Would the W520 Be Right For Me?

Hey all, i'm looking for a computer that I can use for my upcoming semester at GMU and need to get a laptop after not owning one all through highschool. I'm planning on doing a business major but will also be doing a lot of film editing, game design, cyber security work (want to keep my options open for my minor), or any other computer science related work. I also like to game but its really only games found on steam. I did a quick configuration and with my student discount plus a coupon code I found, the total comes out to $1146.73. I'm also looking at the Dell XPS 15 and the Sager 5160 but I heard they both have fan/heat and build quality issues. I want to keep this laptop for as long as I can (my last one was a dell model from 2003 that I used quite sucessfully up to about 2008).

Configuration

ThinkPad W520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty

Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3)1
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 6412
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
6 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD recordable multiburner5
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++60
No Bluetooth
ThinkPad b/g/n10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
4270 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

Oh, and if there are any sugestions about upgrades I should get or leave out they would be greatly appreciated.

 

Select the FHD 1920x1080 display option. Quality is better. "Film editing" and "game design" will thank you.

Note that the i7-2620M is a dual-core. Consider moving up to a quad-core.

I would order the least stock memory, then upgrade the RAM myself. Note that the W520 has 4 RAM slots. Say, you can CTO 1 x 4GB, then add another 4GB yourself.

Select the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300. That Realtek ThinkPad b/g/n is not good.

 

Alright, this would be my new configuration. Its at the top of my budget at $1345.63.

Intel Core i7-2720QM Processor (2.20GHz, 6MB L3)1
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 6412
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD recordable multiburner5
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++60
Bluetooth 3.0
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
4270 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

 

only the quad-core models have four DIMM slots.   the dual-core models have two.

 

Where are you finding that price for that config you're showing?

 

Your going to do film editing, this might be for you. I agree with Kaso, but if you want the best quality of colors you will need the integrated color calibrator.

@Out of the Maelstrom - If Dekabal puts the FHD option/Quad Core i7/ 2000M (more CUDA cores), the price will rise to around $1600.

 

Is this ordered off the Lenovo site, with coupons added?? Which and how many coupons are needed?? Last time I was on Lenovo such a config as he has here would run ~$1800.

 

What i'm doing is using the student discount with an I think 10% discount with the code LENOVOVIP (I found it in another post on the forums). The price I have above is with the lowest i7 quad core and the 1080p screen. I'm just worried it might be a bit of overkill for what I need to do but then again, it seems pretty future proof for the time being. Does anyone know ho the Quadro 1000m is for games? I generally jsut game at the developers recommended setting.

 

Notebookcheck keeps a mobile GPU benchmark list. Results for the 1000M are thin on the ground (only >8,000 for 3DMark06) but you should be able to make a fair assessment of its gaming performance by looking at the gaming results for other GPUs close by in the list (click on the GPU name for more info). There is also a very useful CPU benchmark list if you are wondering about the relative performance of different CPU options.

John

 

Different sources support the opinion that the 2000m can be used for high end games like crysis 2 and so on pretty good!

 

Check your RAM config. You've got 4GB in 2 DIMM (2X2GB). You can get a single 4GB DIMM for $0 more. If you want to add more RAM in the future, the 4GB DIMM might be a better choice.

 

I just returned a w520 because of flakey graphic performance and lousy quality control. The extended battery flops around in the chasis. If you want gaiming performance get a Sager np8150-s1

 

Don't you need paired kits for dual channel though?

 

Nope, single kits work just fine.

OP, I'd consider getting the cheapest configuration you can, and then buying a set of RAM on newegg. Same goes for hard drive.

If the 2x2gb and 1x4gb are the lowest priced options, go for the 1x 4gb and pick up another 4gb stick on the egg.

Otherwise your configuration looks fine.