Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Unluckily, the only resolution you can try without blurring would be 960x540 or 640x360

BTW, where are you based? If you are in UK we can try swapping screens

 

Thanks for the detailed advice. Since I am getting a new similar machine with same hard drive, would putting the new HDD I get in place of the original solve the problem?

 

JUST GOT MY MACHINE. UBER AWESOME! but why do I get a 5.2 for my rating? I was expecting atleast a 7 =[

How do I improve the stupid Windows Aero performance crap? I have a 2.5ghz, 4gb ram, 160 gb ssd, 2000m quadro.

Memory operations are next, guess I gotta go 1600 to see a change in that, planning on getting 16 gb of that ram later. (or soon... still contemplating...)

 

I personally got a much better score after fresh install of Windows

 

What I'm saying is if you need to return your laptop, you do not need to return it with any HDD. You can claim this for data protection.

WEI is useless, faster memory will improve your score but it won't change performance in any real life situation.

 

Are you kidding? How then they would refund me the purchase amount if I keep the HDD?! I think there may be some confusion that you need to clarify!

 

Faster memory will work if you are doing 3D rendering, modelling, and the likes (3DS Max, Revit, to a lesser extent 3D Autocad(who the does 3d autocad anyways?)). I'm assuming right? Or does that only apply to games? I'm 99% sure it helps with the kind of work i'm going to put my laptop through.

 

I've been doing 3D rendering for 6+ years and trust me memory speed doesn't matter. Spend all your money on memory quantity and raw processing power. Buy the fastest processor you can afford and put at least 16 GB of ram in the machine. Memory speed only makes a difference in WinRAR compression tests + x264 encoding, not in real world.

 

So, you're recommendation for my ram that I will (hopefully) pick up this weekend from a computer retailed would be...?

(I might do.... some video encoding.... but probably not worth the money...)

 

Whatever DDR3-1333MHz sticks are on sale on the day you shop. Honestly, it's all the same. Should be roughly $12-$15 per 4GB stick.

 

See FRYS.com | Corsair

 

Should I not go for 32 gb total? I could get 2x8 sticks now, and then 2x8gb later. Does that not change what I'm doing in terms of renderings? My files tend to get really heavy due to the architectural projects i'm working on.

 

Do NOT buy 4gb sticks if you are ever planning to upgrade to 32gb. Buy either 2x8 or 4x8 now.

 

Thanks for the info.

I'm gonna make a copy of my SSD onto one of my extra hd's i have lying around. Will buy an SSD eventually to replace this crappy 160 gb ssd, but it will do for now. Will up the ram asap though. Thanks for the advice. I do want to wipe out most of the lenovo crap they have on this. This simpletap crap is annoying. I also want to remove the huge battery image... I already book marked a few pages regarding clean wipes so I will follow that eventually. But for now just backing up this fresh install. Thanks!

 

There are two memory types available for the W520 DDR3 PC3-10600 and DDR3 PC3-12800. I am just making sure they are both compatible and then the question is if I go for the 4GB PC3-12800, can I combine it with the stock 4GB that comes with the machine?

 

You can combine rams, the slower's speed will be selected.

 

What do you mean by that? Does this mean there is no value from buying a higher speed memory if you will combine it with a lower speed one?

 

Anyone know if a 1.8" HDD like this one would work in the W520's WWAN slot?

Thanks!

 

Of course! All the memories in a system run at the same speed, and it is determined by the smaller one.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I was planning to just buy 4GB and add it to the stock 4GB that comes with the machine. Is the speed difference between the two memory types worth that I completely remove the stock 4GB and buy 8GB of the high speed instead?

 

No it's not. Only remove the 4 GB if you are planning on 32 GB in the future.

 

I do not think I need that much memory. The maximum I may reach is 16 GB. So, should I leave the stock 4 GB and add 8 GB (2*4) or just add one 4 GB? What would be the best scenario?

 

The W520 with 4 SODIMM slots is very flexible. You can pretty much do anything you want, but read this document:
Optimizing memory in W510 - which slots to use - Lenovo Community

Also, if you want to be sure that the RAM is tested in your system, then either buy from Lenovo or from Kingston Lenovo specific (KTL-TP3B/4G)
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Upgrade-RAM-for-my-W520/td-p/454791

 

Thank you very much. That helps! Also, Crucial has a very nice tool that provides you with options very specific to your manufacturer and model and they are not expensive.

 

really wanting a w520 but im wondering if there is still a risk of getting b2 stepping? i wont risk it if there is the slightest chance. i know these guys were selling them to people at one point. smh
from what ive read if you got a machine with b2 they wont refund or fix your problem. thats pretty damn low and makes me wonder if i want to spend 2 grand with a brand like lenovo.

also, with ivy bridge right around the corner, might it be a good idea to wait for an updated w520?

thx for any help.

 

I don't even think there is a 0.0001% chance of getting a B2. If it still happens, you can just return it

 

Are you talking about the throttling on battery because if you do, then yes it still happens even with the latest BIOS 1.36 However, there is no problem at all on AC.

 

I am talking about Intel chipset SATA bug.
Sandy Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

My bad--yes, this has been solved and thanks for the clarification.

 

Sorry, I thought you were referring to returning to repair, not for refund. If you're repairing, you can send it in without a HDD.

This will not work with the WWAN slot. You need a mSATA drive such as the MyDigitalSSD one ( 404 Error - Page Not Found | MyDigitalSSD.com. A 1.8" drive is way bigger than that.

 

we know its been solved. the question is, is lenovo still shipping b2s like they did early on.

 

Did this actually happen with anyone soon? What are the symptoms one's machine would experience to know it has it?

 

So, do you think replacing it with a similar HDD that I will purchase with the new machine and put it back in the old one would be a reasonable solution and would make the return fine?

 

How many different times and ways are you going to ask this question? I mean really, please make a decision already.

 

Thors, how would I make a decision if I did not get an answer yet? The only piece of info. I got for now is that the Hitachi's that come from Lenovo has the Lenovo logo and brand and they have some serial/FRU. My question that has not been answered, if I put a similar drive I will get from lenovo, will it do the job? Hope this is not a question that is bothering you.

 

Yes, this is reasonable. Do it.

 

Thanks Thors. Appreciated!

 

Or if you are afraid, just order the Lenovo part number! If this stops you from returning your laptop, just buy the original Lenovo labeled HDD and that's it. You can look up what was in your computer from the website.

 

That is smart! I tried to do this and I got confused with finding the part but I think I found that the 500GB/7200 in general at lenovo is like $244!!!!!! Not sure if I would do this if it's true

 

If I recall there are no Sandy Bridge ThinkPads that have been shipped out with the B2 stepping, only the revised B3 Stepping which has been verified by Mark@Lenovo at the Lenovo forums.

P.S. This is certainly a popular model as this is the first time I seen a thread that has over a million views on NBR.

 

Like "reputation," "popular" may mean either way.

 

I think a combined T420/T420s thread could have given it a run for its money (although, to be fair, I was in favor of splitting the thread).

 

yes it should work fine, but why would you want it? It's very slow, and is marketed towards ultra thin laptops where people don't have any other options. You have two drive bays in the 520 to put large slow spindle drives. If you put anything in the MSATA slot it should be the fastest biggest SSD that'll fit.

 

No, that drive will not work in the mSATA PCIe slot.

 

Do you guys no if Lenovo w520 still has issues with BSOD random shut down? I have returned two dell laptops already for hardware issues and will be extremely frustrated ifs need to do the same with this. Thanks!!!

 

For some percentage, yes.

Re: W520 shuts off intermittently, no BSOD or shut... - Page 103 - Lenovo Community

Unresolved after the machine has been on the market for a year.

 

And a new model is coming out in a few months - with its own set of problems. I suppose the engineers are already busy working on the next model.

 

Hi again guys... I've been looking at gestures for this new shiny laptop of mine. I've tried the double click scroll program people have posted here...

I was wondering if anyone tried implementing:

Get Mac Like Scrolling

which links to this blog post: Enable multi touch Gesture

I don't want to go in uninstalling drivers just yet. Anyone have had a hand in this with some knowledge of it working? I cannot find synaptics drivers for the lenovo w520 so it might not work if its using a different set of drivers.. Thanks!

 

cannot believe how much better the twofingerscroll program makes the touchpad...day and night

 

Anyone that has experienced the random shutdown issue think its a big enough problem that the laptop should be returned? or can most people deal with it? I'm debating if I should just return it ASAP without opening the box...Reliability was the main reason I purchased this laptop and I can't afford to waste my time loading all of my work applications, installing my SSD, new Windows OS, and Ram just to have it shut down repeatedly....

I thought I had read a lot of reviews on the laptop and never heard of the issue until after it had been shipped...I guess I thought toward the end of its life cycle it would have been resolved..