Lenovo ThinkPad T510 review

Lenovo’s eagerly awaited ThinkPad workstation refresh hasn’t disappointed. The new T510 packs Intel’s latest dual-core 32nm Core i7-620M, which ups the old i7-720QM’s clock speed to 2.66GHz and drops the maximum TDP to 35W. In short, it’s the most efficient mobile Core i7 chip yet.

Those two cores won’t compete with a decent quad-core processor in most multithreaded applications, but for other tasks it runs like lightning. A score of 1.91 in our benchmarks makes it the quickest laptop we’ve tested, and the ISV-certified Nvidia NVS 3100M graphics raced through our CAD/CAM benchmark very quickly indeed.

It has raw power in spades, then, but the ThinkPad’s appeal lies in its design. The hooded edge to the lid makes it rigid as ever, and there’s a WWAN antenna inside it to get the most from the T510’s 3G modem. The hinges are wider and the base feels rock-solid, and it features a fingerprint reader (with TPM chip) and a contactless smart card reader.

The speakers either side of the keyboard restrict its width, but it meets the usual ThinkPad standard. Touchpad and trackpoint are present, and Lenovo has added some nice touches, such as a key to quick-start VoIP conferencing.

The 15in screen looks muted next to consumer laptops, but the 1,600 x 900 resolution suits the size and the backlight is evenly lit and bright. It coasted through our gradient and tinting tests, and it’s fine for the occasional video or presentation too.

Most of the ports sit on the left side, with an eSATA/USB combo and both D-SUB and DisplayPort outputs. There’s dual-band 802.11n wireless and Gigabit Ethernet, a fast 500GB hard disk and DVD writer, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit as standard.

It may not be as big and comfortable as the Dell Precision M6400, but with a price of £1,191 when configured on Lenovo’s website, it makes an awful lot more financial sense. More than four hours of battery life is good given the performance, and it comes with all the business features a workstation needs.

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