thinkpad e520/t520

The main difference I see between the E520 and T520 is the resolution and a dedicated graphics card. Is that about it? Big price difference. I don't do intensive gaming so I'm thinking I'd be wasting money on the Tseries. What am I missing?

 

Roll cage, Ultrabay, the resolution is also one of the most important things, wireless card, screen latch, etc etc. My W520 feels far more solid than a E520, speaking from experience.

 

A lot more. As kirayamato26 said, the t520 is more durable- it has a magnesium alloy rollcage. And there's ultrabay, 7-row non-chiclet keyboard, a lid latch, Thinklight, ports, lack of a numpad (advantage for some people who want a centered keyboard and trackpad), etc.

 

Ditto. In addition the non-glossy screen is still not as matte as "true" ThinkPad screens, going by user reviews.

 

The ThinkPad Edge has Chiclet (Island) style keyboards but it depends whether you can adapt to this style, personally I prefer the traditional keyboards found on the standard ThinkPad models while others prefer the new style. Also the battery lasts longer on the T520 due to the bigger capacity size available compared to the E520.

Personally the HD resolution (1366x768) do feel a bit impractical on a 15.6" notebook when you want to do design work or even office documents for example, you will have to do more scrolling due to less vertical space on the screen. The HD+ resolution would be a better bet for a notebook of this size as a minimum.

Still if you plan to stick with the base resolution anyway and use it mainly indoors in the house for example then the Edge E520 is not a bad proposition against the T520. If you plan to take it out to different places frequently then you probably appreciate the durable build and the better battery life of the T520.

 

Thanks. I like a standard keyboard (I'm old enough that I learned to type on typewriters) and I never use numeric pads. The W is out of my price range but I'll look at the Ts. I like large print so I doubt I'd get alot out of the better resolution. But I'm all for durability and they do offer better wireless card.

 

Better resolution screens also offer noticeably better image quality, it's not just about fitting more stuff onscreen. Most 15.6" 1366x768 screens are junk.