Lenovo W510 Owner's Thread

Maybe not. There's a weird issue with populating all 4 slots. Some report crashes and freezes when different frequencies are used. In 8740w (same chipset) you have to use 1333mhz RAM and it should come in pairs (same manufacturer).

 

My W510 has the original 2G x 2 (Samsung) 1066MHz sticks (CL7) installed by Lenovo. I put another two 2G (Transcend) 1333MHz sticks (CL9) in the W510 myself. It works out great for 3 months so far. No problem at all. My W510 has the i7-820 and run on W7 Ultimate and same other usual hardwares.

I am now wondering if I should replace the 2 Samsung 1033MHz sticks with another 2 1333MHz Transcend sticks and hope to see the system run faster.

 

Negligible at best. Both types of memory are still far faster than other hardware bottlenecks on your system.

 

Has anyone tried a bihn brain cell sleeve with this machine? I am using a 9 cell and am finding that there are no good-fitting sleeves, not even the official thinkpad ones.

 

and plus adding to what you said it should preferably be certified and tested to work on the system in question. example my Hyper-ex ram from kingston didnt work in pairs as 4x2, but it worked with plenty glitches appearing in seriously demanding programs as dual channel 2x2. (also it was pretty hot running)

later on Kingston acknowledged it and said that this memory is not really compatible with W510

for reference it was 1333 CL7 (in reality i think it was hiked 1066 CL5)
they exchanged it for 1333 CL9 (in reality 1066 CL7) thats just allegation (it works as dual but has some issues as single channel, since I dont see why I should use it as one i let it in position which has less gitches)

*glitches (BSOD freezups D3D crash)

 

Ordered my W510 last Friday and it shipped today. Looks like I should have it by Monday, looking at the UPS tracking site.

Got the i7 720M processor and FHD display (the only choice listed on Lenovo website) which is what I wanted. Not sure I would have used the Multi-Touch even if it had of been available.

Added the Color Sensor, 8GB Ram, 500GB Seagate HD and upgraded the Wireless card. Everything else is standard as offered. (Will upgrade later to SSD drive, but was a bit too much extra $$ for now)

I plan to use it for Photoshop editing of photos for my business and also Video Editing. Also will use it to play movies and such when traveling. (Most business hotels all have flat screen TV's with HDMI or DVI input and got the proper conversion cable already) Some light gaming but nothing too taxing, as I prefer Adventure games like Monkey Island and such on a laptop. (Have an SLI gaming desktop for racing simulators and other demanding games)

I have read almost 300 pages of this forum and it is great to have so much support and info from other users.

Questions:

Do I really NEED to do a clean install? What are the benefits. (My current laptop is a five yr old Ferrari 4005 that came with a FAT32 partition that I could not wipe out until the warranty lapsed after 3 years.) I could clearly see the benefits of doing a clean install with NTFS fromatting and did it once it was out of warranty. Just not clear on why the W510 needs a clean install from the start? Any info to educate me would be appreciated.

If my BIOS is not the newest, should I use the Thinkpad tools to burn a CD to boot from? Seems like I remember reading this. (After 280 some pages it begins to blur a bit)

Any other intitial changes I should make at the start?


As I said, it is great to have this forum and all suggestions will be gladly recieved.

 

Let me preface this post with a big FU to the Outlet for shipping a laptop with the 3GB crippled BIOS and a big Thank You to everyone here who has posted about the issue.

With that out of the way..

Ordered my W510 last week from the Outlet and got it today!!! Got an email from the Outlet that it had shipped just before it showed up on my desk...

Specs:
i7-Q720, 8GB (4x2GB) RAM, 128GB SSD, HD+ (1600x900) screen. I've since swapped in 2x 4GB sticks and the 128GB SSD from my T410s so I don't have to reload everything. I was going to sysprep it first but I got lazy and so far it seems to have worked without issue. I wasn't expecting a 130W power brick. Am anxious to see how it does on a 90W. So far I'm very happy except that damn BIOS issue that only lets you use 3GB of RAM. I started to worry when Win7 64-bit reported that only 2.93GB of RAM was usable... Thankfully the forums here pointed me to the BIOS update which fixed the problem.

 

I have the same options as you, and one warning is about editing photos and video on that screen. You may be aware of the issues, but if not, the screen is "wide gamut", which makes colors look much more vibrant. The color sensor might help, but the default config on mine looked way too "electric". I'm currently concerned about editing photos on it, as I don't want to calibrate pictures to my screen that might look strange on "normal" screens. Hopefully your photo editing software is color managed.

As for the clean install, I recommend it, but it's not strictly necessary (strictly, it never is, but I really hate pre-installed software). Read my guide (see sig). Even though it's Vista oriented, Win7 is almost the same but it also addresses some of your other concerns about doing a clean install. Doing a clean install is a good time to get familiar with your new system, and is also the best time since you don't have any of your personal data on it. PS. it does not void your warranty.

I recently did the BIOS update, and I made sure to use the boot CD method. I had no problems though it did sit there for a while and looked like it was doing nothing. This could be where some people are getting impatient and rebooting instead of waiting, causing problems.

 

Here's how it works: with a wide gamut display, you are able to correctly edit an image as you view all the colors contained in the image. When you prepare an output file, whether for a printer or the web or other display device, as part of the output process, you will convert the color space from what you edited it in to sRGB which is the normal standard (legacy) crippled color space of the web and most displays and projectors.

Some browsers are color space aware and will display correctly an image that is tagged with a profile.

It really is very simple.

 

I've had my W510 for a little over five months now. In that time I've flashed the BIOS twice now via the ThinkVantage tools, NOT a burned platter. No problems in both instances, just... be... patient.

 

I received my laptop today and every time open up the Start Menu it closes after 1-5 seconds, and when I do not touch the trackpoint or pad after about 30 seconds the touch screen activates and the cursor moves. Any ideas? Should I just do a clean install?

 

Thanks for the info. I think the problems come up when you edit images that originated in sRGB and are not tagged, so the colors get blown out. Almost all images on the web have this problem, which can make things really difficult. Adjusting those images so they look right, before you can even edit them, seems like it would be a challenge.

 

Sony VPCF 1290X, or the Lenovo W510?

I would appreciate your help with my decision on which laptop to buy. I've narrowed it down to the Sony VPCF 1290X, or the Lenovo W510. They seem to have comparable specs (I'll go with the 840 QM processor on the Sony or the 820 QM Processor on the Lenovo). I will load them with the best that each has to offer, (except for paying $550 more to go from 820 to 920QM on the processor). There are a few minor differences such as no HDMI output and no Blu-ray for the Lenovo, but I've owned Lenovo's for years, and I think their synaptics touchpad is better, and I'm used to Lenovo. The HD screens have the same 1920 x 12000 resolution.

But setting aside those smaller preferences (which depend on my particular use), which is the better machine? I am on the road all the time, so I need a machine that can hold up to that beating. I know Lenovo has that reputation, but perhaps Sony is just as much a road warrior? And which is more reliable? I don't game, and I'm not using CAD. I just run a lot of programs at the same time, plus video, and I want a machine that's as fast as possible and as reliable as possible.

Your opinions are very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Orev (and Wetlloyd) for your responses.

I am mostly going to put the photos on the web for our clients. I want them to look the best possible. Sounds like I just need to notify all my clients that they are best viewed in certain browsers, like Firefox and others. I also print client photo books for gifts sometimes using Shutterfly and have had good results so far.

Soundsl like I am in the right place!!!!! Both with good advice and assistance as well as with the W510

Thanks for the input. I am learning how the color spectrum varies from source to source lately.

 

Ehochuli

I could not find a Sony 15 inch screen that had FHD (1920 graphics) when I looked at them. I see that the 1290X is a 13inch screen. That is more like a Netbook than a laptop.

The reviews and comments on the Lenovo FHD 1920 screen have all been exceptional (a few think it has too much color, but it just needs a calibration every week or so)
I started with Sony, could not find a unit that fit my needs, then went to Dell, then Alienware and even Toshiba. Lenovo was the only laptop with this much power and great display that I could find outside a "pure" gaming machine. I liked the specs of the Alienware and also the brand new MSI GX660-060. But in the end the flashiness of those two was too much and I did not need full out gaming (like my SLI Desktop) in my laptop. I have returned to Lenovo because of my love of their touchpads and cursor control along with storng build quality.

IMO the Lenovo is the most powerful and loaded laptop that I found that is based more for professional work and decent gaming, but not an all out gaming machine. (Which I did not need)

 

If you save your photos in SRGB then it won't matter which browser people use unless they have a Wide Gamut screen themselves. If they have a Wide Gamut screen it's really up to them to color manage.

I use Firefox personally and set it to color manage ALL photos whether or not they are tagged with a color space. This way, since most content is untagged, I do not get blown out colors at all. Anything untagged is assumed SRGB and is adjusted for my Wide Gamut screen. To do this, get the color management plugin for Firefox. After you calibrate your screen and have a profile for it you point the plugin to it and then set it to all images. It's amusing to pull up Firefox next to IE and see the difference when things are unmanaged.

In Photoshop you have the option to apply color profiles to images as you open them so even if they aren't tagged you can still work with accurate images.

 

The resolution on the FHD W510 is 1920x1080, not 1200. The Sony would probably be the same. DisplayPort can be converted to HDMI using a $7 adapter, so that shouldn't be a concern, other than having another thing to carry around.

Its your business, but telling your clients that something only works in Firefox probably makes you look bad in the end. You need to find a way to make it look right in all browsers. That's probably what they are paying you for.

How do you change that setting in Firefox? Using an extension?

 

Just got my w510 with 820QM cpu with NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M running Windows 7 64 bit a couple of days ago and wanted to see how it performs under load.

However, when I run tpfancontrol it only shows cpu temperature and nothing else. Even when I select the all radio button I only get temperature for cpu. The other sensors don’t have a temperature next to them. I would really like to see gpu temperature as well.

Running tpfancontrol on my T42 and T60 both running Windows XP, it shows multiple temperatures.

Why wouldn’t it show the gpu?

What can I do to get it?



Thanks for the help.

My system is a W510 model: 4318CT with the following configuration.
60Y6083 SBB INQUADCORPERFPROC I7 820QM
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
45M4918 SBB G.WIN.7PROF64US ENGLISH
45M4596 SBB 15.6FHD DPY95%GM,270NILDBL
60Y6084 SBB NVNVSXXXD.1GBDDR3W/INAMTCH
42X6309 VBB 4GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ2DIMM
75Y0171 VBB ULNAVTRPOITOUPADFINGREADER
45M4631 SBB CAMERA(2.0 MP)
45M4618 SBB 500GB HDISK DRIVE7200RPM
45M4608 SBB MULT.RECORD.OPTDRIVE12.7MM
75Y0174 VBB EXPCARSL+5IN1CARREAD
45M4816 SBB 9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
45M4636 SBB CNTPKNRHAMWTLNCR+135WACAD.
45M3043 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ANTENNA
45M4805 SBB IN.CENTADV.-N+WIMAX 6250
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
45M4676 SBB LANGUAGEPACK US ENGLISH
433820U THINKPAD MINI DOCK PLUS SERIES 3 FOR MOBILE WORKSTATIONS

 

Orev

Thanks, that is a good point. It seems that Infinus in an above post has found a good solution. What I am doing is really an "added value" for clients that I am just beginning, not something they will purchase. But having it straightforward and good for IE as well is the smart thing to do. I hope for it to generate future revenue.

Infinus

Thanks for the good info.

 

I just got a W510 and it runs like a dog. It's a bit better after I removed some bloatware. I'm going to do a clean install with only the basic drivers. Usually does wonders.

 

When it runs like a dog, are you using the 135 watt power supply?

 

I'm not sure why it's running like a dog but anything less that the 135 W adapter and it crawls. I actually ordered two more to have one at home one at the office and etc. I hated to do it because I had 4 of the 90 W adapters already.

 

Yes. I don't see why it would make a difference though. Battery mode is set to max performance.

 

If anyone has an original Lenovo "6 Cell" battery from when they first were shipping them out with the first production models, that does not want one, I would glad to purchase it at a fair price.

Just let me know and we can work out the details.

 

order and shipping period update.

I am leaving this info for the people who is going to order or recently ordered W510.

ordered on 08/20/10
got an e-mail saying it has shipped on 08/27/10.

It took 1 week. Let's see how long it will take for the custom clearing after it arrive in the US.
Interestingly, the configuration list on the order status page was not updated during its build so I didn't expect it was shipped like this. When I ordered my T61 three years ago, it changed during its build though.

4318CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
60Y6082 SBB INQUADCORPERFPROC I7 720QM
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
45M4918 SBB G.WIN.7PROF64US ENGLISH
45M4596 SBB 15.6FHD DPY95%GM,270NILDBL
60Y6084 SBB NVNVSXXXD.1GBDDR3W/INAMTCH
75Y0175 VBB COLORSENSOR
42X6309 VBB 4GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ2DIMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
75Y0171 VBB ULNAVTRPOITOUPADFINGREADER
45M4631 SBB CAMERA(2.0 MP)
45M4620 SBB 128GB HGH-PER SLDSTDRSRATA
45M4608 SBB MULT.RECORD.OPTDRIVE12.7MM
75Y0174 VBB EXPCARSL+5IN1CARREAD
45M4816 SBB 9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
45M4636 SBB CNTPKNRHAMWTLNCR+135WACAD.
45M3043 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ANTENNA
45M4804 SBB IN.CENT.ULTIMATE-N 6300
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
45M4676 SBB LANGUAGEPACK US ENGLISH

 

The reason for the question wasn't about the battery. If you were using a 90W power supply it is known to run slower.

 

Yes, there's a plugin called Color Management.

 

My W510 has been sitting in Louisville, KY at the UPS customs since 12 midnight Thursday night. UPS tells me that I should have had it on Friday but that there is a problem with it in customs (they can't or won't say what it is) and Lenovo is telling me that it must just be a customs backlog and to just be patient. Meanwhile it sits in Louisville and has had an "import scan" done on it four (4) times in the last three days. No idea when it will leave Louisville. This is pretty frustrating..........

 

Those scans aren't physical scans. The machine could still be in China.

 

I just received my 8GB of Gskill ram, and installed it today. I rally can tell much of a difference but my WEI score for ram increases to 7.3 from a 5.9 with 4gb.
Ive notcied that my new w510 runs a little sluggish, not exactly as fast as I would expect with a i7 precessor and 12 gb of ram on win7 64.

 

UPS says it is in Louisville and they are having a customs problem and they are working with the shipper. Lenovo says it is in the U.S., but does not know anything about a problem, and all they will say is they will refund my extra 10.00 for 2 day shipping.

I have no idea when I will get the computer.........

It figures that I am leaving town Thursday morning for a week. My rotten luck.

Not really trying to make a big stink about it, but if it happens once it can happen again, so just thought I would let it be known that shipping from China is not always smooth sailing...........

 

Mine is also sitting in Louisville, and even no update after arrival message. I found interesting thread on the custom issue.

Shipment stuck in customs - Page 5 - lenovo community

Based on this thread, our laptops are sitting there because Lenovo is not sending custom document to the UPS.

One more thing. Whatever the Lenovo CS says, do not take it as they say. Around a year ago, they charged me twice on my order and it took me 4 months to get refund! At first, they started to say they didn't charge, but my CC statement said they charged twice! Needless to say, they didn't pay for my wasted time to get my refund. I think I wasted around 5 hours in total.

Lenovo seems not to have any will to make their CS better because this kind of custom stuck is happening over years.

 

More RAM will not make it go faster unless you were already very low on RAM. More RAM will allow you to handle larger data files and run more programs at once. That's the point of using more RAM.

 

I meant to say even before the RAM upgrade. Is there any proceedure to speed it up some?

 

Be sure to use the 135 W AC adapter that came with it...

 

tkfadms

Thanks for the link. Now I see that it occurs pretty often.

UPS today told me it cleared customs this morning, but still would not promise that I would have it tomorrow. Oh, well, it should be here when I get back home next week.

 

Hello. I have a W510 due to ship soon and would like to get 2x4GB memory for it. In case it matters, the specs I ordered are i7-820QM, 4GB (PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz), FHD Multitouch, 500GB HDD, etc.

Would the following memory at newegg.ca be compatible and recommended (stable)?

G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBSQ $97.99

Otherwise could someone please provide a recommendation that would be available from an online retailer in Canada? I will probably put in 4x4GB in the future, so compatibility with the stock memory wouldn't really be a factor. I guess the stock memory will be 2x2GB.

Thanks

 

Got my W510 this morning. Getting it setup now.

Nice build quality from what I have seen so far.

 

I don't know how many days I have to wait for my new W510. I ordered on 8/25 for following configuration.

60Y6082 SBB INQUADCORPERFPROC I7 720QM
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
45M4918 SBB G.WIN.7PROF64US ENGLISH
75Y2322 SBB RECOVERY MATERIAL:RDVD
45M4596 SBB 15.6FHD DPY95%GM,270NILDBL
60Y6084 SBB NVNVSXXXD.1GBDDR3W/INAMTCH
42X6309 VBB 4GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ2DIMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
75Y0171 VBB ULNAVTRPOITOUPADFINGREADER
45M4631 SBB CAMERA(2.0 MP)
45M4618 SBB 500GB HDISK DRIVE7200RPM
45M4608 SBB MULT.RECORD.OPTDRIVE12.7MM
75Y0173 VBB EXPCASL+5IN1CARREAD+SMCASL
45M4816 SBB 9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
45M4636 SBB CNTPKNRHAMWTLNCR+135WACAD.
45M3043 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ANTENNA
45M4804 SBB IN.CENT.ULTIMATE-N 6300
45M4809 SBB IN.MOB.BROAD.(3G)-QUALCOM
45M4676 SBB LANGUAGEPACK US ENGLISH
41C9338 3YR ONSITE + 3YR TPP

Initially, it has EST shipping date as 9/7. Shortly after, the online status removed the shipping date and always in "in process" since then. Now I don't know when they're going to ship it out. Did you experience that? How many days do you have to wait until getting the machine in hand.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

Each one of my recent orders took a little over two weeks. Takes about a week from the time it ships to receipt with regular ground delivery.

 

So it takes about 3 weeks from order date to the date you receive it?

 

No. About 2 weeks total.

 

New w510 owner here - my T61p was nearing its 3rd birthday, and rather than extending the warranty again, I decided it was time to acquire something new.

Specs: 4318CTO (15.6 HD+/i7-820qm/2gb ram/128GB SSD)
Swapped out the 2GB stick for 2x4GB G.Skill pc3-10666.
Swapped out the 128GB SSD for a Corsair X256. Not sure why I got the 128 at all - I might put it in another laptop.

I saw someone earlier discussing the 1.8" vs 2.5" SSD but didn't see much info in response. Mine came with a 1.8 in the 2.5 adapter bracket. Caused quite a panic as I tried to figure out how I was going to make the new 2.5" SSD fit snug. Luckily I had extra caddy and rails from the T61p and they worked (I'm hoping that the specs on the rails/caddy are the same - anyone?). The X256 supports trim, which I hear the Lenovo supplied 128 does not.

Ordering - I ordered on 8/24, got shipping notification on 8/31, and took delivery on 9/2. Made it through customs quickly and with 2 day shipping, I was surprised at how quickly it actually arrived. Original order showed it wouldn't ship until 9/6.

Disappointed at the normal (but not unexpected) compatibility quirks - old slim drive caddy from T61p won't work, 135w vs 90w power, etc, but over all pretty happy with it. Now I just have to get used to the F1-F12 keys being shifted over a whole position...

Two questions that I would like to get feedback on:

1.) Should the memory I installed be put in slot 1/3 on the top, or 1 top/2 bottom? Couldn't find much definitive on this in the forums.

2.) Running wPrime (v2.03) on this thing, I was expecting to see scores around 12-13s ( link) , but I am consistently more like 18s. Running things like CPUZ to monitor clock and multiplier, I can see the TurboBoost kicking in, but seems like it is not running as fast as maybe it should. Anyone out there with the i7-820qm that can tell me if I am where I should be here?

Don't get me wrong...compared to my T61p (which I loved) this thing screams!

CaptTripz

 

I'm not sure if this problem was listed in prior posts but starting this weekend my W510 won't awaken from "sleep." I thought it might have to do with the latest Power Manager software but even after uninstalling it is still messed up. When it goes to sleep the green LED around the Power button is solid green and the WiFi indicator is still on. Hard Drive light doesn't flash indicating it is indeed in sleep. I use the fingerprint reader and it usually lights up and it isn't. The exhaust vent also feels hot. All I can do to get the computer back on is hold down the power button and force a shutdown. When I turn it back on the screen is in "dim mode" until I get to a Windows logon screen, do another restart, and then things are back to normal as long as the laptop doesn't go into sleep mode again. I have the latest BIOS. Thoughts? Is it a Windows glitch or a hardware malfunction? Before I call Lenovo I wanted to see if there was a simple fix.

 

The system is not actually sleeping, but it's trying. You are describing symptoms of a driver or hardware device that is not sleeping correctly, and preventing the system from going into full sleep.

Try to download fresh drivers from Lenovo and reinstall them. Unplug any USB devices and also remove or update any other hardware you might have installed, like in the expresscard slot. Try to put the computer asleep with each one removed, until you find the one that's preventing it.

 

Answered my own Question #1 - looks like 2 sticks of memory should be installed in the primary slot on top and then the primary slot on bottom. Having them both on top (under the keyboard) worked but they did not show in CPUZ as running dual channel. Putting them as described above now shows dual channel.

Still haven't figured out anything on #2...anyone?

 

Use wPrime 2.0 and make sure your are on maximum performance power profile. You will get something aroung 13s. wPrime 2.03 would give slower results, I don't know why

 

Using wPrime 2.0 got me down to 15.583...better, but still not what I expected. I was already using the Max Performance profile. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Is anyone else seeing issues where the wifi on this laptop drops after a while? I am using the "maximum performance" power profile and I have disabled wifi sleep in both the Windows power profile and the Lenovo wireless control program. Is there somewhere else I also need to turn off sleep modes?

 

I have a 90W in the office and working well for month