A top-notch 3K workstation with a top-shelf price tag
"The Lenovo ThinkPad W540 is a workstation powerhouse, but it's too expensive for general office use."
For
Immaculate 3K screen
Perfect keyboard and trackpad
Great performance for any task
Against
Too expensive for company-wide use
Inconsistent build quality
High-res screen hogs battery life
Design
There
isn't anything noteworthy about the W540's design. The laptop is a
carbon copy of previous ThinkPad notebooks. It folds up into a plain,
gray rectangle devoid of flashy accents, and featuring only a few curved
edges.
What
the W540 lacks in style, it makes up for with a carbon-fiber reinforced
plastic body wrapped around a magnesium rollcage. With these rugged
elements combined, you can expect this laptop to survive falls and other
accidents that would otherwise damage other notebooks. Despite
these toughened materials, the ThinkPad W540 still has a few soft
spots. The rightmost side of the palmrest creeks under the weight of
your hand. Prodding the notebook frame along the display hinge also
causes a noticeable amount of flexing. These are both small
imperfections that you won't notice unless you look for them. But it's
still disappointing that such a toughly built laptop bends under
pressure. Another thing you won't like is the painted
screen lid. Featuring a soft touch material that picks up dust and
scratches easily, your new workstation won't glisten and shine after a
few months of usage. Meanwhile, the interior is finished with a coarse,
hard plastic texture. Personally I thought it would have made much more
sense to swap these, but the lid is made of a different glass-fiber
reinforced material, which could explain why Lenovo uses a soft touch
coat. Specifications and performance
The Lenovo ThinkPad W540 is a blocky beast that weighs in at
5.57 pounds and measures 14.8 x 9.8 x 1.1 inches, much of which is due
to the optical drive. By comparison, the optical drive-less MacBook Pro 15 with Retina display tips the scales at only 4.46 pounds with 14.13 x 9.73 x 0.71 inch dimensions. The 14-inch HP ZBook is by far the smallest and lightest machine, sizing up to 13.35 x 9.33 x 0.83 inches and 3.57 pounds.
Spec Sheet
CPU: 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-4800MQ (quad-core, 6MB cache, up to 3.7GHz with Turbo Boost)
Ports: VGA, 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, Express Card, 4-in-1 card reader, DC in slot, Thunderbolt, mini DisplayPort
Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Camera: Integrated HD 720p Camera
Weight: 5.57 pounds
Size: 14.8 x 9.8 x 1.1 inches (W x D x H)
The
configuration listed above comes to a whopping $2,573 (about £1,606,
AU$2,946). It's a considerably costly machine with which to equip an
entire workforce. The rig above represents the pinnacle of an all-around
workstation that can do it all, and then some. Unless your business
revolves around graphic design that requires heavy computing power, it
might be smarter to pick a more affordable and less capable rig. The
HP ZBook 14 is an even more expensive option at $3,087 (about £1,927,
AU$3,535). Despite a loftier price, users will come away with a
comparatively less capable machine. The HP ZBook 14 at best can be
configured with a 1080p screen that pales in comparison to the W540's 3K
resolution. The HP notebook is equipped with a slower 2.1GHz Intel Core
i7-4600U processor and a less powerful AMD FirePro graphics chip.
However, the laptop does come with 16GB of RAM, twice the amount of the
W540.
You
might also want to consider going with Apple's latest generation
MacBook Pro 15 featuring a higher-resolution 2880 x 1800 display.
Available on Amazon for $1,899 (about £1,185, AU$2,174), the thin
production machine is equipped with a 2.5GHz Intel Core i7 processor
complemented by Nvidia's GeForce 750M GPU. It's not as powerful as the
W540, but you'll get a better looking and lighter machine with double
the RAM, plus better battery life, and a much more reasonable price tag.
For the best bang for your buck I'll point to the Dell Precision M4800.
Dell's workstation costs $2,238 (about £1,397, AU$2,563) for a nearly
identical setup as the W540 listed above, plus a higher-resolution 3200 x
1800 display. The lower-cost unit also leaves more budgetary wiggle
room for additional SSD storage and RAM, or other upgrades. In April we
reviewed the 1080p version of the Dell M4800, so we can't definitely say
it is a better machine. But at least on paper, it offers up the best
bargain.
Performance
With
such impressive (and expensive) parts, the W540 performed flawlessly
with any application I used. The W540 never stuttered, regardless of
whether I was browsing the web, editing images or looking at 3D printing
models in Autocad. Here's a look at how the laptop performed in our
series of benchmark tests.
Benchmarks
3DMark: Ice Storm: 44,009; Cloud Gate: 10,061; Fire Strike: 1,710
Cinebench CPU: 654 points; Graphics: 70.86 fps,
PCMark 8 (Home Test): 2712 points
PCMark 8 Battery Life: 3 hours and 7 minutes
The
ThinkPad comes with a top shelf Intel Core i7-4800 processor and put up
one of the highest 654- point Cinebench CPU score I've ever seen from a
laptop. To put the W540's Cinebench CPU score into perspective, it
closely follows the 722 points put up by the Alienware 18, the most
powerful gaming laptop we've ever tested, equipped with a nearly two
times faster 2.9GHz Intel Core i7-4910MQ processor. The HP Zbook 14 with
its 2.1GHz Intel Core i7-4600U CPU pales in comparison, only putting up
a paltry 295 points. Graphically, the W540's score also
beats the competition thanks to its hardened NVIDIA Quadro K2100M
graphics card. In our 3DMark graphics benchmarks the Lenovo finished the
most taxing Fire Strike run with 1,710 points. In the same test, the HP
ZBook 14 only put up a score of 1,208 points. A less impressive
performance we'll mark up to the notebook's AMD FirePro M4100 GPU, which
only features 1GB of GDDR5 video RAM.
Because the late 2013 MacBook Pro 15 with Retina display we reviewed last December was running OS X Mavericks and not Windows,
we can't compare benchmark scores one-to-one. However, we can use
Batman: Arkham City as a measuring stick. The MacBook Pro 15 was able to
run the game on 1080p and ultra settings at 39fps using just Intel's
integrated ISIS graphics. The W540's performance mirrored the Apple
notebook - that is before the game crashed shortly after. Games
do not run well on the W540 and the problem is not due to a lack of
power. Rather, it is because game developers often do not account for
workstation-grade graphics cards, such as the Quadro line, when
developing their titles. It's not a big knock against the ThinkPad, as
all workstation machines weren't made with gaming in mind. However,
you'll still be able to run Hearthstone to sneak in a quick game during
your lunch break.
3K resolution for a nearly $3K bill
The
best thing about the W540 is its gorgeous 3K screen. At 2800 x 1620 the
pixels on this 15.6-inch screen are virtually invisible. What's more,
they're all tuned to produce perfect and accurate colors, which can be
adjusted even more finely with the optional Integrated Color Calibrator. Post
calibration, the on-screen colors became even more vibrant and true to
life. The display was so good, I bumped my usual MacBook Pro 13 with
Retina display to the side and edited all of my images on the W540 for
this very review. Aside from images, the high-resolution
makes text look crisp without turning the font into thin, unreadable
lines of scribble. The pixel-rich display also makes just about any
video look good. You can finally appreciate the quad-HD quality of the
few snippets of 4K video on YouTube.
Power hog
Unfortunately,
the high-resolution screen also eats into battery life. During our
PCMark 8 battery test the ThinkPad W540 only lasted three hours and
seven minutes. With normal use you can expect to squeeze out four hours
and nine minutes split between more than a dozen tabs of web browsing,
some image editing in Lightroom and streaming 4K video on YouTube. Even
after activating the power saver profile on the W540 I got at best five
hours and 17 minutes with modest use.
All the tools and no applications
Despite
being a workstation machine designed for productivity and office work,
there are hardly any business applications built in or bundled into the
laptop's high price. Don't expect to immediately work on spreadsheets,
word documents or images. Instead the IT department will have to
pre-install the applications. This is where Apple has
recently trumped Microsoft by including its iWork and iLife suites with
every Mac and iOS device. Add in the free release of OS X Mavericks (and
soon, Yosemite),
and Apple has made a very tantalizing platform for employees to jump
onto that lets them keep all of their systems updated for free. Most
companies will have an IT department with access to its own set of
licenses of enterprise software. But for smaller businesses with
employees numbering in the teens, going Mac is a much better and more
affordable choice.
As
for the W540, all that's been preloaded on the system is the company's
usual suite of business communication tools. Here are the most important
pre-loaded tools:
Bundled software
Password Vault -
In case you aren't already using OnePass or LastPass, here's a built-in
password manager to help you manage long and complicated authentication
codes.
Quick Display - To avoid embarrassing projector fumbles
during your big presentation, Lenovo has included a quick connect tool
for pairing the laptop to wireless displays or projectors.
PC
Experience - Less of an application and more of a control panel
shortcut, this "program" consolidates all of the W540's Lenovo-specific
settings into one panel.
Airbag Protection - Customize how and when the W540's shock protection system cuts in.
Messages
from Lenovo - Another notification tool to prompt important
Lenovo-centric updates, such as impending cloud storage limits or
password vault notifications.
Rescue and Recovery - Back up your
data to optical media, external USB storage device, or partition a
portion of the W540's internal storage.
Lenovo System Update - The simplest way to download new drivers and update the ThinkPad W540.
Pantone
Color Calibrator - Not to be confused with the hair shampoo maker,
using the X-Rite Pantone Integrated Color Calibrator is a simple matter
of starting this piece of included software, picking the media type
you're making, and then closing the laptop to let the sensor do its
work.
Verdict If you're purchasing the Lenovo ThinkPad W540 for your
business you won't be disappointed. It's a hefty and solid system that
packs plenty of power under the hood to get you through all your daily
tasks. Of course, with such a high price tag for this configuration, it
might be prohibitively expensive to outfit your entire workforce with
W540. So it might be a unit best reserved for your graphic design team.
We liked
Lenovo
has inherited ThinkPad's long heritage of building excellent business
laptops, and the W540 is another stellar notebook. The laptop's rugged
body will survive an accident better than a HP ZBook 14 or Macbook Pro 15 with Retina Display.
Thanks to Lenovo's software it's a highly secure tool that won't be
hacked easily. Meanwhile, this laptop has perfect inputs - as you'd
expect from a ThinkPad. Lenovo has figured out its keyboards to a
science. The Chinese computer maker has also designed a trackpad that's
twice the traditional size, making navigation even smoother and more
comfortable. Aside from the solid build quality and
usability that we've come to expect from Lenovo, the W540 also offers a
uniquely gorgeous screen. The screen on this ThinkPad is a sight to
behold. It displays text and images with great contrast, gorgeous colors
and an amazing resolution. I dare to say, it's the best screen I've
ever seen on a laptop. Plus the W540 actually has components with enough
power to drive this high-resolution 3K display. If you're in the
graphic design or photography world, this is one laptop definitely worth
checking out.
We disliked
While
we liked the solid build quality on the W540, the few creaky spots were
disappointing inconsistencies. Otherwise the only other knock I have
against the W540 is its expectedly poor battery life and somewhat
astronomical price.
Final verdict
At $2,573
(about £1,606, AU$2,946) the Lenovo ThinkPad W540 is a costly business
investment whether you're buying just one or multiple units for your
employees. For this reason there are a lot of other machines to
consider, especially if your line of work does not require a 2880 x 1620
display. There are also direct competitors such as the MacBook Pro 15 that offer a slightly higher fidelity Retina display for less money. The Dell Precision M4800
also offers up the same configuration with an even higher-resolution
3200 x 1800 display, all for a smaller equipment bill. If it were not
for the enormous price tag we would wholeheartedly recommend the Lenovo
ThinkPad W540, just be sure to check out the competition before you
decide to foot the big bill.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco.
