Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

8GB RAM modules are coming down in price ($70 for an 8GB module).

Here is the Corsair 2x8GB for $139 at Newegg:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9

 

Paid $1665 + tax for my system, then added a Intel 320 SSD and 2x4GB DDR3. Price includes a 2yr TPP warranty and a laptop lock.

 

Don't you find the fonts too small with the FHD screen? Strains my eyes, I'm surprised people tolerate reading fonts that small.

 

I am interested in getting a dock for my W520, but I am wary whether this would run interference with my external video solution connected via ExpressCard.
I assume the dock will require at least a PCI-E lane to interface with the W520, am I correct?

Lenovo -

http://www.amazon.com/Thinkpad-Minidock-Plus-3-170W/dp/B004UALDPM

 

Have you tried Windows' medium (125%) or larger (150%) fonts setting?

John

 

You can always increase the size of the font. Coming from a Alienware m17x with 1080p I do find it rather difficult at times to see different objects or text depending on the situation. For movies, photo work or general multimedia task the 1080p resolution is spot on.

 

No, the fonts are not too small on FHD.

 

That will probably depend upon how good your eyesight is. I like using my FHD screen at 100% native resolution, but my wife can't read the text on that setting because her eyesight is not 20/20, and she refuses to wear glasses.

If you like the 100% native resolution for movies, photo work, and/or general multimedia work, but have problems reading text without eyestrain, you can stick with 100% of native DPI for the former, and then press Fn-Spacebar to temporarily increase DPI for the latter. To return to original resolution, simply press Fn-Spacebar again.

The amount of magnification of the Fn-Spacebar setting can be changed to 110%, 150%, 200%, or 250% by clicking the magnifying glass icon that will appear in the taskbar within the magnification mode.

 

I'm a fair bit near-sighted, so standard font sizes are legible, but not greatly so.

I have Firefox set to 115% zoom, but Windows at 100% DPI.

 

I run at 125% DPI and it's very comfortable.

 

100% is fine for me.

 

... and with Chrome you can set customized zoom levels for each web site you visit. ( Tool icon > Zoom)

 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nosquint/

 

Can I connect 3 monitors with WQHD 2560 x 1440 using a docking station (2 in the docking station and one using the DP in the machine)

 

You can connect them, they just won't work. It will only drive 2.

 

I'd recommend that you check here (Lenovo Support) for more details.

 

I normally quote that page and document, but it isn't apparent looking at it, that the W520 is excluded from some of the desired configurations.

 

Guys

I installed the multitouch drivers for my w520 from lenovo's website. I'm guessing this feature allows you to do touch movements on the touchpad similar to the iphone for zooming in/out of images, etc. However, it's not working - only regular moving the mouse and clicking are working.

I can't find any option in the control panel or any program group for multitouch installed too. Has anybody successfullly got this to work?

thx

 

Thanks for the tips. I'm in a frustrating situation. I like windows7 but I use Mac's, the reason for that is the screen. For my eyes the Mabook Pro/Air screens are leaps ahead of any Windows laptop I've tried, Lenovo, Dell, HP, Sony and LG. I did really like the screen on the LG P300 but it's long retired and thanks to Lenovo and Dell LG no longer ships notebooks to North America.

I have no real problems running windows in bootcamp on the MacBook Pro, just seems odd. I'd like a windows notebook and when I find one with a compatible screen to a Mac I'll buy one.

I'm thinking of trying a new W520 with the 1600 x 900 resolution. Reason I'm not going for the FHD screen is I've read the wide color gamat can be a bit to vivid on the eyes. I'm not working with photo's and video professionally so I don't need it I'm thinking.

The other reason is smaller fonts with the hi res screen. Those that run at 125% DPI don't you find it makes the text look odd?

Why do laptop manufactures refuse to offer a model with the best screens they can make? Poor displays are one of the biggest gripes people have about laptops. Hard to believe no one offers a high quality 'legible' display, charge a premium price, I don't care, but at least offer it. (rant over

 

You've "read" that the color gamut can be a bit too "vivid" on the eyes? So you haven't actually seen one with your own eyes?

Perhaps you should go examine the FHD screen and draw your own conclusions?

I can tell you that I specifically selected the FHD screen because it is both "high quality" and "legible". IMO, the FHD screen is one of the best aspects of the W520.

 

Are there any other major considerations for your purchase other than screen? The W520 is a rather large portable workstation. Do you need a quad core? How much memory do you need? Is a high end GPU required?

 

That's one screen I haven't seen ... It's not like I can walk into a store and check one out. I have rely on reviews by end users and the topic I mentioned has come up numerous times - here on this forum.

Wide color gamat screens may not be ideal for every day users, that's not exactly a secret and, ultra hi-res screens on 15" notebooks means small fonts. Last time I tried running a windows notebook at 125% I didn't like it, but I'm willing to try it again.

Maybe I didn't explain myself well. Anandtech says it better, here's a quote from them. It's with regards to MBP displays ...

Compared to most PC notebooks, especially thin and lights, this display is simply superb. Apple uses a very high quality, high contrast panel in the MacBook Pro, and it’s one of the most noticeable advantages the MPB has over the PC notebook world. It just adds to the high quality feeling that the MBP practically exudes—it’s like Apple thought of everything to make it more enjoyable to use. I really wish other manufacturers would put in the money and effort into speccing their systems with high quality displays.



I totally agree with their viewpoint and wish windows noteobok manufacturers would do a MUCH better job with their displays. It's possible, the technology is there, but it's profit before eye strain reduction as far as laptop makers are concerned. Sad.

 

I would venture that the FHD screen used in the W5x0 series laptops is inextricably excluded from the purely generalized quote above. The screen on my W series is so nice that I am having all kinds of hell finding a thinner lighter replacement laptop, and I've included Macs in my search... My advice is to seek one out and examine it for yourself. It may not be easy, but the best things often aren't...

 

Fair enough, but there is info available on the web. For example, open the following two links in separate browser windows and either switch between them or put them side by side for comparison.

Lenovo T420, 60% color gamut: Notebook Reviews - Laptop Reviews and Netbook News Picture

Lenovo W520, 95% color gamut: Notebook Reviews - Laptop Reviews and Netbook News Picture

If you search, you will also find fimilar praise for the W520's FHD display in online reviews.

Bottom line, the FHD display is no ordinary laptop screen. It really is superb and shouldn't be underestimated. Nevertheless, seeing is believing, so try to find a live example in the wild and judge with your own eyes.

 

I've never noticed that my FHD was "too vivid", not sure what you're getting at there. Sure, the color gamut is better (95% vs MBP's ~75-77%), but why would it be a bad thing? Comparing between my old laptop (cheap), friends' MBPs, and my laptop, the W520 easily destroys them on the color front (and useability front as well).

If you only need a good screen, and none of the W520's power, you could look at the T520, which is actually the same exact laptop (and screen) with just a few different components (GPU, etc.).

 

This is very true. The FHD screen will spoil you. I am hoping the 15.0" Samsung Series 9 panel will have the same effect.

 

My brigthness keep changing by itself..

 

That unit is on my radar as well even though the resolution is supposed to be 1600x900 only... Though I don't know what to think about a thin and light with the same footprint of a 15" laptop. Seems you loose the weight, but are for all intents and purposes the same size, if you know what I mean. Again, this is why I can't commit and buy a thinner lighter computer... Whoa is me! LOL!

 

Check your GPU power settings. For both AMD and Intel GPUs, I know there are options for dynamic display brightness as a power-saving feature, called "VariBright" by AMD. I wouldn't be surprised that the W520 has it as well.

 

Thanks, the feedback on the screen sounds more promising now. I didn't know the T520 screen was the same, I read somewhere it wasn't, so that's good news too. Does the anti-glare coating give much of 'screen door' effect?

How's the screen on the T420/420s series now? The last 14" Thinkpad I had a few years ago was not good, it's the primary reason we switched to Mac's. I still really like Thinkpads, just dissappointed with the screens I've seen and owned in recent years.

 

The T520 screen is exactly the same as the W520, and seeing both my screen and my gf's dad's screen (T510), I'm sure the T520's screen won't have a screen-door effect. However, I've heard that the T420/420s does have this problem, though some owners say it's unnoticeable. I've seen one at the campus library before and I didn't notice it, though some people might.

 

I forgot to mention that I have the multitouch screen, which is regarded as not as good as the screens that are not obscured by the touch panel... and it's still an excellent screen! Just an FYI...

 

The 14" Lenovo screens are average. The Apple screens are much better. I think we are all hoping for better 13 and 14" screens from Lenovo but that is beyond the scope of the W520 owners thread.

 

I would've thought that with your priority being a great screen, you would've known that Sony and HP now offers IPS screen with their 15" model (specifically the Vaio SE and the HP Envy 15). Yes, it would be nice to think that Macbook Pro still has the best screen in the industry, but not any more. In fact, the moment Sony releases the Vaio Z1 series, and Lenovo offers the FHD 95% NTSC gamut screen in T510/W510, Apple is no longer the guy with the best TN screen. I specifically mention best TN screen because Thinkpad had IPS screen long before Apple starts offering decent screen for their laptop.

 

I bought the Dell U2412M monitor and I want to calibrate the screen. I got the ICC profile for this screen. Now my question is how do I apply the profile to my W520 which already calibrated with the built-in color sensor? Does the U2412M profile will be affect the W520 screen?

 

Didn't scope cease to be an issue within this thread about 5500 posts ago?

 

Good point. This thread should be a forum.

 

As far as I know (not having a color sensor on my W520) you would have to enable the .icc profile you want each time you switch from the laptop screen.

Right click on the desktop, move down to "screen resolution" under "display" select the monitor if you aren't already on it, then on the same screen go to "advanced settings" click the color management tab, click "add" if the profile you want isn't showing.

Season to taste (choose as default profile, or other screen resolution settings, etc).

 

BIOS 1.35 is out.

I installed it and have no trouble with it.

It didn't fix anything for me either.

Drivers and software - ThinkPad W520

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS018884
Version 1.35
UEFI: 1.35 / ECP: 1.20
(Fix) Fixed an issue where the maximum number of password attempts through WMI was not 3.

I still have the 50 second warm-boot delay with Intel 510 SSD during the "Thinkvantage Active Protection System Sensor Diagnostics" Power-On-Self-Test.

And I still love my W520. I just don't do many warm-reboots if I can avoid it...

 

Think I might just pass on this one, doesn't look like it fixes anything for me either.

 

Likewise; I don't seem much of a point for it to be installed on my system.

 

The FHD screen certainly does look fabulous.
However reading long documents at 100% DPI turned out to be a major eyesore.
Had to bump things up to 125% in Windows 7 to get comfortable.

I just sold my external GPU today so I would have a few days without ViDock fun. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal cause I should be able plug in the HDMI to my receiver, right? Unfortunately, that is when I discovered the W520 comes with a Display Port not an HDMI...

In a hurry I just ordered a DP to HDMI cable from Amazon, expected to arrive tomorrow. I assume the DP to HDMI cable would be able to transfer audio just like a regular HDMI cable, can anyone share their experiences on that?

 

Mine works perfect. Audio and video both clear and crisp.

 

Is it possible to disable the icon in the down left corner showing when caps lock is on and off? I hate in ingame as I use caps lock for ventrilo push to talk

 

About to pull the trigger on the W520. I keep reading about being referred to a rep of Lenovo. Can someone explain to me what it means and how I could get a better price ?

Looking at the W520 w/ FHD and 160gb SSD.

Thanks !

 

If I remember correctly, there is an option for that somewhere in the Lenovo software; however, the icon is in the bottom right corner...

 

Any news on W530 release date?

 

You've probably already got the picture (pun intended!), but here's my opinion:

W520 FHD screen = AWESOME. I almost made the same mistake that you're about to make, and I originally ordered it with the 1600x 900 but luckily changed before it shipped. That would have been terribly bad. The FHD screen is great and it seriously kicks the a$$ of pretty much any Mac screen on the market. This screen is seriously, seriously good. It's ONLY down fall is that it's only FHD, and not half an inch taller at 1920 x 1200 resolution. Spend the ~$200 - you won't regret it.

Next: Win 7: this is the OS that would cause Mac users to eat their shorts. It's BY FAR the best OS that MS has ever put out. Super intuitive, easy to use, friendly, STABLE, blazingly fast with an i7 2720 processor, never does anything annoying, blah, blah, blah...

My opinion (and that of most posters here I would suspect): buy the W520 with 4GB of ram (one stick), the FHD display and the 2720 quad core processor. This is the best bang for your buck configuration. Decide which video card you need: if not doing graphics / CAD and have no interest in Games, get the Quadro 1000M. If doing CAD or graphics or playing games, get the 2000M.

Next, go to Newegg or who ever and buy yourself the remaining 12GB of ram for $100, and an SSD or two and install them your self. That is the most cost effective way to build this notebook, and it is a screamer! My config is below and the only mistake that I made was getting a 160GB intel drive instead of a 240GB... That being said, i ahve close to 750GB on here, running through SSDs and a 7200RPM HDD, so it's not slow, and there are others with faster setups for sure!

I would say if I have one complaint (and it's really a small one), it's that it's a bit limited with external monitors. Now, that being said, i can drive my Dell U2711 (2560 x 1440) from the DP, and another monitor (either 24" FHD or 20" 1600x1200) through the VGA, ALONG with the notebook's display. So, it's not terrible...

Now, just go buy the damn thing!

 

If playing games is your thing, get the W520 then get an external GPU solution.

 

Oh, and I hope everyone who thinks the sound is crap take a look at this thread: W520 Sound Enhancement Thread - Lenovo Community

The difference made my the Dolby enhancement is astonishing.
I've switched Dolby on and off midsong, and I can definitely feel the difference.