I have that same laptop. It uses the Nvidia optimus video architecture, I can't get that to work right, but I just use the Intel GPU and it works perfectly if you're not playing 3D games. The external displayport doesn't work out of the box for me, I have heard it doesn't work right but it might be an advanced configuration thing.
The fingerprint reader doesn't work, but you shouldn't use it anyway because it offers no real security.
The BIOS doesn't support booting off the sdcard or expresscard slot, which isn't a linux-specific problem, but is a giant pain in the ass.
edit: also adding, I bought it only maybe a year ago, and the battery is already at around 50% recharge capacity. I don't know if it's me or it's linux, but I only run Linux and it's torn through thinkpad and macbook (2008-ish) batteries.
After 2 years my X220, which runs off battery for a couple of hours pretty much every day, reports it's at 74% or original capacity. This is with vanilla Ubuntu 12.04
Wasn't there a recall for some Thinkpad batteries a while back? Maybe you can get a replacement.
ThinkPads USED to be good products. Lenovo killed it.
the W530 is still good, but the W540 is a joke.
The "Lenovo recommends Windows." at the top of Lenovo's website finished to convince me not to buy any TP anymore.
I got to try out a W520 recently. It seemed quite nice, and I like machines with a bigger screen but without the numeric keypad (which I generally have no use for). From my point of view, it is a shame the W540 now crams in the numeric keypad. I'd rather have a keyboard with full-sized keys (including shift, control, arrows, etc.) than have the more common cramped style seen with most 15.6" screen laptops.
For all the configurable internal guts and how much people have issues with keyboard layout i wish manufacturers had options for the keyboard on their mid-high tier laptops.
I'm on a T-series running ubuntu and it's the best machine I've ever owned. It's fast, reliable, has 6 hours of battery and it's taken a serious kicking and still works perfectly.
It's irritating that they won't sell them without windows, but at least they're guaranteed compatible.
The Haswell refresh has been full of laptops where corners have been cut in the form of lower production quality, many convenient features being removed, and questionable keyboard layouts. There have even been a couple of ThinkPad-branded keyboards that do not have trackpoints.
I realize that in order to make a lightweight and power-efficient laptop, there have to be tradeoffs, but the ThinkPad has historically been a premium brand, where frills like indicator lights, hardier materials and more generous keyboard and trackpoint/trackpad button layouts are expected. Their absence in the Haswell lineup is saddening, yet Lenovo still "wins" by default because all the other companies' offerings are even more deficient.
My current machine only runs 16GB, I am very envious (jealous) of you. Doesn't that machine support 3 SATA devices, so you could run 2 SSD and I rotational drive?
The fingerprint reader doesn't work, but you shouldn't use it anyway because it offers no real security.
The BIOS doesn't support booting off the sdcard or expresscard slot, which isn't a linux-specific problem, but is a giant pain in the ass.
edit: also adding, I bought it only maybe a year ago, and the battery is already at around 50% recharge capacity. I don't know if it's me or it's linux, but I only run Linux and it's torn through thinkpad and macbook (2008-ish) batteries.