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The ThinkPad W530 Is My Definition of ThinkPads

This article is a transcript of a video that you can watch by clicking the thumbnail below. Hence, certain statements may not make sense in this text form, and watching the video instead is recommended.

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Intro

Since I came across the ThinkPad Buyer’s Guide by BobbleTech I’ve always had this curiosity about the W-series ThinkPads and never understood why one would buy one of those in place of a desktop computer. However, once I had a chance to get my hands on one, I quickly realized how these machines represent the true DNA of ThinkPads.

Reason to Pursue a W-series

Not counting my first notebook, the 2010 Dell Studio 1558 that was equipped with [Nvidia GeForce graphics](https://www.nvidia.com](https://www.nvidia.com), all the later machines I had over the years only came with integrated Intel graphics. I was also stupid enough to expect my 2016 Apple MacBook Pro to be able to run graphics-intensive software just because it was a “new” machine back in the day, which it did to a certain extent, but I was super disappointed when heavier video game titles like MadMax and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided complained that the machine wasn’t capable enough to run them.

Also, the realization that my X1 Extreme Gen 3 wasn’t very graphics-capable either was a bummer. I plan to cover more about this in a future video.

And, then I revisited the W-series. Before getting the W530, I also had a brief experience at a P73 for a day, and even after being a relatively older machine, it performed better in terms of cooling performance. That was my first-hand experience of how these things were purpose-built for heavy computing. By the way, if you are not aware, Lenovo rebranded their W-series into the new P-series a few years ago, so the P73 could technically have been named the W73.

During my adventures with the older T-series machines, specifically the T420, I learned that the W520 was pretty much the same chassis but came with better hardware and upgradability. I’m talking about things like four RAM module slots and a few other things that make it a true workstation notebook. After months of failing to win a good deal on eBay auctions, I finally scored a W530, which was just a year newer than my goal.

Initial State and Impressions

With my brief experience with the T420, the W530 felt very familiar. This machine does benefit from the significant boost in performance being a generation newer. The machine is heavy, and when I say heavy, I do really mean heavy. This particular example came with an HD+ screen that wasn’t the best in terms of neither the resolution nor the color gamut. Also, the keyboard was replaced with a classic keyboard from a ThinkPad from the previous year. This does sound fascinating for how now you’d have a great machine with one of the best keyboard designs in a ThinkPad, but unfortunately, neither does it fit right (without some adjustment), nor do the keys behave as they are supposed to as the layouts are a bit different. The machine made me realize what the W-series stood for and quickly became my definition of ThinkPads. I was very pleased with my purchase, and all set for the restoration to make it mine, at least for a few months.

Restoration

  1. The first thing I did with the machine was to replace the keyboard with the one the machine was shipped with. After the upgrade (which a lot of ThinkPad enthusiasts would call a downgrade), it felt a lot more natural to use. More about this soon.
  2. As the machine was really dirty inside-out, I deep cleaned it, and also took that opportunity to replace the thermal paste.
  3. I installed a 512GBs solid state drive, one I could get for cheap, as this machine didn’t come with one.
  4. I added another 8GBs of memory, making it 24GBs in total. This also made sure the memory slots were now symmetrical with 4+4 beneath the keyboard, and 8+8 at the bottom.
  5. Unlike the T420 or T430 which look very similar, this machine wouldn’t charge with any of the 65W or 90W barrel chargers I had lying around, so I also added a 170W charging brick.
  6. I’m not a fan of batteries that extend out from the chassis, so I replaced it with a smaller battery, which fits flush, and yet provides a decent amount of run time.
  7. A few weeks down the line, I managed to convince myself to spend on an aftermarket high-gamut 1080p panel.

My Review

All of the upgrades I performed were relatively effortless. These things are usually easy to do on ThinkPads, but when you can access the CPU without disassembling every nut and bolt (not to mention even being able to replace the CPU), that makes a ThinkPad even better than the rest.

The chicklet keyboard which received a lot of flak back when Lenovo introduced it in 2012, felt surprisingly impressive on this machine. It adds another mode of illumination, which is the backlit from behind the keys along with the popular ThinkLight. This was indeed the last generation to have both options on the same machine after which the ThinkLight never returned. The keys are perfectly spaced and feel very deep in terms of travel when you press them.

The machine does feel powerful, and the Nvidia GPU works reasonably well on Linux with legacy drivers, even though it wouldn’t stand a chance in comparison to the modern Nvidia GPUs that we know and love. I seldom found the machine struggling with most of what I use it for, but that may be just me as my workflow usually doesn’t involve a lot of computing resources except for a couple of things like video editing with Blender and photo editing with Darktable. I definitely wouldn’t run video games on this machine.

Though the machine uses a lot of power from the battery, even the smaller battery works reasonably well, not to forget that it was a used battery that doesn’t hold as much charge as it was designed to back in the day.

After having used a lot of machines with 14, 13, and 12 inches of screen size, a 15” screen feels very spacious and usable. This got even better with the FHD upgrade and better colors, making it one of my best screens in a ThinkPad from that day and age, provided you look at a proper angle, as it’s still not an IPS panel.

The ports on the machine is something to admire. While our modern notebooks do not have space for a USB port, these machines had two arranged vertically one over the other! There are multiple options to connect external displays, but just not the regular HDMI or DisplayPort, so you’ll still need an adapter for the mini-DisplayPort unless you like working with the analog VGA connection. Oh, and there’s a DVD drive, which I barely find a use today, but why not?

A Few Comparisons and Practicality

To summarize, this machine isn’t a modern workstation notebook, but surprisingly, doesn’t feel so outdated either. The weight of the machine itself could be considered a problem while carrying it, but adding the charging brick (which you’ll definitely do, given how this machine loves gulping power) makes it an impossible travel companion. I’d only consider using it at or near my desk with easy access to the charger and I’d rather carry something else with me while I’m on the move. And yes, did I mention how fitting it inside a laptop bag also could be a challenge?

Conclusion

With all that, I still find the W530 very “confidence-inspiring”, and makes everything do you on your computer feel nothing less than legendary.

Outro

That's all that I have for this video. Thanks for watching it till the end, may the maker watch over you, see you in the next video! And yes, "Free Palestine!".