Lenovo W510 Owner's Thread

Intel X-25M. Goes without saying.

 

Agreed. Especially now that they have a 120GB version for roughly $275. Wish I had purchased those instead of the 160's I have.

 

Why? Is the performance better or is the $/GB drastically different? Just curious... I couldn't survive with less than 256GB, so my wait continues...

 

Because I am using less than 120GB of storage on the primary drive (SSD). I store a lot of stuff on the Ultrabay hard drive that is used less frequently. When I need high speed I/O from both, I have another SSD.

Like you, I could use a thrid generation Intel SSD of the 600GB flavor for about $200.

 

Hmm i don’t know should i order one W510 or to wait for:
Confirmed: Intel Sandy Bridge or 'second generation Core processors' to be introduced at CES -- Engadget
im thinking of getting :
Processor: Intel Quad Core i7-820QM (1.73ghz/1066mhz/8MB)
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition
Display: 15.6" FHD (1920 X 1080) Multi-Touch LED, W/ Camera and WWAN antenna
Memory: 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz Memory - 16GB Max
Graphics Card: Nvidia Quadro FX 880M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Memory
Camera: 2 Megapixel Integrated Camera
Pointing Device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
Hard drive: 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 2.5" Drive
Color Sensor: Built in X-Rite Pantone Color Sensor
Integrated Wireless Card: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Bluetooth, Camera, USB, Firewire, Modem, 5 in 1 Media Card Reader: All Built in
Expansion Slots: Express card Slot
Battery: 9 Cell Lithium
Lenovo Warranty: 3 Year Factory Depot Warranty - Machine Type 4319

 

If you need 250GB, then any of the many recent 250GB SSD's will do just fine. Certainly any differences in performance amongst types (and they may or may not be noticeable in the real world) should not be a reason not to have one.

 

If you're always waiting to get the newest thing in the computer world, you're never going to get anything since a new thing is always just around the corner. Even if they announce the new chips then, it doesn't mean any systems will be shipping with them, or if they are supplies will be very limited and the prices very high.

You need to decide for yourself if you absolutely need the latest and greatest, or if the current batch of really fast CPUs can meet your needs. Usually it comes down to your ego, more than it does the technical requirements.

 

I'd be "ALL OVER THAT" too!

 

Considering it...

 

Yes, you’re right but then the prices will drop.
Also I’m just thinking about the multi touch display do i need it?

 

I can't think of anything that would be more useless than a touch-screen display on a laptop.

 

To be honest, the multitouch doesn't increase my productivity. I rarely use it, and when I do it's just for show.

 

Bios update available, if anyone didnt know.

 

you do!, not just because its there but the hinges and quality of the panel are both better its tad bit thicker due to the extra layer.

I have both types with and without , trust me go with extra 200$ its worth it.

 

Really? An extra $200 for a slightly thicker screen? That seems a bit excessive for not much gain. I suppose if you use the system in very rough conditions, but for any normal usage? How much toughness do you need beyond the already tough thinkpad?

 

Orev, why not?! I have 2 one with one without use logic I'm not a lady
I like rough and tough.

the tougher the better!

you are paying for quality of the bloody screen that you l@@K at all day why
make peanut economy lol

I'd say it wouldnt hurt at all if you want the best from ermmm... east

 

$200 is not peanuts... that's over 10% the price of the machine, and just for a more durable screen. I went for the FHD panel myself, and glad I did. I don't scrimp on things that matter. I also paid 3x the typical price for a 24" LCD external monitor to make sure I got a good IPS screen instead of the crappy TN versions.

But, for the gain you are saying, I still don't think it's worth it. More durability would be a "special case", and should be mentioned as such when giving a recommendation. As for a higher quality screen itself, I haven't seen one so you are the expert there, but any screen I've ever seen with a touch-panel on top of it always looks worse than one without.

 

Just took the plunge....my Macbook Pro finally died (about 3 years old) and I wanted a solid constructed laptop for CAD/CAM work and some play. Was able to get it for $1574.09...so a decent deal I think (or hope).

Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition
Intel Quad Core i7-720QM @ 1.66ghz (2.8 Turbo) 1066mhz/6MB cache
4GB PC3-8500 (will upgrade this!)
Nvidia Quadro FX 880M Graphics 1GB DDR3 Memory
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Widescreen and WWAN antenna
2 Megapixel Integrated Camera
320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (will upgrade to SSD eventually)
Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
UltraNav TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader and Touchpad
5 in 1 Media Reader and Modem
Bluetooth
9-cell Lithium Ion battery
Base Warranty
and...Laptop Sleeve

 

hi all,
does any of you can suggest me 2x4gb of good and compatible ram to upgrade to 8gb?
canI keep the existing 4gb so as to have 12gb?
thanks, dario

 

Hi all. It took me about a week but I read through this whole dang thread.

I saw some concerns and a few people on the fence about whether spending the $$$ for the FHD vs HD Display was worth it. I'm a photographer hobbyist and I plan to get more serious about my hobby next year. I would appreciate it greatly if those with the FHD could weigh in on their perceived pros and cons of the display.

Thanks much!
Abagail

 

I have the FHD but not a photog. I personally always want a high-res display, and regretted not getting it on my last laptop. The resolution is great, though I do use many of my apps with a Zoom level (110% in firefox).

The big issue on the FHD is the wide gamut color space. In its default configuration it makes pure colors look much more intense. Reds in particular jump right off the screen. This is useful if your final image output device is print, but if it's for the web or other LCD display, you will find that your colors don't match when pictures are shown on other standard LCD screens.

If you're serious about doing photo work, do some research on color spaces (Wide gamut, RGB, sRGB, Adobe RGB, etc...) before buying. Also, it would be very wise to get a color calibrator (but not the one builtin to the laptop, you can't take that with you when you buy your next computer).

Major photo apps like Photoshop are color-managed, so they should be able to deal with the wide color space correctly.

 

Hello,

I wanted to get your best guess / opinion on a W510 question I have. I am looking at getting a W510 in the near future, however, I know that the Sandy Bridge processors are going to be announced at CES. I was wondering if you think Lenovo will quickly integrate them into the W510, or if you think that it will take quite a while. My guess would be that it will take awhile, simply based on the fact that they haven't started using the most recent processors in this line yet (740, 840, etc). I know that there is no way to know this for sure, but I sure would appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance.

 

you have to put 4x4 GB @ 1333 to get the fast speed

 

Hi,

Like you said there is noway to know the future in the present, but my best guess (and hopeful thinking) is they will integrate Sandy Bridge with the w510 line soon and that will be announced at CES or shortly after (some time first half of 2011). Ironically, some of my rationale of saying this is a point you brought up.. the w510 did not get the 740/840 upgrade. I believe they were holding out to refresh the line with sandy bridge.

Now a different and dare I say more interesting question is when will sandy bridge on the w510 line be available for mass shipment. That likely is a few quarters away at the earliest (again just my educated guess). It can certainly happen, but I would be pleasantly surprised to see ready inventory and on time shipment of w510+sandy bridge in the first half of 2011.

I guess we will see shortly,
Abagail

 

Thanks very much Orev,

I've looked at the wide gamut information when I saw it posted here earlier and looked at some other links on the matter and by my estimation your comments on color managed apps are spot on. Based on my research all the programs I use for photography including chrome, firefox, photoshop and lightroom have color management capabilities so I should be fine as far as that is concerned. However, there is still a question in my mind on how far off can I expect a typical person's display to be (assuming they are not using apps with color management capabilities). I have posted this question in my local photography club forums to see if I can get some of the professionals in the club to chime in and give me other considerations I have not thought of..

Now all that said, I'm happy to hear you are happy with your display. Correct me if I'm wrong, but It sounds like you do not have any cons to report other than those associated with wide gamut.

Thanks again,
Abagail

 

There are three names given to RAM. Here is an example name of a RAM stick that is compatible with the W510:

G.SKILL 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

G.Skill - The manufacturer

2GB - The capacity

204-Pin - The count of the pins on the RAM stick side that fits into the slot. This is the important part for compatibility. If it fits it will work. However, all RAM will only operate as fast as the Slowest RAM stick or at the max supported speeds of the Memory Controller.

DDR3 – Double Data Rate “Dose two transactions in one clock cyclical”

SO-DIMM – Small Outline Dual in-line Memory Module “ Small and has chips on both sides of stick”
DDR3 1333 - 1333 is Double the I/O Bus Clock “To represent that the RAM is doing Two transactions in one clock cyclical”. So, DDR3 1333 RAM has a I/O Bus Clock of 667Mhz

PC3 10666 – 1666 is the Peak Transfer Rate in MB/s Megabytes per Second. So, PC3 10666 RAM transfers as 10666MB/s

SO, PC3 10666 - Also is the Data rate in MT/s Megatransfers a Second... Becuase it is DDR. So, PC3 10666 wil have a Data Rate of 10666MT/s

RAM timing represent how many clock cycles it takes to complete a given stage on the memory transaction.

The CAS latency is the Total delay time between the moment a memory controller tells the memory what to access to the moment the data is available on the output pins. So, the a Lower number here will produce Multitudes faster data transfer.

Read here for more info on RAM timing.
Memory Timings Explained | techPowerUp

In-conclusion, you want the Highest PC rating your memory controller can support in all RAM slots. You also want the Lowest CAS Latency.

The Best RAM compatible with the Thinkpad W510 is:
PC3 10666 DDR3 1333 204-pin SO-DIMM RAM

 

What is the part number for the internal blu-ray drive that works with the W510?

 

No "cons" to report. Some people think text being "too small" is a con. I should mention that I changed the DPI settings of Windows to be a little bigger as well.

Otherwise, all other aspects are very good. Great viewing angle, very bright backlight, etc...

 

it would be a useful reply same day or day after mate, but I have already learned all i need from that time when I posted question, but must say thanks still

 

current FHD touch screen on w510 has less pinkish tint to it comparing to a non touch screen version. and touch screen layer does not make any difference in terms of clarity at all (had my doubts removed when turned it on) now what I would suggest you should NoT make economy on is good screen (if your intention is using it as semi portable computer) and other thing to consider is color sensor (in my opinion its a must with TN FHD) it does make it look great for photo and video as you have choice of balancing color temp in "3 settings" and plus gamut also "3 settings" and thats after the calibration!
I think they should just ship w510 with color sensor by default.

 

I know you're pretty active here, but this response is rude. Message boards are not live chat, so if you want an immediate response don't post the question here. If you don't need the info anymore, it's best to just say nothing (especially with regards the the high quality response you received).

 

Thanks Orev for your response. Truly appreciate it!

The cons do seem trivial compared to the pros.

Abagail

 

Thanks for the response tyrell_corp. I'm not considering the touch screen at all, but I do agree you should not skimp on your display (especially if you are a budding photog as I am) and color calibration is important.

Abagail

 

Old question but one many people have, so here we go.

Your corect it dose do that. First, use i7z to monitor the CPU state.
Then to solve the problem. Just install cpufreq and use the "Preformance" profile.

 

Hello!
Just ordered a W510 tonight, and it's scheduled to ship Dec 3. Pretty excited.

Core i5-560M
15.6" FHD Display (95% Gamut, 270nit) with LED Backlight
System Graphics NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M Graphics with 1GB DDR3
Total memory 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) at 1066MHz
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
Bluetooth w/ antenna
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)

Any tips (or links ) for new owners?

 

Ya . . sorry man, I used Lenovo before, they all have awful buggy BIOS. This is where all the Lenovo problems come from.

Case and point: Lenovo Ideapad
Problem - Brightness settings not working as it should. Such as when ajusting the brightness the screen gets Bright, dark, dark, Bright, dark, Full Bright.

Cause - The BIOS is spouse to report the back light values in order but it reports the values randomly.

Solution - Rewrite the BIOS and recompile/install

All the problems with Lenovo and Linux like, black light, speakers, suspend/hibernate, and hot-keys all trace back to buggy BIOS. And, all Lenovo laptops have buggy BIOS.

So, if you want a Thinkpad you have to suck it up, and except that you have to do Lenovo's work for them if you want the laptop to work as it should. It will never get better and the next line of Lenovo products will be worse.

It sucks but Thinkpads are cool, so I got one.i.e. it is not the end of the world. Every company has it quirks, and this is one of Lenovo's.

#
#

Multi-Touch TouchPad Dose work in Linux. You just need to enable it. Install a GUI or set it in xorg.conf

#
#

The i7 will not go into Turbo Boost on Battery because there is not enough power. It will only Turbo Boost until it reaches the limits of it's electrical and thermal envelope.

#
#

I was thinking the same way, "Total of 18-cells." However, the battery is not utalized in that way. It just uses-up one battery and then switches to the other. Makes it easy to gage how log it will last. Just compare the Ah of the battery you want to the internal one you have.

Your right though. If the laptop would link all 18-cells into one battery it would provide more power and increase the longevity of the cells.

 

Anyone? I would like to use my laptop to watch blu-ray movies during travel.

 

Just ordered a W510 today.

I plan to use it for some gaming in addition to everyday tasks but I have heard the graphics card drivers are not optimized for this. Anyone know of a resource on how to upgrade to the latest from nvidia?

EDIT:
Found them here. Thanks guys.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-64bit-260.99-whql-driver.html

 

he can answer for himself hes better resident than I am I admit it. but as far as activity goes im no where near you m8

 

Probably 43N3295 (source: tabook).

 

Thank You SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for posting this.
What a relief to know the touchscreen is going to work in Linux. I bought it with out checking on compatibility first. I'm happy to here I lucked out.

 

I used an LG blu-ray player dvd writer combo .
I got it from ebay and removed the front cover(bazel) from the old W510 dvd drive . any slim sata laptop drive should work . You don't need IBM branded one . All you need is a small screw driver to remove plastic rail and some other part to make the new drive fit inside the bay in the W510 .

 

The additional parts you mention regarding fitting generic Blu-Ray drives into the W510, could you be more specific by giving a source and part numbers for the additional parts and the drive itself? TIA

 

all parts should come from the old w510 drive , all you need a small screw drivers - and + to do the swap .
the drive I would get
HL CT21L???SATA Blu-Ray Player???Laptop Slim DVD Burner - eBay (item 230462476873 end time Dec-11-10 02:43:22 PST)

 

That clears it up, Thanks!

 

With big smile on my face
my order:
INTEL CORE I7-820QM 1.73Ghz
4GB RAM (2X2GB) DDR3 SDRAM, 1066 MHz
15.6" FHD MULTITOUCH SCREEN LED BACKLIGHT ANTIGLARE
COLOR CALIBRATION HUEY PRO CALORIMETER BY X-RITE
NVIDIA QUADRO FX880M 1GB GRAPHICS
9-cell lithium ion
3 (THREE) YEARS LENOVO INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY
All this for US $1,935.00.

 

Well my new W510 will be here this week and I am going to upgrade the HD to a ssd and the memory to 16gb and this is what I have selected from newegg as I have a gift card that I need to use. Anyone see any problems with these items or any suggestions

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE180G 2.5" 180GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Patriot Signature 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model PSD34G13332S

This is my system right now

INTEL CORE I7-820QM 1.73Ghz
4GB RAM (2X2GB) DDR3 SDRAM, 1066 MHz
15.6" FHD MULTITOUCH SCREEN LED BACKLIGHT ANTIGLARE
COLOR CALIBRATION HUEY PRO CALORIMETER BY X-RITE
NVIDIA QUADRO FX880M 1GB GRAPHICS
9-cell lithium ion

 

I just purchased a W510 Nov 26th expected ship date Dec 9th:

LENOVO W510 ($1,390.00)
INTEL CORE I7-820QM
8GB RAM DDR3 SDRAM, 1333 MHz
15.6" FHD SCREEN
PANTONE COLOR SENSOR
NVIDIA QUADRO FX880M 1GB
9-CELL

3 YEARS LENOVO DEPOT WARRANTY ($95.20)

LENOVO THINKPAD 15W CASE SLEEVE ($14.39)

My question is when I see these configurations with "HUEY PRO CALORIMETER BY X-RITE" - is that is addition to the Pantone color sensor? If so, how do these work together?

Thank you in advance.

 

It's the same thing. The the HueyPro is the software and the Pantone is the sensor.

 

Does anyone have the Pantone sensor built into their W510 and could they tell me their experience? Is it a problem where is the located on the palm rest?