<p>DS is starting Georgia Tech in the fall. His current laptop does not meet GT’s requirements. So we are considering either the ThinkPad W530 or a Dell M4700. We are planning on upgrading from 8GB RAM to 16GB RAM because GT suggests 8 or more…( note last year they recommended 4 to 8 so I assume 8 won’t be enough for long) .</p>
<p>Any suggestions on which brand/model would be better? They look pretty much the same to me… except the Thinkpad has windows 7, a 500 GB hard drive and a 9 cell battery while the Dell has windows 8, a 750 GB hard drive and a 6 cell battery…</p>
<p>We will also be buying a external hard drive with either one.</p>
<p>I’d go with the ThinkPad. W8 is underdeveloped, the ThinkPad model is quite reliable, and battery life is pretty important. If you have an external hard drive, do you really need 250GB more than you’ll ever use?</p>
<p>Thinkpad W530 is a very nice workstation. I can’t imagine why he would need that kind of equipment, but based on these two options that would be my choice.</p>
<p>Thinkpad and a box of Wheaties if it’s going to class on a regular basis. It is a bit on the big side but should work fine. Order it with the 7500RPM drive, maybe even an SSD (we only live once, etc etc) and the super hi res display if you can afford it.</p>
<p>DD1 may be getting a W530 next year for architecture. If you order directly from Lenovo make sure you get the academic discount using the right link. Also, once in a while they have sales/offers/etc that can save you money. Caveat: Lenovo direct orders ship from China in the original box… DD1’s Thinkpad 2011-era T420 made the trip just fine.</p>
<p>Turbo - I’m slightly confused about the hard drive. Is it better to have a 500GB with 7500RPM or the 1TB with 5400RPM? The largest SSD is 256 so I think that’s too small…</p>
<p>… Compared to a 14" at least. Think pads are pretty svelte in general due to magnesium frame etc. older 14-15" in general were massive :)</p>
<p>If large screen is not a big concern (ie LCD monitor in the room) and portability is important, check out the x220 12". We use those for field work and they are quite nice, tho not necessarily much smaller than 14" rigs.</p>
<p>For disk, many laptops allow a smaller SSD as e-sata plus a regular disc or allow two discs. 256gb is not small, believe me. Not unless the kid has 300gb worth of music or video. 256gb plus an external USB disc is ok, or 256 gb plus a 500 internal 2nd disc. If you go for one disc, the 7500 rpm is faster by a bit and well worth the less disc space.</p>
<p>Did you eventually buy it? Because i would like to know how it performs , because i would like to get one myself for 3ds max heavy use… and i really dont know where to ask, beeing new.</p>
but should work fine. Order it with the 7500RPM drive, maybe even an SSD (we only live once, etc etc) and the super hi res display if you can afford it.</p>