Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Thanks all... I have been able to confirm the 5.5 lb objective can be met (not counting the power brick) with the ODD swap and battery swap, even lose another ounce by using a SSD. I figure it will weigh ~5.38 lbs.

Seems the 50+ laptops in the gaming category I have been mulling over have been wasting my time. None have the combination of screen, rock solid reputation, build quality, performance, flexibility, support and community that this has despite being on the market for 6 months. Sure it's expensive and slightly bulky but 516 pages of post and very few outright complaints (a forum rarity). I am ordering today and returning the samsung series 7 with it's terrible screen immediately.

Last question. Are their any alternates to the mega brick that will not force a low performance load? Crysis 2 is about as hard as I will push this thing (in reduced settings of course). If not no biggie.

 

If you want to game and have "high performance" on AC, you'll need the 170W brick. 135W brick is good for charging the laptop quickly (when it's off), and 90W is only good for a slow charge while it's off. So basically, you should probably stick to the original 170W brick.

 

The 135W brick works just fine with my i7-2820 system.

I use it while travelling and there is no perceivable performance difference compared to the 170W brick (except the 135W brick's smaller size - it weighs about the same though).

Note: Perhaps the i7-2920, which uses 10W more power, needs the 170W brick?

 

For what it's worth, I was really worried about the size and weight of the W520's power brick, given the photos that I had seen and the weight listed on the stats sheet, especially in comparison to the smaller 90W brick on my T500, but once I actually held it in my hand, the issue effectively went away.

In my honest opinion, the W520 brick is not as big or heavy as it seemed from afar -- I've actually carried larger, and heavier, power bricks on previous laptops -- and it is, frankly, a necessary compromise for the increased power of a mobile workstation. There are a lot of things that my T500 simply cannot do, and I was more than willing to make the trade-off.

 

I am thinking of buying this backpack for W520..

Targus A7 Backpack - 16-inch: Details & Specs at NexTag

targus a7 for 16inch laptops

Will it fit?

 

It should be fine, albeit a little tight on Compartment Height and Depth. Compartment Height is 14.75", Compartment Width is 13", and Compartment Depth is 1.53".

W520 dimensions are: 14.7" x 9.7" x 1.4". Add 0.9" to the second dimension for the extension of the 9-cell battery.

 

It won't hurt to try this, except the screw was stripped while trying to remove it, not while it was being installed. It is easy to mess up a screw while installing it by overtightening.

 

Danger Will Robinson! Even if you could find an easy out for a screw this tiny you would have to accurately drill in the center of the old one and then hope the easy out does not break. If you are already able to accurately drill in the center of the messed up screw then you are already in a position to drill the screw out and retap the threads with the next size up, per my machine shop suggestion.

I have seen many broken bolt issues in engines only made worse by an easy out that has snapped off. I would stay away from them; better to drill and retap.

 

if you can drill off the top of the screw, and this is one of the keyboard screws, then remove the other screw and take the keyboard out you will be able to remove the screw with a pair of pliers. If a drill doesn't work a dremel tool probably would. I would pull the battery before I did anything.

 

I'm getting ready to order a fully-loaded W520, and I always order an extra AC adapter/cord/brick. I currently have a T61. Will the adapter/cord for my T61 work on the W520? I can save the ridiculous $120 they want for an extra cord.

 

I replaced my t61p with a w520 and it will charge the battery. if you boot with the t61 adapter it will give you a warning that it is not the adapter that shipped with it. you will love the 520 it's so much better than the t61!

 

Another question: I need a larger drive than the 160GB (SSD). Am I better off ordering:

1) a unit with a std HD, and replacing it with a larger SSD,

2) order the SSD, and replace it with a larger SSD,

3) order the SSD, and add a 2nd SSD aftermarket.


#2 obviously makes no sense unless I sell the 160SSD after I replace it.

I'm not sure of #3. Is there room for a 2nd SSD drive without giving up the optical drive? [And if so, why doesn't Lenovo simply offer this option?]

 

Isn't that a 90W unit? I'm pretty sure the T61 uses the same power brick as my T60p and my T500, which is only 90W. If so, even though it will physically plug into the W520 and will slowly charge the battery while the unit is off, it will not provide enough power to prevent battery depletion while the unit is running. The W520 is a power-hungry mobile workstation which really needs 170W to both power the machine under load and to recharge the battery.

Something to think about, if you are planning to use a docking station, is that the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 comes with a 170W AC adapter in the package. If you plan to buy a docking station anyway, that is a simple way to kill two birds with one stone. Not exactly cheap, but something to consider.

 

I'd get the standard hd and replace with a ssd that's big enough to do the job.

 

I agree with the docking station solution, that's what I did.

 

In my experience, option 1 is probably the cheapest way to go. Lenovo's prices for pre-installed drives are not very competitive compared to external suppliers like Amazon, Newegg, or Tiger Direct.

Option 3 is definitely possible, with a small mSATA SSD drive in the mSATA slot underneath the keyboard (assuming you don't use a SIM card in that slot) and the 2nd SSD in the original hard drive slot on the bottom of the notebook. That will leave the UltraBay slot available for either an optical drive or even a 3rd HDD or SSD.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I ordered my W520 today, using the CYBERMONDAY coupon. I decided to get the SSD from Lenovo, and I can add a 2nd one at a later date.

Here is what I ordered, listing only the variances from std:

 

You know there is a deal on Intel 320 160GB drive for $144 after MIR right? Maybe that's cheaper than getting it from Lenovo

Update: I just checked and the price has gone up. =(

 

I remember paying $290 for it, and that was a sale price (reg. $320).

-.-'

 

I know

-.-

 

Hello guys.

I am about to invest my hard earned ,recession stricken, greek money on a w520. Apparently Greece is too small for Lenovo to offer CTO here so i am about to order it from Germany (Lenovo.de) and have a German friend sent it to me.
Are there any "traps" that i should avoid? .The machine can spec'ed it with English Win7 and US/international Keybord with euro symbol which i suppose gets me through the qwertz thing.
Final price comed down to ~1540 euros for i-2760/FHD/Q2000 machine after the coupons so i suppose this is good calue for money @ Europe.

Any advises/thoughts would be very welcomed.

 

Any downsides to the 1920x1080 screen?

 

It does look very small for text.

 

DPI Scaling + NoSquint. Text ends up being sharper at the same physical dimensions.

 

Anyone have Two X25 Intel SSD what speeds are they getting in raid0?

 

Looks like the Amex Spend $999 or more, get a $150 statement credit deal is back for Lenovo. Can anyone confirm?

 

Interesting review of the new Seagate Momentus XT 750GB, tested on the W520, and compared to the Western Digital Scorpio Black and Hitachi Travelstar, as well as the Corsair F60, Crucial C300 Corsair P3 and Intel 510 SSDs in a Raid0 setup:

Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Review | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

 

So upset that I found 2 stuck pixels in the lower left of the screen! I didn't notice them until I had a black background and now I can't stop looking at them. They don't appear in any other background except black.

I've tried massaging them, running pixel fixing software with no success and I know Lenovo has a policy of at least 3 or more needed for the screen to be replaced. Sucks.

 

Try putting pressure on one, and at the same time turning the screen off and on again. This has worked for me before on a normal display.

 

^
Thanks I will try this and see if it works.

 

I haven't been on these boards lately but came across this today and wanted to share:

AnandTech - Intel to Add TRIM Support for RAID 0

Looks like trim will finally be coming to SSDs in RAID 0!

 

The Quadro 2000m is basically a 555m in terms of gaming, correct?

 

Something like that.

 

Let me say this first, I know nothing about memory. I came across this today. Can you tell me if this RAM will work in the W520?

http://www.guru3d.com/news/corsair-vengeance-ddr3-for-laptops/
There are 3 versions:

Specifications:
8GB - 1866MHz - 10-10-10-27 - 1.5V - 2 DIMMs - CMSX8GX3M2A1866C10 - $149.99
8GB - 1600MHz - 9-9-9-24 - 1.5V - 2 DIMMs - CMSX8GX3M2A1600C9 - $74.99
4GB - 1866MHz - 10-10-10-27 - 1.5V - 1 DIMM - CMSX4GX3M1A11866C10 - $39.99

Here are the tech. specs for the first one listed:
Size 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB)
Performance Profile XMP
Fan Included No
Heat Spreader —
Memory Configuration SODIMM
Memory Type DDR3
Package - Memory Pin204
Package - Memory Format SODIMM
Tested Voltage 1.5
SPD Voltage 1.5
Speed Rating PC3-15000 (1866MHz)
SPD Speed 1333Mhz
Tested Speed 1866Mhz
Tested Latency10-10-10-27
SPD Latency9-9-9-24

Also FRY'S has Corsair 8GB single for $85.00
http://www.frys.com/product/6902187?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

 

Any of the above sticks would work, though that Corsair 8GB stick looks tempting for $85. Throw in four of those and that would be awesome

 

Beep beep back the Corsair truck up. There're a lot of reports of incompatibility.

 

Where are the reports so I may read them. And what is the best memory for performance for the W520?

 

AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling: Choosing the Best DDR3

 

What is the normal boot time for the W520 with the stock 128GB SSD? Mine takes ridiculously long )ok maybe exaggerating)- as in 50 seconds from powering on to the point I can start using the items on the desktop? I just thought it would be shorter. Something is not right.

 

I should say about 50 seconds to be able to start using Firefox... or is that about normal?

 

I can almost do that with a 320 GB HDD, so I'd think that something is off.

 

Yep, about 50 seconds...seems too slow

 

Check out this Lenovo Thinkpad ad:

"We threw a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop out of a plane at 12,500 feet. Crazy? Maybe. But this extreme, real-time demonstration shows how RapidBoot gives equipped Lenovo computers the unique ability to boot up in just seconds."
Lenovo "Boot Or Bust" Air Drop - YouTube

My W520 with SATA III SSDs takes 90 seconds (including the 50 sec warm-boot delay). ;-(
I wish Lenovo engineering would live up to the expectations created by Lenovo advertising.

A cold-boot takes about 40 seconds, including finger-print authentication and loading Skype, Logitech Mouse Driver, WizMouse, etc.

PS: There is also a "Making of" video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ZoYfHGXns

PPS: According to Lenovo, the average Enhanced Experience 2.0 Lenovo PC starts up in 28 seconds:
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/ee2
I have an "Enhanced Experience 2.0" sticker on my W520. Hmmm...

 

40 on a SATAIII? It takes about 40 seconds for me to boot up using my SATA II

 

40 on a SATA II? It takes about 40 seconds for me to boot up using my SATA I.

 

I had a computer that'd boot up in 40 seconds using a broken IDE cable! Ha!

(jk )

 

My 1982 Osborne 1 booted up in 10 seconds with a floppy disk (no kidding):
http://bunkerofdoom.com/computers/osborne1/900_1069.MOV

 

40 on SATA I? I've booted up in 40 seconds on SATA I HDD on my old with Vista.

 

What about a 40sec boot of Vista via punchcards?

 

You are going to need a LOT of punchcards to store Vista.