High End Watch,1

A Look at Lenovo’s High-End Laptop: the ThinkPad W510

The W in W510 stands for workstation, and it’s designed specifically as a powerhouse PC for professional use. That means you can use it on the job, whether you work directly for a company as an IT staffer or operate independently as a consultant. You can certainly squeeze in an occasional game or watch a video, but the W510′s graphics adapter and other components set it up as a business machine more than a gaming or entertainment unit.

Okay, so what are the specs? As with most laptops sold directly, Lenovo lets you customize the W510 with your own choices of features and components. The high-end model is powered by an<!–ZZZLinkBegZZZ–>Intel  quad-core 2.0 GHz i7 CPU X 920 processor, a beefy and robust CPU, though you can also equip it with a less-expensive i5 processor. My unit came with 8GB of memory, but you can outfit it with as little as 2GB (not recommended) and as much as 16GB of RAM. Lenovo offers Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate as the OS—mine came with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. But you can opt for Windows XP Pro if your organization is still running the older flavor of Windows and you want to be compatible.

My unit’s 15.6-inch FHD (full high definition) anti-glare screen had a resolution of 1920×1080, offering a 16:9 aspect ratio. You can opt for the lower-rez and less-expensive HD (high definition) at 1366×768 or HD+ (high definition plus) at 1600×900. All the LCD screens include an LED backlight, which offers brighter and more vivid colors than traditional TFT-LCD screens. The most expensive option comes with a multi touch screen, so you can move and tweak objects on the screen using your fingers, courtesy of Windows 7.

The hard drive is a Seagate 500GB model—lower capacity drives are also available, while the video card is a 1GB <!–ZZZLinkBegZZZ–>NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M. In addition, the machine offers an integrated Webcam, microphone, and even a fingerprint reader–a nice touch. At the top of the keyboard is a full array of buttons for controlling the sound—volume controls, speaker mute, and microphone mute. For connectivity, the W510 provides 802.11n Wi-Fi and gigabit Ethernet but also includes mobile broadband, with 3G service available through<!–ZZZLinkBegZZZ–>Verizon . Ports include VGA, eSATA, two USB, Firewire, and Ethernet. A card reader is also included.

The machine itself weighs 7.2 pounds, which gives it some heft but keeps it light enough so you won’t strain yourself carrying it back and forth. The unit’s 9-cell battery sticks out horizontally rather than vertically, so it doesn’t give the laptop an awkward lift or angle that you find with other high-capacity batteries on some portables.

Okay, those are some of the basic specs. So how does the machine fare? I took it through the paces and was quite impressed by its power and range of features.

The PC itself is very solid and feels strong in its construction. Other notebooks I’ve used, even expensive, high-end units, felt flimsy and weak in comparison. The hinges that connect the lid to the base have a firm and tight grip, unlike other laptop lids that sometimes wobble and feel loose around the hinges. The W510′s underbelly is also well designed. Replacing the hard drive and adding more memory are simple tasks.

My favorite feature of the laptop, though, is the keyboard. My biggest complaint with laptops is that the manufacturers saddle you with truly horrible keyboards. Most laptop keyboards are badly designed and difficult to use. The keys themselves are soft, mushy, and cramped. As a quick touch typist, I find typing on many laptop keyboards a frustrating chore.

The W510′s keyboard is a notable exception to that rule. The keys are solid and responsive and provide a nice tactile feel and feedback. The keyboard itself has none of the flex or flimsness you find with many laptop keyboards. The old<!–ZZZLinkBegZZZ–>IBM <!–ZZZLinkEndZZZ–> keyboards were also well designed, and it’s great to see Lenovo carry on that tradition. The keys are generally well-placed and convenient to use. I tend to be a fast and hard typist (some people complain that I type too loudly), so I need a keyboard that can keep up with me, which the W510 certainly does. My only complaint is that the Function key is placed to the left of the Ctrl key, which differs from most laptop keyboard layouts. As a result, I often ended up pressing the Function key when I wanted to hit the Ctrl key.

For mousing around, Lenovo offers both the traditional touchpad and a TrackPoint pointing stick, the little round red button that sits within your keyboard. I always use the touchpad, but I appreciate Lenovo offering a choice. The touchpad itself offers a rough grid on which to move your finger. I typically prefer a smoother surface, but this one works well. Lenovo offers two sets of left and right mouse buttons, one above the touchpad and another below. Just like on a Mac, you use a two-finger swipe on the touchpad to scroll up and down the screen. You can also press a center button above the touchpad in conjunction with the pointing stick to scroll up and down. We all have our own preferences for moving around the screen, and Lenovo offers options to satisfy just about everyone.

I liked the high definition screen. It was bright and offered fully saturated colors. It may be too bright for some, but I prefer brighter screens with vivid color saturation, so I was pleased with it. Of course, you can always tone down the brightness if it’s too much. Even though the W510 shines mostly as a business PC, the screen’s 16:9 aspect ratio does make it ideal for watching widescreen movies and TV shows.

As an added option, Lenovo wisely offers a Pantone Calibration utility to keep your screen calibrated—another nice touch. Those of us who use Photoshop or other graphic programs know that matching your screen colors with your print colors can be a neverending challenge. A good screen calibration tool is a necessity to ensure accurate printouts. The Pantone utility is easy to use, runs quickly, and will even remind you when it’s time to calibrate the screen.

As I said earlier, my unit came with a multi touch screen, a feature that Microsoft unveiled almost a year ago with the launch of Windows 7. Using your fingers, you can tap objects to move them, resize them, or manipulate them in other ways. You can open programs, access menus, and zoom in or out of the screen with the touch of a finger or two. The multi touch screen is a cool, and even innovative concept, but one that just hasn’t taken off on a practical level. I think people are just too accustomed to using their mouse or touchpad or keyboard and probably find it slow and awkward to physically touch the screen. I commend Microsoft and by extension Lenovo for trying something different. But I’d advise those of you looking at the W510 to opt for the regular screen, which will shave a couple of hundred dollars off your purchase price.

So how does the W510 perform? With an i7 processor and 8GB of RAM, it’s quite speedy and powerful. I ran benchmarking tests using PerformanceTest from Passmark Software. The W510 scored an overall rating of 1379.8, the second highest score among nine other computers. Its CPU score was the highest of the ten PCs, though it scored low on 2D and 3D graphics, another sign that it’s designed more as a business PC than a gaming machine.

All that power and speed, though, do take its toll on battery life. Leaving the unit alone running solely on the 9-cell battery, it lasted about two hours and 15 minutes.

In terms of software, the W510 offers a nice selection. Another one of my complaints with all personal computers is the huge amount of crapware installed on many of them. I’ve bought new computers in the past only to spend days removing all the trialware and other unnecessary junk software that PC makers install to make a few extra bucks. But Lenovo shines in this area as well. Except for a trial version of Microsoft Office, the PC was relatively uncluttered. It even included a few useful utility programs, notably the Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox, which provides diagnostics, system information, and access to various support options.

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