Which W series?

Hello everyone,

I understand that there is another thread about the W520 vs the W510 but I feel like it digresses and does not answer the question which one to get.

Is the w520 an upgrade worth the money or is the w510 a better buy with the $700 discounts?

Would it also be possible for someone to tell me the performance gained from the new CPU and GPU?

Thanks!

 

What exactly are you using your computer for? Whether or not something is "better" depends on what you do on your computer. While the new computers have better specs, whether or not you will notice any benefit is a totally different question. I'd fill out the What to Buy FAQ while you're at it...

 

Sorry....but where is this What to buy FAQ? I am new to the forums.

And I intend to use this computer mostly for computer programming and other graphic intensive processes (video editing) and some gaming.

I am a college student so budget is a factor (I do not want to spend over $1600)

 

I would stick with a W510 and extend the warranty. I would get a loaded W510 over a stripped down W520.

 

For computer programming either will be fine. Just be sure you get it with either the HD+ 1600x900 or FHD 1920x1080 screen. Don't get the HD 1366x768 screen, it's a nightmare when using IDE's or any sort of development environment. The screen is your most important upgrade because it directly affects everything you do.
Also get at least 4GB of memory, and choose 64-Bit Windows.

The main upside to the W520 over the W510 will be better battery life.

You might also consider the T520 if you want something cheaper. The graphics card will at least be an improvement over that in the T510.

 

Get the W510 with at least the 1600x900 and the quad core (for video editing).

 

Thanks guys/gals, I believe I will be ordering one within the next few days.

 

When the W520 will be released?

I looked into the W-Series page in Lenovo website and couldn't find anything about a W520.

And what's the best time to buy a W510? (in terms of getting the best deal out of it)

 

Seeing as this post is so similar to existing threads, I have merged these two together.

The W520 will likely be available for order around the same time a the T-series, which will supposedly be listed on Lenovo's website next Friday (03/18/11).

After the W520 has been available for order for a while, the W510 will likely fall in price, but I would expect there to be many people also clamoring for a good deal on the last generation computer. It's hard to predict when it will largely be unavailable for purchase from Lenovo anymore, and there's no definite pattern to sales or clearances.

So, in short, probably after the W520 is released. When exactly? No one knows.

 

Do you think lenovo may offer discounts on the W520 anytime soon?

 

it's not even out yet...

 

You don't try to discount your newest models that just came out. They gotta get rid of their older stock of the W510.

 

I have a question which addresses the graphics cards in the W510 or W520.

The W510 offers the Quadro FX 880M I believe which is not based on the new(er) Fermi architecture.

The W520 is said to offer either the Quadro 1000M or the Quadro 2000M which are based on the Fermi architecture.

My question is about how the different architectures deal with double precision calculations? Will there be a large difference between the two (If the 880M even does double precision calculations???) as far as these calculations?

I ask because I'm a graduating physics student with an interest in computer simulations of physical systems and double precision is a necessity in most situations due to the small numbers which are being calculated.

If the W520's Fermi cards are good step up for calculating with CUDA, as it sounds like they might be for my uses, then I may as well get comfortable waiting rather than even looking at the W510 as it would be useless without the features mentioned above!

Sorry for the length of the post!

 

Lenovo's pretty quick to post up coupons, even for new models, but don't expect any major discounts on the W520. 5% off the initial retail price, or perhaps 10% at most. Plus, the W-series receives relatively fewer discounts, as it's not the core of Lenovo's sales volume.

 

Ah didn't notice this thread, my bad.


But let's say from the pattern of the last year models, what happened to T500 and W500 when T510 and W510 were released?

Where they were available to custom build, or only Outlet machines?

 

AnandTech did a review of the new MacBook Pros that offers a really detailed view of Sandy Bridge as implemented by Apple. It should be interesting to see how other makers do under the microscope.

And I wouldn't say everything is rosy. It's starting to become clear why the W510 has a 170W brick.

See the review at The MacBook Pro Review (13 & 15-inch): 2011 Brings Sandy Bridge - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Good data points to think about as you consider a new machine.

 

not a good sign at all when people say sandy dandy will run cooler. As if current model W510 is not hot enough & not so great battery life claim...so much for new model

 

Optimus technology does cool the systems much better than sandy bridge it seems (although the two are different things).

 

Price skimming practice would mean that early adopters of technology would have to pay the full price for their purchases, which helps to offset the drastic discounts that would come during the mid to late stage of the product lifecycle.

 

Well the older Macbooks were dual-core and the newer ones are quad-core. I'm sure the newer dual-cores run cooler than the older dual-cores, and the newer quads run cooler than the older quads.

 

I was referring to MacPro link posted above where new macpro has overheating problem. now if they are quad core or dual core is not important but they should run cooler with new sandy bridge. But it looks like wait for ivy to get better cooling effect.

I am sure quad core will run little hot but why on the earth we pay so much that big company can't come up with some solution to this age old problem...go figure..

 

It's too early to judge Sandy Bridge. MacBook Pros have had thermal issues for years.

Lenovo is well known for excellent thermal engineering.

So lets not compare apples to oranges.

 

I was considering a W510 when they came out. I even bought 1 share of IBM stock in my IRA so I could qualify for teh shareholder discount program. When the W510 was released, this program was offering a 15% discount (though you had to log out and compare configs manually since they never told you how much of a discount you were getting). But it didn't take Lenovo long to start offering sales and coupons on the W510. After the first month or so, the shareholder discount wasn't any better than what most other people could get with a tiny bit of patience.

 

Well I know Lenovo will do like 5-10% off coupons but that's it. I'm talking about just dropping the price 20-30% blatantly. Anyways I don't think the W series sells anywhere near the volume of T and x series..

 

I haven't looked for about a year, but I think there were sometimes 20% coupons for the outgoing W500 just before W510 came in. I wouldn't bet my life on that recolection though.

In general it seems that the higher end units never see fire-sale prices. I think Lenovo, Dell and HP all do the same thing. They offer moderate discounts on the outgoing units, but begin to limit the higher end configuration options. Then when they are ready to kill off the old line, they pile in the low to middle parts left over and sell them in bulk to their resellers.

If people really want deals on the outgoing generation of workstations, they need to scour the outlets. Pricing is inconsistent, so there are some hidden gems among the otherwise decent deals (though I've spent way more time on Dell and HP outlets...not so much on Lenovo).

 

I've looked in the Lenovo Outlet before, but unfortunately the only group of W510's for sale I saw had the 1366x768 screen. (and trust me, you don't want that if you're going to be doing any serious programming.)

The W500 has 1920x1200, but it's not as bright because it's a CCFL-backlit display. I still can't seem to fathom why Lenovo even offers 1366x768 on the W510, because as far as I can tell the W500 never offered anything below 1680x1050. It would make sense that the minimum resolution on the W510 would be 1600x900.

 

Cheap and cheerful is what I call it. Some...people are super cheap and don't care and will just buy a base workstation without all the bells and whistles. Don't get me wrong, I would never buy a 15" mobile workstation under 1680x1050.

But further proof what 16:9 beseeches us with, awful screen resolutions on these mobile workstations.

 

let's wait for 7-10 days and everything will be clear..

 

The W500 WUXGA display is inferior in brightness not just because of the CCFL. I have another CCFL WUXGA on an older Dell, and it is much brighter than the one on my W500, as also was my even earlier Dell CCFL UXGA screen. I have had the W500 for 2 years now. I guess it is just not so well lit? I am into my second screen, as the screen becomes almost unusable if/when screen starts to fade. At top condition it is fine. I even have to turn it down in subdued light.

 

True dat. Never liked the W500 WUXGA screen for that reason. Got rid of mine.

 

The W500's WUXGA screen is only rated at 150 nits, while the W500/T500's WSXGA+ screen is rated at 200 nits, which is in line with most LED-backlit displays. Both are CCFL-backlit.

 

They can at least get FHD screens with standard HDD and lowest RAM available, since those two are replacable in the future.