Lenovo ThinkPad W701 Review

The Lenovo ThinkPad W701 is Lenovo’s most powerful ThinkPad Laptop’s ever! Ultra fast CPU, lots of memory and enhanced graphics to handle your most demanding professional applications. Our IT connoisseur Ewan takes the ThinkPad for a test drive and we’re excited to show you how this powerhouse laptop handles. Read on to find out if the W701 is the laptop you’ve been searching for.

Specs

	ThinkPad W701 Mobile Workstation	ThinkPad W701ds with dual screens
Processor	Intel Quad Core Processor i7-720QM (1.60GHz 6MBL3 1066MHz)	Intel Quad Core Processor i7-720QM (1.60GHz 6MBL3 1066MHz)
Operating system	Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)	Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Display type	17.0″ WUXGA (1920×1200) 16:10 aspect 100% colour gamut Anti-Glare display with RGB LED backlight	17.0″ WUXGA (1920×1200) 16:10 aspect 100% colour gamut Anti-Glare display with RGB LED backlight and Integrated 2nd Display 10.6″ WXGA (768 x 1280) 9:15 aspect Anti-Glare display with LED backlight
System graphics	NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M (1GB DDR3, 96 cores)	NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M (1GB DDR3, 96 cores)
Total memory	4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)	4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Primary hard drive	320GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm	320GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device	DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Enhanced	DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Enhanced
Battery	9-cell battery	9-cell battery
WiFi wireless LAN adapters	ThinkPad Wireless BGN	ThinkPad Wireless BGN

Design

As far as design goes Lenovo has stuck with their tried and tested ThinkPad look, although on a much bigger scale. The laptop feels solid and has a nice texture. My only complaint design wise would be the extra border they gave around the screen that could have been filled with MORE screen. It is not as heavy as you would imagine considering the overall size and grunt it includes, weighing in at 4.1kg. This is another Lenovo laptop that includes their Spill-proof technology, where a glass of water will pour straight through the keyboard.

Features

This machine is packed with features! It sports an Intel Core i7 quad core processor, a 17-inch WUXGA RGB LED widescreen display, dedicated Quadro FX graphics card, eSATA and USB 3.0 port, as well as N standard wireless. With new USB 3.0 peripherals you can transfer data at up to 5GB/s, that’s a whole DVD in 1 second! The W701 is ISV Certified which means it has been tested and proves it can run graphic-intensive applications. It also houses all the other features you’d expect in a Lenovo: Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, Fingerprint reader, CDRW/DVDRW, 64bit architecture, Windows 7 and more!

Performance

I don’t think you could find a more powerful mobile computer. The W701 has the latest and greatest Intel Core i7 quad core CPU, as well as the ability to house 16GB of RAM, that’s right, 16GB! It boots up quickly, it browses quickly, applications load quickly, it does EVERYTHING quickly! The graphics on this machine are nothing short of beautiful! It has awesome colour, sharpness and resolution. For any professional who would normally require a powerful desktop, this machine finally provides an alternative that doesn’t just talk the talk.

If you’ve experienced the power of the W701, we would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.