Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

is compatibility fairly standard? A local computer shop sells sony brand blue ray players that appear to be the exact same form factor as the DVD drive in my lenovo.
Does anyone know if this would fit in a lenovo w520?
Sony BD-5750H-01 6X Blu-Ray Writer Internal Slim Tray SATA Black OEM | Canada Computers

 

I think most SATA blu ray drive should work, but I am not sure.
I have seen people used the Panasonic UJ-240 drive. So if you want to be sure, just get that one.

You will have to replace the brezel on the new drive with your old one.

 

I work for the CIA. So we got special rules..and regulations. You don't have that many options.

 

Does it come with "spyware"?

 

Hey guys, does throttling affects W520 when powered solely by AC? I know it affects the laptop when on battery only.

 

It affects the quad core models only when on AC only. My system works fine without the battery.

 

buwhahahahaaa !

 

good info

priced this out and think its a winna !

System components
Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad
720p Camera
Internal RAID - Not Enabled
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD recordable multiburner
Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 170W AC adapter
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable


$1180.00 USD

I will bump up the ram and os on my own

..........

btw are some of you with the 1600x900 screen happy ?
decent enough brightness, quality, game and movie watching ?

the extra 200 for the FHD doesnt make sense to me as I am pushing 50 y.o. with pretty bad eyes already, sure I want that shazzam but also on a strict budget

thanks for any input

 

Yes..enough to see what you and your wife are doing in bed room.

 

i'll be 53 next month and the fhd is worth it! if you need to, get a smaller hd and less memory.

 

I think the 1600x900 screen is fine. Though, I don't think your price is; it looks too high. I paid $1091.30 before taxes for my machine 4 months ago.

 

thanks for the input

and thanks alot ! now I am tempted to spend the extra 200 ! argggg



well another reason is after looking at the tabook data pdf is appears their 1600x900 runs at the same nit, res and gamut as the 1366x768 in the t520 and w520 ??!!!!!

 

if I drop the hdd drive down to yours would be exact specs and a 55 dollar difference

I can live with that

 

Amex is running $150 off $999 promotion on Lenovo via their Facebook web site.

 

I wish, I has no amex card nor do I qualify for one

 

From reviews I have read comparing them the 1600x1900 resolution would be nice but you miss out on all the extra colors. I have the 1920x1080 screen and its quite vivid compared to any other screen I have seen, I have a feeling if your not used to a special high gamut screen you probably wouldn't miss all the extra colors. I'm 27 with fantastic eye sight and while I love the 1920x1080, with the text at 100% (it comes 125% from the factory) I can only comfortably read it from about 3 feet. If I put it on my desk and sit way back its hard to read.

 

In such case I would rather wait. Check BN gold every wednesday - the price you have now is very high. Not even mention that there are coupons for W series available from time to time.

3 weeks ago you could configure i7-2720QM/FHD/BT/Color Sensor/6300 for around $1300 before tax. If you need the system right now, I'd suggest to check BTO models on Ebay or online. You'll end up with similar configuration but 3 years warranty for the similar price considering taxes.

 

Can you live with this, though?

So, my Wenger Pegasus bag finally came today. I have to say, I'm glad I got it over the Synergy as the W520 fits in the laptop compartment exactly the way I wanted it to: with a good inch or so of room at least between the laptop corners and the bag.

 

sure can, specially if your paying

go ahead and order me one and I will PM you my shipping address

standard shipping will be fine.....

 

Check this one, for example: Lenovo ThinkPad W520 427637U 15.6" i7-2720QM 8GB 500GB | eBay

 

thanks and rep +1

great tips

I can't purchase until Sept. 26th actually but as you can see I am getting as much info as possible early in the game, can only pray there is a big sale/coupon available on that day lol, if not I will still pay about 1150 usd for the specs I described/want

 

Thanks! By the way, out of curiosity, why do you upgrade? You have quite decent Dell now.

 

hey thanks, great info

I do love me a sweet screen, and watch alot of movies
and hate washed out crappy screens
I have had 1366x768 on high end dells for years
mostly due to my eyes
but I think I need to treat myself now lol

I spend most of my time, many hours a day
very close to the screen (from 12" to 20", just measured)
so I think the FHD would be the wtg

thanks again

 

well I sold the e6510 a few weeks ago at a huge profit and was wanting to upgrade to sandy bridge, possibly quad anyways

don't get me wrong, I loved my latitude very much, but the screen was a let down, keyboard wasn't quite the greatest, hdd got riddled with reallocated sectors (put 3 new seagate momentus in, happened to all), I had a chance to make $350 in profit on the sale, which I did, and just wanting something fresh and new.....



*reluctant to change sig in memorium to my missed baby

 

Hi
Would be glad to get the guy's no...

 

yeah it does look to be on the higher end...

 

isn't the 135w adapter heavier than 170w?

 

would the 1600x900 screen be also OK? I am not a professional use...

 

I don't think you will be disappointed with the fhd screen, it has a range of color I have never seen on screen before. My desktop samsung monitor has always looked vibrant compared to other screens I have seen but it doesn't even hold a candle to the colors on my w520.

 

thanks,

and dammit, looks like my budget is going up $200



otherwise your real happy with the unit too ??

 

After nitpicking it to death I have a few small quibbles with it but overall I am very happy with it and the things I love about it far outweigh the little annoyances.

The few things I'm not 100% satisfied with are:
-The rigidity of the screen casing feels quite poor and has a lot of flex
-The speakers sound crappy but I was expecting this from a laptop
-I wish the FN button was on the other side of the keyboard, it would make 1 handing the most used buttons possible.
-9 cell battery hangs out the back and has a little wiggle

The things I'm happy with are:
-Hinge tension and smoothness feels perfect
-Rigidity of the rest of the case is good and I feel good about the magnesium roll cage protecting its internals
-fingerprint scanner works amazingly well and the only time I need to try more than once is if I put my finger on it crooked but this has only happened twice haha.
-Screen resolution and color is amazing
-USB 3.0 ports are super fast with compatible hardware
-touchpoint is growing on me
-the machine can really keep its cool when stressed out considering whats inside it and how thin it is. I got the CPU to 90C once by stressing both the cpu and gpu to 100% with stress testing programs, under normal use it sits at around 45c and sometimes spikes to 70-80 under intensive gaming.
-throttling makes the battery last a REALLY long time if your not doing anything intensive

I'm running throttlestop instead of using the supplied power management software because it feels kind of clunky to me and if I need more power while on battery throttlestop can open it up. Once I setup throttlestop it was a non issue.

 

thank you for taking the time to share and type that great user exp. info

rep +1 for you

very useful information

 

This stupid Power Management software doesn't work. I told it to start charging at 50% and stop at 85%. Instead, when I start the computer I can see the Windows battery icon say it's charging until the Power Manager starts up. Then I unplugged it and ran it down to 80% and plugged it back in. It charged right back up to 85%. Argh! I might as well uninstall it, but I still want charge control...

 

I always do a clean install and only use software/drivers from the maker thats absolutely necessary

I read up here and stay in tune with what causes issues and doesn't etc.
Added to my own user exp. I can whittle em down nicely.

After tweaking win7 next I always end up with 38 processes running, including my AV, with an occasional spike to 44 processes

 

kuksul08 - love the quote in your sig !

 

This question is kind of a long shot... but has anyone removed/replaced their screen yet? Is it difficult or just like any other laptop? Also, are the FHD screens being used still the AUO B156HW01 V.4?

I ask because I already upgraded my HP 8540w with this AUO screen and figure I can just install the screen in the Lenovo W520 and save some money. Thanks

 

this is the w520 I am considering ordering tomorrow. I am in canada. I will use it mainly for work. Oracle, Development 3-5 vm's, Lots of video calls etc. I will be upgrading the memory to 16gb on arrival. Possibly Switching to a SDD, if can find good price I used the visaperks for discount.

2 Questions, Any thing I should change. And should I be able to get a better price when I call to order.

Print
Description
ThinkPad W520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Processor: Intel Core i7-2820QM (Quad-Core) Processor (2.30GHz, 8M Cache with Turbo Boost up to 3.40GHz)
Operating system: Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Operating system language: Windows 7 Professional 64 - English
Display type: 15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED backlight Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)
Total memory: 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard - US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader
Camera: 720p HD Camera with Microphone
Storage subsystem: Primary SATA RAID 0
Hard drive: RAID HDD, 500GB, 7200rpm
Optical device: RAID via Bay Adapter
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader
Battery: 9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery
Power cord: 170W Slim AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)
Bluetooth: Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Language pack: Publication - US English

Accessories and options:
3Yr Priority Onsite + 3Yr ThinkPad Protection
ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (170W) (US/Canada/LA)

 

What's the price on that?

 

sorry bad cut and paste
Free shipping

Price $3,622.00
Savings $1,348.75

Total $2,273.25
Ships within 9 bus. days

 

How much was the extra warranty and mini dock?
I got the same system, but with the 2729qm CPU, no intel wifi and the $200 fhd screeen option and it was $1500 after taxes. I didn't call them though I just found an online coupon for 18% off and ordered online.

 

I did a clean install as well, but ended up re-installing a lot of the Lenovo software. It just doesn't work that well though . I'd rather have Windows do it if it had the same functionality.

...and thanks, I like the quote too

 

i only have 36 running and i installed to a ssd using lenovo's recovery disks. i tried a clean install and the lenovo disks and liked it better with lenovo's recovery disks.

 

How are you getting 36 processes? I have 91-93 running when I first startup the computer...

 

Quick question: does the Displayport support audio over a DP-to-HDMI cable? To be more precise, I'm think of getting this cable from Amazon. I plan on hooking it up to a Visio 22" HDTV (can't remember the model name atm).

 

Yes it does, that cable will pass video and audio to your tv.

 

i checked mine when it was running after i read your post, i shut down my web pages, etc. and that's what i got. i'm running lenovo's build so that's probably got something to do with it. i don't run access connections and a few of the other programs that were included but other than a few tweaks for the ssd i'm not doing anything unusual. i just checked i have 36 running with no browsers open so i don't think yesterday was a fluke. my laptop has been up since 5:00pm yesterday so if anything i should have a few more processes running than usual.

 

pulled the trigger. this is the order and price, used visa discount then got another 290 off.

Quantity Part number Description Item price Line total

1 4270CTO ThinkPad W520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty $3,223.00 $3,223.00
Ships within 9 bus. days** $1,934.10 $1,934.10

Processor Intel Core i7-2820QM (Quad-Core) Processor (2.30GHz, 8M Cache with Turbo Boost up to 3.40GHz)

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Windows XP Mode Windows 7 XP Mode - English
Display type 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna
System graphics NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)
Total memory 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
Keyboard Keyboard - US English
Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader
Camera 720p HD Camera with Microphone
Storage subsystem Primary SATA RAID 0
Hard drive RAID HDD, 500GB, 7200rpm
Optical device RAID via Bay Adapter
System expansion slots Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader
Battery 9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery
Power cord 170W Slim AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)
Bluetooth Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

Language pack Publication - US English

0A34387 3Yr Priority Onsite + 3Yr ThinkPad Protection $399.00 $399.00
$339.15 $339.15

1 433830U ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (170W) (US/Canada/LA) Ships within 9 bus. days** $269.99 $269.99
1 45J7915 DisplayPort to Single-Link DVI-D Monitor Cable Ships within 9 bus. days** $23.99 $20.39
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $272.82
[CAXVISAPTS11]: -$290.12
Total: $2,546.33

 

^^^
I see you're in Canada, but ouch... that seems pricey


I just pulled the trigger 5 minutes ago

i7 2720QM
Win 7 Pro 64
1600x900
Nvidia 2000M
4GB
320GB
9 cell battery
Intel Centrino N 6300

$1337.98 total
$1455.05 w/ tax

I already have the 1920x1080 95% screen on my HP 8540w, just gonna swap it over.

I actually attempted to purchase the Sony Vaio SA from the Microsoft store but they wouldn't do the student discount + free xbox360. They did me a favor, I was already dreading the awful screen on the Sony and the W520 is what I originally wanted anyway, I was just being a cheap a$$

 

Yeah that seems really pricey. Tack on HST and you're in for major wallet hole.

 

I'd recommend you get this, because it works on without issues (works with Windows and Linux) with audio at 1920x1080.