ThinkPad W530 Review and Specs – Lenovo does it again

Lenovo does it again with the ThinkPad W530. The Lenovo W530 takes the W series to the next level.

Before we get to the main review, we need to answer a very important question…how does the ThinkPad W530 stack up against it’s predecessor…the W520.

ThinkPad W530 vs W520

The W530 has a few important differences compared to the W520. It comes with the Ivy Bridge processor which will net you an extra 10-15% improvement in performance(and a bit more battery life) and it also has a more modern keyboard design. The graphics card has also been improved(NVIDIA® Quadro® 1100M or 2100M 2GB graphics card instead of 1000M/2000M)…and there is a slightly smaller color sensor.

Overall, this is definitely a big improvement over the W520…but you also need to take into account the price. Since the W520 is on it’s way out, Lenovo will be discounting these pretty heavily. There is really no reason to pay hundreds of dollars more just for a slight bump in performance over the W520. So before you buy a W530, make sure to check the coupon page, to check if there are any nice discounts on the W520.

Now that we’ve covered the main differences, let’s take a look at the rest of the ThinkPad W530 review.

ThinkPad W530 Specs

The ThinkPad W series is Lenovo’s workstation line(that’s where the W comes from). And the ThinkPad W530 is no different. Besides the stuff we’ve already mentioned, the W530 comes with: 15.6″ screen, ISV certification, X-Rite integrated color calibrator and 95 percent color gamut, integrated 720P webcam, USB3.0, Rapid Boot and Instant Resume features, RAID 0/RAID 1 support and support for 4 external monitors. Since it’s a workstation it can be upgraded pretty heavily. Processor? You can get a 3rd gen Intel i7 quad core extreme. Disk space? Up to 1TB HDD or if you need better access, 256 gigs worth of SSD. And memory? Up to 32 gigs of ram.

If you are not tech savvy, let’s just say that it’s a very powerful laptop.

And all this hardware adds up to a pretty nice bang for your buck.

ThinkPad W530 Review

Overall the ThinkPad W530 specs make it a no-brainer against the competition. The W series is really the line that gave the ThinkPad it’s reputation as the best business laptop in the category. No matter what line of work you are in, the W530 will be able to handle anything you can throw at it. And for those of us, who have to be mobile…and can’t rely on a proper desktop, the W530 is exactly what we need to handle the day to day tasks.

ThinkPad W530 Price

The ThinkPad W530 will start at around $2000. But you’ll be able to bring the price down quite a bit, by shopping using the Lenovo coupons(usually save 30-50%, so even from the start you should only be paying ~$1,600-1,700). So make sure to check the ThinkPad W530 Coupons area of this review, to check if there are any current promotions running for this model. The area dynamically checks Lenovo’s website to see if there are any specials running…so it’s always current. But the high price of this model is the main reason we urge you to also check the coupon page for the W520 model discounts. With discounts the W520 will only cost you $1,100-1,200…so you’ll save an extra $500 by going for a slightly older model.

ThinkPad W530 Coupon

Lenovo is currently having a special promotion. Click here to see the promotion details.

ThinkPad W530 Photos

The W530 is a pretty nice looking laptop. Below is a photo gallery of the Lenovo ThinkPad W530 pictures.

As you can see it’s a very nice looking laptop that won’t look out of place in a business meeting, but it’s also stylish enough to be used for personal use as well.