Notable exceptions are the W500, which has ATI Mobility FireGL integrated workstation-class graphics, and the W550s, which is an Ultrabook-specification laptop with only a dual-core processor.

[2] The W series laptops were launched in 2008, at the same time as Intel Centrino 2, marking an overhaul of Lenovo's product lineup.

[2] Other features on the laptop were a DisplayPort video output, three USB ports, a docking station connector, a maximum display resolution of 1920 × 1200, Intel Core 2 Duo processors and an ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 GPU.

With a quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 processor and Nvidia Quadro FX 3700M workstation GPU available, the laptop was among the most powerful at the time.

The laptop featured up to a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 CPU, up to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM (two slots), either an (MXM-mounted) Nvidia Quadro FX 2700M or FX 3700M with up to 1 GB video RAM, and a 17-inch (43 cm) 16:10 TN LCD display with a resolution of 1440 × 900 or 1920 × 1200.

"[8] Released in April 2010, the W701 and W701ds, offered the following specifications:[9] The Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds is the logical successor to the W700ds, and shares the same exterior physical design.

Gizmodo said, about the W701ds laptop, "Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds pairs beastly specs with an integrated secondary screen.

[11] Gadgets Fan said about the W701ds, "Despite its massive size, Lenovo ThinkPad W701ds laptop is worth the purchase" and suggested that it was "almost comparable to a desktop workstation".

Announced in 2013 and released in the US and Europe early 2014, the W540 featured a brand-new, slimmer design based on the new generations T540p.

Critique was mainly aimed towards lower build quality and missing user interface indicators, together with a new style of touchpad where the traditional ThinkPad trackpoint functionality had been radically changed, and the controversial island style keyboard introduced in 2012 on other products, which many enthusiasts claimed abandoned the core tactile principles established by IBM over previous decades.