Lenovo W510 Owner's Thread

Can anyone explain to me why haven't Lenovo fixed the issue where the W510 will not boot pass the logo screen if anything was plugged in the USB 3.0 port??

Its not as if only a selected few laptops have this problem. Its every single unit !!! And its been a known problem since this system left the production line earlier this year...

Its July ! I want a fix !!

 

I think Lenovo should be informed. We could make collective call to their support and request a fix.

 

This thing is only 6 months old....too soon for a refresh...

Any opinions?

 

Maybe a bump in CPUs from the i7-x20 to the i7-x40 series, but nothing major should be expected.

 

Can you explain further? There are two USB 3.0 ports on this machine (the blue ones on the left side). I have a smart card reader hooked up to one most of the time, and my computer boots up just fine. What types of plugged in devices are you referring to that don't allow your computer to boot?

 

Supposedly certain devices will cause the system to hang if plugged into the USB 3.0 ports, not everything...

 

Yea, i knew that. But i just don't like the fact that there are only "certain" devices that would or wouldnt cause that hang. I mean afterall, we did pay a good coin for this thing. Something as simple as this should be fixed pronto.

 

It has been a while, but I also believe the maker of the USB 3.0 chip on this machine is from NEC and it is actually "their problem" to fix... I think other machines with USB 3.0 and this chip are also having this problem as well.

 

For those that are interested...Nvidia has new video drivers available for the FX880M. The only difference I've noticed thus far is that they restored the on-screen display (i.e. display of brightness level)

 

Possible to provide a link for this? I can't seem to find it...

 

Here's for Win 7 64-bit:
NVIDIA DRIVERS 258.96 WHQL

 

Which part did I overstress?

My first attempt at removing my new monoprice Displayport cable from my new W510 was pretty stupid. I was trying to pull it out from the notebook and thought it was just a really tight fit and needed lots of yanking. I pulled until it came out.

Afterwards I realized that there is a release mechanism built into the cable. I wonder if I damaged the socket in the w510, damaged the tiny claws that go up and down on the cable that I hadn't noticed until this (they seem okay and not bent), or hopefully neither? Seems to still work though.

- not much of a question, just a comment for those people who haven't yet unplugged a Displayport cable.

 

It's been resolved that you can swap the Fn and Ctrl keys in the BIOS, but does anyone know if it would be possible to physically switch the two keys on the keyboard because they are a different size?
Any information or a real-world attempt would be great, thanks!

Let's hope this thing can game up some SC2!

 

I am finalizing my decision on W510.
I am an architecture student and want a machine with quick rendering time. Having said that, I am wodering if it's worth to choose 920 over 820. I wish 840 were available at the moment, but that is not the case. I don't want to wait until that option is available as I won't have time to get a new machine and set it up once the new term start in september.
So, my choice is limited to 920 and 820.
The problem is that the 920 is so~~ expensive compared to the 820.

 

I can't say specifically for architecture applications, but the price of the higher processors almost never justifies the cost. You're better off getting more RAM or an SSD than spending it on the upgraded CPU. It depends on where the bottleneck is for that specific application.

 

Before you pull the trigger on the W510, have you looked at the HP elitebook 8540w? They offer the i-7 840 chip and better graphic card selection (quardo 1800m and firepro M5800). The 8540w aluminum casing (lid and palm rest) seems much more robust than the w510 and it comes standard with a 3 year warranty. Don't be shocked by the initial custom-to-order price because they offer a 24-28% discount when you order it. Don't get me wrong the w510 is an amazing machine, i just want to make sure you consider all your options.

 

Thank you for your info.
Does the offer available in Canada or thas is just the US?

 

I honestly don't know. When you navigate to the "configure your model" page under small and medium business laptops you should see a coupon code for 24% off. The current US code is CTO8540w, but you should call in the order if you want to try for an additional discount.

Here's a link were I posted my configuration and the price I payed:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-elitebook-probook/457570-official-elitebook-8540w-owners-lounge-144.html

User Intoxicate also did a great review:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-elitebook-probook/481558-hp-elitebook-8540w-review.html

And you can check out Notebookcheck's review:
Notebookcheck: Review HP Elitebook 8540w Notebook

I ordered my machine 7/14, it shipped 7/23, and should be delivered 7/28. I should have pictures of the Dream Color 2 display up that night.

 

I use 3ds max and photoshop.
I think I will get 4gb ram and upgrade to 12gb in the coming months.
Do you know which one of the CPU and Harddrive will more likely be a bottle neck? I am currently considering 500gb 7200rpm.



As for the HP 8540w, it turned out that there is no custom build option in Canada. To my suprise The best pre-configured one is with only 620.
Am I looking at the right HP site? Unbelievable!

 

The hard drive would be the bottleneck. I went with a 500 GB drive fully anticipating replacing it at some point with a high capacity SSD. Larger investment, but more of a performance increase for the dollars. I also went with 16 GB of RAM from Newegg. BTW the 820 packs plenty of power for the apps in Adobe Master Collection CS5 and Autodesk Inventor. I use the mechanical component more than any others but have seen several use it for architecture based CAD. I also use EdgeCAM and COMSOL (both really processor intensive) with my W510. To this point, I am impressed! My only quibble is about the new 135 W adapter. I have several 90 W adapters that are not capable of making the laptop run at full power. The 90 W adapters will charge it, but it runs at a crippled speed.

 

Thanks for your quick reply.
I think that is really helpful.
Just one question. Why did you get a HDD instead of SSD when you purchased? Is there any benefit of getting a SSD elsewhere?
It it difficult to replace the main HDD with SSD?

 

From what I remember, the drives that Lenovo uses/used do not support TRIM which means they are not as fast as the ones from Intel etc. Besides I want a large one ~512 GB. I don't recall all the nuances associated with the aftermarket drives, but it seemed prudent when I made the decision, LOL!

 

Could anyone please tell me what capacity his / her 9-cell battery has? (In case you haven't installed the battery firmware patch yet you should do so.)

 

Thanks! Will keep this as reference for future updates on this particular GPU.

 

Do you have a link for 7 Pro 32bit ? I am using 32bit because i have to Firefox and Firefox doesn't like 64bit.

Nvidia is so confusing and hard to find drivers..

 

The 32-bit version of Firefox works just fine on a 64-bit OS. You don't need to have every application as 64-bit when using a 64-bit OS. It does not give you any benefit whatsoever, and there is also no drawback.

To get the 32-bit driver, just go through the nVidia site and enter the right information. That's all anyone is going to do here so you may as well learn to do it yourself. Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers

 

Exactly what orev said. I use and have used Firefox 32 bit on 64 bit OSes for years, and have not had any related issues. Just an FYI: Firefox 4 Beta 2 has a 64 bit version. I am daring and tend to run these betas along side the latest stable version, cause I like to take advantage of the latest greatest features coming down the pike. That said the driver is available in 32 bit as mentioned above.

 

The likely problem with Firefox 64-bit, just like Internet Explorer 64-bit is that there are minimal plugins available. I don't think Adobe even made a 64-bit Flash Player.

 

True, that's an issue, but the 3rd parties are catching up everyday. And, there is always HTML5 for your youtube pleasure.

 

Has anyone had luck playing Starcraft2? (SC2)? I'm crashing at the victory screen of single player missions. I'm using the June 15/2010 lenovo 8955 drivers... May try the 258.96WFQL link from MikeNavy...

 

I updated the BIOS from 1.15 to 1.24, and that seemed to do the trick... Video drivers still on 8955...

 

I stand corrected, still crashing.

 

don820: what settings are you using for SC2 for the graphics? I have mine all set to High instead of Ultra and noticed the GPU hitting 77 degrees just in the beginning parts of the campaign. Thing is, the game isn't crashing... my whole system is!

 

Hello... im wondering how long it takes for you w510 users to boot up your systems....mine is about 78 seconds...

 

Mine takes about that long though I have not timed it. This seems quite normal... Am I missing something?

 

Im ready to buy a Lenovo tonight at midnight for the tax free weekend. Right now Im torn between buying a T510 and a W510. What kind of battery time is everyone getting with the W510? Im in my junior year as an engineer in college, also do you think its worth the upgrade from the 720QM to the 820QM?

 

I went with the W510 and the 820QM. I'm very happy with it...

 

Have 920 extreme and boot time is 50 seconds. Am super happy. I do CAD and rendering and it is fast. The screen is awesome. Battery is over 2hrs on brightest screen and over 3hrs on dim screen. I have RAID 1 running, too. It makes my T60P ancient. ThinkPad rules.

 

I bought 720QM and upgraded processor to 920 Extreme for $500. Far cheaper that way and kept 720QM in case of warranty.

 

where did you get the 920 extreme for only $500?

 

My laptop just arrived! Does anyone have an answer to my question?

 

I cant wait for mine, I just placed my order. I hope im not disapointed, my Vaio it ready to be retired.

 

Can anyone tell me how thick is the W510? Is it significantly thicker than the T510? I would like to know this for W510 with HD+ screen. I know with FHD, its even thicker.
Also, how much is the weight of W510 with 9 cell battery (HD+ screen, 720QM)? Is it significantly more than the T510 with 9 cell battery? If anyone can post any pictures, I would highly appreciate it.

 

Please help, as I've tried everything and don't know who to believe (manufacturer wise). I bought a new Lexmark Prevail Pro 705 wireless printer day before yesterday and installed it using my desktop computer. I'm using a Linksys WRT320N router for my network. The desktop is hooked up via wired connection to the router. The printer is hooked up for wireless operation and works fine with the desktop computer. I've tried for HOURS now to get my W510 to also connect to the printer with minimal success. The laptop has Internet connectivity, and Homegroup connectivity with the desktop, indicating that it is working properly on the network with the router. It won't find the printer, however. First, I spent about 2.5 hours on the phone with Lexmark and they couldn't get it to work. I called Linksys and they said that since I had Internet connectivity and could see the desktop on the network, it wasn't a router issue. I spent 2 more hours with Lexmark yesterday, after uninstalling drivers and the printer from the desktop computer, and they still couldn't get it to connect. We decided to set up an ad hoc network connection between the printer and W510 and that actually worked. Now Lexmark is saying it is a Lenovo issue and there is some setting somewhere on the laptop preventing it from communicating with the printer via the router. Does this make sense, or does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to make this work? I have no problem returning the printer and getting a Canon, but it is pointless if the laptop is the issue and I'll have the same problem again.

 

Lenovo - Laptop computers - ThinkPad W Series

Web Special for W510 FHD.

 

According to the specs in the tabook.pdf, the W510 with the FHD Multitouch screen is .16 inches thicker. Are you really worried about a tenth of an inch? If you are, then the W510 isn't for you.

 

However, the keyboard doesn't compare favorably.

 

Bought the 920Extreme chip for $500 on eBay. It is an easy install. You will need to latest BIO to do this. Keep the 720 chip in case you need warranty.

 

I looked up the 920 extreme on ebay and all the cheap ones under $500 were all ES models. Do you guys really feel comfortable spending that much money for an ES chip?

 

No, I highly doubt you can swap them physically. They are different shapes and surely would not line up correctly. Also, you risk damaging the keyboard, and there would be no warranty coverage for that.