Lenovo ThinkPad T510 Notebook Review

Nice review. We use Lenovo's where I work. They're a solid laptop and get the job done for basic business apps. But as your review summarizes, you can probably do better price and performance wise. Think you're paying a little more here just for the name brand.

Just configured a T410 with discrete graphics, SSD and Win7 for a client and they're telling me that they get around 8-9 hours battery life playing movies. I didn't do any benchmarking, but the machine is just as responsive as my home i7 system through business applications.

Agree with the battery thing. They last like 8-9 hours if well configured. Also, I think there's a mistake while saying it only has 1 memory slot. Until the 2010 line, all ThinkPads had the 2 memory slots under the touchpad and not at the bottom of the unit. Now, with the new design and enhancements presented, they changed the location of one of the memory slots so you'll have one under the touchpad and the other at the bottom as you showed up in the review.

Disable the laptop's power management features and for some reason it delivers "underwhelming" battery life. What a surprise.

I want in on the contest to give this away... I'll wait if it hasn't started.

NOT a single 2GB stick .... here are the real specs :

Product: ThinkPad T510 4349-24U

Original description: i7-620M(2.66GHz), 4GB RAM, 500GB HD, 15.6in 1600x900, 512MB nVIDIA NVS3100m, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn, Vodafone WWAN, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint rdr, Camera, 6c, Win7 Pro 64

Sounds like a nice machine, however if it's longevity is anything like my Lenovo, it'll soon fall apart. My Lenovo 3000 N200 fell apart over a period of one month when it was 18 months old, with the power supply, lid hinge, and direction keys all failing. It limped over the warranty period and then let me down badly.
Anybody thinking of buying Lenovo would be advised to keep this in mind.

Thanks for humoring me Julio. Keep up the good work!

The Lenovo T series is a business line laptop product where your N series is consumer grade. I'm not implying that limping past the warranty is expected, but there is a big difference in these two lines. Also, Lenovo allows you to extend the warranty even after its expired, so you probably should look into that. I've dealt with their customer support several times and in my experience its better than Sony and Dell, on par with HP business support.

I've been using Lenovo T series laptops for over 5 years with my clients and every one that I've deployed are still in service, save 1 where a user spilled coffee on it.

What does that mean - cannot switch from Ge to Intel? Can one use this computer for video games?

Seeking updated battery life test info

Really helpful review of features, especially given the relative premium for the "brand".

Have you done additional battery life tests and what are your finding re. results and setting management tactics to achieve them? Thanks.

Thank you for the informative review!

I have just ordered a T510 and due to your recommendations went for the i7, HD+, 4G, 7200rpm and Centrino ultimate....i was able to keep the cost lower by not adding the camera nor the fingerprint reader and keeping the 6 cell battery....

i love the thinkpad....my first one being a 380Z (still in use running win98se) then a t40 and now the t510 is replacing my t42.....

You wouldn't expect a Chevy Aveo to have the same build quality as a Cadillac CTS, would you? Lenovo has different laptop lines just as GM has different brands - and the build qualities to match.

Thinkpads are the toughest, most durable mainstream (i.e. not Panasonic Toughbooks) notebooks on the market. They are designed to meet quite a few mil-specs and to take abuse above and beyond other notebooks - including the popular MacBook Pro unibody designs, which aren't nearly as rugged.

I'm writing this comment on a ThinkPad R40 I bought new in November 2003 - other than a backlight failure (covered through overnight depot repair within the 3-year warranty) the unit has operated flawlessly, for much of that time as my primary tool in IT consulting.

I'm now looking for a replacement, simply because the older Pentium-M 1.5 can't do what I need for virtualization - but based on my experience, the T510 is at the top of my list. I've worked with IBM, HP, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony laptops since the laptop was invented - when it comes time to spend my own money, there are only a few I'll consider.

I am writing this on my aged IBM ThinkPad R52. I love this kit. Been using IBM laptops since 1992. Tough as they come. I used to work for IBM and know well how they design, test and manufacture. Lenovo just keeps the tradition going and improving. I am so pleased that they have kept the trackpoint as an option. The R52 is now so full of stuff that I am about to order a T510 and can't wait to get my hands on it.

Writing this from my trusty R51E running ubuntu. Still going after being dropped on the floor and attacked by assorted foodstuffs . One spill broke the top left edge but it still trucks on But now sadly its taking too long to compile my apps, hudson builds takes minutes, and would be nice to run virtualbox.. So time to retire it too the kids and upgrade to a nice shiny new T510. Its great that the trackball is still there, an absolute necessity for lazy ones like myself who live on the couch.