Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

I'm using the 160GB version of the 320 and I've never encountered a problem like that, though I also have a fairly reliable power supply and I never let my battery drop below 5-10%. Otherwise, it's a reliable drive and that's the main reason I bought it instead of the Intel 510 (warm boot issues).

 

I have 2 Intel 510 240GB SSDs in RAID 0 and I am very happy with that choice.
Very good performance and reliability. (Aside from the warm-boot W520 BIOS issue which Lenovo needs to fix)

 

The RAID controller is in hardware and you need to specify RAID or NO RAID when ordering. It can't be upgraded later!

 

There should be new firmware out for 320 within 1 month, intel has said its on its way

 

I feel like a spammer but I really need help with the calibration xD
I want to use the W520 calibration device but I really need hlep. The integrted software (PANTONE) is not doing a good job, the screen is always too red or too blue
What can I do?

 

Just got myself another 4GB stick, going to be installing it soon.

If anyone in Canada is interested, it is on sale for $25 for a stick here.

 

How easy is it to install RAM on your own? Is it recommended to get it done at a Lenovo authorized shop?

 

Are you contradicting yourself? I thought you were not happy with the performance on battery power. In fact, there's a huge thread about it.

 

It took more force than I expected and needed some practice before doing it (I have 2 dummy cards to practice with as I have a dual core system). It is harder (and felt more like I was going to break something) than installing RAM in a desktop, but it is pretty easy. In terms of installation, I'd have to say that it is easier than mounting the HSF assembly in a desktop.

 

Has anybody measured the weight of their W520 with a 2000M and an SSD?

 

This will be great. It seems that I could not PM you since I am a new member here. Would you please send me the info through email at [email protected]. Thanks

 

Please try the following link. Hope it works

http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...hinkpad/ThinkPad_DOS&affinity=barnesnoblegold

 

For guys want to dig deep on lenovo website could try this link
http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...ll/US/Special Offers/Overview/featured-offers

For these who are searching for coupons could try this one
http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...age=/All/US/Landing_pages/Affinity/Offers/EPP

Lenovo's web is really tricky. But it worthy for you guys to do some researches on their web. It never let you down.

 

I was talking about the Intel 510 SSD's - not the W520 BIOS throttling the system performance by 50% when on battery power.

But since you bring up the subject, here are my PCMark 7 Benchmarks:
(PCMark7 is available free here: http://www.pcmark.com/benchmarks/pcmark7/download/ )

2,055 PCMarks ON BATTERY (Max Performance / Max Turbo):
Generic VGA video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 2055 PCMarks

4,338 PCMarks ON A/C POWER (Max Performance / Max Turbo):
Generic VGA video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 4388 PCMarks
BIOS: 1.26 Power Manager 3.61

But there is a Solution (until Lenovo fixes the BIOS): Throttlestop (I used the settings described here:
W520 TurboBOOST not working on battery or after up... - Page 29 - Lenovo Community

4,373 PCMarks ON BATTERY with THROTTLESTOP (Setting: Battery - Performance):
Generic VGA video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 4373 PCMarks

Now I can have the fast and zippy performance I am used to also on battery power

 

Since this is a specialized subject, you may find an expert here:
W Series ThinkPad Laptops - Lenovo Community

 

Thanks! I posted there already, yesterday but no answers yet :/
I will wait in the hope to get some help with this calibration.

 

Interesting. If you get an answer I would like to know as well.

 

Hi,
Thanks for that. The link works and saves me $77. The only question is, is there an advantage getting Lenovo's Windows installation because it comes with bundled software, i.e. Think Vantage over a stock Windows & installation that I'll do?
Cheers.

 

Does anyone know of any way to get Student discount with Lenovo for a W520 in the UK ? My Uni doesn't offer any discounts with any manufacturers currently, however, other companies such as HP offer a discounted rate as long as you have a .ac.uk email.

Thanks.

 

Hi,
As I mentioned before, I prefer an OS without Lenovo's pre-installation. Also you could choose what you want from their web. My X61s works this way and
I feel perfect.

 

Hi,
Thanks.

One question on warranty. Is it advisable to get the extended warranty now (especially because of the discounted price of the laptop) or should I get it later (and before the 1st year base warranty expires?).

I was thinking of a 3 year return to base warranty.

Cheers.

 

I'm pretty sure that if you have any issues with laptop, you'd find them during the first year. So the answer is really if extra $85 worth piece in mind and if you're planning to resell the laptop before warranty expires.

And of course, it makes sense to buy it with the credit card that extends warranty for another year.

 

I also have 2 Intel 520 SSDs in RAID and have not had any issues whatsoever with them. If you are concerned about reliability, I think you can't go wrong with Intel. As far as I know, the only complaints I've heard about the 510s is the long wait time when you do a warm reboot.

 

Oh dear I feel like a proper prat for asking this but....

My lappy has been bought with 8GB Ram (2xDIMM) installed at purchase. I've finally got approval to get this up to 16GB but i dont want to cancel the order and start again and i fancy saving a few bob so was gonna buy some crucial sticks.

in this scenario would it be better to buy 2x4GB from Crucial, or repurchase the whole 4x4 (which would be 2 packs of 2x4 as they done sell a tested set of 16)

[hangs head in shame]

 

i'd just buy the two crucial sticks. that's what i did and it works fine. one of the crucial sticks was bad and they reshipped. i've heard several other people that had the same problem with the crucial memory in the w520. you may want to consider that when you purchase.

 

You can use MemTest86+ utility and test RAM after installation.

In fact this is very good thing to do even if laptop detects the memory

 

I'm going to ask you this: why did you order with 8GB of RAM? Unless it was a free upgrade, it is largely not worth it as you can get a 4GB module for as little as $25.

Yes, do this if you are installing RAM. Go for 10 passes. My W520 has been doing MemTest86+ for the past 15hrs+, about to finish the 11th pass. I was out, and it's on the last test, so I'm just going to let it finish.

 

Yea, I know. I am familiar with your setup, current status, apps, trains, etc. I was just calling it out because sometimes it helps others to have the full context in case they weren't aware. Peace out.

 

Anyone know what can cause the color calibrater not to work? Mine just fails everytime, I have installed latest nvidia drivers, the software and the thinkpad display drivers, but the calibrator tools just says "Error starting the calibration" after I choose 2.2 default and inbuild instead of the photos you can choose. It worked before I did a clean format c:

 

Hi
I have a Lenovo W520, i7-2920XM. My cpu score is 4.6.
Any idea?

 

Did you install http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/pantone_color_calibrator.exe ???

 

Plug the battery in. If not, try updating to the latest BIOS (1.26).

 

Is the machine running the Lenovo factory image? Are you using the 170W AC adapter? Did you install any memory after you received the W520?

 

once you make sure the ac is plugged in set everything to maximum turbo in lenovo power manager and set to maximum performance in bios and re-run wei and see what you get. that should help a lot.

 

I have received the W520 and I have to say it is a beast.

 

Finally I have placed an order
Intel Core i7-2720QM\NVIDIA Quadro 1000M \ 15.6" FHD \ DDR3 1333 4GB\320GB 7200 RPM*2\RAID 0\ Wireless Ultimate 6300 \ Bluetooth 3.0\Fingerprint\9 Cell Battery\ DOS\1 year warranty
The total is $1315 before tax

 

So no one then?

 

It's probably so insignificant that it doesn't matter. A W520 is somewhere between 5.95lb ~ 6.2lb depending on configuration with the 9 cell battery, I believe.

 

Hi,
It's all depends on your budget. If you have a tight budget it will be a better choice to wait for a year. On the other hand you could get the warranty with a promotion price now. As for me I only choose the one year basic warranty because my X40 X60 X61s never have had big problem I need to return the to lenovo for warranty. The only problem I have encountered was the Seagate HDD went down when I used my X61s when I car bumped along unpaved road for several times. But I thought this had nothing to do with lenovo. Seagate's HDD didn't have a decent reputation recent years.After this accident I went for a Intel 320 SSD and nothing to worry in the future.So if you have enough money please go for the warranty upgrade otherwise just keep watching for one year to see what will go on. BTW I have just placed my order total is $1315. Wish you good luck

 

Will there be a marked difference between the i7-2620 and 2720 in terms of performance? Will the 2620 give a better battery life?
Should I perhaps get the 2620 to save up for a better SSD and more RAM?

Scratch that, I just realised that the difference in price is not really that great with the same configuration on both models.

 

Depends on what type of things you will using the computer for. The quad cores consume a decent amount more power on load but perform a lot better when multithreaded apps require full CPU utilization. While on the other end of the spectrum on idle, most basic non-CPU bound programs will not notice any difference in performance and marginal difference in battery life.

 

I think I've been reporting consistently higher battery life figures than the rest of the people with higher specced W520's.

It depends on what you do. The heaviest usage I have used it for is gaming, and I haven't really noticed much lag, and all instances where it lagged was memory bound and solved by my RAM upgrade yesterday.

 

Does the w520 support Intel wireless display technology, widi?
I see the folder in the start menu and in the swtools folder in the c drive.

Also has any one tried to hook up their w520 to an external monitor? When I tried the displayport-hdmi and vga-vga, I get a few "glitch" when try to use Fn+F7. When ever I choose the "Duplicate" option, my monitor flicker a few times. And when it does settle, the Fn+F7 menu does not highlight the Duplicate option, instead it highlight something else like "Projector only", "Disconnect projector" or "Extend". So if the menu highlight "Projector only" and I want to choose that, I have to first choose something else then come back and choose that.

When I choose something else, everything works, the option I choose get highlighted, and the screen does not flicker.

 

I hope that I've time in university to do a little CAD and 3D modelling/animation. Only as a hobby; my subject of study has nothing to do with CAD nor modelling. So the basis of my getting a W520 is purely of hobby pursuits.

@kirayamato26 How much more time are you squeezing out of your configuration compared to another machine of the same configuration except the CPU?

Anyway, the Thinkpads in my country happen to be expensive, not per se but the lack of a appreciable discount is a significant deterrent. Thinkpads here can cost USD 1000 more than what the US is offering with their discounts. So I'll be arranging for a Thinkpad to be shipped from the US but the problem is the power adapter is different - is this an accessory I can buy separately from Lenovo?

Do docking stations offer greater battery run-times? And is there an option for a slice battery for the W520?

 

Yes and in application I choose the inbuild as the white spot for my screen and gamma as 2.2 which is marked as standard. But when I click next (where it explains that it will make 3 sounds etc it just gives an error that starting the calibration failed, before I am asked to close the lid)

 

didn't you change the font size % in windows?

i think default for full hd displays is 120% on default w520 installation and saw one user reported calibrating issues when he changed that

 

I've finally ordered my W520 and now I'm looking at ordering two 8GB kits of RAM.

I've found this kit: Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX

...and I was wondering if there was a better option?

 

I doubt you'll see the difference in performance between PC3-12800 and PC3-10600 RAM that's available for ~$40-45 per 8Gb kit. So I'd rather buy that memory and invest to SSD in RAID-0 configuration

 

I haven't personally used a quad core W520, but I believe I get at least around 30mins ~ 1hr more than what others have reported.

Do you really need the bandwidth of DDR3 1600? If not, you can get 16GB of DDR3 1333 for around $100.

 

I'll be doing some video editing with the rig, so yes.