W520 Owners: Total Travel Weight?

I am looking at a W530 for school (engineering major) and I want to know how heavy it will be to carry around. I know what the specs say, but it's hard to tell what they are including in that weight and whether or not it is accurate. I used to carry around an R40 with a total weight of 8lbs+ with battery and ac adapter, and it didn't bother me with a backpack. I am planning on getting a pretty nice backpack as I know I will have to carry around books and what not.

I am also tempted by the lighter T430, but it's not quad core and the GPU is not as great.

So:

1. What is the total combined weight of your W520 + battery (9 cell preferably) + AC Adapter?

2. Do you think the T430 would be sufficient for computer engineering and CAD software such as autodesk inventor?

 

Don't have weights precise enough, but it's probably around 7 pounds or so. Noticeable in a backpack, but not more than any other large laptop.

T430 is not a replacement for W530. The screen alone is enough to say no, and the weight difference simply isn't worth it. 1920x1080 also leaves significantly more space for the document being worked on than even 1600x900, after all toolbars and menus and chrome etc. take their share.

 

Stick with the W series for your field and usage.

 

You should be fine with it. Pull out the Ultrabay to lighten it a bit.

Overall, it's not too heavy in a backpack.