Review Lenovo ThinkPad W540 Workstation

[Redaktion]

Transformation. Lenovo completely redesigned its mobile workstations from the ThinkPad W-series and introduces some fundamental changes in this category. Does the device really meet the high expectations of the loyal customers?

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-ThinkPad-W540-Workstation.112318.0.html

[Mikiya Okuno]

Recently, I purchased a previous model of this machine, W530. I'm really disappointed by this machine, because it has a numeric keypad. A numeric keypad is totally a nuisance. It tortures the home position to left, so it brings disorder to my body due to bad posture.

[thinkpadW530Fan]

After reading this review, I am happy I made the correct choice and got the older version (W530). There is only a small performance difference between 3740QM and 4800MQ and K2000M is still OK. Looks like the W530 is my last Lenovo. This is the final nail in the coffin for me.

A laptop is supposed to be used in mobility by PRO users. PRO users who do content creation DO NOT use the numberpad at all !!! We're not number crunchers who type columns of numbers in a spreadsheet, we're the people who zip around in vim/emacs, and build apps and games for a living. We type frequently. We don't want carpal tunnel or some other neck syndrome while working. When will Lenovo understand this...

At this point, if you have a laptop where the keyboard is not comfortable to use on your lap, stand. And a screen that hurts your neck and I have to buy a LCD and keyboard and mouse to use it. Why, then should I buy a LAPtop in the first place ? I should buy a much cheaper/faster desktop then, even better if I custom assemble it.

I'm still annoyed by the non-grouped function keys and the screwed up change of page up/page down/home/end/insert/delete block of the W530 layout and after 3 weeks, it still annoys me, hell even the slightly wobbly dedicated touchpad keys are a bit annoying, but worlds better compared to this.

For a MAC, a "click-pad" may work because the ENTIRE OS is designed to be used by a single mouse button. You CANNOT force this on PC users. On PC, right-click is used frequently for many essential functions, dragging and dropping and context menus. And the habit of using it has been ingrained into PC users by years of Microsoft tradition.

[Chris S]

It is sad to see Lenovo ruin the Thinkpad.  My T420 is on it's last leg and it is painful to see the latest batch.

How sad is it that we are looking at buying previous generations?

Bleh :/

[Peter M]

As a prev W500 and W520 costumer now Im going for the Dell M4800, Lenovo W/T  x40 series not worth the money :(

Just a bottom line again new standard for the docking solution (introduced in the W520 era) Thinkpad officially dead

[Maitre Parfumeur]

Good article. But some points need to be made aware, as assumption may be made due to the name: Workstation.
+ Interesting autocalibration feature.
+ Fan intake in the back, not under.  Great for laptop use, or dusty desktops, keeps vents clean.
+ Nice bright screen, albeit some 'sharpening' is in order (MS, NVIDIA issue)       
- Missing HD activity light  <- MAJOR Feature failure. It's a black box ready for malware and viruses.
- No Wifi hard disconnect switch <- 2nd MAJOR failure for hackers
- No WiFi indicator light <- ibid.
- Missing power 'on' light on PSU brick (could accidentally leave on and be a safety hazard)
- Screen flexes when you grab one corner and lift it
- No lid lock, no area for fingers to grab screen in center, hard to lift w/o bending screen
- Touchpad accidentally clicks all over the place
- Missing right/left mouse button, they literally are virtual 'a la' Apple.
- Touch pad actually useless, mouse is mandatory for REAL work.
- Changing drive bay requires removal of memory/HD panel which is flimsy and can break plastic tabs and uses a tiny screw with special screwdriver. Not field serviceable.
- CPU throttling issue, not visible to the average user (must run diag. software).

Not a Workstation, but a high end everyday machine. Does not run Photoshop CS6 or CC with proper screen display.  Adobe is aware (03/2014), and hopefully will provide a fix.

Note the lack of HD light. On long processes, Stat Analysis, Tomtom Map updates, MS updates requiring reboot with a 'wait', there is no way to know if the computer is working, in a loop, or has crashed. Hence not good for programming, which defines a Workstation.

Using the Win 7 version, ThinkPad W540 p/n 20BG 0016U

[Fabien]

I just bought this new Thinkpad and what can I say except it is really bad if you are a kind of designer /developer like me and if you want to avoid to get an RSI Injury within a month.

You might buy this laptop only if you are using an external keyboard+mouse.

[ThinkHard]

This ThinkPad W540 is an ABOMINATION compared to previous generations of the W series. I've previously owned W500 and W520 and now it was time for an upgrade. But after reading reviews made by unfortunate owners of this laptop, I've decided to go with Zbook 15. The Zbook is not at all that impressive but it's significantly superior to the W540. Also a very good review that made me decide to abandon ThinkPads forever is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkGa7wa0sNk. The guy there says that Windows crashes, the plastic cover on the back broke when he tried to remove it, the touchpad is horrendous (it just keeps sinking when you barely touch it) and the overall construction is very shallow and very cheap.

If people will just blindly accept such a decline in quality, then there is no hope that we will ever again see a ThinkPad the way it used to be.

One more thing: this review says that "a large part of the case is made of a carbon fibre-plastic material". However, the tabook, located at this link, https://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf, says on page 167 that the case is made of glass-fiber reinforced plastic. So, there is NO carbon fiber like in the previous models. Furthermore, the tabook also doesn't mention any magnesium frame in the W540 as this review claims. Magnesium frame seems to be mentioned for older models such as X230, but not for the W540.     

[Beets]

All these negative comments really make we wonder if most of these commenters even have seen a W540 IRL at all. I am a previous T61p owner, and now own a W540, and believe it or not - I love it! It's light, fast (CPU throttling was fixed by first uninstalling (important!) the NVIDIA driver, reboot, set gfx switching mode in BIOS to advanced, and reinstalling with the latest NVIDIA driver from NVIDIA's website - boom - no more throttling when using the NVIDIA graphics. In Maximum Performance mode it runs at 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz continuously all day - and remaing surprisingly cool and quiet. I have seen some users comment that the lower left side of the machine becomes warm but I have not noticed this. And anyway it's considerably cooler than the T61p ever was.

Also, my DPC Latency Checker values are much better than the reviewer's - perhaps this is caused by him running Windows 8? Thesyscon's site clearly says that DPC Latency Checker won't show correct values in Windows 8. In Windows 7 Pro I typically get values from ~120 microseconds to ~490 microseconds.

On another note, the finishing of my unit shows no signs of irregularities like the review mentions. There are also no issues of notchy or sticky keys on mine - everything seems fine. Regarding the trackpad, the issue the reviewer reported on the lower corners not being actice is a driver setting in the Synaptics control panel - there is a setting for filtering of clicks and movements around the edge of the trackpad - disable this and it's fine. Also, the (AFAIK) same trackpad got a good review on the T440p review on this same site.

Note to gamers: I have the K2100M model, and all I can say is that it runs Assassins Creed III excellently in 2880x1620 resolution in High settings. And in Ultra mode I estimate I get about 15-20 fps in 2880x1620 resolution, so still playable. Will double check the exact framerates next time I play the game.

For LIDAR point clouds the K2100 also gives excellent performance. Also AutoCAD works excellently. Editing photos in Lightroom is a pleasure on the 3K display.

See DPC Latency Screenshot here:

(http://i.imgur.com/QvNJuss.png)

[Tyrell_corp]

I agree that Think-pad died somewhere after T400 W500, T420 was and is OK and usable, but nowhere near thinkpads of the "olden days"

I own T400 and if you slap SSD in it its more reliable than most current thinkpads.

those who want to buy Dell M4800 as I did... I must warn that only M4700 should be considered  instead. below are the links to serious problems with high end M4800.

you will enter infinite loop of customer support VS parts swap, all in-vain. just like I did once with shoddy W510 "bridge to decline of the legend of thinkpad"

(screen issue,stays blank when you close lid and needs reboot) http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/742205-dell-precision-m4800-screen-stays-black-after-closing-opening-lid-windows7-x64-4.html

(other issues) http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/736032-m4800-owners-thread-53.html

[sugarsmoking]

Almost unbelievable listening to all the reviewers whining about keyboard and numpad.

There is several post mentioning "real professional work" and keeping computer in your lap at the same time. That is just crazy.

I own mobile workstations since Dell invented the concept, and as a mechanical engineer I always preferred to have a numpad. That was usually possible only on 17 inch models and always ment that keyboad and numpad are offset to the left. Isn't that so on plain keyboards as well? Who is complaining?

Regarding touchpad, it is strange to use it at the beginning but after a little get used to time and visit to really extensive settings I have to say it's not bad at all. As a CAD user I use it only for general work and surfing. For "real proffesional work" I use a mouse. And I don't keep a computer in my lap.  ;). The indicator lights are an issue, but not unforgivable. Setup with F key row being dedicated for special keys works really well.

It is just different than a classic Thinkpad. Regarding build quality, I guess we will see in a few months or a year.

Until that, this is a REALLY GOOD MOBILE WORKSTATION.

[amir]

Im realllllyyy confusied !!!!!! what should I do ???? w540 or dell M3800???

[Beets]

I did a Cinebench R15 benchmark on my Thinkpad W540 i7-4900mq with Quadro K2100M graphics, and got the following scores: OpenGL: 69.19fps, CPU Multi: 668cb, CPU Single Core: 150cb. See screenshot below. Needless to say, I'm very happy with the performance on mine!

(http://i.imgur.com/NOMZsLf.png)

[Thomas.KK]

I could probably live with a new clickpad and off-centered keyboard when used with external keyboard and mouse (but only then).

A deal breaker for me turned out to be the quality of FHD panel which is
really a HUGE step back compared to that installed in W530 series.

3k panels are really scarce on certain markets (Central Europe) with mid-range, pre-built configurations, leaving FHD the only option.

All in all, after 10 years with ThinkPad I had to switch to another brand :(

[Maitre Parfumeur]

In reply to using the "laptop" feature.  Unfortunately, I do not live in a bubble, and even though I hate it when having to do so, if I travel for several hours in a TRAIN, a plane (at least there is a table, unless sitting near the bulkhead), long bus trips, etc, I'm stuck with vibration and using the computer as best as I can on my lap (if I can with the computer on top of the carrying case).

- Track pad?   Useless.

Sure wish I was in that bubble and management would give me a secretary to do all this work, so I could sip champagne in first class.