Help me find i5 core/4+GB RAM/ 500+GB HD/USB 3.0 /i GB Dedicated Graphics Card/Durable

Hi All

I am looking for a lenovo laptop to buy in Spetmber 2nd week . My question is that cab I find a durable Lenovo Laptop of

Intel i5 core
4+ GB RAM
500+ GB harddisk
1 GB dedicated Graphics card
USB 3.0 ports, <I am not very sure about this, that whether this should be concern while choosing my laptop>
Durable > as I generally tend to handle it with not much care>
Looks dont matter.

Please suggest which Lenovo Laptop can suit this.

 

T420s. T520 if you can deal with esata instead of usb 3.0. T420 if you use an expresscard usb 3.0 adapter.

 

Thanks for your suggestions . The problem is that T420s doesnt have any model for i5 core with 1 GB dedicated Harddisk. But I wish to calrify one thing thats how much it effects the performance and longevity of life of a laptop if I go for esata instead of usb 3.0 I am kindof confused for this now.

 

I say the W520 if you are looking at a ThinkPad. It also has USB 3.0, as well as eSATA. Also, what is your budget like?

 

The T420s, T420 and T520 all use the same dedicated graphics card.

eSata > USB3 for hard drive speeds. USB3 is > eSata for versitility

 

From what you have listed, you are looking at either a T or W series thinkpad. The only difference is the vast difference in performance, budget, and portability.

Also, the amount of ram of the GPU only affects performance depending on your tasks. Many people commonly mistake ram=preformance. Therefore, could you please list what you plan to use the computer for? If you only plan to watch movies and some basic photoshop and video editing, then an integrated GPU would suffice. If you are planning to do gaming and more graphic intensive tasks, then a w520 would be better as the T series's GPU is not that much better than the iGPU.

 

I also suggest the W520. If you have the budget to configure it nicely you can get one with a quad-core i7 and the Quadro 2000M, which is likely the best current ThinkPad as far as gaming performance goes. It's not on the level of, say, an Alienware M17x, but it will do pretty well.

 

It looks like the only one that really fits what you're looking for is the W520, but it's spendy.

 

The W520 is huge and heavy. If you don't need that level performance, it'll just be cumbersome if you need to move the machine around. Plus, egpu will give as good or even better performance.

 

@vinuneuro
Yes, an eGPU would be better but there are a few issues with that
1. Turns laptop into a desktop basically...might as well get a desktop (just saying this since you said the w520 was big and heavy)
2. More expensive....$300 for the case, $150 on a graphics card on par with the 2000m
3. I believe there is a bit of a hassle getting the eGPU connected and working and disconnecting (as you have to restart computer everytime).

Also, I do not believe there is a significant difference in weight (and no difference in the size) between the w520 and the t520.

 

I find the W520 to be nicely sized and weighted. I've mainly used desktops for the past... my entire life, but I have used a good share of laptops that are like 14" ~ 17.3", and netbooks. A 15.6" laptop fits really nicely on my lap, so I like the 15.6" form factor. A W520 is around 6lb, a bit on the heavy side, but nothing I can't manage.

 

I wish to use my Computer just for the purpose of carrying out Engineering tasks. I am an Engineering student and will use the max performance of RAM or dedicated Graphics card only for that matters.

Also, I wish to buy Laptop near the budget of $1k but then with uSB 3.90 not included in those versions along with other requirements, I was kind of in thought whether it is worth spending the extra dollars for it and getting it now for my Laptop to last say ~5 years. But as far as feedback I think W series are considered to have bad sound performance and that is a sort of worry for me as I am a big music lover and virtually do nothing without music on. Please clarify if its true.

 

You can get a W520 for near $1000.

The W520 uses the same chassis as the T520, so the sound quality should be more or less the same anyways as the speakers are probably the same. The T420 probably uses even smaller speakers, resulting in worse sound quality. If you love music so much, get external speakers or a good pair of headphones. No internal speakers can compare to those.

 

Except maybe the XPS 15 speakers. Those are supposed to be godly.

 

I don't think there is such thing as "godly" laptop speakers. Atleast in the sense that you can get far better sound through headphones or an external speaker/stereo system.