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    Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by zacharyp, Mar 31, 2011.

  1. ComputerNewb

    ComputerNewb Notebook Consultant

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    I bought it with the help of a sales rep. The estimated shipping date was 4/20 but the rep said I would not receive it until 4/25 at least.
     
    ComputerNewb, Apr 5, 2011
    #101
  2. gnimble

    gnimble Notebook Consultant

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    Flazo, I would be interested on how loud the unit is when surfing the net versus running a GPU intensive application. Also, how's the battery life?

    Thanks!
     
    gnimble, Apr 5, 2011
    #102
  3. commander

    commander Notebook Consultant

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    Same is gnimble, how loud is it? BTW these temps are very good. My Core2Duo T60 is +15° more both idle and load.

    And BTW I am curious where you get that Vertex 3, I thought it is not out yet. How do you know about that sata 3? Did you benchmarked it?
     
    commander, Apr 5, 2011
    #103
  4. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    Yeah, those temp readings look like vast improvements in cooling compared to the W510.
     
    LoG!K, Apr 5, 2011
    #104
  5. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    +1 Thanks, halobox for the screenshot of the Quadro 2000M. Does anyone have a screenshot for the 1000M? Wondering how they compare...
     
    sgogeta4, Apr 5, 2011
    #105
  6. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    rajeev16706, Apr 5, 2011
    #106
  7. pkincy

    pkincy Notebook Evangelist

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    Unit ordered on 3-29; shipped from China on 4/4 in Anchorage; and out again on 4/5.

    Ordered a C300 128 GB SSD. Couldn't pass up the $200 price at the place chickens produce.

    Coupon EMCKFKJ22 for $55 off.

    Perry
     
    pkincy, Apr 5, 2011
    #107
  8. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    I concur with the Youtube commentators in that Lenovo's commercials and ads certainly are improving. I can't wait for my W520; hopefully the shipping gods will look favorably on me. :)
     
    LoG!K, Apr 5, 2011
    #108
  9. huberth

    huberth Notebook Deity

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    That's too bad the SATA III OCZ Vertex 3 did not work out. The OCZ Vertex 3 gets rave reviews as the fastest SSD ever.

    I have a W520 on order and plan to use a OCZ Vertex 3 with it. Could OCZ tech support not help you?
     
    huberth, Apr 5, 2011
    #109
  10. halobox

    halobox Notebook Deity

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    Lets hope it was actually just the drive and not a problem with the W520.
     
    halobox, Apr 5, 2011
    #110
  11. Mech0z

    Mech0z Notebook Evangelist

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    Are you going to gaming and could you do a 3dmark 06 ?
     
    Mech0z, Apr 6, 2011
    #111
  12. halobox

    halobox Notebook Deity

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    Do all of the W520's come with a RAID capable controller and BIOS now?
     
    halobox, Apr 6, 2011
    #112
  13. Flazo

    Flazo Newbie

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    the vertex 3 had no problems in my desktop on sata 2
    tried all the fixes/tweaks that are know to work for the isues whit ocz ssd and dell laptops.
    wiped the ssd some times.
    turned all power features off and did a clean UEFI instal of windows 7 whit achi whit did not fix it.

    i ran mark06 optitmus off on battery 7827 3DMarks whit puts the 1000m on par whit the GeForce GT 435M
    Result

    it did't go whit out issues :mad: i whas only able to complete the benchmark whit Lenovo Tubo Boost+ on else it whould power of in the final test, probably overheating protection.

    there does not seem to be raid option in the UEFI bios but i stil need to get my Ultrabay for my hdd from the mail.

    the fan is off on boot up
    the fan is at whisping level when idel whit a anoining spinup/spindown every 10 sec for only 1 sec but you need a quiet room te hear it.
    the sound level sounds like a bit like a hair dryer on low when Lenovo Tubo Boost+ is on (a bit like modern gpu card coolers).

    pro/cons so far

    pro
    -case of the laptop stays cool
    -7 to 9 hours of battery life on browsing
    -great tn screen
    -stata 3

    cons
    -battery wobbel (makes the latop less sturdie)
    - fan profile
     
    Flazo, Apr 6, 2011
    #113
  14. Mech0z

    Mech0z Notebook Evangelist

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    Thats some wierd issues and I am very surprised if the laptop shuts down do to overheating :s this is a workstation but that should be fixable with fan profiling I suppose through a bios update.

    The Quadro 1000 score is nice though
     
    Mech0z, Apr 6, 2011
    #114
  15. unreal25

    unreal25 Capt. Obvious

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    Just one thing - don't run benchmarks on battery. Even at "Max performance" profile there will typically be some throttling. Can you run it when its plugged into AC power?

    Thanks!
     
    unreal25, Apr 6, 2011
    #115
  16. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    rajeev16706, Apr 6, 2011
    #116
  17. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    anyone has new status?
     
    rajeev16706, Apr 6, 2011
    #117
  18. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    Order date: 4/1/11. Ship date: today! Got the confirmation this morning. I'll post a brief review when I get my hands on the machine later this week. :)
     
    LoG!K, Apr 6, 2011
    #118
  19. RyanHurtt

    RyanHurtt Notebook Evangelist

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    Ordered 3/29. Mine still has the quote about calling the customer service number as there may be a problem with my order.

    I've called once a day since this came up (3 days ago now!) and they swear it's shipping the week of April 7th! Has anyone else had this happen and had their laptop still ship on time or am I looking at a delay? :confused:
     
    RyanHurtt, Apr 6, 2011
    #119
  20. cpm22

    cpm22 Notebook Consultant

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    @LoG!K, did you customize it much or was it more of a "stock" machine? Glad for you that it shipped so quickly!
     
    cpm22, Apr 6, 2011
    #120
  21. X301_NCBI

    X301_NCBI Notebook Enthusiast

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    You fast. I ordered April 1 as well, still waiting and the estimated date is April 13.
     
    X301_NCBI, Apr 6, 2011
    #121
  22. cpm22

    cpm22 Notebook Consultant

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    If you would like Lenovo to unbox the W520 go to the "Official Lenovo Fan Site" on Facebook and vote. They are counting votes on which laptop to unbox next.

    Official Lenovo Fan Site | Facebook
     
    cpm22, Apr 6, 2011
    #122
  23. fleischy

    fleischy Newbie

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    How do you get these awesome discounts? Is there any chance to get a similar offer? I'm looking for the same config and a docking station...

    Thanks!
     
    fleischy, Apr 6, 2011
    #123
  24. commander

    commander Notebook Consultant

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    That fan and overheating sucks. I am curious if other people will report this too.

    BTW your 3Dmark score shows CPU clock 2090 MHz, but shouldn't be the clock 2200 MHz?
     
    commander, Apr 6, 2011
    #124
  25. halobox

    halobox Notebook Deity

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    I wouldn't worry so much about this right now. A single isolated test really means nothing in the scheme of things right now. There simply isn't enough product in the hands of users.

    I would give it a month or two before you start declaring a trend.
     
    halobox, Apr 6, 2011
    #125
  26. Flazo

    Flazo Newbie

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    fan and heating issue can be fixed whit a bios upgrade or by repasing of the cooling unit.

    the 2090 mhz is due trotteling becos the benchmark whas done on battery

    8599 3DMarks06 on DC optimus off Result
    and again tubo boost+ whas needed.

    i willl do some furmark later on to stres the Gpu more and longer.

    edit: did furmark + prime95 no problems 30 min
    cpu 80 max
    intel gpu 55 max
    1000m 65 max
     
    Flazo, Apr 6, 2011
    #126
  27. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    Shipping date will be the same when they will actually deduct money from your account.
     
    rajeev16706, Apr 6, 2011
    #127
  28. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    My build is listed towards the beginning of this thread if I recall correctly. I customized a healthy number of options.
     
    LoG!K, Apr 6, 2011
    #128
  29. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    I combined the 5% Visa program discount with a 10% promotion. Then I did some bargaining with the sales rep, who added the dock free of charge and a 25% discount on the warranty upgrade.
     
    LoG!K, Apr 6, 2011
    #129
  30. nni123

    nni123 Notebook Consultant

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    I think it will generate some amount of heat and fan noise since it is quad core. But you can control it by using TFFan software and other things to keep it close to silent.

    But don't assume newer model will resolve all of that after all 170W says something about power consumption without going to details.e

    BTW: I am able to keep my W510 near silent using SSD & TPFC control software.
     
    nni123, Apr 6, 2011
    #130
  31. cisp360

    cisp360 Notebook Enthusiast

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    hi guys,

    Are most of the order here directly via lenovo.com/us ?
     
    cisp360, Apr 6, 2011
    #131
  32. Mech0z

    Mech0z Notebook Evangelist

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    Seems like alot outside the US have bought from this seller on ebay LENOVO THINKPAD W520 i7-2720QM 2.2Ghz WXGA++, 500G 7.2K | eBay he only have that model of W520 atm though, but guess he will refill with more models when he gets them in stock
     
    Mech0z, Apr 6, 2011
    #132
  33. edit1754

    edit1754 Notebook Prophet

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    That seller actually has 3 different W520 configurations for you to choose from.
    http://shop.ebay.com/newthinkpads/m...kw=t520&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3911.c0.m270.l1313

    EDIT: altered search terms so it only includes the two that have the HD+ and FHD displays. You don't want the one with 1366x768, this is a Workstation laptop.

    EDIT2: whoops, those are T520's, my mistake :p
    I guess that's what happens when I try to post on notebookreview and pay attention in class at the same time xD
     
    edit1754, Apr 6, 2011
    #133
  34. halobox

    halobox Notebook Deity

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    Your link returned T520's for me. Not W520's.
     
    halobox, Apr 6, 2011
    #134
  35. LoG!K

    LoG!K Notebook Guru

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    I ordered mine through lenovo.com/visa

    It gives a 5% discount to Visa card holders. Back when I ordered mine, the USXMARCHSAVINGS2011 coupon gave 10% off on top of the discount program.
     
    LoG!K, Apr 6, 2011
    #135
  36. Mech0z

    Mech0z Notebook Evangelist

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    Can you order to outside the US that way?
     
    Mech0z, Apr 6, 2011
    #136
  37. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    I doubt Lenovo USA would ship outside its territory, would be nice if they did but very unlikely. Plus usually for security reasons they only accept valid credit cards originating from the US, even if you did try to use your own non-US Visa card for the coupon offer.
     
    PatchySan, Apr 6, 2011
    #137
  38. fleischy

    fleischy Newbie

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    Too bad, it seems that no coupon is currently stackable with the 5% VISA discount. But thanks anyway.
     
    fleischy, Apr 6, 2011
    #138
  39. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    I called lenovo to change my order through lenovo.com/visa because it is cheaper with same configuration.

    Sales Rep. will call me back within 24 hours. There is more than $100 difference.
     
    rajeev16706, Apr 6, 2011
    #139
  40. Mech0z

    Mech0z Notebook Evangelist

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    Any reason the quardro 2000 would be much faster than the quardro 1000 in gaming? Just if the small differences is only for good for computing
     
    Mech0z, Apr 6, 2011
    #140
  41. halobox

    halobox Notebook Deity

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    2000 is twice as much as 1000.
     
    halobox, Apr 6, 2011
    #141
  42. ComputerNewb

    ComputerNewb Notebook Consultant

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    The memory and core speeds are currently unknown (unless someone can post the picture of both the 2000m and the 1000m) but the 2000m has twice the number of pipelines (196). The only major downside of these graphics card is the bottleneck for gaming. The 128 bus width would limit the gaming potential of these machine.

    NVIDIA Quadro 2000M - Notebookcheck.net Tech has more information
     
    ComputerNewb, Apr 6, 2011
    #142
  43. dn00

    dn00 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm sure the 2000m will be more than enough for casual gaming though.
     
    dn00, Apr 6, 2011
    #143
  44. BPG1988

    BPG1988 Newbie

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    BPG1988, Apr 7, 2011
    #144
  45. RyanHurtt

    RyanHurtt Notebook Evangelist

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    RyanHurtt, Apr 7, 2011
    #145
  46. dn00

    dn00 Notebook Consultant

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    dn00, Apr 7, 2011
    #146
  47. niriven

    niriven Notebook Geek

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    I'd like to see this too. I'm about *this* close to buying one :)
     
    niriven, Apr 7, 2011
    #147
  48. Eric_Cartman

    Eric_Cartman Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi,

    I'm astonished to see how many people are Thinkpad crazy... :p
    As soon as the first reviews are out I'm going to order mine (unless they bring up something undesirable about the W520).
    The only thing thats bothering me is the DDR3 ram and the 128bit Interface. I mean what with Optimus, who cares how much power is consumed while running on AC...

    But the W520 seems nevertheless to be an uberpowerhouse!!! I've been waiting for month now.. In december I almost bought the W510, but then I heard about sandy bridge.. a bullet dodged right there.. For all of january and february I have been checking the Lenovo homepage daily.
     
    Eric_Cartman, Apr 7, 2011
    #148
  49. rajeev16706

    rajeev16706 Notebook Guru

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    order on March 30th. Estimate Shipping date is 04/11/11 ,Customized.. anyone status updated?
     
    rajeev16706, Apr 7, 2011
    #149
  50. cpm22

    cpm22 Notebook Consultant

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    Same here. Ordered on 3/30 with estimated shipping date 4/11. Customized as well. I was hoping for an early shipment but I am now resigned to 4/11
     
    cpm22, Apr 7, 2011
    #150
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