Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

In NYC and Toronto, I've had great support for both Dell Precision and Lenovo Thinkpad (tested an Elitebook but never had to use their support). I've just ordered another TP to replace my home Acer notebook, a new W520 but then again I have 3 yr onsite support w/ priority line and full/accidental coverage.

 

I have come so very close to pulling the trigger on this laptop, but each time I do I'm plagued with thoughts of the shutdown errors that a number of users seem to be experiencing.

I'm an IT Professional in a large health care organization with over 3,000 desktops, laptops, thin clients and etc. As far as laptops are concerned we are predominately an HP shop but do have a mix of Dell (Lattitudes & Precision) and only a few Lenovo (Thinkpad 500P and 500W). Each of these devices has their quirks and IMHO aren't worth what we are currently paying. For $3,000+ the device should be PERFECT and each has it's own idiosyncrasies!

I have several older high-end work stations in my home office and want to go to a high-end laptop that works. I thought this was the one, but since I don't own one as of yet I'll ask you to tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly. BTW I paying for this, and not my company as this will be 60% personal and only 40% business. TIA!

 

It's not possible to boot from SD card? I'm used to do it on my $100 netbook so i'd like to do that on the W520 too...

 

I am not sure what 500p or 500w is, but $3000 is a ripoff. No wonder health care expenses are out of control.

 

FWIW I followed this thread for a couple of weeks then pulled the trigger on my w520 at the beginning of December and couldn't be happier. Like you I'm an IT professional and use my w520 for work and a little play.

So far I haven't experienced any showstoppers with my system whatsoever. I'm sure if I nitpicked at it all day after reading this thread I could reproduce some problems, but in everyday usage I haven't run into anything. I'm not advising proceeding without research but don't be crippled by what may or may not happen.

 

Actually the $3,000+ was for a few of the high end Dell Precision and the HP EliteBooks. We've never paid more than $2000 to $2500 for a Lenovo.

 

The Boxing week Doorsbuster deal ends Jan.3rd, I'm pulling the trigger on a W-520.

Processor Intel Core i7-2760QM Processor (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1333MHz)

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 - English

Display type 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna

System graphics NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)

Color sensor Colour sensor

Total memory 8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)

Keyboard Keyboard - US English

Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader

Camera 720p HD Camera with Microphone

Storage subsystem Internal RAID - Not Enabled

Hard drive 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

System expansion slots Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader

Battery 9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery

Power cord 170W Slim AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)

Bluetooth Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna

Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

Language pack Publication - US English


41C9709 3Yr Onsite Warranty Next Business DayI have two questions though.
1)I may or may not get a external color calibration kit for my 24" panel and this machine. Since the color sensor is free, is there any harm in getting it?

2)With the fingerprint reader, comes a smartcard reader.
With the Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader , it also says smartcard reader. Does this mean there will be two smartcard readers?

Thanks for the help before I place my order.

 

1. No harm at all.
2. No, I'm 99.99% sure you'll only have a single smartcard reader slot.

 

Thanks a lot Thor.
I will get the colour sensor then.
I'll get the fingerprint reader with smartcard reader.
Then I can deselect the 4 in 1 reader with smartcard reader which will save me $10.
Appreciate your reply.

 

To my former question, i'll add this one : Is that possible to get right clic by double tapping the touchpad with some alternative drivers or else?

 

TwoFingerScroll, Tapping tab, One + one finger, Right button.

 

Hey there, I'm a Canadian college student and I would like to thank the community here at NBR for helping me decide on my new laptop.

After lurking around for quite some, I've finally decided to pull the trigger and grabbed myself a Lenovo W520. Despite the few problems I've been reading about regarding this model, the deal was too good to pass out and so I've decided to give it a shot. This W520 will soon be replacing my good old Acer Aspire 4930Z that I've purchased in Shanghai a few years back and that is still powered by a Pentium CPU

I've submitted the order a few hours ago so it's still being processed I guess. The estimated shipping will be on 26/01/12. All in all, I am very excited about this purchase and hope that everything will fine straight out of the box.

 

The laptop is pretty well-protected; the Thinkpad box was inside a UPS box, and inside the Thinkpad box were plastic braces that kept the W520 away from the edges. You should expect it to arrive within a week to a week and a half (with standard shipping).

I have a picture of my unboxing in the link in my sig, as well as some other stuff about the laptop.

 

Your ThinkPad box was inside another box? Did you order direct from Lenovo?

 

Yeah mine was not inside another box either.

 

IIRC, I believe it was. Not a big box, just big enough to hold the Thinkpad box (maybe to hide it from potential thieves?)

Or maybe I'm mistaken. I've been doing a lot of things these past few months and my memory might not be serving me well regarding this.

 

I think you are mistaken. I haven't seen a box inside a box from Lenovo in many years. If you bought from a reseller I could see this, especially if you bought other extras.

 

Thanks for that. They should let us assign keys too btw. What about my other question (SD card boot)? I'll add two more: First, people already mentionned the fact that when you're using the trackpoint and release it, it'll often keep moving for a while. Hell yes, it does almost EVERYTIME! There's no way to put it in the right place once and for all? Also, i checked ebay for the trackpoint cap replacement (just to have some) and saw most of them are sold by 3 different type. With a brand new W520, do you get only one or more?

Last thing : my W520 has a FullHD screen, i'm at 100% and can read well, though my eyes get somekind of tense when i start using it. I feel like it's a backlight issue. I have to mention i don't find satisfaction with light settings. Usually i'm between 8-11 but ALWAYS find it either too strong or too low... Many people reported that "their eyes complained" about LED screen, isn't it? All other screens i use don't have LED technology.

 

8-11 is pretty dim. Might be causing your stress. Have you tried 125% DPI for any length of time?

 

I tried 110% first cause 125% is too much but it makes icons crappy and menu weird. Anyway, 100% seems fine to me as i said. You just gotta get closer to the screen in case, and i do mostly surfing, browser text size is changed directly in it, not by the % thing. I really think light is the problem. In fact i'm usuqlly qt 8-9, but if its feel like its not enough. But 10 feels like too strong somehow, inside without daylight of course. I just thought, what about making a poll asking people who got a FullHD W520 what's their settings (DPI, distance eyes>computer...)?

 

My eyes are fine with the LED technology. I use my screen at 9 brightness. You might want to turn down the brightness as you have the brighter FHD panel. Try 6 or 7 and see if it is any better.

 

The FHD does strobe at anything lower than max brightness. Not sure about the HD+. My T400 was a bit less affected, but still there. The effect might be more pronounced under fluorescent lighting (think two sound waves of different frequencies producing beats).

Wave your hand in front of it, and you'll see it. The lower the brightness, the more pronounced the strobe. (Do this on a white screen for obvious reasons.)

For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKJhHK0bjpw

 

is it possible to buy a W520 with only Intel graphics?

 

Just ordered a W-520, can't wait to get it!

Processor Intel Core i7-2760QM Processor (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1333MHz)
Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 - English
Display type 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna
System graphics NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)
Color sensor Colour sensor
Total memory 8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboard Keyboard - US English
Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader
Camera 720p HD Camera with Microphone
Storage subsystem Internal RAID - Not Enabled
Hard drive 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
System expansion slots Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader
Battery 9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery
Power cord 170W Slim AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)
Bluetooth Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Language pack Publication - US English

 

I heard the answer is no.
The only way to do so is order a T520.

 

That would sort of defeat the purpose of having a workstation laptop, now would it?

As said above, you're looking for the T520. Same exact laptop, but only with Intel GPU and/or NVS 4200M (not that it's any better, but it's an option).

 

I'm asking because this item, I asked the seller, he said there is just Intel and no Nvidia, I asked him to check again and he was adamant and even send me this link to prove it.

So I am wondering if it is possible to have a w520 without the quadro.

Don't know if he's a or I'm ignorant.

 

So that would be my problem? What's your screen settings then? And of many hours can you stay in front of it?

 

I'm pretty sure the W520 comes with NVIDIA Optimus technology which has both NVIDIA Quadro GPU and Intel GPU, the seller at the time probably was using the Intel GPU while he shared those specs with you and probably is not aware of the Quadro card being dormant.

If you really wanted a 15.6" laptop with Integrated GPU only then as others said, the T520 would be a better bet for you as the W series is designed to be primarily as a mobile workstation.

 

According to Lenovo's tabook...

http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf

... the 4282 models come with the following graphics options:

"NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology, auto-switch between discrete and integrated graphics, Intel HD Graphics 3000 in processor, and NVIDIA Quadro® 1000M or 2000M, PCI Express® x16, 2GB memory, external analog monitor support via VGA DB-15 connector and digital monitor support via DisplayPort (supports single-link DVI-D via cable 45J7915); supports three independent displays;
Maximum external resolution: 2560x1600 (DisplayPort)@60Hz; 2048x1536 (VGA)@85Hz; 1920x1200@60Hz (single-link DVI-D via cable 45J7915)"

The seller CLEARLY does not have even the basic understandings of the graphics capabilities of this Lenovo model.

I also noticed that this unit is being sold "As New", i.e., a "Refurbished Product", refurbished or reconditioned by C.W. Technology Aust... "Factory authorized and may contain used parts".

Given the seller's limited knowledge of the unit, and the fact that it is not "brand new, factory sealed", I personally would steer clear of this one. JMHO.

 

Age, changing eyesight without a corresponding change to corrective lenses, sensitivity to flicker, eye strain from the high resolution, and other factors could be contributing to the issues you are having.

My W510 is set to 14 brightness during the day when it's on my desk due to the brightness of the room (natural sunlight). At night I knock it down a few notches but 11 would be about as low as I ever go.

As I have indicated previously, I run the FHD at 125% DPI. I wear graduated lenses for eyesight correction (near and far). I use a computer 12+ hours each day.

 

I have almost daily eyes flashes (strobbe) but that started long ago before i got the W520...

 

I keep my brightness set to 15 (maximum setting) in my home office on the docking station. Typically the only time I lower the brightness is when I'm away from my office, and usually only in transit. The rest of the time, my notebook is plugged in via an extra A/C power brick which I carry with me on business trips.

I run the FHD screen at 100% DPI, with Outlook open on the left half of the screen and other applications open on the right half of the screen.

I also wear graduated lenses for eyesight correction, but I have 20/15 vision with glasses. Admittedly this is better than normal, i.e., I can read letters on a calibrated eye chart at 20 feet that most people with normal vision can only read at 15 ft.

FWIW, if I ever need to temporarily increase DPI (e.g., if I'm trying to show someone something on screen over my shoulder), I just use the Fn-Spacebar shortcut, which I normally set to 150% DPI. Once activated, this setting can easily be changed to 110%, 150%, 200%, or 250% via the magnifying glass icon that appears on the taskbar.

 

Whenever I'm on battery, I tend to keep screen brightness at 5 (with "Maximum Battery Life" set in Power Manager), but when I'm at the desk I'll crank it up to 15 (it's a little hard to find ore deep underground in Minecraft w/o 15 brightness )

 

You seems to all have very different settings. But what the hell do you do at 5? You must be in total darkness or i don't know...

 

I usually have it at 5 at night, and maybe bump it up to 7 in class, but there isn't much difference between the two. My next highest pre-set brightness ("Balanced" in Windows Power Manager) is at 9.

 

I too would like a W520 without the extra graphics card. The T520 isn't a substitute since it doesn't have USB3, a color sensor and has only 2 memory slots.
I don't need the extra graphics power; I don't play games or do much of anything graphical.

 

I use 0 when I'm on a coach and it's dark outside, 4 or 5 for a lecture hall with dimmed lights, 9 for everything else except outside, and 15 for outdoors.

 

How much memory do you need and why?

 

The quad-core T520s have 4 DIMM slots, but why would you need the extra RAM? 8GB is plenty for just about everyone out there (only reason I have more was because of a sale on Mushkin RAM that made it cheap).

 

Ditto on the RAM use. I got 16GB because it was cheap, but never saw more than 50% use (according to Win7 widget). The other day, I did a 12 shot pano stitch (21 megapixel shots) and for the first time, photoshop used over 10 GB of RAM by itself. My system appeared to be at about 95% RAM load, with OS and other apps open....
Most photo processing (the heaviest workload for me) barely bumps past 6GB total use. Of course, this is probably as much a Win7 "feature" than anything....

 

I'm a little confused. I don't really understand why anyone would be looking at a workstation notebook but wishing it didn't have a second graphics card? Is it an issue of cost? Complexity? Power-consumption? Another-part-that-can-fail? What is the underlying concern?

Since the W520 doesn't come with the option of just integrated graphics -- no doubt because that SKU would not see much demand amongst the target market segment -- then you have two options: (1) Quadro 1000M, or (2) Quadro 2000M.

If you really don't want the second card, then don't pay for the higher spec version. Just choose option 1.

Problem solved? Or am I still not getting the whole underlying issue?

 

I do know some users, including me, have chosen the W520 primarily because it has an ExpressCard slot, which is increasingly harder to find these days. With an ExpressCard you can offload graphical duties to an external graphics system (ViDock and its clones) and run whatever card you want. Performance wise, the Quadro 2000M, can't even beat a standard GTS 450.
I run a GTX 560 Ti, and it absolutely stomps the Quadro 1000M.
If there is no 2ndary adapter, Hybrid Optimus can be enabled by default on the external video solution and that helps a lot with bandwidth issues.
To these users, all they care about is: 1. does it have an open expresscard slot? 2.Does it come with a top of the line CPU? 3. Can I have 16 gigs of RAM when I want to?
The onboard GPU has very limited use.

 

I can understand that perspective. You actually want MORE graphics power from a workstation product. But Mr. X said he doesn't need the extra graphics power; he doesn't play games or do much of anything graphical.

Maybe he should just buy the cheaper model (Quadro 1000M). And if he's worried about power consumption issues, or the increased complexity of running an Optimus-enabled machine switching between the two graphics cards, maybe he should force the machine to default to the integrated graphics card in the bios settings.

 

That's a perfectly valid solution if they must have a W520. I decided to ditch Optimus for other reasons (doesn't play nice with older games), and I've never looked back. Turn on computer, F1, dGPU for desktop use, iGPU for on-the-go, and forget about it until next reboot. I also find that running pure Intel graphics (instead of staying on Intel via Optimus) helps my battery life slightly (around or slightly less than 30 minutes, but that's still extra productivity time, right?).

 

My default desktop boot configuration is with Quadro 2000M enabled (Optimus disabled) and Power Manager set at Maximum Performance, since I am typically pushing the GPU harder than the CPU, but when I fly from Chicago to Hawaii next week, I will boot up with a more power-friendly configuration while on the plane.

 

Bonus: Windows will use most of the the remaining RAM as a "cache".
Only the amount indicated as "free" in Windows Task Manager (on my W520 it is 0.5GB right now) is not used.
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/2265-windows-task-manager.html

 

You'd better be in First Class. There's no room in coach to use a W520. That's what iPads are for.

 

Earlier in this thread it was said that the T has only 2 slots, even the quads. As far as 8 gig being enough, well... http://groups.google.com/group/alt.folklore.computers/msg/99ce4b0555bf35f4?pli=1

 

Sure. All of that. The video card is additional 200 to 300 bucks, and I don't need it. I do need everything else the W520 offers so obviously if I have no other option I'll get it with the additional video card but since the Lenovo is configured for you at the factory, you should be able to delete that part.