Lenovo ThinkPad T510 Review

Lenovo ThinkPad T510 Review

Our Lenovo ThinkPad T510 Specifications:

15.6-inch HD+ LED-backlit Display (1600×900)

NVIDIA NVS 3100M dedicated graphics with 512MB DDR3

Windows 7 Professional (64bit)

Intel Core i5-560M (2.66GHz, 3MB cache)

4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB + 2GB)

320GB Seagate 7200.4 HDD (7200rpm)

Intel 6200 802.11AGN, Bluetooth

94Wh 9-cell, 90W 20V AC adapter

ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3

Dimensions: 14.68″ x 9.65″ x 1.41″

Weight: 6.22 pounds

Retail Price: $2,038.99 ($1,508.99 on sale) with docking station

If you are one of the ever-increasing segments of consumers that use their notebook for a desktop-replacement at home and mobile platform on the road, the latest ThinkPad Mini Dock might be for you. Our T510 review unit included the Mini Dock Plus Series-3 docking station that is loaded with ports and even supports up to three monitors connected simultaneously. In total the docking station adds six more USB ports, Ethernet, two DVI-outs, two DisplayPort-outs, one VGA-out, eSATA, and additional headphone and microphone jacks. If you have a ton of devices that need to be connected at your home or office, a docking station is one of the best options.

Performance and Benchmarks

You really can’t go wrong with even the base configuration of the ThinkPad T510 if you are in the market for a powerful notebook. Currently as standard features, the T510 comes with a 2.66GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM (ours was bumped to 4GB)and optional NVIDIA Optimus graphics. The machines equipped with the NVIDIA Optimus graphics automatically switch between NVIDIA dedicated and Intel integrated graphics depending on the programs needs or users preference. This allows you to consume the bare minimum of power when browsing the web, but kick it up a notch when gaming or using 3D-intensive business applications.

In our tests the ThinkPad T510 performed very well in system and 3D benchmarks. We did notice a few odd quirks with the NVIDIA Optimus graphics on this notebook though. We had trouble forcing the system to NVIDIA graphics when running overall system benchmarks like PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage, even after changing application-specific video card preferences and global settings. The system would report as still using Intel HD graphics, but would actually score lower than when we specifically chose Intel HD graphics for that specific test. In terms of how this impacted the scores, the NVIDIA scores in PCMark05 were about 100 points less and PCMark Vantage were about 300 points less. In 3D benchmarks this problem didn’t show up and things benchmarked without any issues.

Wprime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

Crystal Disk Mark storage drive performance test:

Battery Life

The ThinkPad T510 can be configured with a six or nine-cell battery. Our review unit came equipped with the 94Wh nine-cellbattery which is probably the best option you can get if you want extended runtime. In our battery test with the screen brightness reduced to 70%, wireless active and refreshing a webpage every 60 seconds, and Windows 7 set to a balanced profile, the T510 stayed on for 8 hours and 32 minutes. This is phenomenal battery life for a 15.6-inch notebook and perfect for road warriors looking to get extended runtime away from available outlets.

Pros:

Great build quality

Excellent HD+ display

Over 8 hours of battery life

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkPad T510 is a great business notebook for consumers looking for a better built notebook or business users looking for a daily workhorse. Compared to the ThinkPad W510, the T510 offers some of the same features, albeit with lower processor and graphics card options, no multitouch display, and other perks like USB 3.0 connectors or huey color calibration. The T510 excelled in daily usage and still offered plenty of grunt for some 3D-intensive applications. When number crunching power wasn’t needed, the T510 offered over eight hours of battery life; perfect for the road-warrior in all of us.