W520 vs HP 8560w

I have narrowed my choice down to W520 and HP 8560w:

Lenovo
W520 4276-3LU, i7-2860QM 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, NVIDIA Quadro 1000M, 15.6" Full HD
$1,939

HP
HP EliteBook 8560w XU085UT, i7-2720QM 2.20GHz, 8GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, DVDRW, NVIDIA Quadro 1000M, 15.6" Full HD
$1.929

Which one would you select? Also a few questions to W520 owners:

a) Any known issues with W520 I should be aware of? any overheating issues?
b) How would you compare the W520 display to HP 1920x1080?
c) Can I install the 2nd HDD into a DVD bay?
d) Who manufactures Lenovo's 1920x1080 15.6" LCDs?

I would appreciate your comments.

thanks

 

a) none that I know of.

b) you must be specific: the W520 has more than one source for its FHD panel, but the technology is the same, whereas HP sells multiple versions (different product codes) of the Elitebook 8560w. Only the XU0 86UT has DreamColor FHD, i.e. IPS, which is truly awesome. In other cases, I'd say the W520 FHD panel is superior.

c) yes, with the so-called UltraBay. As a possible alternative configuration, you can have a mSATA SSD (in the WWAN slot) as boot drive and a large HDD/SSD in the primary bay as storage drive while keeping the optical drive.

d) LG Philips, Samsung, AUO.

BTW, that W520 price is kinda high.

 

Thank you. It gives me only one option for display configuration: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready.

The price is from CompUSA. Lenovo online price configuration gives me a similar price. Any better options to save a few $$?

 

Refer to the last few pages in the W520 owner forum.

 

You just missed some great discounts from the Presidents Day promotions. I would wait and see what pops up in the next few weeks. Unless of course you need the machine yesterday.

 

With the W520 you also get Lenovo's ThinkVantage software, which is best in class. Power Manager is top notch. Also you get tpfancontrol, which on ThinkPad products allows you to manually control the fan speed, no other manufacturer has that kind of fan control.

 

Do you need CUDA? I just configured an 8560w with:
i7-2760QM, 4GB DDR3*, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, ATI M5950, 15.6" Full HD

for $1,888 (assumed 28% discount from calling a good rep)
*note, that's 4GB on 1D, you can upgrade yourself for much less than HP

The M5950 is way stronger than Quadro 1000M, unless you use CUDA. Also, this comes with a 3 year NBD on-site warranty. The Thinkpad can often be much cheaper, but you default to a 1 yr depot warranty (and once you upgrade, you lose your savings pretty quickly).

 

Wow. That price is nuts.
Check out the barns and Nobel Lenovo affinity site for a nice discount

 

Thank you guys! The link to B&N works as a charm!

Two more questions please:

1) Re: UltraBay. Should the adapter ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III work with W520? I am confused, because W520 is not listed there.

2) which graphic card would you recommend? Does Nvidia Quadro 2000M make sense for extra $200? I don't need heavy gaming applications or video editing.

 

Yes, this is the "official" UltraBay adapter. But be informed of the gap of 2.2mm at the top when it is inserted into the chassis although, functionally, there is no problem. If you do your Internet homework, you should be able to find third-party Ultrabay-compatible products that are 12.7mm high. (I won't name any names.)

You answered your own question already. Go with the 1000M and use that money for SSD or RAM upgrade.

 

Here's a 12.7mm hard drive adaptor I bought.

2nd hard drive Caddy F Lenovo Thinkpad T420 W520 T520 | eBay

 

It looks as the only available configuration 4270 CTO for w520 doesn't include any modem options, though all old pre-configured ones (4276, 4282, 4284) come with a modem by default.

Can someone who recently purchased 4270 CTO comment on this?

Also, does 4270 CTO come with the international 3-year IWS warranty? I cannot see any IWS in the configurator.

according to http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product-service/iws.page it includes IWS for 4270 machines, but I cannot see if it is one-year or three years.