Which Thinkpad to look for? T vs W

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gjt86

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I am considering pulling the trigger on a thinkpad, but have never owned one before. Currently, I am looking for something no more than 500 to get the job done (considering the laptop I currently use weighs 7 lbs and has 2gb of ram on a dual core).
My question is though, for photoshop, web development and vmware - which series would be the best bang for buck here?
I've looked over the w520, t410/420 and t520 series, but am starting to get lost. Is a newer i5 better than an older i7 (2720)? Any advice what to do or look for here?
If needed, I can post a few of the ones Ive been looking at if that is of any additional help.
 
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For the Lenovo Z510 the i7-4700MQ is much more powerful getting a passmark score of 7795. That laptop has integrated Intel graphics making it unsuitable for gaming. The screen resolution is very poor.

For the Lenovo Y580 it mentions it has a 3rd generation i7 but does not list which i7 model it has. Their is no mention of its screen resolution and while it does say it has an nVidia graphics card it does not say which one. I'd avoid it unless you can contact the seller and get the answer to these questions.

 
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Is one I have been eyeballing and wondering if it is worth the jump over the w520 I linked. Located in US

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-T440s-14-i7-4600U-2-1Ghz-8GB-256GB-SSD-Ultrabook-Laptop-/191552982331?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c99728d3b

Update: I like the t440s, but the lack of 16gb supported ram is kind of meh; may have to stick with the other series in this case.

Asus also seems promising, but with the lack of swappable parts. Consumer grade kind of turns me off, but this seems like a good machine (good display, etc):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-N550JV-DB72T-Touchscreen-4th-Gen-Core-i7-Upgraded-SSD-8GB-RAM-Nvidia-GT-750-/271933700621?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f5082fa0d
 
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Not really a performance machine. Best for those who want some power and ultimate portability. I commute by bus and so while on my hour long ride having something like the T440S or X1 Carbon would be ideal for me.

Its not a powerful computer compared to the M or MQ processors however the U processors lead to long battery life.
Have you looked at what newegg has refurbished? Some of their prices are competitive with ebay with cheaper shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100025325%204016&IsNodeId=1&Description=Y50&name=Gaming%20Laptops&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=30&isdeptsrh=1
 
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I'm not familiar with any over heating issues but I have not researched the issue. The w520 is not designed to be on a lap. Its goal in life is to be in a docking station on someones desk. And so it will be heavy, have small battery relative to its performance and may not perform well as a mobile computer. This is where a T440S or X1 Carbon shines.

For general office use and some light development the T series is a good choice, its also a little more portable. Some models maybe suitable for light gaming.

The W series is for heavy development and light to moderate CAD and video editing. It is considered a desktop replacement and would be a chore to use it as a mobile computer. It is not suitable for gaming.

The X series is extremely portable, meant for light office, web and email. It is not suitable for gaming.

The Y series is a well rounded computer capable of some portability but not much compared to the X series, is good for gaming at low to medium gaming and for office, web, email and light development. They also tend to look like gaming machines.
 
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Well, I have a desktop machine that does the trick nicely for gaming and all other tasks required. I'm mainly looking for something virtual machine and web development friendly that enables me to do so on the lap if needed. :)

Trying to stay away from Dell as I've only had bad experience(s) in the past.

Is the W series really not mobile friendly? The bulkiness doesn't seem too bad actually - and is 2 lbs lighter than my current laptop. How do the X series hold up for this type of use?

Touchscreen not really a requirement:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-S1-Yoga-1920x1080-TOUCH-i7-4600U-8GB-256GB-SSD-W8-Pro-Warranty-/261977857606?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cff18de46
 
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