W510 and W520 Prices

How do you think the release of the W520 next week will affect the price of the W520? Does anyone expect any deals or coupons in the near future?

Also, does the price of a new Lenovo computer stay at the initial price for a while or will it go down after a month or so? (would it be wise to wait a month after the release date?)

 

Did you mean to type does the release of the W520 affected the W510 pricing?

Of course there will be good deals but not like 80% off a W510. They will slowly decrease the price til they run out of W510. Anyways it's not like they sell alot of W series compared to T/L/x series ThinkPads.

 

Yeah...I only recently starting looking at computer prices since I last bought current laptop 4 years ago. So I am trying to get a feel for how the W520 release will affect the W510 price and whether I should expect the W520 price to drop after a month or so.

 

Is it certain the W520 comes next week?

 

I asked chat on the lenovo website and they said next tuesday...as others have reported as well.

 

I look forward to see prices, also wanna see the HP workbook

 

Elitebook?
Historically, the Elitebooks have been significantly more expensive than the Thinkpads, particularly if you configured them online instead of buying HP's preconfigured ready-to-ship models--that's something to keep in mind.

Lenovo almost immediately releases coupons for all its computers, although initially they're only maybe 5-10% discounts. Later on, they'll become 15-20% discounts--usually, the longer you wait, the better deals you can find. But my motto with computers has always been, if you need it, buy it. There's always going to be better/cheaper stuff in the future, so you could wait for eternity.

 

@MidnightSun I like that motto. I recently decided I need to bite the bullet and just buy a new computer a few weeks ago. When I heard the Thinkpads were coming out with a new model with the Sandy Bridge processors I decided to wait for that...once those are out I'll probably get it.

I'm a little nervous it will be a kinda costly though. That's why I was wondering what will happen to the W510 prices. To be honest I am sure those would be fine for me. And if the prices go down after the W520 is released I would consider buying that.

 

A big part of the discount on the Thinkpad W510 came from offering a 1yr mail-in warranty instead of a 3yr NBD on-site as are included in both Precision and Elitebook workstation base prices. I compared W510, 8540w and M4500 last year. HP was giving 28% discounts on CTOs and offered some nicer options. Once the warranty was factored in, the prices were very close and I went with HP b/c it offered several things I couldn't get on W510 (numpad, ATI gpu, nicer looks, though I do like Thinkpad looks).

Anyway, point being that pricing is hard to compare until you start shopping for yourself and decide what options are valuable to you.

Oh, and expect configuration options on the W510 to dry up real quick as prices go down. If you are picky about your options, you gamble by waiting.

 

if my search of finding good price on w510 is not wrong here is what I think in one line

"W510 with all the goodies = W520 with no goodies but sandy bridge as processor"

now goodies = 4GB or 8GB ram/ 19200x1080 FHD screen/ Win7 64 pro/ 500GB 7200 RPM HDD/ better graphic card (whichever is better)

most of this goodies are standard = camera/ bluetooth/fingerreader/ intel 6300 wifi/ 9 cell battery with W series

Now you can have W510 loaded or W520 expensive (way more if you go with 2820 processor on sandy dandy)

So compare around $600 to $800 more (even more if discount is only 5-10%)

I will always go with outgoing model with all goodies unless you have very specif need (90% don't)

 

@nni123
What is the price range you you are talking about for the W510 with all the goodies = W520 with no goodies?

 

it all depends on processor and deal. lot of variable decide the price but in case of w510 you have to pay more for processor type (in general)

$600 to $700 is ball park figure

also check out outlet.lenovo.com they have good w510 deals (again read the spec and everything)

 

By workbook I mean the elitebook xxxxW models, might be Workstation its short for, but meant the 8460W and 8560W pretty sure my next laptop will be 8460P or 8460W as HP has nicer warrentys if I import from USA (Just waiting for Sandy bridge models to show up at HIDevolution.com - Specializing in customized computers, electronics, and mobile devices for gamers and professionals ) plus the gunmetal looks on the xxxxW models is awesome ^^

 

I'd agree if the changes between the two models were minimal. However, check-out this blog post from yesterday:

The Lenovo ThinkPad W520 i7 Quad Core has seven hours of battery life? Really?

Unless the W520 costs substantially more than the W510, I'm willing to wait for the dramatic increase in batter life!

 

ah for watching moving & wifi won't be real activity I would perform on W520 series. W510 has decent 3 hours battery life for full data intensive activity (programming). also if you reduce screen brightness even SL510 battery can last 7 hours.

my big worries with w510 & w520 is power consumption i.e. how much heat they generate & AnandTech has not given very favorable review (it's on mac but again I would expect it to be cooler somewhat)

but again new processor will have more power & goodies. Price will be factor where initially you will get 2620 for starting price of ~ $1300 without much discount and goodies. it's not too far to know...

 

What's data intensive about programming? Compile time? Why do you program on battery? On a flight?

Just curious about your scenario.

 

In my opinion, if heat is of primary concern to you, I don't think the W520 is the notebook for you. It's a business class notebook with a lot of power. More power = more heat. There are Sandy Bridge low voltage processors that are designed to produce less heat, but the trade off is less power... So take your pick, heat or power

Although you can technically can use any notebook as a laptop, I'm guessing that most business users will actually be using the notebook on a desk or table, and therefore heat isn't as much of an issue. I have a notebook at work and have never actually put it on my lap because there's always a desk or table nearby

My 2 cents.

 

I understand but FAN noise I can't take it for 10-12 hours (sometime I work even longer)

Yes W series are power house doesn't translate in heat generator. I mean they should remain cool when you have no activity.

I have to return one W510 for same reason (won't repeat the details tired of doing it)

 

having an ssd should help reduce the heat, right?

 

oh I am not going to do anything on flight. I don't even fly anywhere for work. I am referring to the blog post which did most of the testing on flight.

I mean to say if you are using W series on battery with full brightness and doing programming (CPU intensive if graphics/flash & heavy programming tools) it will drain the battery.

Yes I am on road for three days a week & don't have power outlet available for at least 3 to 4 hours of the day (don't ask the details) I do not reduce brightness even on battery (easy on eye). anyways i have doubt that battery will last 6-7 hours in that scenario. But I won't pay $500 or $700 more for that feature (for someone else it is very important not me)

 

yeah SSD should help but it is not cooling system...hehehe

 

yeah..of course

 

Not really. The SSD/HDD is usually located on the other side of the laptop from most of the major heat-producing components (CPU, GPU), and both HDDs and SSDs generate relatively little heat, so an SSD will make little difference.

 

here is the pictures of 170W brick (posted blog link on other thread as well)

http://msinetpub.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ke...inkPad-W520-i7-Quad-Core-ha_75D5/IMG_1163.jpg

http://msinetpub.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ke...inkPad-W520-i7-Quad-Core-ha_75D5/IMG_1164.jpg

 

You might ask him to run a test for you that you think more closely mimics your work pattern if that's the case.

 

now that is a brick of a power adapter.

 

It's the same size brick used for the W701. I heard it was smaller than the HP brick(s).

 

All it needs is an antenna and you could use it as a Motorola's brick.

 

W520 went on sale this morning... I've got mine on order after months and months of agonizing over which computer to buy

Keith Comb's "Mini Review" of the W520 claims that it is performing twice as fast as his W510 did on the same tasks. Once my credit card heard this, I couldn't keep it in my wallet any more