They don't make 'em like that any more: the Lenovo W520

I have a W520 laptop on my desk; I still use it every day, even though it was made in 2011 (11 years ago, at the time of writing; an aeon in IT terms). Over that time, it's seen off several inexpensive, consumer-grade laptops, and just keeps on truckin'.

Modern computer equipment is rarely built to last, so it's nice to come across something that is. But what makes the W520 so enduring?

Despite its age, the W520 has a relatively modern specification. It has an Intel i7, quad-core CPU running at up to 2.7GHz, a reasonable NVIDIA graphics adapter (not something integrated into the CPU), USB 3.0, a 15-inch full-HD screen, HDMI output at 4K resolution, and capacity for 32Gb of RAM. Many contemporary laptops fail to match these specifications, and it's worth thinking about what you would have paid for them in 2011 (answer below).

Of course, nobody in 2011 could have afforded 32Gb of RAM -- the base model was supplied with 4Gb. Still, having the capability proved to be a huge benefit in the long term. It's the equivalent of a manufacturer offering a laptop with 128Gb RAM capacity today.

The W520 doesn't look modern, though, and that's part of its charm. Folklore has it that the ThinkPad laptop range was modelled on the Japanese Bento (pre-packed meal) box. That's certainly plausible -- it's just a black slab. It weighs a ton, too -- especially with the extra-large battery. And you need that battery -- there's a reason why this machine comes with a 175W power supply. Its vintage is also revealed by the keyboard, with its huge, clattery, full-travel keys. They aren't back-lit, either: this was before the days of back-lit keys. Instead, the W520 has the stupidly-named "ThinkLight". That's a white LED built into the top of the screen housing, in the same location that a webcam would usually be placed. The LED shines down on the keyboard, and everything around it. The ThinkLight enjoyed a relatively short heyday: only a few Lenovo models had one, and I don't think any other manufacturer adopted the idea. Still, it works surprisingly well, considering how daft it is.

What differentiated the ThinkPad W-series and T-series laptops from most others of their day was that, despite being well-specified to start with, they were built to be upgraded, not thrown away. Almost every part of the W520 is user-replaceable including, in principle, the CPU (although I haven't tried). The bolts on the case are actually labelled with little icons, to show exactly which ones have to be removed. For example, to remove the keyboard, you loosen the two bolts on the bottom of the case with little keyboard symbols. If you do take the keyboard off -- which takes less than a minute -- you can get to two of the four RAM slots. You can also get to the fans to clean them (luxury). The other two RAM slots are on the bottom of the unit, under a flap that is held in place by two (labelled) bolts.

Only a single bolt has to be loosened to get to the built-in hard drive, which can be a magnetic or SSD unit. I have a 4TB SSD in mine -- unthinkable in 2011 -- and it works just fine. You don't need any tools at all to swap between the DVD read/write drive and a second hard drive -- just slide a lever on the case. So, today, the W520 can be fitted affordably with 8TB of SATA-III SSD storage (9-10TB if you use the m.2 slot as well). Again, nobody could have afforded this amount of storage in a laptop back in 2011, but the W520 continues to keep pace with modern developments.

In terms of performance, the W520 was one of a range of laptop computers that could compete on equal terms with desktops. To that end, it has a docking station that exposes all its ports, and adds a bunch of others. Switching the W520 between desktop and laptop use is as simple as pressing the release button on the docking station. For desktop use you could, in principle, use the W520 with three external monitors.

The W520 in 2022 is perfectly capable of running Windows 10, but it flies with Linux (and Windows 7, if you can still find it). I've used mine for video editing, CAD, and music composition. I mostly use it these days for programming -- the old-fashioned keyboard is particularly good for long periods of intensive typing.

It's not all positive, though. The W520 weighs as much as a small car. Well, it feels like it does after carrying it around for a few hours. Mine came with a carrying case that has a padded shoulder strap, because it's only barely portable. It generates a lot of heat (for a laptop) and has a rather inefficient cooling design. Consequently, it runs a bit warm, and the fan noise is always noticeable.

And, of course, there was the price. The fully-loaded variant of the W520 would have set you back about UK£3000 (gulp!) in 2011 (UK£3600 at today's prices).

How much?! It's hard to imagine paying that much for a general-purpose laptop computer these days. But you wouldn't have the opportunity to buy something like a W520 even if you wanted to, and had the money. So far as I can tell, user-serviceable laptops are a thing of the past. Of course, it's usually possible to dismantle a modern laptop, but it's typically a tedious, warranty-voiding operation. I don't know of any laptop made in the last ten years that lets you eject a disk drive without tools. Everything made by Lenovo since the W series falls short of it in some way. The T540p, for example (which I also own) has a slightly faster CPU, but RAM limited to 16GB. No laptop that I know of since the W series had a "real" keyboard. The W540 -- the notional successor to the W520 -- even has the horrible left-offset keyboard that plagued Lenovo business laptops until recently.

The best thing about the W520 is that it will probably still be going strong in another ten years' time. OK, it probably won't be able to run Windows 33, but I'll bet it will still be flying with Linux.

They really don't make 'em like that any more.