Lenovo W510 Owner's Thread

I couldn't DISAGREE more with this statement. You are correct in that cars are not built to be run floored all the time. But if your computer isn't designed to be run at 100 percent then why are you buying it? It's more then common to have CPU intensive tasks that run at 100 percent for hours on end. If Lenovo can't design for that they have no business in the laptop industry. I believe for the most part the new series has good cooling but a few people seem to be having an issue or two. I attribute that to manufacturing issues that should be solvable.

 

What exactly are we talking about anyway when overheating the machine? Are you guys running actual applications that use 100% of the unit's resources, or a cpuburn tool designed to overheat the thing? If it's the latter, you've only shown that the tool you're using works.

 

not.sure, if you go back to page 169, you'll see bobsandefur has a legit complaint. He has a i7-920 with 16GB ram, needed for his work, and it's overheating like mad.

 

There are plenty of applications capable of loading a machine to 100%. Video editing, 3d modeling, CAD, any kind of simulation.....

 

Has anyone with a 720 or 820 had overheating issues? Could it be that the cooling system for these two processors is fine, but the 920 beast needs something more robust?

 

I have a 720 with 2x2GB factory ram and never cracked 80 -- I've run a few stress tests and play WoW a bit, so may not be stressing as much as others.

I go have occasional freezes though, but I'm chalking those up to drivers for now as hardware tests seem fine.

 

Anybody install Ubuntu 10.04 on their W510? I read some time ago that 9.10 had some problems so I never set up a dual boot environment.

 

I'd wait a bit, the Lynx was just released.
I might give it a shot later on a separate HDD.

 

ive running it (10.04) from a live disk
and from a vmware image
its been awesome!

though i dont know what the problem was previously

 

The only noteworthy linux problem (broken suspend) has been fixed by the BIOS update released a few days ago.

 

alright alright,! you win! I partially agree if you'd be designer you'd make a portable desktop-tower-on-wheels-with-liquid-cooling. and,toms hardware would put it to a test. but now who doesent like hot lenovos can buy a Dell
which in the exact same situation would burn a hole in the table put your underwear and giblets on fire, and then will send you replacements till the warranty ends, thats when you are really boned. (I hope you understand jokes)

but I digress ... its possible that the beasty CPU he uses is just a bit over the limit of the coolling design, and being just 10c over the limit creates the feedback which equate to an overheating though non of us knows what real circumstances are. l'd say its a flaw when atleast 3 users will complain otherwise without real thing on my hands I wouldn't make assumptions.

I got a question for linux gurus out there what is the best portable (usb bootable distro) currently out there? big thanks in advance

 

I have the 820 with 8GB and often run some pretty intensive multi-threaded analysis apps. The fan works hard but I have not seen any unusual temperatures.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but I have an SSD in the main hard drive bay and use the Ultrabay adapter that has the 4mm gap. Maybe that helps the ventilation. Also I have it sitting on the "dock", which probably also helps ventilation.

 

I'm *so close* from walking straight into the local Lenovo partner store here in Berlin, tomorrow, to buy this machine. (FYI, I'm planning to get the model with the FHD screen, i7-820QM, 4 GiB.)

But I'm still a bit concerned about two things:
1. Can I actually use this thing as a laptop? That is, doesn't it get too hot on the bottom side? Please also indicate what CPU you decided for. As I already said, I'm not taking the i7-920QM which some people here assumed to heat up much more.

2. Portability / mobility. How many hours were you guys able to squeeze out of the battery? I've found many different information on this, so far: notebookreview.com says it'd last 4 1/2 hours on medium settings when using the 9-cell battery whereas notebookcheck.net mentions a maximum of 3 hours with everything turned off on a 6-cell battery...
Surely, 9/6 = 1.5 and 1.5 * 3hrs = 4 1/2 hrs. But they're still using completely different settings... Plus, this guy mentions only 3 hrs with 9 cells...

@the guy who asked about Ubuntu:
I was able to try the Ubuntu 9.10 LiveCD on it for a short time. It worked out of the box in low screen resolution. And after installing the Nvidia driver even the FHD worked fine and looked nice.

 

anyone know when i can order with FHD? how much extra would it be over HD+? pleae advise

 

1. I have been using it as a laptop for two and a half months, including traveling on business several times. Always had it on a flat surface including a laptop pad when sitting in a recliner, never had any heating problems.

2. Real world, on cross-continental flights, including four in the past two weeks, I get about 2:35 to 3:15 depending upon what I'm doing. However, I do have a second 7200 RPM HD spinning in the caddy.

Cheers, B

 

Same results here. It's not too hot on the lap and I get around 3 hours battery life on a 9-cell battery.

 

I get more than three, but I don't have a 2nd drive. It is probably ~ 3.5 hours or so, but I have not done much formal testing.

Regarding heat, I have not seen any problems with office based apps. I have not done much engineering, CAD or game testing.

Regards,
R

 

is there anyway to change the clock speed
or voltage in the bios????

I feel like I totally missed someting

 

The May 6th "recovery" date seems to be another lie from Lenovo. I don't understand how every other manufacturer has these resolution monitors in stock, yet Lenovo can't get them for almost 4-months now.

 

The BIOS is garbage...there is almost nothing that you can change in there.

This is not uncommon with laptops unfortunately...

R

 

I use Ubuntu because it's popular. There are a few flavors of Ubuntu, some geared towards mobile. I used this tool to build a USB (SDHC card) version, you can choose from a variety of mobile version there. I've had good experiences with this tool.

 

Dell isn't offered wide gamut screens in their business line either (15.6 inch size). I think there is a massive shortage. Lenovo's mistake is not offering FHD that's just a regular SRGB screen so that those that just want the resolution and not necessarily the color space can still get one.

 

i cannot boot from a USB disk:
I have created a bootable HDD wit 2 OS's one for office and one for home. when i trey to boot from the portable disk it goes to the boot sequence and then i get a BSD.

What am i doing wrong?

 

it is absolutely great one. There is a little heat but not like it's on fire. i get around 2 hours of battery with everything turned on.

 

Firstly I went with the 820 (for no reason other then my company was paying for it and i had already maxed out the laptop) (less an ssd -- cheaper else where)

just browsing and writing it is very very cool (my) cores run at 38 35 37 36 almost all the time
but when ever im working in CAD it spikes up to 50 - 60 fairly quickly

I would say day to day definitely a laptop, even so i prefer working on a desk simply to get the best air flow

Secondly with everything except Bluetooth turned off (internet from my N900) windows 7 rates it at 4:15
however the only timed test i have done (as I posted earlier) is with wifi and heavy browsing I got 3:15
I would say that under 3 hours is what you should "plan for" (w/ 9 cells)
however you can always purchase the additional battery for a total of about 6 hours!

Finally
the one aspect that has really started to bother me is the build quality
there is significant movement when you push on the speaker about the cd drive
and when pushing above the usb 3 port
and then pushing on the lower center bevel of the screen

other wise however it is rock solid!

Wrap up
if you want power on the move this is it
if you want to emphasize the moving part you should factor in the battery slice or maybe a T series

cheers

 

The speakers are absolutely horrible. Even for business use (we use audio teleconferencing, we watch product videos, etc....), it is unpleasant.

Aside from that I have no issues with the build quality.

Regards,
R

 

well for experienced person following info should suffice in establishing max battery life, I have played AIX (its BF2 MOD a bit more demanding than the original) last night all max 1.20h (no lag by the way) test was done unintentionally as i forgot to plug it in but managed to look at the clock when I pressed the power button. as for speakers I disagree, mine are fine "turn off the enhancements in audio settings" if this not helping you you got a lemon. speakers have good stereo effect and are very much adquate for a laptop of this caliber.
it is portable, and more so with 6 cell probably but its not light weight as my X60 so prepare to buy the 90w slim adapter for it as you will be thinking trice when you'll look at the ghost-busters trap as someone said here. there my 2 Golden cents!!!


And thanks goes to Mike5065 for giving good tip about linux.

 

Hi there,

I'm shopping for the right W510 + accessories, and am trying to figure out the most convenient way to configure my upcoming W510 to work as a desktop replacement. It looks like the Lenovo site recommends the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 for the W510. However, my monitor is the Dell SP2309W, which runs at 2048 x 1152, and the dock says of its 5 video output ports, none can output this high a resolution. (The DisplayPort can, but not using a DisplayPort -> VGA/DVI adapter). I tested my SP2309W at its next smaller resolution of 1920 x 1080, but it's very fuzzy because it's non-native. I was wondering if it is possible to plug in my SP2309W to the VGA port on the ThinkPad itself (which purportedly goes up to 2560 x 1600) while the ThinkPad is docked. Or do you think that docking the laptop disables all of its video outputs? Or maybe that port is physically blocked while the laptop is docked? I'd be gratefully appreciative of anybody who knows or could test that out for me.

Alternatively, if there are any better solutions for working with this high-resolution monitor, please let me know. Perhaps instead of a Mini Dock, a usb mini-hub + extra power adapter would be sufficient, but that (plus 2 monitors) sounds like a lot of things to plug and unplug whenever I change location. Or is there a different dock that supports the W510 and my screen resolution?

I'm also trying to decide how long I should wait for FHD screens. A Lenovo customer service rep said (on 5-5-2010) that they are expected in 4-6 weeks. I'm a software developer, so I feel like higher vertical resolution is a good investment, especially since it says the HD+ screens will take a couple of weeks anyways. Or is HD+ as good as FHD given that it's a 15.6" screen?

Thanks for any ideas!
seth.sand

 

They've been saying 4-6 weeks for 2-3 months.

 

guys I have a smal annoying problem my "mic mute" button doesn't seem to be working atleast the indicator light doesent come on, reinstalled the drivers yes, but no luck.
can it be binded to this othe bloatware toolbox, since it was after I uninstalled it.

 

I will use my amazing powers of deduction and say that yes, that's what it's related to.

Most of the time the media keys on laptops are controlled by whatever custom control software is installed by the vendor, not the drivers or Windows.

 

Hi MidnightSun,

"I often carry around my T500 with a 9-cell battery and A/C adapter in a separate laptop bag, and while it's not too bothersome, after a while I do start wishing I had an X200s "

Yes, this is a cruel dilemma. This is a dilemma that occupied me considerably. Eventually, I asked myself a simple question. Do I carry a laptop around to work with it? Or just to carry it around easily…?

About 6 months ago, my old laptop overheated and switched off while I was recording a demo from my client. (The laptop is a 5 yr old HP vd4000, given to me by a relation who didn’t need it anymore.) So at that point I realized I needed a new and powerful laptop, but it has to be light since as a freelance writer I am pretty mobile. So I focused on the T400s machine. But I decided that since I will be a paying a lot of dough for it, I did want one with a discreet GPU – and T400s did not have the discreet GPU. (I am not a gamer, but who knows what the next 2 or 3 years will bring…) So I guessed that the next version of it would have a GPU. So I waited about 3 months. I was right. the T410s with discreet GPU arrived. Then I had to wait another 3 months for it to get to my country (Israel). Then ... finally ... the moment I saw it being offered for sale here, I thought ... what the hell am I doing? When I actually have to sit down and work with it there's not much space on the screen. Especially now the vertical height got even lower (16:9). And even worse, sometimes I have a client sitting next to me looking in with me.

So after all that waiting, I painfully shifted my crosshairs to the T50x. Now I have decided I am interested in the T510 with FHD. And again, that model is not yet available…

So … I think we are spoilt nowadays. We have a Vax on our back and we complain about an extra kilo. I must admit, though, it is an interesting phenomenon: a 1.8Kg laptop is as light as a feather, but a 2.8Kg laptop weighs a ton…

- avi

 

The problem here is not the laptop, it's the laptop bag. If you have a backpack with a proper laptop slot and a belt strap (and know how to use the belt strap), you should be able to carry around a heavier laptop with no additional weight or discomfort on your shoulders.

I used to care about the "professionalism" and look of a laptop bag, then I realized I need it to be functional, so the switch to a backpack is very easy to make.

 

Yes, I also use a backpack. But a 3Kg laptop + 350g power cable is still pretty heavy and bulky - not much room left for other things, esp. coz of the power cable. But it is still no sane reason to condemn myself to a 14" instead of a 15.6".

I will have to make more use of the belt strap. See if it helps.

 

I used my win 7 x86 ultimate key to upgrade my w510's win 7 x64 pro to ultimate ,very happy about that, now I can use any language menu even Arab if I can understand. I didn't expect my x86 key working on x64 ,haha.

 

Yes, this is usual. MS doesn't care if you use 32bit or 64bit, only what edition of Windows you paid for.

 

Speaking of widows keys: Is there still supposed to be some kind of sticker on the bottom of the laptop (none on mine...)?

 

Take out your battery.

 

Oh. Right, there it is. Thanks.

 

Just wondering if anyone knows in which order Lenovo categorized the keyboard manufacturers to their FRU numbers, read from left to right:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-74360

I guess it is ALPS, Chicony, NMB.

edit: Great as I just found this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...fied-how-identify-manufacturer-oem-parts.html
Will recheck...

 

why cant we live happily ever after?

my keyboard started to annoy me today it just refused to respond correctly
only some keys worked others didn't and typo syndrome resumed with twice the force!!!!

 

Question about Turbo Boost in my W510. I installed newest BIOS 1.17 and the Power manager. I set Max. performance in the BIOS and window power options. In lenovo power manager, i chose max. performance.

Maximum CPU Speed: highest for AC and Battery
Optimize fan control: Max. Performance for AC and Battery.

Well if my W510 is plug-in, then turbo boost is on(through turbo boost gadgets). If i unplug the power, turbo boost off.

If i shut down and then turn on with battery supply, the turbo boost is still off.

However, if i restart my W510 now with battery supply, the turbo boost is turn on.

Is it normal? Is it happening to everyone?
Thank you!

EDIT: i post the same question in [Facts: Turbo Boost] thread. May be you can find replies/solutions there!

 

Hi.
I've ordered the W510 (4389-2DG / NTM2DMN) in mid April, but the vendor keeps pushing the deliverydate. I'ts currently at 25th of May.

Does anyone know why there is such a delay on this model?
Or perhaps when it will ship?

Chaos

 

did you order a fullhd screen?

 

yeah, 15.6in 1920x1080.

Chaos

 

lenovo simply doesn't have any right now

 

Question is tho... When do they get some?
I suspected that it was either the video card or the LCD that held things up.
I just hope they can start shipping them out soon.
My T61p is starting to act funny

Chaos

 

if you search through this thread you will notice that people have said that it will be the end of the next month of about 3 months now....

so Im going to say never/the end of the month

Settle for the HD+ it will not disappoint

 

Spotted: New Intel Core i7 Quad Mobile and i5 Mobile processors – HP Fansite

I wonder when we will see these?

 

I thought the HD+ was the 1920x1080.
Is it the same gfxcard and gfx memory in both HD and HD+?

Chaos