Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Only those programs that are graphics-intensive and are specifically designed to take full advantage of the discrete GPU's capabilities will benefit. In general, the discrete GPU does not make programs run faster.

 

Any tips how to configure my Lenovo W520 and make programms like 3DSmax benefit from the quadro 2000 card?

And this lenovo solution center annoys the hell out of me. Do i really need it or can i turn it off?

 

3DSmax is already ISV certified for Quadro GPUs, so you shouldn't need to change anything in the software. Maybe disable Optimus and put it in dGPU-only mode in the BIOS, but nothing else.

Yes, yes you can. Just uninstall it (or just do a clean install of Windows).

 

This is my first Thinkpad and honestly, I am very disappointed with the FHD that I had high expectation for. Compared to Mac or the New Envy 15 (if its colors were made right), makes the W20 FHD so bad. I always sacrifice the readability of the font in FHD (wearing glasses) to get the FHD premium quality but with this machine, I do not think it was worth upgrading to FHD. I am not expert with display types but seems like there is nothing compared to IPS panels.

 

Umm...W520 has a 95% color gamut display (FHD) compared to the MBP 15"'s ~75% color gamut display (not sure what the Envy has, but I've heard of the problems with that as well).

From what I get from your post, I think you don't like how the colors are not over-saturated in the W520 because it uses a matte display, instead of the glossy ones in most laptops. Yes, IPS is better, but the FHD displays used in the current workstations are some of the best out there. Followed very closely by the XPS 15's FHD display, then most other TN laptops trail far behind in terms of color quality and other traits.

 

Sorry you feel that way. Amongst the displays in the ThinkPad family, the FHD on the T/W520 is the best. At work, my colleagues use different ThinkPad models, and I have various ThinkPads acquired throughout the years, but I always prefer the T/W520 FHD. (The Dell XPS 15 FHD panel is awesome, but it's glossy.)

Yes, IPS is best, but they are expensive, and not all of them are of the same "high quality" as one would conceptually expect. The 15" Flexview (IPS) panel on my T43p was great back then, but I paid over $5000 for that portable workstation. These days, you can get a good 23" IPS 1920x1080 panel for about $250: the Dell 2311H is a typical example, which I use everyday. But, for portable workstations, IPS upgrade can be quite steep: $450 for the Dell Precision M4600, which costs about $3000 total.

The viewing angles of the T/W520 FHD are relatively small. Try to look at the screen while adjusting the lid back and forth, and you'll find a spot that provides the best contrast and vividness.

 

The colors in the W520 are not over saturated?
Hmm, but my FHD looks exact the opposite. The colors are almost burning into my eyes, escpecially the reds. I think its way to saturated. Any way to fix this?

 

I think you are right, I like the over-saturated colors and I do not like that the brightview colors in the current W520 panel. Not sure if I should have gotten FHD then in first place especially that my eyes strain a lot with the small fonts. But anyway, it is what it is and I cannot make the display a deal breaker because this is the machine I was really looking for. It is a business sturdy productivity machine and not a toy like the MBP (forgive me Mac fans) after trying Mac for 2 years.

 

I had the same thing in the beginning and I was so annoyed but for some reason, once I used Lenovo updates to update all my drivers, this went away--not sure why but I do not suffer it anymore.

 

having owned a W510, an MBP and an Envy with IPS, I have to say that where Thinkpad falls short is the anti-glare coating. Anti-glare coating diffuses the reflected light, but it also diffuses the emitted light, making things seem a bit fuzzier than a nice glossy panel.

No matter what screen is used, the antiglare coated screen will never look as good and clear like a glossy screen. Trade-off is of course the reflections.

My currently ordered W520 is work-issued, but I would not pay my own $$ for a laptop with a antiglare screen. But other than anti-glare coating, I remember the FHD panel on my now-gone W510 to be excellent.

 

Change the Display DPI% to 125 and try that over the weekend.

 

It is automatically on the 125%. My problem is not with the windows icons and fonts. My issue is with the web browsing as the text is too small in all websites and I have to keep enlarging the text with each web page I open.

 

Maybe I should have asked this earlier.. does anyone know how the W520 screen (FHD) compares to the Dell e6500 1920x1200 screen? (I'm not sure but I think it may have been the same screen on the Dell workstation model that was out at the time)

I'm just getting my e6500 back from Dell repair (for the 3rd time in a few months.. ugh) and I'm using it and I still really love the screen. I would probably sell the laptop, but I fear I'll miss it since who knows when they will make a higher res screen (on something that isn't an ipad!). I'm hoping the W520 screen is comparable.. but it's what I'm getting no matter what! Estimated ship date is now saying Monday.. That's about 11 days since I ordered it.

By the way, I just checked my Lenovo order page it says: "15.6FHD (1900 X 1080) LED" That typo kind of scared me for a second

 

With Chrome, you can pick Options in the "wrench" menu, then click Under the Bonnet, then specify the magnification factor.

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With Firefox, you can use the NoSquint add-on to do the same thing.

IE? I don't want to know.

 

is it normal to hear the cpu make sounds (sort of like a whine or screech) when under heavy loads

it almost sounds like a hdd but that can't be because im using an ssd.. it is def. the cpu u can hear it coming from the top left corner

 

That Dell E6500 display is gorgeous, 15.4" UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200). In all honesty, it's difficult to get excited about ThinkPad screen offerings, and most, if not all, of us choose ThinkPad for valid reasons other than the screens.

I refrain from offering an opinion here, because perception and acceptance are subjective.

 

Man, it is interesting that I just observed the same exact thing you are describing here. I am inpatient about it especially that I also have SSD and my understanding is that such sound will happen with HDD only when parts move. Please, someone tell is if this is a defect in the SSD or the processor or something else? It is a fact and we need to know what it is!

 

it def. isnt the SSD because the sound is coming from the opposite side of the laptop. its coming directly from the CPU.

I researched it and it seems to be a very very common thing but most people dont notice it because they have other things making louder noises (hdd or fans etc.)

I read that its the transistors in the chip vibrating as electricity passes through it. One guy on lenovo's forums wrote that he RMAed his unit multiple times and every single laptop he got back did the same exact thing.

 

So, do you think we should just accept it as a fact and let it go? Seems like I should get my noisy HDD back to have some nice noise to cover for it .

 

might get grilled for a question like this but i haven't been keeping up with laptop specs and everything for a couple years. also don't have the time i wish i had to go through all the pages of this thread.

would the w520 be able to handle games like starcraft 2 and dota 2? and since most people around here know about all thinkpads, would the x220 be able handle the games as well?

thanks bros

 

idk, to be honest it doesn't really bother me that much

...but i could be totally wrong and it could be a sign of a faulty cpu,

im not 100% sure

 

"Under the Bonnet"

I always find the differences within the same language from place to place interesting, but I never expected see such attention to detail in the menus of a web browser (in the U.S., it says "Under the Hood.") Good work Google.

 

Back when the W520 came out I made a big issue out of this because the tabook stated we'd get a modem, the review units all had modems, but the CTO orders from the U.S. Lenovo site did not come with a modem. The UK Lenovo site used to ship CTO orders with a modem but I'm not sure if they still do. Also, off-the-shell W520 configurations had modems as well.

My solution was to buy a Lenovo internal modem and install it myself. It was fairly painless as long as you have all the parts:

1. Screws for the modem (should be inside all W520 laptops)
2. Modem (P/N 60Y3207)
3. Modem cable with RJ11 jack
4. RJ11 jack reinforcement bracket

Items #3 and #4 can be bought in a baggy of parts (P/N 04W1584).

All W520 motherboards have the connector for the "modem daughter card" (MDC) as it is called. Just follow the instructions in the hardware repair manual to take the keyboard and palmrest off and you should be fine. The only difficult thing is to get the bracket on the RJ11 jack. This requires removing the bundle of cables in the guide so there is enough slack to slip it under before tightening it down with the screw.

The image below can be zoomed in to help with routing the modem cable. The modem is the large square with the black cable coming out of it near the bottom-middle of the picture (front of the laptop) at the 5 o'clock position relative the wireless card.

 

Can anyone help me? How can i fix my screen? There is obviously something wrong with it, the colors just dont look right and far to oversaturated.

I already updatet everything with lenovo driver update but still the same screen...

 

Can you post pics of the screen?

 

I dont think this you can see it from your screen.

The screen isnt even that bad, but when some colors appear, especially reds, they seem like they are so high saturated that it hurts the eye.


Also, the Sound is a joke. Does the integrated Smart Audio sucks that much or is it because of the speakers?

 

to anyone who received their beasts recently - can you guys post here the exact model of RAM (or at least its brand) they come with these days? thanks in advance

 

Oh, man! This screeching sound of (possibly the processor) started to bother me more and more. I wish I could not hear it. Are you guys sure it is the processor and that all the machines produce this sound (for those who have SSD) and have the luxury to hear the sound in the absence of HDD noise?

 

NoSquint is a GREAT tool. I just tried it and it does what I exactly wanted. Thanks a lot.

I am just now so frustrated with this screeching sound (or whatever you wanna call it) after replacing my HDD with the SSD and not sure where it comes from (SSD or processor). Very disappointing that whenever I launch any software or go back/forward in Firefox, I keep hearing it!!!

 

Install and run HWMonitor.
Does the sound increase when the CPU temperature goes up?

 

I installed and ran i but now sure how can I answer your question Give me a hint, please

Interestingly, the software mistakenly states that I have the Extreme 2920XM processor though I have the 2.5!

 

According to CPU-Z, Samsung M471B2573CH0-CH9.

 

thanks for the prompt reply, sgogeta4!

 

Borrow a color calibration unit for your screen. Otherwise call Lenovo tech support if you suspect there is something wrong beyond that.

Yes, the W520 has weak speakers. Read this thread for sound tweaks. Again, if it's abnormally bad and you suspect something is technically wrong then call Lenovo otherwise the sound stuff has been noted in reviews across the web.

Yes, from time to time the W520 will have a very high-pitched noise that emanates from it. This is not a noise from the SSD or HDDs. Whether it is the processor or a component tied the screen is an unknown for me. My old laptop did this as well and it turned out to be just the way things worked with the display regulator.

 

To further narrow down what the problematic component might be try switching on/off (or change the powersave states) of things like bluetooth, wireless, modem, USB ports, GPU, memory card reader, finger print scanner, etc.

 

All good ideas. I don't really care about the high-pitched noise because it is very intermittent and the fan noise usually drowns it out.

 

ya I have the noise issue but honestly, you have to go out of your way to hear it and like you said even the slightest fan spin drowns it out ...but when I ran AS SSD benchmark and it ran the 4-64k test u can hear it from the other room lol.

my only two problems with my w520 as of now are:
1. I cant boot into bios, tried f1/f9/think button, nothing
2. I cant remove the damn keyboard to install my last stick of ram

 

Well, for me my fan is dead quiet and I have an SSD which makes that sound the only thing I can hear and it is very annoying to me.

 

I've had my W520 for something like 10 months now. I noticed the noise something like 3 months into the ownership, and I thought it was pretty annoying. I got used to it and now I can ignore it well enough.

 

I stop hearing my wife after 10 months, too.

 

Hi pchome,

How loud is this noise? It might be a manufacturing defect. Are you thinking of returning it?

When I receive mine and it has this whining noisy, I might return it.

I've had my T500 for 4 years now and hardly heard anything, so queit

 

I do not think about returning it. From the first day I saw this machine even before I place my order, I knew that this is my machine. It is just that I am very sensitive to any weird sound especially that my office and the places I work in are dead quiet and I can hear very low sounds.

I just observed something strange and you tell me if it makes any sense to any of you. Yesterday, I was on battery all day long and that is when the sound was so annoying to me. Now I am on power and I cannot actually hear the sound. Is that something to do with power management?!!

 

Ive had this machine for 2 days now.

- Choppy Sound, especially the windows startup melody
- The battery just stays at 98 % and apparently its "not charging" why?
- The Wlan keeps disconnecting and reconnecting itself. It might be because i installed peerblock..but this shouldnt happen.
- Screen still seems odd but i think im kinda getting used to it since its a 95 color gamut...

 

Someone help please, it is my firs time to connect my W520 to a Samsung 25.5" HDTV through the docking station and I found that the text is extra large on the Samsung display that I used to with my previous desktop. The DIP is set to 125% (which is perfectly fine for my use on the W520) but it is very large for the Samsung display. I want a solution for that and I do not want to change things back and forth between the laptop mode and the docking station mode as it would defy the convenience of the docking station setup.

 

The text size can be affected by the screen resolution (probably 1920*1080 or 1920*1200) this Samsung HDTV is using. If the screen resolution of is 1280*720, each pixel on the screen would be fairly large compared to a screen like the U2711 (only 1.5 inches longer) at 2560*1440. I'd suggest that you set the DPI to a percentage lower than 100% when using your Samsung HDTV.

 

The power management system won't recharge the battery until it falls below 96%. So if you are at 98%, it will stay that way as long as you are plugged in.

Unplug it, let if fall below 96%, and then the next time you plug it in, it will recharge it to 100%.

 

Wow same exact thing here. The noise is much much louder when running on the battery as compared to the AC adapter.

I went into power management and made the settings identical for both battery and adapter and that seemed to help a bit

Again, not really an issue for me. I don't mind the noise as long as the CPU isn't defective (which I doubt is the case since so many people have this issue )

 

Does anyone like the light in the top that is supposed to help typing in dark because I do not find it useful but just battery consuming. I am setting in the bedroom now which is a little dark though we are at noon and cannot type efficiently using this light. I may just assume it is not there and not turn it on. I wish they made the keyboard backlit--still not a deal breaker. I understand it is a business machine and they kind of discard the stylish parts (though they could just substitute this light with something more practical).

 

In my opinion, it's far more useful than a backlit keyboard. I'm a touch typist, so I can type (1 or 2 handed) without looking at the keyboard. As such, I find all kinds of keyboard illumination useless. Since the Thinklight illuminates a bit more than just the keyboard, I find it more useful.

 

I understand your perspective because I am NOT a touch typist