Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Did you try uninstalling the sound card drivers and using the built-in windows ones?

 

I think so. I also tried many things like installing some dolby driver etc.

But either way there will be always something sounding way off.

 

Does the W520 have bluetooth?

 

BT is a CTO option.

 

What's CTO?

 

CTO = Configure-To-Order (get on Lenovo website and click on options to build the system as you like, etc.)

 

Check all your options, some one should really put up a guide on how to save a $ doing it.

Like from my experience...

The things that make a big difference in the purchase are

1. Hard Drive Options
2. Processor Options
3. Ram Options

1. a. If you want Raid, Get 2 of the cheapest Raid cards, and up grade with your own money/time.
b. If you want a single drive, get the cheapest drive, and upgrade it with your own money.

2. Processor Options, you can go with the 2.5 ghz or 2.4 ghz (if you want 32 gb of ram, if you want less... well figure that one out for yourself) $200.00 is a big difference for 1000 mhz. Is it worth it to you?

3. Get the lowest memory spec, the memory they provide probably won't be that great anyways. Upgrade it on your own money and own time.

This will easily save you aprox. $400~600 depending on your specs and will likely be spent better utilizing other options like Crucial M4 hard drive or other more expensive options for SSDs(x2 optional), 8gbx4 or 4gbx4 sticks.

Learned from my lesson!

 

I tried to install the bluetooth driver, but I got a message that I don't have bluetooth.

On the Lenovo UK site that I ordered my laptop, the bluetooth is selected automatically and there is no option to choose. As shown here Lenovo - Professional-grade Laptops| ThinkPad W Series | Mobile Workstations | Lenovo - United Kingdom(UK)

Am I doing anything wrong? Shall I call the Customer service?

 

Press Fn + F5 to get the screen for turning on Bluetooth.

For Fn + F5 to work, you need Power Management driver and Hotkey utility. You can find those at Lenovo support website, as usual.

After you have installed those, reboot, then hit Fn + F5, click BT Radio On. (As soon as BT radio is on, Windows 7 may install its own driver, if I remember correctly.)

Now, you can install the Lenovo BT driver.

 

Thanks Kaso, it worked. I've bluetooth on my W520. I'm happy now

 

Since I had my machine a month ago and I am having a problem that it take quite a while for the 3*3 wireless card to connect to the available (memorized network). I go beyond that and try to connect to any of the available network, and it starts connecting but keeps taking quite a while till it finally connects. I am not sure what to do. My driver is up to date and this issue happens both on AC and DC.

 

http://bit.ly/H70EAp

 

That was funny!

 

First time poster and long term Mac user looking for some advice please! I am in the market for a W520 (spec below) and wondered if I have got a suitable config for:

1. Installing an intel 310 80gb drive using the guide found earlier in this thread.
2. I was going to get the additional 12gb ram from Crucial - Any 'gotchas' there (I need to do a bit more reading about RAM)
3. I'm really keen to dual boot with Linux - does this preclude the use of UEFI and if not are there big advantages to using UEFI

I'm a database developer, do some simple web stuff and PHP and a lot of number crunching.

Thanks very much for your help and apologies if these questions have been answered - I've only got up to page 307 in the thread but will get to the end!!

Description
ThinkPad W520 - 3 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Processor: Intel Core i7-2760QM Processor (2.40 GHz, 6MB L3)
Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64
Operating system language: Windows 7 Professional 64 English
Display type: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro 2000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard UK English
Pointing device: UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
Camera: 720p Camera
Storage subsystem: Internal RAID - Not Enabled
Hard drive: 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Optical device: DVD recordable multiburner
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
Battery: 9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Power cord: Country Pack United Kingdom with Line cord & 170W AC adapter
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 3.0
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Integrated mobile broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
Language pack: Language Pack WE (FR/GE/IT/IT/DU/EN)
: Fingerprint Reader

Accessories and options:
ThinkPad USB 3.0 Secure Hard Drive - 500GB

 

That should be fine as long you don't have use for a WWAN mobile card. This should not be confused with the WLAN card (Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 [3x3 AGN]).

Since you have a Quad Core configuration you could optionally have a look at the higher speed RAM since the setup can take advantage of the higher bandwidth over the standard 1333MHz RAM though all of the modules should match. Look out for the Kingston HyperX or Corsair Vengeance modules with 1600MHz and 1866MHz RAM modules. Though if the budget is too high then the standard 1333MHz modules will just be fine.

Since you have a Fingerprint Sensor included the Lenovo fingerprint software may not work correctly under UEFI mode so it's probably advised that you stick with the Legacy boot mode for compatibililty.

 

Thanks very much for your advice - I'll check out the 1600MHz RAM modules & stick with the legacy boot.

 

Are you using the Intel PROSet utility? If so I had the same issue, basically it sucks, click the option to use windows to manage the WiFi. You'll probably have to reboot, but after that it should connect no problem.

 

Brand new W520 owner here. I just unpacked my machine, installed the battery and noticed that it's not 100% stable. It can move a fraction of an inch, very very little, but there's a little bit of movement. Is this normal?

Also, is it okay to just uninstall Norton? I don't like Norton much and would rather get one of the free options like Avast, but last time I had Norton on an ancient machine, you still needed to get a special uninstaller to really get rid of it. Is it okay to just uninstall it nowadays?

 

Battery movement is unfortunately normal on the W520. Yes, you can uninstall Norton safely.

 

How strange. I don't plan to move this machine around a lot at all, so it's not a big concern for me, but it seems like sloppy engineering - not what I expected from Lenovo. On the plus side, this 9 cell battery seems to have great life.

Is there anything a Lenovo newbie should know? Anything to do/remove/install?

Can anyone give me an idea of how many DVD's I'd need to burn the backup discs for a brand new Lenovo W520? Back when I bought my last laptop, DVD burners in computers were still a thing of the past, so I need to go buy me some blank discs...

 

Make your restore discs. Then if you want to reclaim that hard drive space delete the partition and merge the free space with your main partition. Especially useful to do this if you have a SSD.

I had no trouble removing the Norton software.

 

I've just received the machine and spent the last 2 days clean installing. Result: 6.3 Watt idleing at wireless off and min brightness! With max screen brightness: 8.4 Watt! Man, I love this machine. Oh, BTW, my machine is dead silent, honestly I've never ever heard a machine this silent. Of course I'm using a Crucial M4, but there is not the slightest electric noise (I've returned machines because of this) or fan noise at all. I don't even need tpfancontrol!

 

Did you post your specs and power manager settings yet? I'd be interested to see them.

 

I have an opportunity to purchase a "Lenovo Mini-Dock Plus Series 3 433710U" with no power adapter for about $35. I already have a spare 170W adapter at work that I've been using. Will this dock work with my W520? Can't seem to find any definitive information, as it's mostly seems related to the power adapter issue..

 

No, the 170W power supply cannot connect to that dock. It has a special keyed barrel that can only be used with your W520 or the matching 433830U 170W dock.

Look at the tip and you'll see what I mean.

 

I didn't install power manager. Just using Windows’s built-in "power saver". It doesn't limit the CPU, it just has a slower ramp for going up to higher speeds. My computer is a 2760QM with 1 SODIMM RAM. Disabled a couple of services and installed only the necessary programs.

 

Hi - back again trying to get my spec right! last few questions (I hope) & apologies if they've been answered - up to page 397 now on the thread!!
1. Intel 510 120GB uses the DVD bay & the Intel 310 80GB uses the area reserved for the WWAN card - is that right?
2. I think the consensus is that you have your OS and programmes on the SSD and data etc on the HDD - Do you think Windows & a few typical programmes should fit onto 80GB comfortably (Basically database stuff, office etc.)
3. RAM - 4GB x 2 DDR3 PC3-10600 1333 1.3v should be compatible with the 4GB supplied with the machine?
4. I'm ok to dual boot with Linux on the SSD if I go with the standard legacy boot mode?

Once again thanks very much for your help.

 

However the dock itself would work with the W520 if he purchased a 135W AC adapter.

 

Or if you have any spare Lenovo adapter, just cut the plug and swap it.

 

Yes, correct. I forgot to answer that part of the query.

 

Thanks for the info on the dock. I suppose a little 'modification' to my spare 170W adapter may be in order. I'll check into 135W adapter prices first..maybe I can find a good deal and then just resell the spare 170W.

 

if you're not watching 1080p videos on a regular basis, is there much difference in display quality between the HD+ and FHD (aside from real estate and tiny font size)? question is coming from a T61 WXGA user. i've seen good comments about both the HD+ and FHD but can't decide whether or not 1) it'll be too small and 2) if the difference will be worth the extra $200

thanks bros!

 

I've just ordered the FullHD screen from eBay and will be doing the swap myself when it arrives. The 1600x900 screen is better than average, but the viewing angles are not so great. Also, be careful with the FullHD as it's a wide-gamut screen and it means that if you don't have a color managed application then the colors will be off (the only color managed browser at the moment is Firefox).

 

I am one of a few, who prefer HD+. FHD is just too tiny on 15" IMO.

 

A very short review on the eBay/China "nimitz" 13.5-12.7-9.6mm caddy. Mine arrived within 9 days and was handled by a courier company. The caddy is perfect. There is absolutely no gap; basically they copied the optical drive millimeter to millimeter. It also supports 12.7 drives and even has a HDD activity LED on the side. The HDD is stable, kept in place with a nice trick. You screw the 4 screws in the sides of the HDD and then the HDD slides into its place, secured by a plastic latch. I like this design as it's really fast to change HDD's.

The color is slightly shinier than the factory Lenovo plastic, but it's hardly noticeable. The price was 19 USD + 3 USD for shipping, what I think is all right.

Here is the seller's gallery and product page.

 

I have the same optical bay HDD caddy. How exactly do the screws help?

 

Same here.

 

It keeps the HDD from moving vertically, as they go under the plastic things.

 

What program are you using to measure power consumption?

 

I have both (glossy fhd in my xps15) and, while the extra space is nice, the one thing I really miss is the brightness. My hd+ t520 at full brightness is just slightly brighter than my fhd xps15 at half brightness... and is a lot bluer.

The smaller fonts are not that bad... it is a bit difficult to see sitting far back but only for text... ui elements are still easy to see. For text, I just increase the zoom on my browser (ctrl + scroll up) and it is fine. I use 100% dpi for windows, but I hear having it set to 125% or even 150% helps for people that can't see as well. As for the price.... $200 is a bit steep. I got mine as an upgrade from a 768p screen for $150... for the t520 it cost $170 to upgrade from the 900p screen which I don't think is really worth it. I think the ideal situation is to get a screen off ebay (make sure it doesn't say compatible or replacement in the ad.... they will ship you a 'compatible' screen which is not that exact screen), swap it yourself and then either keep your old screen for warranty purposes, or sell it off. Last time I checked, the fhd screen was around 100~120 and the hd+ screen was also around the same....

 

I have the same situation here and I have been thinking for quite a while for returning my W520 with FHD and getting one with HD+ especially that I have eye problems and I strain a lot with it. I usually connect it to an external large display most of the time but still I would love it to be fine with my eyes when I work on it.

Now, I wanna ask a question. I have sold my stock HDD when I replaced it with SSD (I know it was a mistake), so now, can I just buy the same drive new from the marketplace and put it in when returning the machine. Do you guys thing this would work with lenovo, or would they reject it?

Thanks

 

BatteryCare

 

If you need to return it, pull the HDD(s) out.

Same here, but I'm currently getting a low of 10.7W. 9 brightness, wifi + surfing. I'm using Lenovo's battery program with some battery stretch options on. Maybe I should reformat soon. Then again I have a mSATA + 2x HDDs.

 

I think you did not get that. I am actually telling you that I have sold the Hitachi HDD that came with the machine and I no longer have it. I am asking if I can buy a new similar Hitachi from somewhere and plug it in and send the machine back for return. Would Lenovo say anything about that?

 

I doubt they check the serial number on the drive. Just buy the same size and model hitachi.

 

Thanks zsero. I got it.

Has anyone noticed vibration on the right palm rest when using a thicker drive like a WD 750GB HDD?

 

If I would like to try how the 1600*900 would like, is it the right thing to just change the resolution to that with my current FHD and see the results? I am asking because when I did, I think it is the text and icon size I may expect, but the crispiness of the things are little distorted. Is is different when the display comes originally as 1600*900 or not?

 

No, if you change an LCD to a non-native resolution, the image will be distorted. Unlike a CRT, there is 1 physical point on the LCD per pixel. Changing the resolution causes the image to be stretched across the physical pixels.

 

OEM drives say "lenovo" on the main decals, have lenovo-specific part numbers, and have supplemental barcode labels with ASM/FRU numbers.   if anyone physically checks the drive then the return will be rejected due to not including original hardware.

while serial numbers don't matter, pchome needs to purchase a lenovo drive with the same FRU number or risk the return being rejected.

regardless, pchome would need to be within the 21-day return window for a return through lenovo and be willing to give up 15% in the process.   the best course of action may be to sell the system and purchase new.

 

Of course if I'm surfing with wifi it's 10+ W. Actually the biggest evils are Skype, Dropbox and Wuala, as they never let the wifi go into power saving mode.