Question ISO Upgrade from thinkpad w530

[xra7en]

for those that are unaware of the specs for a W530 or don't want to search - here are some basic - mine

i7
DDR3 32GB
2TB
K1000M (nvidia)

I've been casually looking around for an upgrade to this model. I LOVE IT. its cheapt < $300 most places. I don't need it for hardcore AAA gaming (although it would be nice - I have a desktop for that)
I have been surfing the web and video reviews on something along this price range that is a minor step up
I am looking mostly to upgrade because of the such low GPU. while it does pretty decent - I can play over 80% of the games I have on STEAM., I have had this for years, and looking for both GPU, Cosmetic, weight upgrade in the same price range. I want to be able to use all the RAM from the W530

After checking around with not much success, looking for some options. Used laptop is fine - as there might be some in the price range I missed.

thanks for taking a look!

 

[hang-the-9]

There are so many used laptops out there and they are sold and put on sale often, that picking a specific one is pretty much impossible unless you do the searching and find it and buy it without waiting. Look at craigslist in your area, good idea to be able to see it run in person than something off eBay you can't test. And remember that almost everyone will be OK with some haggling over price or even a trade for something you have.

For $300, you need a used laptop to get anything as good or better than the W530. For re-using the RAM, you may want to give that up as it will limit you a lot in what you can get.
A system with an nVidia 1050 video card should be faster in games, and used ones you may find about 300-400 if you get lucky. My daughter bought a new Dell with a 1050 and an intel i5 several years ago for about $700, those models should be about $400 or less used by now.

 

[xra7en]

Hi thanks for the reply. Yup totally aware to the vast amount of selections. You covered one answer, DDR3 is gonna be tough, and I've noticed that everything used is an i5, not many i7's like what the W530 is. So that leaves something of a "small" upgrade - not looking to go gung-ho but something better than the k1000 ,
The fan in the W530 is starting to go, so making a decision to tear apart and install a new one, and since it is apart, add a new gpu, but the gpu upgrade would be a k2000, not sure if that is much better, or shelf it, and find a new laptop - since it plays abotu 90% + games, programming and some video editing, I wouldn't need much of a upgrade.

 

[hang-the-9]

Hi thanks for the reply. Yup totally aware to the vast amount of selections. You covered one answer, DDR3 is gonna be tough, and I've noticed that everything used is an i5, not many i7's like what the W530 is. So that leaves something of a "small" upgrade - not looking to go gung-ho but something better than the k1000 ,
The fan in the W530 is starting to go, so making a decision to tear apart and install a new one, and since it is apart, add a new gpu, but the gpu upgrade would be a k2000, not sure if that is much better, or shelf it, and find a new laptop - since it plays abotu 90% + games, programming and some video editing, I wouldn't need much of a upgrade.

The K2000M is about 50-60% faster than the K1000M, of course that would depend on the application/game and how it uses the card. I don't remember if the card is swappable in that model, but if you can get it for cheap enough to be worth only getting the card that may be a good option. Also getting an SSD if you don't use one now. I know that thing has several drive bays. Those year Lenovos were some of the best laptops ever built, I love using and working on them. I had a W520 and several T400-430 models, really since that time quality and easy servicing has dropped in favor of fancy design and thinness. I can't stand the new laptop designs, they not only fail a lot more, they are a pain in the butt to upgrade and repair. In some of them just to swap out the keyboard you need to fully take it apart including removing the motherboard. Soldered RAM, no extra RAM slots, etc... all just horrible ideas for the sake of saving .5 lb and 1 mm in case size.

 

[xra7en]

hi
Yes card swap-able? sorta, you have to actually change out the mobo - not a big deal, however, I decided to go for the AWOW mini pc. pretty much what I was looking for, portable, and almost doubles everything from the W530


https://ibb.co/gSc1ZBr