Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Laptop/Notebook

I've been using laptops for a few years (10+). I'm a field engineer whon work mostly programming electrical devices un hard enviroments. from time to time i need to model software, use autocad and have a voip call in the same computer so many of the laptops i used to have where below expectations. I don't wanto to name any brand but you can figure it out.

All my life i learned of IBM reputation on hardware development for computers, i had a very modest thinkpad at home performing better than upper level HW configuration so i went behind it.

Just pulling it away from the box, i felt like having extra powers and after (i must tell) som hardware and software issues (you need to change in bios the video card conf. as it could start freezing with high demanding software) but after visiting couple of blogs (pretty good support form IBM users, actually work better compared to speed for customer support which is not bad at all)i changed the conf in Bios and Holy Mother, you got it all. Windows 7 have a wondows experience index which is going to full scale but for the hard disk speed. processor is high powered, speed is amazing and the best of all. I tried going almost hitting the 200 processes running in windows, having SCADA, Autocad, Video, Word and excell 2010, Voip and some other i can recall and it took them all like a starving monster, no problems, nothing it just went like a 4x4 vehicle in the sidewalk.

After a month, i cant discover if there is anything i can not handle with my war tank.

just Awesome, if you can pay for it, marry it and take it home, will make you happy ever after!!!

What an amazing machine! The W520 ThinkPad is everything I could ask for in a laptop and more. In this day and age when everyone seems to be talking about "pads" which to me have very limited functionality, the W520 does everything faster than any computer I've ever owned. I have not turned my desktop on since purchasing it.

With the addition of Mini Dock Plus 433830U I am able to run with 3 monitors, (the laptop plus 2 flatscreens). Try doing that with an Ipad. Oh yeah there is no need because you can't really multitask with an Ipad.

Some people might say why would you need 3 monitors. At work I use two because "they" say productivity is increased by 300% with two (extended mode) screens. I can only imagine what it is with three.

If you have never used a docking station you are really in for a treat. While plugging in a couple usb's, a powercord, a network connection and a monitor really isn't too big of deal. It is so nice not having to do that every single day, I feel truly spoiled.

I just came back from a cross country trip and because Starbucks has free WIFI, there was hardly ever a time when I couldn't connect to the Internet. Many small towns through out the I-40 and I-80 corridors now have Starbucks.

The connection speeds were surprising fast even when showing only a couple bars. This is because of the advanced connection technology built in.

Even running with 3 monitors, everything runs fast and smooth. There are not even slight delays once a program loads.

Cold bootup is fast, under 45 seconds, unless Microsoft has loaded some sort of update. There seems to be something with the 64 bit of Win7 that does not indicate that windows is updating. The first time it happened it was quite disturbing, just a blank screen for what seemed to be an eternity. After the system finally loaded, Microsoft flashed a message stating your system has been automatically updated.

I would guess the way technology advances pads may be able to do everything that laptops do as fast and easy, but to me that day is not today. And I'm hopeful that laptops will keep advancing as well.

If you are on the bench, the only reason I can think of that would prevent anyone from purchasing the W520 is if they cannot afford one. If that is case, just start saving until you can. You will not be sorry you waited. Mine was about 1/2 the cost of my first laptop 10 years ago, and is at least 100 times more powerful.

Excellent piece of technology powered by Intel Sandy Bridge gen-2 technology. I'm running my whole portable lab (12 VMs) on this monster machine which I ever wanted to have.
The heat exhaust is almost nothing comparing to my Lenovo T61.The battery life is outstanding and I don't want to carry the big power brick for next 6 hours work.
I highly recommend the product.

I am heavy computer graphic user like Photoshop, Rhino, ArcGIS. Although this product do not have color sensor, I really satisfied and ultra fast speed on every software and internet.

No compatible. Great deal!! ThinkPAD forever.

Certainly a nice laptop that meets all my needs on a business trip. This is indeed a handy workstation. Feels solid and robust, although they might have made the power adapter a little bit smaller, like the one for Lenovo Thinkpad T520.