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Lenovo ThinkPad W550s Series

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPBProcessor: Intel Core i7 5500U, Intel Core i7 5600U
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA Quadro K620M
Display: 15.50 inch, 15.60 inch
Weight: 2.2kg, 2.41kg
Price: 2200 euro
Average Score: 81.76% - good
Average of 10 scores (from 18 reviews)
price: 95%, performance: 84%, features: 77%, display: 88%, mobility: 77%, workmanship: 93%, ergonomy: 91%, emissions: 94%

 

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE

The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE is a mobile workstation packed with capabilities yet looking sleek and discreet. Design is kept simple with the classic ThinkPad design such as a clean lines, the iconic high-quality keyboard with Trackpoint combo, the UltraNav Touchpad and hints of red highlights against the dark grey textured finish. Even the top cover is minimalistic in looks with a tiny Lenovo and ThinkPad branding at the corners. Inside is what that counts with a workstation and the Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE certainly delivers with an Intel Core i7-5500U processor clocked at 2.4 GHz, 16 GB DDR3L 1600MHz RAM, a NVIDIA Quadro K620M GPU and a 512 GB SSD. Interacting with user is a beautiful matte 15.5 inch 3K display panel with superb contrast and good color accuracy. Audio quality is impressive with inbuilt stereo speakers and a Realtek ALC3232 sound chip. Other features on the Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE include three USB 3.0 ports, a mini Display port, a VGA port, a card reader, Bluetooth 4.0, an HD 720 webcam and a backlit keyboard. Under the laptop is a docking connector that attaches to the ThinkPad Ultra Dock which greatly extends the laptops capabilities. Battery life on the Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE is good with a 6-cell pack and the entire device weighs in at 2.32 kg.

Specifications

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGENotebook: Lenovo ThinkPad W550s 20E2-000PGE
Processor: Intel Core i7 5500U
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA Quadro K620M 2048 MB
Display: 15.50 inch, 16:9, 2880 x 1620 pixels
Weight: 2.41kg
Price: 2200 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

Average Score: 80% - good

Average of 2 scores (from 10 reviews)

 

Reviews

78.6% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s Workstation Review | Notebookcheck
Surprise! Lenovo expands its W-series with an ultra slim mobile workstation, which can set some new records right away. It benefits from components like the first professional chip from Nvidia's Maxwell generation, a generous battery capacity and many typical business features. Our review shows you what else we like about this workstation.
80% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: Mobile Tech Review English Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s is an unusual beast of a machine: it's the engineering and CAD laptop for road warriors who put battery life at a premium. The W550s succeeds at that with very long battery life with the 6 cell rear battery, and the laptop is more portable than most mobile workstations. The keyboard is classic ThinkPad, which is to say superb and it has plenty of key travel.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/17/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%
80% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: Mobile Tech Review English Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s is an unusual beast of a machine: it's the engineering and CAD laptop for road warriors who put battery life at a premium. The W550s succeeds at that with very long battery life with the 6 cell rear battery, and the laptop is more portable than most mobile workstations. The keyboard is classic ThinkPad, which is to say superb and it has plenty of key travel.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/17/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%
Review: Lenovo W550s — an ultraportable workstation
Source: Slashgear English Archive.org version
That's not to say the W540 isn't a durable machine, only that the W550s, when held in one's hands, feels more robust. The performance is spot-on for those with demanding needs, as well, and the battery life eclipses what you'd get from many competing workstation laptops. As such, if you need the level of power offered by the W550s, you can't go wrong with it. Prices start at $1,133.10.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 04/14/2015
Review: Lenovo W550s — an ultraportable workstation
Source: Slashgear English Archive.org version
That's not to say the W540 isn't a durable machine, only that the W550s, when held in one's hands, feels more robust. The performance is spot-on for those with demanding needs, as well, and the battery life eclipses what you'd get from many competing workstation laptops. As such, if you need the level of power offered by the W550s, you can't go wrong with it. Prices start at $1,133.10.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 04/14/2015

Foreign Reviews

Lenovo Thinkpad W550S – Когда За Дело Берется Профессионал
Source: Notebook-Center.ru RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Good hardware; ergonomic keyboard and an impressive autonomy of small body size.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/06/2015
Lenovo Thinkpad W550S – Когда За Дело Берется Профессионал
Source: Notebook-Center.ru RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Good hardware; ergonomic keyboard and an impressive autonomy of small body size.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/06/2015
Test: Lenovo ThinkPad W550s - tenká pracovní stanice s extrémní výdrží na baterie
Source: Notebook.cz CZ→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Extreme battery life; very good + QHD display; comfortable keyboard with numeric keypad and trackpoint. Negative: Slow charging load; limited power at full load; noisy under load.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/31/2015
Test: Lenovo ThinkPad W550s - tenká pracovní stanice s extrémní výdrží na baterie
Source: Notebook.cz CZ→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Extreme battery life; very good + QHD display; comfortable keyboard with numeric keypad and trackpoint. Negative: Slow charging load; limited power at full load; noisy under load.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/31/2015
レノボ ThinkPad W550sの実機レビュー
Source: The Hikaku JA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/06/2015
レノボ ThinkPad W550sの実機レビュー
Source: The Hikaku JA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/06/2015

 

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB

The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB is powerful mobile workstation that can withstand rigorous usage as it passes 11 military spec tests. Needless to say the device has a solid chassis that is durable while still preserving a very slim and streamline profile. Design is kept simple with a textured black finish that looks professional and serious. The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB variant sports the highest hardware specifications such as an Intel Core i7-5600U processor, a maximum of 16 GB RAM, an NVIDIA K620M GPU with 2 GB dedicated VRAM and a selection of storage options ranging from 500 GB HDD to 512 GB SSD. The laptop comes with a full-sized keyboard that is spill resistant as well as ThinkPad's famous Trackpad and TrackPoint for navigation. It features a 15.5 inch 3K IPS panel with optional touchscreen capability. Other features found on the laptop are three USB 3.0 ports, a VGA out, a mini DisplayPort, a proprietary docking port and a card reader. The laptop weighs in at 4.92 lbs (2.23 kg) and users can select the operating system installed with Windows 8.1 being the currently best. Audio quality is good with Dolby Advance Audio speakers. Battery life depends on the battery pack selected, which comes in the form of a 3-cell or 6-cell option.

Specifications

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPBNotebook: Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Processor: Intel Core i7 5600U
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA Quadro K620M
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 2880 x 1620 pixels
Weight: 2.2kg
Price: 2200 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

Average Score: 82.71% - good

Average of 7 scores (from 8 reviews)

 

Reviews

Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: Hot Hardware English Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s has the performance chops to satisfy most creative pros. It’s also good for some gaming in your downtime, and HD video work isn’t a problem, either. The W550s has a tough competitor in the Dell Precision M3800, as we saw in our tests – both systems offer solid performance for their size and price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/15/2015
95% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: Tweaktown English Archive.org version
The W550s comes equipped with just about everything you would want. The feature load out and bundled software is typical for Lenovo devices so we had no surprises there. We were rather surprised to see only dual-core processors available for the W500 which somewhat limit mobile workstation use, but overall the Intel Core i7-5600U processor that came equipped with our review unit was able to keep up with us just fine. If you needed to do heavy duty video work or encoding, you might want to take a look at the W540 instead because the CPU's you can pick from can have as many as 4 cores or double what you can get with the W550s.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 06/05/2015
Rating: Total score: 95% price: 95% performance: 90% features: 96% workmanship: 97%
80% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: PC Mag English Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad W550s is a solid laptop for the user who needs basic workstation capabilities, but puts portability first. If you are frequently on the road, or you regularly shuttle back and forth between locations, the ThinkPad W550s is a great pick, thanks to the thin and light design, combined with the extremely impressive 17+ hours of battery life. In terms of performance, however, the Lenovo ThinkPad W540 is still our top pick, offering more processing power and better graphics capability.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/21/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%
80% Lenovo Thinkpad W550s
Source: Laptop Mag English Archive.org version
While the W550s isn't quite as fast or as light as HP's Zbook 15u G2 or MSI's WS60, its monstrous 16-hour battery life makes up for that. And at $2,460, it costs $200 less than the MSI, while also featuring an excellent keyboard and military-grade 810G durability. Other highlights include a bright display with accurate colors and fairly speedy graphics performance.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/04/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%
80% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s
Source: Computer Shopper English Archive.org version
All in all, the ThinkPad W550s is about as good as a dual-core mobile workstation gets, but "dual-core" is an important qualifier. As we saw with HP's ZBook 14 G2, the W550s can't match the raw performance of its predecessor, with the difference between "Broadwell" and "Haswell" underscored by the company's decision to use a lower-end Quadro GPU as well.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/01/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%
69% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s Review
Source: Notebookreview.com English Archive.org version
The ThinkPad W550s has such an abundance of great qualities that we basically have to recommend it. The W550s combines an excellent quality 3K (2880×1620 resolution) touch IPS display, wonderful keyboard, clickpad and TrackPoint along with 15 hours of battery life into an exceptionally strong chassis that’s 20 percent thinner than Lenovo’s W541 workstation.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/30/2015
Rating: Total score: 69%
80% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s review
Source: Techradar English Archive.org version
With understated aesthetics and a durable design, there is much to love about the ThinkPad W550s, if you can afford it. Long battery life and a large, high resolution display keeps you productive longer while you're mobile. Plus, the docking port allows users to take the ThinkPad W550s back to their desks to use as a desktop replacement, given its strong performance.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/30/2015
Rating: Total score: 80%

Foreign Reviews

95% Lenovo ThinkPad W550s - mobilne biuro
Source: Benchmark.pl Turkish PL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 11/19/2015
Rating: Total score: 95%

 

Comment

Lenovo: Lenovo ("Le" from English legend, novo (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. As of 2004, the company was the largest laptop manufacturer in China and, after acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, the fourth largest in the world. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company manufactures monitors, projectors, servers, etc, and specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, enterprise solutions and related services.

In 2016, the company ranked first in the world in computer sales. It still held it in 2023 with about 23% global market share. Important product lines are Thinkpad, Legion and Ideapad.

In 2011, it acquired a majority stake in Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Motorola Mobility was purchased, which gave Lenovo a boost in the smartphone market.


Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

NVIDIA Quadro K620M: Workstation graphics card based on the 28 nm GM108 Maxwell chip with 384 shaders and a 64-bit memory interface.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.


Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.  

5500U: Broadwell-based ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor for notebooks and ultrabooks. Offers an integrated HD Graphics 5500 GPU and is manufactured in 14 nm.

5600U: Broadwell-based ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor for notebooks and ultrabooks. Offers an integrated HD Graphics 5500 GPU and is manufactured in 14 nm.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.


No weight comment found (one expected)!


81.76%: This rating is slightly above average, there are somewhat more devices with worse ratings. However, clear purchase recommendations look different.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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Current Prices
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Lenovo ThinkPad W550s-20E1000BPB
Stefan Hinum, 2015-04-11 (Update: 2019-04-30)