Although...hmm, I have a rebuilt T430 that already has Intel i7 and windows 10 installed. (My current personal computer, but it has a tiny hard drive).

I'm wondering if I shouldn't just swap out the existing HD for a 1T SSD (I want to keep my disc drive) while the insane prices of the P53 come down.

Things that make you go hmmmm

I just tried it. $2,044 with just a base 500GB hard drive. Switching to 3x 1TB SSDs bumps the price up to $4,944. This also includes a required graphics card upgrade. So the storage and graphics upgrade adds $2,900 to what was previously a $2,044 laptop. It's hard to tell the exact breakdown, but the storage appears to be responsible for between $1,500 and $2,000 of that $2,900 (and this is after a 20% coupon applied).

I don't have that spec, but I do have a P53 that I use about once a month and it's awful. I hate it because it's so heavy, but it's a workhorse. I only use it when I'm at client site, so which means I have to carry that and my regular laptop (T480), and my personal laptop (surface pro 6), with me through the airport. I carry that all in my backpack. Luckily, I don't have to take it all out with pre-check, but by the time I reach the hotel, I get bruises on my shoulder LOL. If you need the power, it is definitely there, I just don't think it's very "portable.

My P71 says hold my beer on the weight! ;) Luckily I only have that one to lug about. Very happy with it however (have SSD/HDD combo).

If this was 2009, or even 2014, I'd have no problem recommending a Mac. BUT, recent iterations of the Macbook Pro just aren't worthy buying. Apple has been intentionally designing their computers to prevent upgrades and repairs. Making matters worse, there are serious design flaws, from the infamous butterfly keyboards, to the poor design of putting the high voltage traces immediately adjacent to the sensitive CPU traces, to the decision to solder the SSD directly to the motherboard. If anything goes wrong with the motherboard or SSD, you're looking to buy a new computer and lose all of your data.

If Apple had good support, that might make up for it...but your only option with Apple is the Genius Bar, and . Right now, the soonest appointment for the nearest Genius Bar is 2+ days away. If it's a battery issue, they're just going to chuck your precious Macbook in the mail and you'll see it in 10-14 days...if you're lucky, it'll be repaired. If not, you'll be getting back a broken machine and you'll have to head back to the Apple store to figure out where to go from there.

When you're used to real enterprise computers (HP/Dell/Lenovo) and real on-site enterprise support, there's no comparison. Virtually anything can happen to an enterprise laptop and they'll have someone out to your location within 2 hours if you're in a major city, or the next morning if you're somewhere else, parts in-hand. I've even had a Dell repair tech meet me over lunch at a restaurant where we had lunch, chatted, and he repaired the Latitude, 3 hours from the time I called support.

Don't get me wrong, I like OS X, mainly the Unix core. There's always a Terminal window open while I'm using it. But the hardware & lack of support are driving me to Lenovo.

/typing this on a 2009 Macbook Pro. Replacing with a Thinkpad.

Take it from someone who travels 200-300 nights/year -- trust me, no you really don't. Even if you're traveling by ground, it's still a pain. Unless it's going to be sitting stationary for weeks on-end, shoot for something lighter. Also, if it's not going to be moving much you might want to consider a desktop instead, even a NUC and go for a lightweight laptop with external drive when you travel. 3.5" desktop-size drives are more reliable than 2.5" drives. 2.5" drives are more resistant to getting bumped when operating, but they do fail more often in normal use. I have a Lenovo Yoga 700 11" for overnights and in-plane use. It's an absolute delight to use and carry.

Skip the -s models as those are slimline models. I still wish Lenovo made the pre-redesign models (T420 & older), but I have a user who is VERY hard on laptops. Dropping them from the back of cars, physically punching them, and such. Their T540 has road rash but has been taking it like a champ. If you're really THAT hard on laptops, consider getting the on-site warranty w/damage protection. Beat it up and let Lenovo eat the repair bill.

Totally agree, especially on the Apple comments. They have really lost the plot when it comes to a machine that is even vaguely serviceable. I guess if their fanboi base is happy with buying a new machine every time something breaks then good on them for the cult brainwashing. I also travel a lot and for me I get the smallest laptop I can get the company to buy. Laptops are such a commodity item these days, I don't see the need to upgrade for a long time. My Dell Latitude 7280 is 18 months old but performs very well and was loaded from the start with a 1TB NVME SSD and 16GB of ram and the 12.5" screen is about the biggest I ever want to lug around. I am seriously considering asking for a GPD next time. Unfortunately my org does not support BYOD so supplying a smaller device out of my own pocket is not going to work.

Why the need for such a brick? I use a Thinkpad X1 Carbon, 16GB RAM, i7-8650U (highest spec CPU they offered when I bought it a year ago) and a 500GB SSD (1TB option exists). I upgrade every 2-3 years to a new device. The laptop weights 1.2kg (I don't do funny units) and is pretty powerful. Why do you need your music collection with you, is it that exotic you can't just pay a streaming service to listen to it? Just back it up on to some drives and stash it in the back of a cupboard at home?

If your current laptop has a mechanical drive, then switching to a 1TB SSD would be like getting a brand new laptop :D

Oh, and regarding Macs.... the best thing about them is not having to use Windows 10. :D

There is still one valid reason to invest in mechanical HDDs: getting large storage space affordably. However, this primarily means getting large 3.5" drives for desktop or server setups. So not really valid for laptop usage, there you certainly want SSDs as these are faster and far more reliable physically since there is no moving parts to break down.

Must admit I've not read all the previous posts.
I'd not do the RAID, why carry around something that big to have space for 3 drives? Unless of course you don't need to move it around much.
Try have a look at software such as Xopero instead. You can get it to automatically do incremental image backups to a local NAS. This would allow you to immediately get up and going again in case of a faulty drive.
I had a P51s myself before but now shifted to an X1 carbon. Much easier and lighter on the go though I hate not having RJ45 and HDMI ports. But that's solvable with an adapter - if you remember to bring it with you. Unfortunately my X1 came with a dead (very much alive and red) pixel out of the box. After some fighting with the seller I managed to get a new one as DOA.
EDIT: And yes, SSD is a must. It should be illegal selling machines without that nowadays :D Much much faster, lighter, power saving, doesn't generate heat the same way and usually more reliable.

Thanks all, but I feel like many folks are NOT listening. It's a personal laptop, not a work one. I value sturdy design and storage capacity over portability on my personal laptop.I could give a rats $ss about weight. I do not want to worry about plugging in hard drives to listen to my music (and a crapton of my music is rare stuff and not available online). I want to buy something that is going to last for a while, 5-6 years. Do not try to change my mind on this subject.

My work laptop, yep, all for portability and replacing every two years (I have been on the road for 15+ years, 200+ nights a year..trust me, I know about portability of laptops for work). But these are 2 separate machines for very different usages (and I must have separate machines).

For my personal laptop, I think I'm going to swap out the harddrive on the T430 and wait for prices to come down on the P53. Only thing I hate about the P53 is the lack of external battery...but I may wait for a perfectly built P52 to crop up so that I can get 2T of storage + an external battery and a workhorse machine.

I do appreciate the feedback on the RAID, though, it makes total sense to have redundancy in separate locations. Forgotten about a basic principle of Disaster Recovery.

In which case, go for the laptop you originally spec'd out. Drop the RAID and opt for the biggest available SSD in the market.

My X1 has an HDMI... No RJ45 unfortunately

My Gen 7 X1 has an HDMI and, with an adaptor, RJ45. There are 2tb SSDs which will fit into an X1 and, I believe, any modern Thinkpad, and will be easy to install.

I would not pay 5k for a laptop:|