Which Lenovo is equivalent to the New Macbook Pro Retina 15"?

I've only used Windows PC's thus far, and am tired of mid level PC's which breakdown every 3 years, so have my eyes set on the new MacBook Pro Retina 15", as Apple looks like it's very well made.

So, before I jump on a MBP, I'd like to take a look at an equivalent Lenovo, with an I7 processor, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, HD screen, and Backlit Keyboard..

The computer will be used for general home computing, and I know a computer like the MacBook Pro Retina is a little overkill, but I don't mind spending a little more to get a quality product.

Oh, for you guys that own Lenovo's, how does the RED Backlit Keyboard look? Is it really visible? Does it bother your eyes?

Thank you

 

T540p with 3k Display, 730m (video card) and i7, you are better off buying the SSD aftermarket and replacing yourself, along with ram, the T series is the more durable lineup, the y410p and y510p come with a red back lit keyboard, i found it comfortable to use in the dark, wasn't a problem, but with that series, you don't have the same durable exterior, so if you travel it won't be as "rugged" if you were to drop it, also it doesn't have a 3k display but only up to 1080p, but can be equipped with dual graphics, 750m SLI

 

I really don't want to have to replace the HDD, and would rather buy a unit with an SSD. Additionally, I can't find the actual battery life for the standard battery.

 

the battery life hasn't been released yet because the T540p was just released a few days ago, with an i7 quad core plus 3k IPS display, the battery life would be less than advertised, maybe 3-5 hour range, that is just my estimate, it won't be as good as the Mbp, the screen is also matte versus glossy

as far a the SSD, currently there is no option to add one, there normally is for this series, but because it is a new release they haven't exactly put all the options in the configuration page, lenovo uses a just in time method when producing so they might wait till the holiday is over since demand for those types of parts is higher, they don't want to pay a premium during the season to offer it, so to maximize their profits they will probably offer after the season is over, just my speculation, i could be wrong. or they just can't get enough right now due to the holiday causing a shortage.

but as far as adding the components yourself, it is very cost effective and easy to do with these laptops, it's not like replacing a HDD on a mac, i haven't looked at the current manual, but the previous was just removing like 2 screws.

 

I would ask what specifically is appealing about the MBP to you?

To me, the t540p falls more on the workstation side of things, and it is a significant amount bigger and heavier than the MBP. It will also likely have around half the battery life of the MBP.

Also consider that super high resolution screens don't work very well in Desktop Windows right now. Either elements are too small, or if you use scaling some things scale fine and others look fuzzy or just don't scale at all.

To me, the T440s has many of the best things of the MBP in a Thinkpad. It's fairly thin and light with 6 hours of battery, has an excellent screen if you opt for the FHD model, and can be purchased with a 512GB SSD from Lenovo. Negatives are that it uses ULV processors which aren't quite as powerful as the full-sized ones, and it maxes out at 12GB ram. Neither of these seem like deal breakers for the average user not needing a powerhouse, however.

 

IMO there is no equivalent in Lenovo's line up to the 15" rMBP, although how close you get depends on which rMBP build you're talking about. IMO the closest a WinPC maker gets to the rMBP is perhaps Dell with its new XPS15/M3800 machines.

A quad-core T540p has woeful battery life (IMO) and mediocre GPU options compared to the rMBP options, and it's bigger/heavier, but does have more powerful CPU options. The W540 (if it ever appears) is overall a far more powerful machine than any MBP but quoted battery life is pretty bad and it's also bigger/heavier. If you don't need a high-resolution screen, then the T440p offers everything the T540p does (better CPU, worse GPU options compared to MBP), but it's smaller overall.

Ultimately, however, you don't really need anything as powerful as a 15" MBP for general home computing IMO. Do you even need such a high-resolution screen? @zhenya00's suggestion of a tricked-out T440s is worth considering.

 

Get the Macbook Pro and run Windows on it...Lenovo 15" are all bulky and heavy with poor battery life.

 

Running purely Windows on a MBP of any kind would be an awful experience. Battery life would be worse than even the supposed 3-5 hours (I was able to get 8-10 hours on my W520, i7-2720QM, Intel graphics back when it was new, so I'm *highly* doubting the quoted T540p battery life...), sub-par Windows drivers for the MBP family (because Apple wants you running OSX), etc.

Anyway, OP, you could buy the SSD with the THinkpad if you want; it's just a very expensive way of getting a SSD. Same with the rMBP's SSD, though you have no choice in the matter with that. The T540p has the option of having a TPP warranty on it (NBD + Accidental), which you won't get with an Apple product, full stop. Not to mention that the T series build quality is miles ahead of the rMBP anyway...

 

Doubt you will get more than 5 hours battery in the T540p without the extended battery. The standard battery is 56Wh but it has to run a full voltage CPU, dedicated graphics, and a large, high res screen. The T440s has 47Wh standard but low voltage CPU, integrated graphics, and a smaller screen. It barely exceeds 5 hours.

Lenovo build quality is ok, and has historically favored severiceablity, but no way I would say it is better than the MBP. It's pretty clearly still a big step down.

 

Business-class build quality, a step down? Really...? I'd like to see a MBP stand up to what these sorts of laptops are rated at. You might have a case if you claimed the MBP was prettier than a Thinkpad (subjective, though Thinkpads aren't meant to be pretty), or perhaps you prefer a metal skin over a plastic one (again, subjective). Though MILSPEC testing says more about build quality than opinions from either one of us.

Anyway, you can always turn off the dGPU to gain more battery life, and I did mention that I was able to get just short of half a day of battery on a full-voltage quad core. Sandy Bridge as well, whereas Haswell is supposed to be more efficient. The only legit reasons to suspect lower battery life in the T540p would be the 3K display (more pixels = more energy required) and the Whr of the battery compared to other laptops in a similar category. Still, 3 hours seems a bit extreme imo.

 

I am just relaying my experience with the T440s running some similar, lower power components. Given the specs of the batteries, it's just not possible. You must have a big extended battery to get that kind of life.

I have owned Thinkpads for nearly 10 years, with approximately 50 rotating through my office. Build quality is generally above average, and serviceability is good, but that doesn't tell the entire story. There are often obvious corners cut, and the details aren't always great. Our Apple laptops have proven equally durable, and with far better attention to detail.

Case in point. The T440s has a plastic sticker for a screen bezel. How much more would that have cost to make out of a real material?

 

Eh, well my W520 does have the 9-cell (which is where I get the 8-10 hours life from). However, even the 6-cell Thinkpad batteries last fairly long; for a short time, I had a W530 with the 6-cell and that got nearly 7 hours on a single charge: Lenovo ThinkPad W530 Review - Laptop User Reviews

Everybody's cutting corners to some extent, even Apple. Switching from PowerPC to x86 was pretty much an economic move, for example, and the most recent example would be moving towards non-user-replaceable...anything (with the added bonus of lowering the overall statistical lifespan of their products, since if one thing fails, it's a brick).

Have you taken into account the physiological factors of durability? I.E., are your MBPs apparently are just as durable simply because your peers baby them? or can they really withstand being dropped from chest height onto a concrete floor (I did that with my W520 by accident once or twice)?

 

u530 (looks wise)
Yoga 2 pro (resolution wise)
w540 (Performance wise)

 

Any of our Thinkpads would break in some way dropped like that unless they landed just right. The palm rests and chassis break as often as the MacBooks. I realize they are not meant to be structural so I'm ok with that.

I'm ok with non-user replaceable to an extent if it means I get something like lighter weight, longer battery life in return. ie. In the 13" rMBP that means we get a 74Whr battery (more than half again larger than the 6 cells of the T440s) in a chassis that's thinner and lighter. I'd take an extra 3 hours of battery life over a user swappable battery every time.

 

Hmm, weird. I've dropped my two Thinkpads both "perfectly" and in horrible conditions (corners, for example). Never had a problem other than minor cosmetic damage.

 

Nothing really compares

 

If one expects to drop their laptop(s), Accident Protection Warranty on a ThinkPad is a must, and something Apple doesn't offer...

I'd tend to agree that out of the current ThinkPad offerings T440s *might* be the closest thing to a MBPr...but the two are still worlds apart in my opinion.

To OP: if you're comfortable with a Mac, just buy one. They keep their value exceptionally well and if you end up disliking yours for whatever reason, you won't be at *that* much of a loss...

My non-Mac-user $0.02 only...

 

We buy the standard on-site warranties for the maximum of 5 years. We've never had any damage claim rejected. This is a huge advantage that Apple doesn't offer.

 

The only reason why I did not get the 13inch rMBP. I am a little rough with my machines.

 

I guess it depends on how you define build quality. MacBooks certainly have far better fit and finish than any Thinkpad I've ever used and if handled carefully they look as good as new years later (while all my PCs get scratches, plastic shine, gaps and creaks years later even with careful handling). But MacBooks are not necessarily more robust -- they dent very easily and components inside are just as likely to get damaged by a drop as in any PC, with the added disadvantage that MBP parts are not as easy to replace as those in your standard Thinkpad.

 

It's like wearing a nice pair of jeans or dress pants to an event. Both are equally appropriate for the event but one will fair better when things get rough. But both have quality.

 

Hi everyone,

I have a question about T540P 3K Display. I was determined to order an ordinary t540p (with the 720dpi –because I will mainly use the computer to typing & reading, I am a grad student). But then I saw a new Macbook Pro 15inch with Retina display in one of my friends and I am totally sold! The machine is incredible. The text is so smooth and there is no noise coming from the fan at all (I mean zero). These are 2 important things for me.

Now with the T540P 3K Display, my question is: is it that good? The problem is I would never order a 1080dpi display because it makes the fonts too small. If you change the scale, then things would get blurry. I want exactly what Apple made. They have a 2880×1800dpi but the “native resolution” is set to 900dpi. That is ideal. I was wandering if the 3K has the same trick or does it display the fonts very small?

I am really not a fan of Mac. But if we make all the configurations similar, then T540P is only around 200-300$ cheaper than Macbook Pro with Retina Display. I began to think if it would be worth it. Any thoughts are welcome. If 3K display is as good as Retina, then I might still go with the Lenovo –only to not switch to Mac. I am not all that concerned with the trackpad etc. I prefer using a mouse anyways.

 

720p/768p is pure garbage. I'd avoid it at all cost. Ideally, for a 15.6" machine you should be looking for at least 1080p (yes, it also improves typing/reading, if you're curious). 1080p text on a 15.6" isn't really *that* small at all at 100% DPI (and even then, most 1080p laptops ship at 125% DPI, making the text "look bigger").

The T540p will be much better built than the rMBP and (if you get TPP) will have much better aftersales support (if that's important for you).

 

First of all, everything that Jarhead stated stands on very firm ground.

However, there's a different issue at hand here:

Not too many of us have actually seen the new 3K panel that is offered on T540p and the upcoming W540. I have no reason to doubt the fact that it's a spectacular LCD in its own right BUT I would - very much so - doubt the ability of a Windows OS of any kind to properly scale applications in the manner that OSX does. Unless one is able to run the panel at its native resolution, that might turn into a serious problem.

Mind you, I'm not an Apple devotee, but there are aspects of OSX which are superior to Windows in my opinion, and scaling would most definitely be one of them.

My solution would be to get the T540p and simply return it if you decide that it doesn't work for you in the manner that is needeed. Macs are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Your $$$$, your call.

Happy shopping.

 

Thanks for the response. So you are certain that 1080p is good with 125% DPI? Personally I haven't used a 1080p machine. My own one is 720p in a 14 inch laptop, and I really wouldn't want the texts smaller but the screen larger (that's why I am ordering a 15inch now). There is too much confusion about how changing the scale in 1080p would change the readability of the texts. Some people say that it all gets blurry etc.

Thanks! I think the best thing to do would be to wait and see how a 3K Display looks like in T540P. If it looks as good as Retina (with the scale adjustments so the texts won't be too small), then I would definitely go for T540P.

 

One not-so-small problem here...

I have no idea where you're located, but I doubt that - short of hitting the CES next January - you'll be able to see the 3K panel in person. Based on my previous experiences, no brick & mortar store that I'm aware of will be stocking these... so you might just have to order it and keep your fingers crossed...

Good luck.

 

Personally, I set my computers up to 100% DPI (I have no problems with the "small text", even with my crap eyes).

Before I got my first high-res machine (W520), all I ever used was low-end, low-res displays as well (15.6" 768p, 19" 900p, etc.). At first I thought that 768p/900p would be all that I ever needed, but when I got this laptop (with the help of NBR members, no less), I immediately saw how great it looked in both terms of text and overall quality too (colors were more vivid, contrast was higher, etc.). Only took me maybe a few hours to full adjust to 125% DPI and then I changed it to 100% because I "wanted to use my display fully" (so to speak) and that only took me maybe and hour or two to completely adjust to. So, about a day.

Lowering the resolution on a high-res display does make it *slightly* blurry, but I personally can't tell the difference between non-native 768p/900p and native 768p/900p; they both look bad to me (I did a laptop review gig for the better part of a year). Honestly, the only devices I can use at 768p/900p comfortably now are phones and maybe low-end, small (7"-8") tablets.

Anyway, if you're wondering how the text will look, here are screenshots of Excel at the three popular resolutions:

Spoiler

768p:


900p:


1080p:

 

Thanks a lot for the information. Well, from what I see I guess the 1080p is too small for me. As you say perhaps I will get used to it. But I tend to think that people who like 1080p. like better clarity & quality not necessarily more space. I might be wrong though. I hope that the 3K IPS would fix this problem for me. After seeing how Retina looks (it is really really good!), I guess now I would either go for T540P with 3K (that would be ideal) or MBPro with Retina.

 

Better clarity and quality, sure, but I mostly go for high-res because of the extra space. Programmers love large amounts of vertical pixels. Though other professions love the higher count of pixels as well.

 

I'm not sure, if 3K display in Windows is good choice. I haven't heard not a single good comment on it from IT editors, they mostly very disappointed with the way, how Microsoft prepared Windows 8/8.1 for high resolution. If you will go for T540p, then I guess that 1080p is enough. Just be aware of the fact, that it can be TN screen and not IPS, but this is just rumor...

 

You can always scale down the resolution in the meantime. Surely Microsoft will improve that aspect of the OS..