Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

hrana and all the contributors: Thank you for taking the time to create the FAQ. I will definitely use it. It will greatly help a lot of people on and outside of this forum.

 

Nope, I definitely have something else going on here. With only 8Gb (2x4) in the proper slots for dual channel operation i have had the W520 not returning from standby two times in a row now. Yet Memtest86+, Lenovo's toolbox and another memory stresstest run fine. No errors.

I am seriously beginning to think that while in theory the W520 may support 1866Mhz memory based on the Intel Sandy Bridge specs, the HyperX modules do not 100% agree with the W520. It may run reliably, but there are still some niggles that may have to do with the W520 not 100% aligning itself to the higer memory speed. The W520 and HyperX 1866Mhz memory may prove to be a sligthly sensitive combination.

 

hrana - that would be an awesome resource, I and everyone else should rep you for that, even though I 've read all 180+ thread pages....

W520 - my next portable....should be a better performer than my current Compal Hel80....

 

I ordered this configuration for $1589 today with the Barnes & Noble Lenovo Gold account and BESTSELLER 8% off code.

0A68541 SBB ICI7-2720QM
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
0A68625 SBB GW7P64 E
0A68535 SBB 15.6FHD (1900 X 1080) LED
0A68894 SBB NVQ2000M GR
45M4571 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
0A68553 SBB 500GB 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
41C9170 3YR Depot

The 3 year depot warranty was $80, the 500GB HDD was $34, and the 6300 was $34 before the coupon.

 

Did you install any edditional Nvidia driver?
Also, did you try disconnect laptop's screen and conenct 3rd monitor instead?

 

Where did you get it? Any link?
Thanks!

 

Thanks! I downloaded the Intel Data Migration Software. http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19324
It is basically an Intel OEM version of Acronis and very useful for transferring data from your old HDD to an Intel SSD.

I just found the instructions for the RAID data migration. It is described in the Help Menu of the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology" app under Creating a Volume > Creation Process > Completing the Process

 

In fact, it is quite hard to find, look here

Sarcasm aside, this a must-have app for everyone using any Thinkpad

 

I installed it from http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/donate.html For the most part my fan is off. Great stuff.

 

Great community here!

Short to the point... Getting random freezes with W520 & Intel 510 SSD. I do get a 10 sec delay on start up like other people who have reported in this forum.

any solutions?

 

Please turn on "Diagnostic Start Up" in the BIOS and let us know where the delay occurs.

Also, do you have the Rapid Storage Technology drivers installed? Lenovo Support - Drivers and software - ThinkPad ... W520

 

Thanks a lot! I actually tried to find, but there is a lot of spam so, it was easier just ask about link then try many online

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have installed the Rapid Storage Technology drivers but will need to test and see if that will resolve the issue. I installed few hours ago ...

 

If that does not resolve it, you can install the Intel SSD Toolbox and run the "Intel SSD Optimizer" and the "System Configuration Tuner". (I love the apps that come with the Intel SSDs!)

What message do you get during the 10 second delay with the "Diagnostic Start-Up?

 

I did the following steps after I installed SSD on my laptop, is this right?

1) cloned the HDD using Acronis
2) installed the SSD
3) recovered the clone using Acronis on the SSD

 

Make sure you use Acronis True Image (TI) 2010 or higher or the Intel OEM version. Previous versions of Acronis (and restoring a single partition only) can mess up the "alignment" and reduce SSD performance. forum.acronis.com/forum/7828 Intel SSD Drive | Knowledge Base

I am still curious about the start-up delay. What diagnostic message are you getting?

 

I'm thinking of placing an order today for a W520. It's a really big purchase for me so I wanted to get some input.

I've got the TOPSELLER coupon code, the current sale and ordering it with student discount (10% I think). All of that brings the total to $1,756.89 with the Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) or $1,311.39 with the Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor (2.30GHz, 8MB L3) I'm leaning towards the 2820QM, what do you guys think? Do you guys think this is a good price?

Am I missing any deals? I figured I'd order ram online somewhere to save money, any suggestions on what I should get and where?

I was also wondering about the HD screen upgrade, is there anything better about it than the resolution? better color, viewing angle etc?

Specs

Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)1
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 6412
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD recordable multiburner5
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++60
Bluetooth 3.0
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
4270 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

Thanks

 

The FHD screen has better colour accuracy (95% gamut vs 60%). The 2820QM doesn't have enough of a performance increase to justify its price increase over the 2720QM. The money is better spent towards a Quadro 2000M or FHD screen.

 

The FHD screen is a lot better than the HD+ screen in terms of quality, and the HD+ is probably a bit better than the HD but I'm not sure (At least the Lenovo HD screens aren't as awful as Dell's, though I still wouldn't recommend the resolution). The brightness of the HD and HD+ are the same though. Either way, you pretty much always want to upgrade to at least HD+. It's only $50 to do so and the resolution makes a huge difference.

 

I would like to add an Intel 310 as a boot drive to my W520 and have a few questions.

1.Does anyone have a good source where to buy? Newegg is out of stock.

2. I have Raid 1 enabled with dual 500 gb drives. Can I add the 310 on top of this?

3. I don't have a Windows 7 disc. What is the easiest way of making this switch?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

I priced out your two configs with the deal I used, and got the 2920XM system for $1696 and the 2820QM system for $1266 - so it's a little cheaper. See this post for how I got this deal. Be aware that the BESTSELLER coupon expires after today.

To echo kirayamato26, I would get the 2720QM and use the extra money towards the FHD screen or the 2000M or even a SSD upgrade.

 

I'm thinking about getting a W520 as well. I'm going to study Computer Engineering this fall (I have no idea what software I'll be using other than the usual Office stuff). Aside from that, I use network simulation software (Packet Tracer), VMWare, Visual Studio Express, and light gaming (mostly RTS games from 2004-2008). You guys think that this is a good configuration for me?

ThinkPad W520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM Processor (2.20GHz, 6MB L3)
Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64
Operating system language: Windows 7 Professional 64 English
Windows XP Mode: Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode - English
Display type: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
Color sensor: No Color Sensor
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US 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 North America 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

Total: $1,759
(planning on moving the hard drive to the ultrabay and buying a SSD for Windows and programs. What is a relatively fast, stable, and reliable drive I could look at with less than 100GB storage space?)


Also, does anyone know of any specials going on with Lenovo where I might get a discount? Would coupon codes be stackable on top of something like a student discount or a shareholders discount?

 

NewEgg has been out of stock for a while. I went with these guys because they have a really nice real-time system for determining stock. They are expecting more drives in 5/10/2011 so you can check on that day to be sure otherwise it looks like it could be the end of June before more Intel 310s are available. The company shipped out my drive without any issues and it arrived on this past Friday. My second W520 shows up tomorrow.

Yes

Clone your RAID 1 install to the SSD using an SSD-aware sector-based backup application *OR* use the Lenovo restore disks.

I know you didn't ask about RAM but the 2x4GB Kingston 1866Mhz RAM showed up at my home yesterday. I grabbed the last set of modules from NewEgg so I need to order another set for a total of 16GB. It seems like I may have found another distributor that has them. If so, I'll post info about them once I speak to them tomorrow.

 

I am not sure why you want to spend around 2K for such normal usage you outline. I mean unless you have budget to spend that's different story.

I think i5 with 2.30Ghz will be enough for your work & spend half of the money else where. You can buy with T420 or Thinkpad Edge E520 fir half the price.

Since you are spending on SSD + i5 will be very snappy as well. I tried that on Toshiba with i5 2.66Ghz and everything was fast.

BTW: It's my opinion that's all.

 

privatejarhead that is the exact same configuration that I ordered, including the 1 DIMM for your RAM and the wireless card. That's what I plan to use for Starcraft 2, Supreme Commander, and CAD. It hasn't been delivered yet so I can't tell you much more, but I think it's good enough. However I think you're paying too much for it. I got mines for ~$1300CAD + tax. It came out to $1510 with taxes.

 

I ordered the 427637U from Provantage for ~$1500. It's been a week and it's still getting made. I'll let you know once it's in.

 

I priced out your config to be $1313 using the deal I talk about in this post. Be aware that the BESTSELLER coupon expires after today.

For my w520, I'm looking at the Intel 80gb mSATA drive - that way I can keep my cd drive.

 

The post above yours outlines a special/discount that will probably end up saving you $300. I got my config that way for $1600.

The extreme edition processor really isn't going to be worth the extra money. Just get the i7-2720QM and spend the money you saved on other things, like an SSD, the 2000M upgrade, or a screen upgrade. Any of those upgrades will significantly impact how your machine performs, while the processor upgrade really won't help you out unless you are stretching your processor to the limit day in and day out.

I'd say that you should upgrade to an SSD first as that will impact performance no matter what you do. The screen upgrade really is your decision, as some people don't really like higher resolution screens. The screen does have better color gamut and better image quality overall (supposedly). It's still a TN panel, so it won't have improved viewing angles. The Quadro 2000M will only be useful if you game or if you use applications that heavily stress the GPU.

 

Double post, please delete.

 

Hi guys, I got a quick question. I noticed that on my CPU-Z results, the max bandwidth of the ram in each slot is 533MHz. Right now I have 2X4GB G.Skill ram installed on slot 0 and 1. Shouldn't the max bandwidth be 1033MHz? Thanks.

 

I'm not planning on spending 2k, I was only wondering if the 2000M upgrade was worth it (apparently not). I want the quad-core for the VMWare, RTS games (which are CPU intensive), and so I can upgrade the laptop with more than 8GB of RAM in the future. Getting a T520 with a quad-core brings the price point within range of the base quad-core W520, hence why I'm looking at just getting the workstation (plus getting the W520 allows me to get a better GPU tan the T520 can offer). I absolutely want the 1080p, so that's a ~$200 upgrade cost I can't avoid.

I'm leaning towards the 1000M option, which is ~$1700 on the website, though I'm aiming to haggle + student discount (or shareholders, if my mutual fund has their stock) + coupons to bring it down to at least 1400-1500, with 1200-1300 being ideal.

Thankfully, my family had set up a mutual when I was born. Also, half of my college will be paid for thanks to state scholarships (Palmetto Fellows + LIFE Extension, and several Clemson scholarships), so money is no object for me.

 

DDR means "Double Data Rate" memory, so "DDR3 1066" will run at 533mhz.

 

Thank you so much man. I'm learning.

 

If you're playing Civ 5 or SC2 at 1920x1080, you're going to want the 2000M. The extreme CPU is absolutely not worth it. RTS games are CPU intensive, but the performance difference will never be worth $750. The 1000M will be far more of a bottleneck than the i7-2720QM.

Also, register for a Barnes and Noble Gold account. It will save you more money than the student discount.

BTW, I'm a rising freshman as well. WE ARE PENN STATE (it's so corny it's not even funny).

 

I am planning to buy a w520 in the next few months. Do you guys think/know of any decent discounts that will occur soon? One that is compatible with student discount?

 

Here are results from CrystalDiskMark for 2x WD Scorpio Black 750GB in RAID 0:



The HDD score from PCMark Vantage is 6501.

Obviously, Intel 320 600GB SSD blows it right out of the water, but it also costs $900 more (and offers just a little over 1/3 of the capacity).

Yes, I ordered W520 with RAID. Here are some pictures of the bezel that the regular ultra bay adapter seems to be missing. Maybe it can be ordered separately by the part # (if there screw holes are there)?





Here is the picture of the screw (the bigger one above the lock switch):

 

Barnes and Noble gold account.

 

I went to BN's page and all I see is something about express shipping on books. What exactly does a BN membership do for a Lenovo purchase, if you can explain?

 

It's a Lenovo Barnes and Noble Gold account. All you have to do is use this link and register. After you log in, configure your W520 and check the discount.

 

Bookmarked. Now to just get a BN account... lol.

 

Same here. Mine has version 600005 as well.

 

Hi,

Could you tell me how to setup TPFC, which is the best mode ?
bios, smart, manual ?
What is it's purpose, without this software , this machine is not working properly ?

Please help

 

Smart.

The purpose is to get more control of the CPU cooling fan speed and make the laptop almost silent (or even completely silent when using SSD) when doing something like reading/browsing/text editing.

 

Yes "smart" mode is the correct one to use. I'm working in the library right now - the machine is silent - battery of around 8 hrs when just typing word docs. However I'm a bit confused as to how to get TPFC to open minimized. Any suggestions?

 

edit TPFanControl.ini and set

StartMinimized=1

 

@shashu : open TPFanControl.ini (shuld be in TPFC folder and as shortcut in start menu), find line with "StartMinimized= 0" and change it to "StartMinimized= 1"
Also, there are plenty of options to set in this file, especially what fan speeds should be set at what temperatures (in my opinion, the default settings are "too hot")

 

Perhaps I'm missing something, but every time I boot, the boot menu appears regardless of if I have pressed F12 or not.

Anyone else have this experience?

 

What is your boot type? Try leaving it at "Both" modes instead of UEFI/Legacy on its own and ensure the disk drive you have is 1st on the Boot priority list.

 

I currently have it set to UEFI-only.

The boot disk is not set to the top priority as I have the DVD drive or USB boot disks set to load first, but it seems odd that the boot menu would come up each time automatically.