Prime Notebook Computer Review

This 15.6 inch laptop promises performance that’s on a par with or exceeds the most powerful desktop PC money can buy, with options such as a full HD screen, a quad-core Core i7 CPU, high octane Nvidia Quadro graphics, and a dedicated color calibrator. This workstation is expected to live up to those who have high ThinkPad standards and expectations.

From the looks of it, the outer build of the W520 is about the same as the previous generation workstation model, the W510. Lenovo stuck with the same ultra sturdy hinges, still evenly built width-wise due to a build fix to the older models. The hinge and display cover are so well-built that it takes a good amount of force to even tilt the screen back or forward (which is reassuring of course). Some minor outer design changes include the newly-added Lenovo company label on the front of the screen casing, new carbon fiber mixed with the glass fiber onto the display cover (no more reinforced plastic), and the absence of paint over the glass fiber/reinforced plastic on the base.

Even though most black colored notebooks will seem to show dust more often just because of the color, this laptop seems to carry grease from the fingers more so than most other business notebooks I’ve had the pleasure of using. Lenovo made the bottom upgrade panels and keyboard easy to remove, for the most part, and labeled each screw spot appropriately.

The 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 matte screen on the ThinkPad W520 is one of the brightest, most colorful displays we’ve ever seen, providing full 90-degree viewing angles to the left or right. The W520 handled any video we threw at it. Whether we were playing a 1080p QuickTime trailer for Thor or streaming a 1080p YouTube trailer for Captain America, images were sharp, colorful, and smooth.

Optional color calibrator allows users to enjoy greater color fidelity. After we activated the color calibration software and closed the lid as directed, the ThinkPad W520 took about three minutes to adjust the screen color and make colors, such as the yellow in an JPG of tulips, a little more vibrant. Professional photo editors with trained eyes will appreciate the Pantone software’s ability to calibrate for different tone responses (1.8, 2.0, or 2.2) and white points (D65, D50, D75, Native).

ThinkPad W520 has a wide array of ports. On the right side of the system are an ExpressCard 34 slot, SD card reader, Ethernet port, and Kensington lock slot. On the back side is a powered USB port that will charge your peripherals even when the system is off and a 56K modem for those users who still need to connect via dial-up. On the left side of the W520 are a DisplayPort, VGA Out, a smart card reader, two USB 3.0 ports, FireWire 400 port, and a combo USB 2.0/eSATA port for a total of four USB connections. Missing from the selection ports is an HDMI output.

A large part of making the workstation meet those performance demands depends on the quality of the hardware. The W520 has an Intel Core i7-2920XM quad-core processor at 2.50GHz with 8MB cache with Turbo Boost 2.0 at 3.50GHz, an NVIDIA Quadro 2000M graphics card with 2GB DDR3 VRAM switchable to Intel HD Graphics 3000, and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. (The RAM can be upgraded to 16GB right now and 32GB in the future when compatible 8GB DIMMs are available. In short, the W520 not only offers an extremely solid set of specifications but is a good upgrade to last year’s ThinkPad W510.

ThinkPad W520′s Nvidia Quadro 2000M graphics card is designed specifically for workstation applications such as AutoCad, which has its own set of Quadro drivers. . On 3DMark06, which measures overall graphics prowess, the ThinkPad W520 scored an amazing 11,683, far greater than the 8,837 category average or the 3,761 turned in by the Nvidia GeForce 3100M-powered ThinkPad T410s. However, dedicated gaming rigs such as the Alienwware M14x (12,553) and the ASUS G73SW (14,058) both scored higher.

The ThinkPad W520 lasted an amazing 9 hours and 5 minutes on the LAPTOP Battery Test, which involves continuous surfing over Wi-Fi. That’s nearly four times longer than the category average of 2:32 and one of the longest-lasting notebooks.

Lenovo bundles the ThinkPad W520 with the standard array of ThinkVantage utilities you’ll find on other current ThinkPads: Airbag protection parks the hard drive in the event of a fall; Power Manager allows you to assert fine control over the power options; the Communications utility allows you to tweak the webcam settings and change the microphone between single voice and multiple voice modes.

Lenovo backs the ThinkPad W520 with a standard one-year warranty on parts and labor. Extended warranties up to three years are also available. ThinkPlus protection plans that insure against damage are available at an additional cost.