Lenovo ThinkPad W520
Specifications

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Average of 5 scores (from 5 reviews)
Reviews for the Lenovo ThinkPad W520
Takin' Care of Business. Lenovo ThinkPads of the W series are pure-bred professional laptops that have earned a reputation for powerful performance, above all in the area of graphics and computation-intensive office tasks. The ThinkPad W520 is the most recent 15.6" model in the series and is said to reconcile tradition with technological progress, but is the ThinkPad W520 all it's cracked up to be?
Source: Comp Reviews

For anyone that needs a serious laptop with lots of performance for workstation class work on the go, there is no question that the Lenovo ThinkPad W520 is one of the best options on the market. It offers some superb performance thanks to its quad core processor yet still manages some excellent running times. Graphics professionals will also want to look into the upgraded IPS display and color calibrator that is one of the best on the market for color accuracy.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/29/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Notebookreview.com

The Lenovo ThinkPad W520 workstation most definitely lives up to its ThinkPad name and workstation standards. It provides great all-over performance with its quad-core i7 processor, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M graphics, and 8GB DDR3 RAM. The 95% color gamut FHD display is easily conducive to professionals in the graphics arts or similar industry. It also has a wide range of ports and features, such as the two HighSpeed 3.0 USB ports and the Pantone huey PRO color calibration system. We did not feel as though the complaints we did have about the workstation were deal breakers in the least bit. For those in need of a powerful workstation, this system should be a definite option.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/29/2011
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 70% performance: 90% features: 90% mobility: 90% ergonomy: 70%
Source: Laptop Mag

The ThinkPad W520 provides really strong workstation-level performance in a portable 6.2-pound package with amazing battery life, a gorgeous screen, and the industry's best keyboard. However, the $2,969 configuration we reviewed is pretty pricey for a laptop that doesn't include a solid state drive, though we highly recommend adding that as an option. The sound could also be better. Still, if you're looking for a workstation that can plow through any task, the ThinkPad W520 is a solid choice.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/25/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Keith Comb's Blahg

I didn’t think the Lenovo ThinkPad W520 would be much of an improvement. It’s the same keyboard, chassis, screen, etc. as the ThinkPad W510. But the beauty is below the surface and in this case, the Sandy Bridge chipset offers much better performance while managing energy use much more efficiently. You’ll certainly want to watch for more scientific testing by the professional review blogs and organizations but it sure looks like a super machine for your consideration. I look forward to seeing how it fairs against the competition in the shootouts. Until then, buy with confidence. This is a sweet machine ready to do some hard work. Let me know if you have any questions.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/27/2011
Foreign Reviews
Source: Notebookcheck

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/07/2011
Rating: Total score: 88% performance: 91% display: 88% mobility: 83% workmanship: 90% ergonomy: 89% emissions: 82%
Comment
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M:
Mobile middle-class workstation graphics card based on the Fermi architecture. The 128 Bit memory bus and the DDR3 memory could be potential bottlenecks of the 2000M.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
» 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.
2820QM: Fast Quad-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
15.60":
15-16 inch is a standard display size for laptops and offers the biggest variety of products.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.2.7 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.
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.
81.2%: This rating should be considered to be average. This is because the proportion of notebooks which have a higher rating is approximately equal to the proportion which have a lower rating.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.