Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530 Series

Graphics Adapter: Intel HD Graphics 3000, Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Display: 15.60 inch
Weight: 2.4kg, 2.43kg, 2.5kg, 2.8kg
Price: 500, 600, 720, 1000 euro
Average of 8 scores (from 13 reviews)
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530, Ivy Bridge
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i7 3612QM
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.5kg
Price: 1000 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Average Score:
Source: Good Gear Guide

The Thinkpad Edge E530 is one of the first third generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7-based laptops on the Australian market, and it's a good one. You get fast CPU and graphics performance, heaps and RAM and hard drive space and very good battery life for such a big and powerful laptop. It's build quality is a little creaky though.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/15/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Benchmark.pl

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/23/2013
Rating: Total score: 80% performance: 60% display: 90% mobility: 73% workmanship: 90% ergonomy: 90%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530, Sandy Bridge
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i3 2350M
Graphics Adapter: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.4kg
Price: 500 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Average Score:
Source: Comp Reviews

Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E530 offers a good choice for those looking at a business class laptop for under $600 that still has good performance. It sets itself apart from the competition thanks to its excellent keyboard and the fact that it includes three USB 3.0 ports. Of course the lower cost means it doesn't have the same level of feel as the more expensive ThinkPads and it lacks an ExpressCard slot that its competitors do have.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/23/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Student Buying Guide

Many small business buyers and students are on a budget and can’t afford the $1,000+ ThinkPad T530. If that’s the case for you, the ThinkPad Edge E530 is a nice alternative. You still get great build quality and a top notch keyboard. Granted, it’s not quite on par with the more expensive enterprise focused T530, but it’s better than an average consumer grade laptop. You might even prefer the design of the E530 over the T530 as it’s less boxy, using curved edges and having different lid color options. You also get an HDMI port, something not offered in the T530, and yet it’s a port that many people look for when buying a laptop.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/29/2012
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530, Sandy Bridge
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i5 2450M
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M 2048 MB
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.43kg
Price: 720 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Average Score:
Consumer laptop for business. Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E530 is trying really hard to make an attempt at being a representative of the “ThinkPad” brand for the masses. This review will evaluate whether the offering will cut it in a market looking for leaner and meaner machines.
Source: Notebooks.com

The ThinkPad Edge E530 isn’t the sexiest or slimmest notebook available, but it does deliver the tools small business users and owners need to keep business flowing while out of the office. The matte display, great keyboard and good battery life make the ThinkPad Edge E530 a good companion for small businesses. The notebook is too thick and heavy for frequent travelers, but for users that need an affordable notebook that stands up to work outside the office the ThinkPad Edge E530 is an option worth checking out.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 11/05/2012
Source: Notebooks.com

The ThinkPad Edge E530 isn’t the sexiest or slimmest notebook available, but it does deliver the tools small business users and owners need to keep business flowing while out of the office. The matte display, great keyboard and good battery life make the ThinkPad Edge E530 a good companion for small businesses. The notebook is too thick and heavy for frequent travelers, but for users that need an affordable notebook that stands up to work outside the office the ThinkPad Edge E530 is an option worth checking out.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 11/05/2012
Source: Computer Shopper

We're open-minded about our laptops here at Computer Shopper. That said, when we're offered a Lenovo ThinkPad for review, our mind can't help but shift to a specific preconception: "relatively expensive business laptop.This under-$700 laptop is a classic get-what-you-pay-for proposition. It performs well, but many business users will prefer the better-looking screens and richer-sounding speakers of higher-end ThinkPad models.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/13/2012
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Computer Shopper

We're open-minded about our laptops here at Computer Shopper. That said, when we're offered a Lenovo ThinkPad for review, our mind can't help but shift to a specific preconception: "relatively expensive business laptop.This under-$700 laptop is a classic get-what-you-pay-for proposition. It performs well, but many business users will prefer the better-looking screens and richer-sounding speakers of higher-end ThinkPad models.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/13/2012
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Digital Trends

The ThinkPad Edge E530 is an excellent entry into the mainstream laptop market. It has a number of advantages that you won’t find on most competitors — including a wonderful user interface, a matte display, long battery life, and useful pre-installed software. Performance is the only issue, but it’s an important one. Consumers can find much quicker laptops for a similar price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/02/2012
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: Digital Trends

The ThinkPad Edge E530 is an excellent entry into the mainstream laptop market. It has a number of advantages that you won’t find on most competitors — including a wonderful user interface, a matte display, long battery life, and useful pre-installed software. Performance is the only issue, but it’s an important one. Consumers can find much quicker laptops for a similar price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/02/2012
Rating: Total score: 85%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530-NZQ4CYA
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i5 2520M
Graphics Adapter: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.8kg
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Foreign Reviews
Source: Itsvet

Positive: Good quality; well-balanced formula; decent autonomy; good price.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 12/04/2012
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530-N4F27GE
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i3 3110M
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.5kg
Price: 600 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Foreign Reviews
Source: 3DNews.ru

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/01/2013
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530-NZQHLGE
Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i5 3210M
Graphics Adapter: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 2.4kg
Links: Lenovo homepage
Pricecompare
Foreign Reviews
Source: Laptop.bg

Positive: Rugged and high quality workmanship; slot for mSATA SSD; budget price. Negative: Relatively thick; mSATA slot is SATA II.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/12/2013
Comment
Lenovo: Lenovo ( "Le" as in the English word legend and "novo" (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. From 2004, the company has been the largest laptop manufacturer in China and got the fourth largest manufacturer worldwide after the acquisition of IBM's PC division in 2005. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company also produces monitors, projectors, servers, etc.
In 2011, Lenovo acquired the majority of Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Lenovo took over Motorola Mobility, which gave them a boost in the smartphone market.
From 2014 to 2016 Lenovo's market share in the global notebook market was 20-21%, ranking second behind HP. However, the distance decreased gradually. In the smartphone market, Lenovo did not belong to the Top 5 global manufacturers in 2016.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M:
Multiple models based on various chips of the Fermi generation. Specifically, the GT 630M exists in GF108/GF106/GF116 variants, but are all essentially renamed GeForce GT 540M or 555M GPUs. A 28nm GF117 variant exists as well with reduced power consumption.
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
Intel HD Graphics 3000: Integrated graphics card in the Intel Sandy Bridge processors (Core ix-2xxx). The HD 3000 is the faster (internally GT2 called) version with 12 Execution Units (EUs).
Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.
Intel HD Graphics 4000: Processor graphics card in the high end Ivy Bridge models. Offers a different clock speed in the different CPU models (ULV to desktop quad core) and therefore a different performance.
» 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.
3612QM: An Ivy Bridge-based quad-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz with Turbo Boost support up to 3.1 GHz. Offers an integrated HD Graphics 4000 GPU running at 650-1100 MHz on a dual channel DDR3 memory controller. The speciality of the i7-3612QM is the low TDP of 35 Watt compared to 45 Watt of the other Ivy Bridge quad core CPUs (e.g. 3610QM).
Intel Core i3:
2350M:
Dual-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. The CPU is clocked at 2.3 GHz and features the Turbo Boost 2.0 only for the graphics card.
3110M: Ivy-Bridge-based dual-core, 2.4 GHz core clock (no turbo), includes HD 4000 GPU
Intel Core i5:
2450M: Dual-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. The CPU is clocked at 2.5 GHz (Turbo Boost 2.8-3.1 GHz) and the GPU at 650 (1300 MHz Turbo).
2520M: Dual-core Sandy Bridge processor with integrated graphics and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller.
3210M: Fast Ivy-Bridge-based dual-core, includes HD 4000 GPU, core clock 2.5 - 3.1 GHz
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
2.4 kg:
Usually, old laptops with 14-16 inch display-diagonal weigh as much.
2.8 kg:
In former years, this weight was representative for laptops with a 14-16 inch display-diagonal. Nowadays, 17 inch laptops weigh less than that.
76.63%: This rating is not convincing. The laptop is evaluated below average, this is not really a recommendation for purchase.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.