Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

I could send you e-mail address of the representative, who gave me that deal. When I reached 10 posts I was able PM. Participate here more and PM me if you want deal that I got.

 

My reasoning is that I want to run RAID with 750 GB disks.

 

You can get this from Abes of Maine with free shipping and no tax, BUT it's only available for pre-ordering and they couldn't give me an estimate when it'd be available. Also, the phone salesman said you couldn't return it unless there was something wrong with it. Otherwise, it's a really good deal.

 

Its in the palmrest, about the size of the fingerprint scanner

 

Do you think it does make sence to pay $1550? Even if you shoud not pay tax on it?
I paid for mine $1990 with TAX and shipping directly from Lenovo. It is $450 difference OTD. But I got 2000M ($250 upgrade), Color Sensor (another $70), 3 Years On-Site ($220) and MiniDock ($259). That is $800 upgrades for $450 - almost twice less.

 

I made 10 posts and was able to PM

 

By the way, somebody here mentioned that minidock plus 3 - 170W does not have mic/headphones jecks. i just found it has in case somebody worries. You can see it here on page 7
http://www1.partnerinfo.lenovo.com/us/en/pdf/Top_Options_ThinkPad_T420_T520.pdf

This time Lenovo was smarter and put them on the right side of the dock, not on the back. Personally I think it is more convenient.

 

well, my point was, if you dont get a deal like that from a rep, then the preconfig system is much better than you can do on the lenovo site, even with 10% coupons.

its not actually as extreme as that either.. you could get

1530 (w520) + 200 (tpp) + 200 (dock) = $1930 total

so yes, you lose the 2000M and the Color Sensor, but you pick up an additional 4GB DIMM. there is no question i prefer the deal you mentioned, but if that deal isnt available, then the 4276-37U seems the way to go

 

i did see that its all 'special order' now. but so you know, they were in stock a few days ago at provantage atleast, i didnt pull the trigger and the next morning they were OOS and preordered.

so i think these units are already in production, but the first run just sold out

 

That is the point - the deal is awailable. If you need that rep contact info, just PM me.
P.S. 4GB RAM 1 stick is around $20. Yesturday in one of my posts I shared the link on it.

 

I have exactly this system, I finally received it this morning: I paid 1700$CAN at Insight.
I had a T61 14" and this new system is very nice. The screen is incredible and I prefer the new one piece keyboard bezel.

A last and quick question about SSD:
There is a Q: recovery partition which came stock. If I setup windows from recovery disk to the SSD, then I reinstall the HDD and format what was originally the main partition. Will the Q partition still work and still be usable for recovery?

 

I'd like to heard the results of your mSATA installation and use. If I do get the w520, I would do the same.

 

I got something on same line

I-2720/ 4GB/ 1900x1080 FHD/ 1000M/ 320GB/ Wifi 6300/ 3yr depot = $1350 + tax

I have 96GB SSD ready & memory upgrade later on

 

I believe you ordered the wrong type of ram. It should be the 204-Pin
DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600). You got the DDR3 SO-DIMM PC8500

4 GB of RAM is normally around $40 give and take

 

So I talked to my rep I was talking to in chat and he got me about $80 more off. It has a no return policy on it. Basically I can not return it unless there is something wrong with it. It still has its regular 1 year warranty as well. Tried to get him to throw in stuff like a laptop sleeve but it was a no go. He sounded surprised that it was so low. Talking to him this sounds about as low as it can get especially for a new release. I also asked him about price protection. He said they dont have it but he couldnt imagine it getting much lower.

If I configured this exact combination in the lenovo store with 0 discounts it comes to 1989.

original quote 1432.08 (basically the visaperks.ca offer)
new quote 1352.52
new quote plus laptop sleeve 1368.51 ($5.00 off the sleeve)
quote +1 year accidental 1423.72

doubt I will take the laptop sleeve

so since I have 13% tax 1352.52 + tax would be 1528.34 great deal
I will likely get more ram online as well. I may decide to save some money and go with the 320 gig hd as opposed to the 500

Intel Core i7-2720QM (Quad-Core) Processor (2.20GHz, 6MB L3,1333MHz FSB) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.3GHz1
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)12
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED backlight Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD Recordable5
9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery60
Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty7

 

No, it is correct one. They both DDR3 just different speed. Many of us use 8500 instead of 10600. Those who use 8500 - that was good price for them. They are still $40-$45 per module.

 

That is a great price - wow! I'm tempted to ask you for your rep's information, but the no return policy would be a deal breaker for me simply because I have some legacy software that I need to install and ensure that it works correctly (which is should, but just in case...). At the end of the day, +/- $100 is not a big deal: however, ~ half price on a notebook IS a big deal and I'm excited to find all of the code / rep information on this thread - it has saved me a lot of money and ensured that I was able to get the notebook set up exactly how I wanted it!

I pulled the trigger yesterday as well: have some extra ram and the i310 SSD coming in the mail as well - should be good and overall looking forward to putting this laptop to the test. I'll probably pick up an Intel 510 at some point in the future as well (I'll take the speed hit for the reliability). It should demolish my current desktop work station - AND be portable which will be awesome for traveling and client visits

I suspect that there are going to be a lot of happy people in this thread over the next week or two!

 

the no return policy isnt a big deal for me as the only thing I will be doing is installing some extra ram which even though I have not done it should be easily enough

Big thanks for all the tips in the thread

Keep in mind for people reading this I live in Canada and the visaperks deal expires April 19.(they will likely have a new deal but 20% off the w520 will be tough to beat on top of their pricing) If I downgrade the wireless or HD I could get it under 1500

Is the wireless upgrade worth it. That is how I connect to my network.
the 320 gig HD should be enough for me that is why I am considering downgrading back to it.

 

Yup, those were my thoughts as well - however, I don't need the high speed wireless - I'll get the i310 to use as a OS boot drive, get a bunch more ram and go from there. As much as a bigger HDD would be awesome, if I'm really concerned, I'll just get an eSATA or USB 3.0 1 or 2 TB portable drive instead for media / data and possibly at some point pick up another (i.e. Intel 510) SSD if needed.

The prices in Canada are not quite as low as in the USA, but they are still insanely low considering the technology inside. I priced out a DIY desktop build with similar components / features and it ended up being a couple of hundred MORE than this laptop - and that's without a monitor! Sure, there are a few disparities (i.e. 3GHZ quad core CPU vs. 2.2GHz) but still, considering that it's a mobile platform, its really quite amazing how good the value is here. It will be interesting to see what the Dell M4600s come priced at - somehow I think they won't be anywhere in the same ball park: I recently priced out an older M4500 on Dell Deals and it ended up being way more expensive than the W520 and with much older technology inside...

 

I received my laptop this afternoon and brought it with me on my 7 hour trip to Boston. It made it all the way through with some 20% capacity to spare.

Initial impressions are good. No flex anywhere, screen quality is surprisingly excellent. My battery has a bit of a wobble though. I'll post a short review when I get home and have the chance to benchmark it thoroughly.

 

Nice. Mine won't ship till the 26th. Gotta live vicariously till it arrives.

 

Oh man, I must have no charisma. The first sales rep I spoke to wouldn't give me a discount off the web price AT ALL, the second one only went down $100 if I bought the computer right then.

Sorry to vent here, I'm trying to create a posting history so I can PM someone who got a good deal.

 

The first couple I talked wouldn't budge at all. Took a while till I came across the rep I ended up ordering from. Doesn't take much to get to PM. I've got my rep's info ready for you

 

It'd be nice to know for anyone who has worked in sales, why some people get discounts and some do not. Surely, it can't just be "i feel like giving this guy a discount!" feeling on the rep side.

I didn't have to do much. I was simply asking questions and was ready to end the conversation when the rep said he could help me further. He then provided a really nice quote

 

The Latency and timing of this RAM is different from the Gskill that came with the W520. Given a choice, I will not go for it although there is no concrete proof you you can't mix RAM of different layency and timing

 

You do not get good discounts because those reps just do not have power to give you that discount. The rep. who gave me discount was from "insider sales" department. I beleive, that usually when you call or chat you just talk to regular rep. That is the reason. And when you'll have 10 posts, PM me and I'll give you that rep's e-mail and you'll get great discount.

 

I think it should be 5 posts, at least according to this post:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sit...-send-private-messages-create-signatures.html

 

No, of course not! Agree with you 100%. In one of my previous post I mentioned, that if you do not want get into trubles with RAM, make sure your modules have same speed, buffered/unbuffered and CL.

I sent the link to those, who need 8500. For example, I have W500 and 2 modules of 8500. I bought W520. If I want to have 16GB RAM, I would rather buy 2 more sticks of 8500 and pay $40, then will be buying 3 sticks of 10600 for $120 - $140. That is a huge difference. I just saw deal on RAM for good price that will work with W520, and decided to share here with others in case somebody is interested.

 

Well, looks like you put some work there
What deal did you get?

 

Can anyone help me understand the varies model numbers that I seen for the w520. To wit:# 427637U, 427638U and 427639U?

 

Check previouse posts. Someone here posted a link to page where different models where explained what options they have etc.

 

Just got mine this afternoon as well. My battery also a bit wobble.

 

ah no.. my recent W510 also has same problem and return it for various other reasons.

it seems recent machine has this problem since w510 & 520 share same body.

Things I will not take from W520 is fan noise & cpu whining noise.

Occationaly W510 graphics card fail. when that happens it will blank the screen and display error in taskbar saying card stop working.

Hope W520 won't have any of that to start with...

 

The 9-cell batteries have been slightly wobbly ever since the T60 days. I have never heard any major problems caused by that.

 

I put 12 more gigs in my w520 which I would think would be 16 GB but it says 15.9 Usable. Is this right? I've never seen this before.

 

My W520 arrived at 6:15 tonight (after I anxiosly waited for UPS all day). It's far too soon to see how much of an improvement this is over my W500, especially because Win7 is completely alien to me (I was one of those XP hold-outs).

First impressions:
Display is incredible! (my W500 was 1680x1050 and by comparison, it was dull, dim, and washed-out);
Build quality and overall 'fit-and-finish' is superb (isn't that the biggest reason to buy Lenovo?);
Power supply is a f*$#ing brick!;
Dock rocks (I'm running two displays for now, but I'll be running three before long)

Here's my Benchmark result:

(Factory fresh OS, all Win7 and Lenovo updates, no other software installed; no BIOS tweaks or 3DMark tweaks)

3DMark = 11640

You can see it here

Should it be higher? Would someone suggest BIOS settins or other tweaks to optimize results?

 

Well, I for one appreciate that comment. I was all caught up in not having to add a drive in the caddy, that I overlooked those write specs. Also, there was something about having that small a drive under the keyboard.

The only issue I have is with your 'math'. The Mssd was $174. Looking at getting 120 GB, but might as well use the SATAIII so am going with the suggestion of the other person who replied and getting OCZ VERTEX 3, and Bay Adapter 3; (300+60).
But, I know, I could have gone with an OCZ Vertex 2, for about $80 more....

Thanks for the post!



One last question, anyone have some thoughts about the best way to drive my 2 Dell 24" U2410 monitors? Is the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 - 170W the best option?









My New W520, estimated 04/22 ship date:
(I7-2720QM 16 GB, 320 GB HDD + 120 GB OCZ Vertex 3) --all for about $2,000
1 4270CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
04/22/11 $1,547.10 $1,547.10
0A68541 SBB ICI7-2720QM
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
0A68625 SBB GW7P64 E
75Y0162 SBB M W7 XP MD- E
0A68535 SBB 15.6FHD (1900 X 1080) LED
0A68893 SBB NVQ1000M GR
45M4572 VBB 4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
0A68526 VBB FINGERPRINT READER
0A68558 SBB 720P HD CAM INT MICR
0A69620 SBB I RAID-NOT EN
0A68552 SBB 320GB HDD7200RPM
0A68547 SBB DVD RC8XMXDLLRULTEHATA
0A68529 VBB ECS+4IN1CR
45M4816 SBB 9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
0A68904 SBB CPNAMLC+ 170W AC AD
0A68261 SBB BLUETOOTH 3.0
45M4804 SBB IN.CENT.ULTIMATE-N 6300
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
0A68564 SBB LANG PCK US E
0A68537 SBB FINGRPRNT READER

Plus 12 GB from Crucial:
Qty: 3 Part Number: CT51264BC1339 4GB, 204-pin SODIMM Line total: $146.97


Plus "Thinkpad Sata HD Bay Adapter 3" $61.99

and now
OCZ Technology 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s Amazon.com, $301.25

 

Before I order my laptop I want to know if the wireless upgrade to ultimate centrino is worth it

Also what is the best place to order extra RAM from ? Looking for about 4 Gigs for now

 

My W500 used to find five or six networks (from my desktop), my new W520 (with the Intel Ultimate 6300) finds nineteen!

 

The Intel Series 310 mSATA 80GB drive is dog slow. Don't bother spending your money on it.

 

can anybody with a W520 comment on presence or absence of dreaded CPU whine when working in quiet area on battery (power supply not plugged in)?

 

i am very much interested to know this.

W510 on battery in quiet room you can hear the fan noise & cpu whine as well. After you disable the cpu deeper (not the name) it will go away (mostly lower down)

 

Hi All,
I am tossing up 2 options of w520
2720QM w/ Quattro 2000m or
2820QM w/ Quattro 1000m

Any advice? Is it better to go the faster processor w/ slower Vcard or Slower Processor with faster Vcard?
Kind regards

Reif

 

Depends on how much graphic heavy work you plan to do. Graphic heavy work always benefit more from graphic card.

 

mSATA 80GB - $180-$190. Vertex 3 120GB yesturday was selling at $265. One of the guys posted link here on the forum. Here is $80 difference.

 

Guys, does anybody now if you can setup Ling Aggregation using Gigabit Ethernet port on laptop and Gigabit Ethernet port on Minidock simultaniously?

I never had minidock before. May be anybody knows who has experiance with docking station?

Thank you!

 

I'm going for more of a battery and utilitarian thing. With the hdd that comes with it and the intel it's almost like a seagate xt drive setup. I also need to use my dvd drive and don't want a usb one. Hopefully the intel as the OS drive will help with battery life but not be killed by running the hdd for storage. near x-25 g2 performance isn't such a bad thing is it? If I really have the need for speed I wait til the new 600 gb intel 510 come down in price.

 

I would go with 2720QM w/ Quattro 2000m no doubt. Actually, I ordered that configuration. Why? Because 0.1GHz will not make signifficant difference even if considering that 2820 has 8M Cache and 2720 only 6M.

Look here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...grades/545462-2720qm-vs-2820qm-vs-2920xm.html

Hope that will help.

 

That is expected because the integrated Intel GPU is using part of the system RAM as graphics memory.

The slot is free so I don't mind using it as an 80GB system drive with performance comparable to the Intel X-25M G2. It'll be better than a spinning hard drive any day. Real-world performance versus synthetic benchmarks are two different ball games.

 

I've noticed that most orders had a FHD (1920 x 1080) display. Do you guys find it difficult to read the "type/menus"? Even if you choose a larger typeface size in Windows 7? What about with XP Pro? I'm planning to work with 3ds Max and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop) packages. So any input would be great.