Lenovo W520 vs Buying New Laptop

M

m4tthew

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May 22, 2007
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Hi,

So the dilemma is whether I should repair my 3.5 year old W520 Thinkpad or invest in a new laptop.

My current laptop has these specs:
2.2GHz Intel Core i7-2720QM Quad-Core
FHD Screen,
8G RAM
2GB NVIDIA Quadro 2000M Graphics,
128GB Samsung 820 SSD
500G 7200RPM secondary drive

The cost of repairs is USD$386.8 for new motherboard + USD$23.21 per hour labour.

The background to this dilemma is I recently finished my studies in architecture (using CAD, Rendering, and Adobe programs on a daily basis). However, having finished university, I am provided with a machine at work. I do require a machine to tweak my existing portfolio and for doing some freelance in the future.

One of the main problems is it is near impossible to compare performance between generations of computers. What would be the equivalent machine of today if I wanted a machine similar in power to my W520.

So do I pay up for the repairs, buy a new mid-level machine that is similar in power to the W520, or do I just fork out for a new top-of-the-line(ish) workstation?

Looking forward to your opinions!
 
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it is worth fixing based on the video card alone it is about 550 for a used model like your and 1300 for current gen that said current gen out performs that by a big margin around double. and for anything between you could get for around 600-900 a lenovo y50-70 is around 930 and has much better gpu and cpu you could go for the older one the y510p which could run dual gpu for around 600.

also Do IT your self this is not (S)oftUCP also http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Motherboard-For-IBM-Thinkpad-W520-48_1287957357.html double check i found the right one btw 5 min using google got me this find a tear down video get some as5 for the reassembly you just saved 330.80 + 23.21 per hour. Only thing you can do is break it more or fix it...
 
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Personally, I would repair what you have now and then sell it toward a new model when Skylake is released. Skylake will be a major jump vs Broadwell processors and is just around the corner if Intel can manage to hit their release dates this time.
 
Thinkpads are one of the easiest computers for DIY since they provide the full documentation online for FRUs

For the W520, here's the complete manual
http://support.lenovo.com/kr/ko/docs/MIGR-76854

I don't know about purchasing a reliable board, but if you're handy, the instructions will help immensely.
I replaced the hinge on my mom's T41 convertible which is how I know about these docs. Worked perfectly.
 
S. Wong said:
Thinkpads are one of the easiest computers for DIY since they provide the full documentation online for FRUs

For the W520, here's the complete manual
http://support.lenovo.com/kr/ko/docs/MIGR-76854

I don't know about purchasing a reliable board, but if you're handy, the instructions will help immensely.
I replaced the hinge on my mom's T41 convertible which is how I know about these docs. Worked perfectly.
Click to expand...
what does he have to loose I linked him a board for 50$ replacing the main board is easier than doing the lcd it is a matter of opening the bottom removing everything and disconnecting you will transfer your processor WiFi card etc to the new board then reverse the steps to put it all back.

The biggest issue will be the windows key is burned into the bios on anything running 8 or later he should just be prompted to re authenticate but he may need to reinstall
 
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