 

Thanks all i am really feeling comfortable with the responses from you guys.

The DVD writer i will most likely do.

SO hows the screen on the current production w500s? i know there were some early threads about it, but is it still acceptable?
Is the W500 eligible for the IBM lottery for screen manufacturers or am it is from a consistent manufacturer


thanks all for taking the time to answer me.



I was set on the T400 LED 1440 screen at first, but no longer avail and this was my next choice.

 

That's a good deal.

I have a W500 currently in the build queue right now with the WSXGA+ as well. They are dual-sourced, so we're in the panel lottery. However, after a lot of research, it seems as though the general consensus on this particular panel size is that they're all generally acceptable, with less deviation among manufacturers than some of the other resolutions.

 

Martin which option is the WWAN, is it the ATT mobile broadband?

 

Update: it appears the price has changed today, i am around the 1k mark for pricing.

it guess its lottery to even get the right pricing =(

Well even for 1k this is the best configured i can find, for build and features. DO you agree?

i guess i will hover around till another 20% coupon comes out

 

WWAN is the mobile broadband (wireless wide area network).

 

it is the AT&T one. there is need to used WWAN after you get it. you can directly access GPS

 

I got a W500, pretty basic model with the WUXGA screen last week. Didn't know if I was going to like it or not so I took the inexpensive route when ordering. After using it for a day I'm pretty impressed with it. I've been using thinkpads for 15 years so I have a pretty good feel for build quality, keyboard, heat etc. and the W500 is definately a nice machine. The biggest surprise for me as the reduced heat as compared to my T61p, X60T and T43p. It runs really cool compared to others. I intentionally went with a P series chip which may have something to do with it...

Anyway, after using it for a day I decided to order another one with higher specs and return this one and eat the restocking fee. Since I'm going to have this laptop for awhile a couple of hundred dollars either way isn't going to kill it. So I went online and apparantly the were having the sale you were referring to. I was able to order a new one "with all the upgrades" I had originally skipped and the price came out to be about $51 more than the first one. The best news is that since I ordered a new one, Lenovo is letting me return my first one without a restocking charge. So I'm pretty stoked. But I did notice that yesterday the prices went back up.

They are still a good deal, but it always hurts knowing you could've had it cheaper. You can wait around for the next coupon deal, you might be able to gauge it by whenever their current promotion ends to know how long they wait may be for the next one.

Good luck, but either way they're nice machines...

 

very interesting post, kevroc! thank you! a couple of questions - how do you find the WUXGA screen (people have commented on the brightness)? when you upgraded, did you change the processor?

 

Who is the manufacturer of wsgxa+ panels found on w500? What is the model number and how do they compare to those found on Dell E6500?

 

I believe it is LG and Samsung. Mine is LG, and I believe most of them are LG as well. I don't think Dell offers a WSXGA+ screen for the E6500.

 

could you take some pictures of your LG panel with the laptop on for your review? I'd be curious to see it.

 

I love the screen, but keep in mind I'm coming from a T61p 4:3 screen which I always thought was dreadful, so basically anything would be better The brightness is adequate for me, the clarity is really nice, must be good contract. I'm using Windows 7 and just bump up the text size to medium and all is good. I was really hesitant to move to a wide screen but I actually find it very comfortable to use on my lap on the couch or in bed, it's actually more stable because of the extra width, and it really runs nice and cool on the palm rest (both sides) which is a major plus for me. I'm really digging the machine. The only downer is the front edge is a little sharp. You can feel it gouging you a little as you rest your wrists on the front edge, kind of a nuisance but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I was almost thinking about sanding it down

On the new machine I ordered I did upgrade to the P9500 chip (from the P8400) and I also added the Webcam, Bluetooth and Fingerprint Reader. The only downgrade I made was to the 6 cell battery from the 9 cell. I got the 9 cell initially but I'm getting a solid 2 hours with another 6 cell I have so I'm going to stick with that for now. It adds a little style to the machine not having that 9 cell stick out the back