Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

I changed my keyboard from US to Norwegian, was amazed how easy it was.
Will probably be starting to buy 8GB ram modules each month ahead til i get full 32GB memory.

Havent thought about SSD yet, will probably look into that after the ram upgrades.

 

stick 16 mg in there and buy a ssd instead of the other 16, you will love it.

 

Did you remove the existing keyboard and add a new norwegian keyboard? Where did you buy the keyboard?

I live in UK, but considering buy from US (eBay seller), but the keyboard different is putting me off

 

Same as my experience. With the slice battery I have achieved over 10 hours with moderate web surfing during boring meetings. I make sure I shut off discrete graphics in the bios, screen brightness way down, turn off spekaers and microphone, and anything else I can. There were multiple days when I finished 10 hour meetings and still had 2 hours of battery life remaining.

 

This is without the slice battery.

 

Hi everyone,

I have just placed a customized order for the W520 and I chose the HDD 500GB 7200rpm (which showed that it would take more than 4 weeks to ship) and gave me an estimate of 3/6/2012. Have any of you had the same situation and their laptop shipped earlier than expected?

 

I ordered mine with the 5400rpm (was going to replace it with an SSD anyway) as the salesman told me the 7200rpm would take at least four weeks. Despite that mine still showed a ship date of 2/11/12. I ordered it the first week of January. However mine shipped 1/23/12 and I expect it to be here Thursday. The salesman did tell me the floods and stuff in SE Asia were the reason for the delays and I had read about that in tech publications.

 

Ordered mine Dec. 29th and received it on Jan. 23rd.

 

Think my 5 month old w520 died. After a normal work day yesterday it does not display anything when I power it up. And I only get a 1 3 3 1 beep code sequence. Anyone else had this and got it fixed without service support?

 

Either your have bad RAM installed (or mis-seated), or you have a motherboard failure. Hopefully it's just bad RAM, but if it's a motherboard failure then IBM will replace it free of charge (assuming you're covered by the 1yr depot warranty or better).

Nah, just had IBM send me a brand-new keyboard instead

 

Checked RAM nothing wrong, guess it's the mainboard then. I'll call em up tomorrow and see. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Got mine in - Yea! Nice looking screen, friggin power brick yikes, lol.

Waiting for the restore discs to complete so I can put in my SSD & memory.

It certainly is a black box isnt it? (my first Thinkpad) Think I'll hang onto my HP2540p for travel or sell it on ebay and buy an ultrabook - a U300 maybe?. No way I'm lugging the w520 around :}

 

How do I find out who my display panel manufacturer is?
Thanks!

 

The Core i7-2960XM I ordered from Provantage back on December 19, 2011 and finally made it to my home today. It's straight from Intel (no eBay for me) and was packed in an enormous box (Barron's magazine and quarter for scale). I'll be installing it in my W520 which came from Lenovo with a i7-2720QM. For now I'll be using the 45 watt TDP heatsink. I may upgrade to the 55 watt TDP heatsink later. Also, I'll be adding in the modem I bought a few months ago. I'll try to take plenty of pictures of the process even though it's fairly straightforward.

 

May the force be with you.

 

For users with the 6 cell battery, what notebook sleeve are you guys using? I have read that the lenovo 15in sleeve is too lose/ not snug with the 6 cell so I wanted to know which one fits well. thanks

 

Entech PowerStrip is one way to look at it.

 

Or just check the hardware ID of the panel under devices or under monitor properties.

 

First time poster, long time reader.

I am upgrading from a T61p to a W520.
USE: Architectural rendering.

I have the student discount & the 10% email discount.
any other online discounts I can apply? next step is calling in and trying to haggle.


-Intel Core i7-2760QM Processor (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
-15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
-NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
-16 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
-UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
-500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
-DVD recordable multiburner
-9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
-Bluetooth 3.0
-Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
-Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
-4270 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller
-2YR Onsite + 2YR ThinkPad Protection
-ThinkPad 15W Case Sleeve

$$$$ 1,961.82

thanks for your time.

 

If you want to save money, upgrade separately. For example, get the minimum amount of memory and smaller hard drive.

 

Thanks for the reply sgogeta4, your previous post have been helpful.

I thought of that regarding the 16GB of ram. So if I go with just the "4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)" will it just be plug and play?

How easy is it to upgrade? (does this info still stand? http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/602011-memory-upgrade-question-lenovo-w520.html)

Just buy two sets of these? and sale the factory memory.
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G

That brings down the price to $1,582 + Newegg 2 x 8Gb ram $140
thanks again.

 

Thanks, tried it and all it said was Lenovo 1920x1080.

 

-RAM is certainly plug-and-play. I still have my original (Samsung) 1DIMM 4GB stick from the factory, along with the 2x4GB Mushkin sticks I bought aftermarket.

-Upgrading RAM is easy. Here are the steps:
1) Remove all power (unplug, remove battery, hold power button for ~10 seconds to discharge the laptop)
2) [for bottom RAM] flip laptop over, unscrew the door covering RAM
3) [for top RAM] do the same as 2, unscrew keyboard screws, remove keyboard
4) Line up RAM sticks with notches on the slot, insert at a ~35-40 degree angle, lay flat until RAM locks into place (there are pins on the side).
5) Reassemble laptop, plug in and use.

 

You aren't going to be able to sell the 4gb for much, just leave it in (it will be under the keyboard) and stick the 2 x 8gb in the slots under the back cover. Very easy to do. The Kingstons are good sticks, I decided to go with the pair of Patriots.

 

I just bought a single stick of 4GB DDR3-1333 on sale for like $10, plugged it in and it ran perfectly through memtest. The Lenovo W520 hardware maintenance guide is very good and makes installing most hardware very simple. IMO no need to go for DDR3-1600 since the benefits are negligible (unless it's the same price as 1333).

 

Cool! It would be great if you could you do PCMark 7 Benchmarks "Before" and "After"

 

ok thanks for the quick responses,

I think I'm ready to order.
One more check before I submit my order,
will everything listed below work fine with 3 x 4GB of this, Newegg.com - Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model KVR1333D3SOK2/8GR


-Intel Core i7-2860QM Processor (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
-Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
-15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), color sensor
-NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
-4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
-Internal RAID - Not Enabled
-500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
-Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
-Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)

thanks.

Currently online chatting trying to haggle the price down. Wish me luck.

 

I would fill out the FAQ to determine your needs. For example, if you don't require CPU intensive programs and want to save money, get the 2760QM over the 2860QM. Similar with the WiFi card and HDD.

 

Yes, i went mad with the US one xD.
I purchased from my norwegian webstore, they didnt have it in their browsing inventory so i sendt them an email with the product code of the keyboard i was interested in.

 

I have two questions: First, will the lenovo mini plus series 3 dock station fit the W520 even with the 9-cell battery? Second, I would like to know for sure whether or not replacing the hard drive or the RAM would void the warranty because each time I talk or chat with someone at lenovo, they say something different.

 

RAM and HDD is user replaceable?
That means that we can change it how many times we want without voiding the warranty...

I think...

Someone needs to check that out.

 

It fits in the docks just fine. Swapping HDD, SSD and RAM does not void a warranty.

 

I plan on ordering a W520 soon. Should i expect any deals for the w520 in the near future? or should i wait for the new w530.

 

I just ordered today.

Use the Barns and Nobel lenovo website + get one of the 10% discount codes + chat with a sales person.

 

Thanks again sgogeta4.

My use is heavy architectural planing & rendering,
-3dMax
-vray
-rhino
-maxwell
-revit
-autocad
-grasshopper
-photoshop, ai, id

I'm trying to buy once cry once. You saved me $300 by buying the ram separate, thanks!

 

What is your estimated ship date and what are the upgrades you made?

 

4+ weeks out due to the HHD I chose.

Specs,
INCOI7-2860QM2.50GHZ8MB
WIN7PRO 64
GW7P64 E
15.6FHD (1900 X 1080) LED
NVQ1000M GR
COLORSENSOR
4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
FINGERPRINT READER
720P HD CAM INT MICR
I RAID-NOT EN
500GB HDD7200RPM
DVD RC8XMXDLLRULTEHATA
ECS+4IN1CR
9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
+ 170W AC AD
BLUETOOTH 3.0
IN.CENT.ULTIMATE-N 6300
INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
LANG PCK US E
1YR ONSITE + 1YR TPP
THINKPAD 15W CASE SLEEVE

Ordering extra ram via newegg.

 

Ordered the same exact configuration like you (except 8GB RAM) last Sunday and my estimated ship date is 3/6. I know in advance that the 7200 rpm would take more than 4 weeks but honestly, I thought that this is a joke but I am afraid it will be true. I am really unhappy with that.

 

How much is this configuration?

 

Do not know yet. They invoice my institution and then I pay to them so I have not received the invoice yet.

Tell me when did you order and what is your estimated ship date?

 

Quick question, could someone point me in the right direction to instructions to reinstalling Windows on my W520? I've installed a program on it and I cannot get it to uninstall. When I reinstall, I plan on installing an mSATA SSD. I made the backup discs for the machine when I first got it back in August, so I think that should help.

Thanks in advance!

 

Not sure how to install from backups, since I always use a clean install and copy/paste files from an external HDD I keep around.

Anyway, to install Windows, you'll need a Win7 disc, which you can download here. Before you install, you need to get the activation key and cert from your OEM install, so use ABR (found here). One more thing to do is to use the eicfg removal tool (found in previous link) so that you can install the correct version (if you current have Win7HP 64-bit, you'll need to install WIn7HP 64-bit, etc.)

Once you have your activation and cert stored safely (flashdrive is a good option), insert the Win7 disc you've burned and then install Windows normally (assuming you have the mSATA SSD installed at this point). Once done, boot into Windows and use ABR to restore your activation/cert. Once done with that, optimize Windows for your SSD, such as turning off indexing, defrag, etc.

 

if by backup discs you mean restore disks then you can just use those to reinstall the os. i'd probably put the os on the msata and all the data on the hdd if i were you. i used the restore disks to load my os onto my ssd and i tried it with the windows 7 disk and decided that i liked it better with the restore disk. lenovo doesn't put a lot of bloatware on now and i got better scores on pcvantage with the lenovo build.

 

You can install from the DVD's you made when you got the machine directly to the mSATA drive. I think there are some detailed in a thread in this forum.

1. Remove the primary drive.
2. Install the mSATA.
3. Insert the first disk of the DVD set (boot disk) and fire up the recovery process.

After you've installed the factory image and have rebooted a couple of times (and feel comfortable it's working), then shutdown and insert the HDD/SDD in the primary drive bay.

 

Ouch, my ship date is 3/12
Cost was $1600

 

If your ship date is that far out why don't you just buy the cheapest and quickest hard drive option then go to a store and buy what you want and swap them out.

If you do, make sure you boot up with the drive that comes with it, make your restore disc, then swap drives. Stick your win7 boot disc that you made with the restore discs in the dvd drive and it will tell you what to do from there.

Thats what I did. I was planning on using one of my SSDs anyway so who cares what it came with. BTW the SSD I put in my w520 is smoking. I'll post the ATTO benchmark soon.

 

Is their a huge difference between i7-2720QM and i7-2760QM?

 

Already done. Once I realized what caused it and accounted for storage space needed for the next few months. saved $40.
Hoping that in a few months the price of SSD's come down.

 

There is no significant difference in these CPUs for the majority of users.

 

Lenovo UK site was offering 10% off the W series in January (W10%JAN). It has expired. I wasn't ready to buy the last time I visited the site in January.

Now that I'm ready to buy, what's the possibility that the 10% off offer will come back soon say in March?