W520, what do you think?

I'm about to pull a trigger on the W520. Here's the configuration I'm going with, what do you think?

i7-2860QM Processor (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080)
4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)

The total is just over $1844.

 

Is it a nice machine? Of course, but I can't tell if it's a good fit for you because you've given so little information.

 

Since I'm in tech support, I do OS virtualization to run several versions of Windows. I do a lot of Photoshop work along with web design.

Also, I have a custom built desktop, but I need a pretty powerful laptop for those "just in case" situations.

 

I personally think that upgrading the CPU from the base quad core is a bit excessive, but it may come in handy if you really need the extra performance (which is negligible in most cases).

 

if you do a lot of virtualization, you might think about adding more ram (that is if you'll be hosting the guest OS on your machine).

 

I'll add more memory, I'll get it from Newegg.

 

How many VMs do you usually run simultaneously?

With 8GB of RAM, I can run two VMs on top of Windows 7 with a Core i5-2520M reasonably well.

 

There's little marginal benefit to upgrading to the i7-2860QM. for the price you pay for it, it isn't a good value. You're better off using that money on getting an extra 8GB of RAM from Newegg, and do whatever with the leftover money.

Use the Barnes and Noble discount and haggle over the phone to lower the price on your configuration. I bought my W520 (which was selling for a retail price of $2167 (before tax) at the time) for about ~$1640 (+ $133 in tax) (so about ~$500 or 24% in savings) simply by taking up 90 minutes of a Lenovo sale's rep's time and using discounts.

I can PM you my rep's details if wanted.

 

I usually run 3 (XP, Vista, and OS X). I plan on going with 12GB of RAM.

 

I've had no problem running multiple Windows and Linux VMs with the 2720QM. I'm sure the 2760QM will be fine for VM use.

 

it's the 2860QM.

 

I'm referring to the base i7-2760QM offered with the W520, not the 2860QM. The latter is overkill (on your wallet, not in specs).