Anybody with a W500?

I've searched the forums, but I haven't found much information on it. Anybody on here who has the W500 would like to share their impressions? I've been considering Dell's Precision line as well as the T500.

I would like to know how it performs, is there any heat issues, actual weight (states 5.8+lbs), is there that keyboard flex problem, etc...

Thanks in advance!

 

I ordered one Monday 9/15, supposed ship date is 9/29 (but as far as ive seen usually 10 days is the norm)

I have chatted with a guy on these forums through AIM that has one and assures me it is an awesome beast!

check out the *chough* /CPP *cough* website

as it turns out the W500 is cheaper than the T500 with the same configuration

 

Realistically, a w500 shouldn't be too different from a t500. They both share the same chassis and most other components. Only the video card (and the screen if you choose the WUXGA resolution) are different.

So if you are looking for opinions/reviews, I would read up on what t500 owners are saying. As for graphical performance, the w500 is only better in the CAD area, its gaming performance should be on par with the t500 (at least until better drivers come out).

I am expecting my w500 to show up on the 24th, so I will try to put up some pictures and first impressions.

 

Hey Boss, i am pleased to see yours ship so soon, i ordered just after you did so maybe mine will be shipped on monday ... one Q, did u order 6 or 9 cell?

I ordered 9 and i fear that it is why it is taking a while? (Crosses fingers) (hopes you ordered a 9cell)

 

I got the 9 cell. I thought shipping would get held up because of that but I was pleasantly surprised

 

AWESOME.

thanks for the quick response

 

My girlfriend's W500 arrived a week or so ago and she is very pleased with it. It seems to have all of the strengths and weaknesses that are being discussed regarding the T400 and T500, so no real surprises there. It's very quiet, the keyboard is fantastic, and she's been able to run all of her architecture applications pretty nicely, with the only problems being Vista-related. I was also impressed with the speakers; they perform far better than I would have thought, based on all of the complaints. There is, of course, some flex if you do unreasonable things to the keyboard, but overall it feels extremely solid. Hope that helps!

Edit: She got the T9400, 2GB 1DIMM, 160gb 7200, and 9-cell. No bluetooth, no webcam, and the default Lenovo wireless card. Battery life is relatively good at ~4 hours, but she's using it with discrete graphics and mostly working in autocad and rhino. It does pretty well when compared to other people's machines who are doing the same type of work, lasting at least an hour longer than most. Who knows what kind of batteries and configurations they have, though. I'm not sure how long it would last on integrated graphics and just browsing the web.

 

I would really appreciate that. Thanks Bossmonkey

Thanks Isaac! I would be using it pretty much for AutoCAD doing architecture as well. How heavy would you say it is with the 9 cell? Also has she said anything about the screen? I just read a post about it being a bit dim? Is that true in her case?

Thanks again.

 

I'm not sure how helpful I can be about the weight. I wouldn't say that it's particularly heavy, even with the 9-cell. She carries it to and from the faculty pretty much every day in a laptop backpack with no problems. She used to have a 15" HP with a 9-cell (I can't remember which specific model but it was about a year old) and carrying it the same distance in the same bag was difficult due to the weight. The W500 is lighter than either she or I expected it to be, for what it's worth.

She is quite pleased with her screen, even though she went with the cheapest option. No complaints whatsoever about the brightness or any of the LG/Samsung issues that others are reporting. I'm not sure whether she got an LG or a Samsung. As for brightness, I've noticed that she tends to keep it between 40-50%, both on battery and while plugged in, which says to me that there is no problem with it being dim. I tend to turn it up to about 60% whenever I use it, but I find it quite adequate at that level. I find it slightly uncomfortable to look at when it's at 100% brightness, but maybe that's just me.

 

Doesn't w500 have actually gddr3 memory ?
If yes, it should be better than HD3650 considering games ... Maybe as well as 8600GT (ddr3) ?

I'd like to see how it performs in 3dmark 06, so Bossmonkey if you can... I'd be grateful

 

Someone checked on that already:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291474&page=3&highlight=w500+3d+mark+1280

Its around the same as the T500. The V5700 isn't meant to be a gaming card, so I wouldn't expect a massive increase in gaming performance until new drivers are released.

 

Yeah, I know. It's optimised for CAD programs. But I hoped that gddr3 could help - well I overrated it. Ati's r600 weren't as great in performance as r700 ... But FireGL should do work in its own area.

 

My W500 is supposed to ship 10/1. Hope it ships earlier...

Can't wait. I'll be using it for software development\programming when I'm on the road.

4058CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
10/01/08 $1,952.60 $1,952.60
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44C1931 SBB DVD REC8XMAXDUL.ULT.S.SATA
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44C2615 SBB THINKPAD 11B/G WLAN PCI 3
42X6329 SBB QUALCOMM(R)UNDP1-WWANCARD
39T6651 SBB 9 CELL LI-ION BATTERY
39T6442 SBB COUNTRY PACK NORTH AMERICA
44C1941 SBB LANG.PACK US ENG.
1 CAFEE08 RECYCLE FEE FOR PRODUCT WITH 15 TO 34 INCH DISPLAY
10/01/08 $8.00 $8.00
1 41N8460 LENOVO 90W SLIM AC/DC COMBO ADAPTER + US LINE CORD
10/01/08 $119.95 $119.95
1 250510W THINKPAD ESSENTIAL PORT REPLICATOR
10/01/08 $143.20 $143.20

 

My W500 arrived yesterday and I had about 4 hours to play with it so I thought I would post my first impressions.

First things first, I absolutely love the keyboard. I don't know why everyone is complaining so much about flex, I didn't notice any. I didn't really bother pushing hard on any of the keys because I don't think its a serious issue. In all seriousness, it is probably one of the best (if not the best) keyboards I have ever used.

I got the WUXGA samsung screen on my machine and I must say its pretty nice. No dead pixels, crisp and vibrant colors and decent viewing range. I have seen the WUXGA screen on a macbook pro and this is about 80% as good. An LED backlight would be really nice on the W500.

There was a bit of chassis flex near the palmrest, but nothing serious. Again, you would actually have to put a fair bit of weight on it to be really notice.

As for programs, the laptop was running about 89 processes when it started for the first time, I managed to trim that down to 70. The speed and responsiveness of the laptop went up by a fair margin as well. So I don't think I will be doing a clean install.

I had a question for you guys, I wasn't seriously planning on buying a laptop until December but the huge sale made me jump the gun. I don't need the portability the laptop offers until I go back to university so I decided to discharge the battery to 50% (after charging it fully once) and store it until December. I will run the laptop off A/C until then. Is that a good idea?

 

Glad to know that you are happy with your unit. I might take the plunge soon. One consideration as you mentioned is the lack of the LED lit screen. However it seems like that should be compensated by the WUXGA screen.

I have no idea if you are just running your laptop just on AC but I would assume that would be bad if any power outages occur as the battery is not plugged in. That's just my opinion but maybe other's could weigh in. I've been using AC on my T42 98% of the time with the battery plugged in. I'm assuming this would be bad for the battery but maybe others could weigh in.

 

I have a question to all current W500 owners. Does your W500 come with the 7-1 card reader?

I would like that option but it is not listed in the customization option. I find it kind off odd as the only review I could find has it ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-W500-Notebook.11683.0.html). The Datasheet mentioned that it is an optional component.

Just wanted to know if it comes with the current batch of W500.
Thanks.

 

Yes, it isnt an option, it is in the front of the unit, not in a pc card slot

 

Wait. I'm confused. It comes with it then?

I'm assuming that you just received your W500? How would you rate it overall? Just the general impression.

Also I read it on the NBR T400 review. It seems like both memory docks are located below the keyboard now. Does this apply to the W500? Or is it still the old Thinkpad design where you can just remove the screw bewlo the laptop to access the 2nd memory module.
Thanks.

 

Comes standard...

I believe both memory docks are located directly below the touchpad, at least that's what the manual says. You have to remove a few screws from the bottom of the notebook, and remove the palmrest.

 

Great! I really appreciate the picture. I see you have the WSXGA+ screen. What made you choose that screen?

I basically like my icons and fonts at big and not having to squint my eyes. Even with my T42 I don't use the native settings. I think it's 1024 x 800 or something. Instead I use the one resolution below.

Right now I can't justify spending the extra $100+ for the WUXGA. I mean it would probably be awesome to watch movie. Apart from that, even when playing games the native for WUXGA is not ideal right? People have been complaining that their eyes hurt on WUXGA as well.

 

I used to own an m15x, with a WUXGA screen and I just didn't see the use for it on a 15", at least in my situation. I plan on buying an external monitor later on for CAD purposes, but still, WSXGA is nothing to scoff at. I think it's the perfect screen for a 15". And just so you know I've been playing FEAR on this thing with high settings and no problems. I'm downloading BioShock as I'm typing this.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the info

 

No problem... And BioShock works just fine.

 

Hi everyone, I'm also interested in buying W500 (T9400; 3G DDR3; Ati V5700). The specs look great to me. My only concern is heat. Does this machine get really hot while performing demanding 3D tasks and gaming? Thanks!

 

even the nice X300 gets hot after long usage, i doubt there is any cold machine out there for overusage IMO