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Thread ID: 129014 2013-01-29 09:03:00 CPU for IBM ThinkPad T530 WarNox (8772) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1325456 2013-01-29 09:03:00 Hey,

I'm looking at getting a ThinkPad T530 but just not sure which CPU to order with it, options (including total laptop price) below. The rest of the components include a 128 SSD + 1TB SATA HDD, 1920x1080 NVIDIA NVS 5400M (1gb DDR3) and about 8GB ram.

I5-3360m - $2372.99
I7-3520m - $2660.44
I7-3720qm (quad core) - $2993.25

Will not be used for any extreme gaming, maybe something light every once in a while. Potentially run some test virtual servers and GNS3 networks.

I'm leaning towards the i5-3360 but just want to confirm it will suffice. Not sure if the i7-3520m is worth the extra $330 or over $600 more for the quad core.

Cheers for any help.
WarNox (8772)
1325457 2013-01-29 09:42:00 I'd get the 3360M. Depends if you can utilize the extra 2 cores or not. However you might want to look at the T430 (With enhanced graphics). It's on sale right now: i7 3520, 6gb DDR3 RAM, 1tb HDD + 180GB SSD and a nVidia 5400m NVS (630M/540M) for $2170.


Edit: This one; shopap.lenovo.com
icow (15313)
1325458 2013-01-29 10:13:00 Those prices I posed were including a 3 year warranty :) The T530 is also on special and I'm pretty sure they all expire tomorrow at midnight so I have to decide by then.

The reason I went for the T530 is because of the bigger screen/resolution. Even though I could live with 1600x900 I'm thinking 14" is a bit small.

I do agree on the i5, doubt I'll need the extra cores to be honest.

Maybe it's worth waiting a few months because I do not actually need the laptop until about May.
WarNox (8772)
1325459 2013-01-29 19:00:00 The way I see laptop screen resolutions is anything equal to or over 1368x768 is fine, without spending more on display. IMO 1368x768 is good for just about everything on a laptop. The only people I see needing more are people who work with large images, in which case they should probably avoid buying a laptop. Lower res just means more performance (fps wise) from the gpu, which most laptops seem to need.

If you didn't buy a laptop, Lenovo does sales all the time (even if it isn't on the T series) they'll probably have something similar in a few weeks time.
icow (15313)
1325460 2013-01-29 19:52:00 Fair point on the resolution but it would still be nice to have a 15" screen. I'll wait and see what's on special next and go from there. Cheers for the help. WarNox (8772)
1325461 2013-01-29 22:01:00 I would completely disagree with that, even for web browsing 1366x768 sucks big time. 1440x900 minimum on anything over 13 inch IMO. Alex B (15479)
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