Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Any idea how these monitors really work? I see different results between the Intel monitor and something like HWiNFO64.

Are they accurate?

 

I'd also suggest upgrading the processor, the 2620 is a dual-core processor.

 

Dual core is fine.

 

CPU-Z and I believe HWiNFO report the highest turbo multiplier when lightly loaded. Core i CPUs spend a lot of time rapidly entering and exiting various C sleep states when lightly loaded so the multiplier might not be consistent between different programs. ThrottleStop uses the Intel recommended monitoring method and reports the average multiplier.

As soon as there is some load on the CPU, ThrottleStop and the Intel turbo gadget should be very comparable. There might be slight differences due to sampling frequency and sampling timing but you shouldn't be seeing huge differences between these two.

Edit: Here's an example.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7917761-post374.html

 

thitiv,

Glad you got a faster CPU, at least we know it works perfectly. Now we need to figure out a away to overclock the cpu's. Dang Lenovo/Intel en screwed us on the W520..

 

With i7-2820 and 2 Intel 510 SSDs in RAID 0 I get:
PCMarkVantage: 19,228
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M - Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 19228 PCMarks

PCMark7: 4,568
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M - Intel Core i7-2820QM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 4568 PCMarks

(Do you have your SSDs in RAID 0 or JBOD (just a bunch of disks)? Since these benchmarks tests not just the CPU, but all aspects of the system, 2 SSDs in RAID will reflect higher on the overall system rating than a slightly faster processor.)

 

I see! My motherboard is not RAID-enabled. That's why. They are just two independent SSD drives

Thank you, Dharmaraja. I now desperately want to push the Extreme CPU to its real limit!

 

It's probably either at, near, or surpassed its real thermal limit already, do you really want to push it more?

Try running Linpack + Furmark at the same time and take a look at your temperatures. You are probably going to get high 90's or a thermal shutdown.

 

Since it is limited by the BIOS, all we need is for Lenovo to give us the BIOS source code now

 

Does anyone know if the W520 has the Keyboard Customizer Utility? I searched and can't find it. I need it to disable the browser keys. I am tire of retyping because I hit the Prev/Next page browser buttons by accident. If this utility is no longer available, does anyone know of a good key mapping software that works on these buttons? Thanks.

 

Not if one wants FOUR memory slots. Well documented that only the quad core laptops come with four slots; others only get two.

May not be a biggie now, but if memory's an issue or will be, then I'd suggest ponying up a bit more for a quad core config.

 

The dual core COMES with 4 slots, I've posted this countless times. It's just that the machine will not boot if you substitute one of the dummy cards for a module. This is likely a CPU limitation.

 

Seeing that Kirayamato actually owns a W520 with a dual-core i7, I think he of all people would know if the dual-core W520 comes with 4 "slots" (2 working, 2 dummy). IIRC, all models of W520 use the same two motherboards (RAID and non-RAID enabled), and the only difference between a a RAID or non-RAIDed dual- and quad-core is that the dual can only handle up to 16GB DDR3 (if you have 2x8GB chips) and that there's a hardware limitation on the 2620 that doesn't allow the slot2 and slot3 from being used (whereas slot0 and 1 are okay).

 

What is the underlying reason to get a dual core W520?

 

From Dharmaraja's and my experiences overclocking our W510 + i7-920XM, I know it can go a bit further with stability. The present W520 + i7-2960XM in discrete graphics mode (Optimus disabled) survives the thermal load induced by 40 (forty) continuous Full Stress tests in Lenovo's System Health and Diagnostics utility which took 6 hours to finish.

Lenovo's Full Stress Test is one of the most stressing software I have ever experienced. Try it and you would realize it could be more stressing than Linpack + Furmark because it also stresses hard drives (SSD's) and other components in addition to stressing CPU + Memory + GPU simultaneously. The keyboard stops responding when a test is conducted!

 

It is somewhat cheaper, and offers a somewhat longer battery life. It also runs cooler than a quad core W520.

 

If you don't require 4 RAM slots, or the extra two (physical) cores.

 

Seems like a T520 is a better solution then.

 

Maybe the T520 is better, but with the BN + labor day it ended up being cheaper for me.

My W520 spec is the most reasonable one to me.

Quad core + 16GB won't make your p0rn videos download any faster.

 

Use SharpKeys

RandyRants: SharpKeys

I'd been using it for years until I changed my typing habits. It works great!

 

Ah, when you said cheaper before I didn't realize you meant cheaper than the T520. I assumed you meant cheaper than the quad.

And you got USB 3.0 in the process. Sounds like a winner to me.

 

Don't even need that...

Lenovo didn't give us much of a choice. Swap the 1000M with the NVS4200 and it's T520 for me without even second guessing....

 

As a comparison, your scores are pretty close to the 12 lbs (!) $ 5,000 (!) Alienware M18x, which gets 17,670 PCMarkvantage and 4,636 points on PCMark 7.

Review Alienware M18x (GTX 580M SLI, 2920XM) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Hi thitiv, where and for how much did you get your Ultrabay Blu-ray Burner? Has it been reliable? Thanks for the info.

 

I bought something like this t400 blu-ray | eBay on eBay. I paid USD 400 approximately. It's sold at around USD 120 nowadays. Mine's been working great. It was originally for my T500. I traded machines in for W510 and now W520 and the BD writer still works.

 

1. after you changed cpu to 2960xm - notebook became more noisy? or it's the same as it was with 2720qm?

 

hello. i ve been wandering around for the best system to put in use to cad soft like autocad, max, rhino photoshop and i ve come to lenovo w520 - something like i7 2720qm and quadro 2000m.
now the problem is that emerging techs like fermi, quadro rendering and such may advise that there is no such much need of a crazy powerful cpu just a bigger numbered cpu-cored GPU. i ve been watching this site and the stats about different video cards and results and i am very curious if somebody could follow this test in 3ds max 2012


Maxforums - iray GPU / CPU comparison test. - page 1
this is the thread


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23316655/iray_test_just_hit_render.zip
this is the file

you only have to hit render - no other setup


i ve done this also on a 8710p i currently own and it take about 11 minutes to complete so that s a PITA. if anyone using 3ds max 2012 could attend this test to show what s the rendering time that would be great as it would be a mind opener( i m trying to find the best system for my dimploma coming this year and faster would be indicated)

 

It is not more noisy. The fan kicks in more often though.

Someone reported on this thread that the fan-/thermal-unit of 2920xm model is louder/noisier than 2720qm/2820qm models. Since I am using the 2820qm's thermal unit, I am not affected. My present config passes 40 rounds of non-stop full stress tests by Lenovo's System Health and Diagnostics utility in Discrete Graphics mode, non-Optimus. I believe the cooling performance is reliable enough.

 

__________W520____________M18x

CPU_______i7-2960XM_______i7-2920XM
RAM_______16GB____________8GB
GPU_______2000M___________2 x GTX580M
DRIVE_____Corsair M4______Samsung SSD
BENCHES___Some number_____Some very similar number

Hence they're equally good.

 

but the w520 is lighter and less expensive!

 

Let me bold what I forgot to bold:
GPU_______2000M___________2 x GTX580M

My avatar is a ThinkPad flying through space while pooping a rainbow.
Your argument is invalid.

 

i stand corrected. lol

 

Maxforums - iray GPU / CPU comparison test. - page 1
this is the thread


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23316655/ira...hit_render.zip
this is the file

you only have to hit render - no other setup


i ve done this also on a 8710p i currently own and it take about 11 minutes to complete so that s a PITA. if anyone using 3ds max 2012 could attend this test to show what s the rendering time that would be great as it would be a mind opener( i m trying to find the best system for my dimploma coming this year and faster would be indicated)

 

As much as I would like to help you, I practice "safe computing" and never download and open strange zip files.

 

khatakhun,

As far as CPU rendering goes, you can use Cinebench 11.5 values, which have a good reputation, under 32/64 bit respectively.
As far as GPU throughput, Furmark, or 3Dmark should give you a good reference values, such as these.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

Graphically, each one of the Alienwares GPU's are bit faster than the W520's. The Quatro chips feature a slower memory controller, but I don't think they have ECC RAM like some of their desktop counterparts. But the w520's graphic choice, being a single card would have made more sense for a notebook computer.

The W520 having extra memory would be invaluable if you are doing heavy CAD, Photoshop, etc. work, have 64-bit OS, and stand to run into virtual memory, because there ain't no sunshine, when you start using virtual memory for a single application. I wish MS had been as considerate of power users as they were with office app users. Linux boots using 300mb--not 1,300mb.

I just wish Lenovo would address the few issues W520 that people are complaining about.

 

I agree. The W520 is a super performer.
It should be fairly easy for Lenovo to fix the few BIOS issues, get rid of the few quirks and annoyances, and make it a machine that user are raving about!

 

Anyone tried battlefield 3? Wonder i can run it

 

Ok, I stand corrected. Guess I should have said 'usable slots' or 'active slots'.

Same diff; if you want to use lots of memory sticks, you still need to go with a quad core.

 

You can replace the CPU.

But yeah, you need a quad core for all 4 slots to work.

 

Anybody interested in buying a w520 that's pretty much decked out minus ram and ssd..other than that has everything else u can buy with machine? Pm me

 

How do I replace DVD drive with SSD on my W520 thinkpad. Note RAID is not enabled!

 

OPTICAL BAY ADAPTER..I got one for sale if u want to buy it. Works perfect. I'm selling laptop so that's why I have one. Cost me 58 bucks shipped to me. I'll sell you mine for 40 shipped to you..pm me if interested

 

Can you make the SSD to boot as primary disk?

 

I haven't tried it but I would be very surprised if the 2000M had any issues running the game. Most modern games are very scalable and the W520's graphics performance should be enough to run this at least at medium/low detail at a decent resolution.

No hard data for you though. Sorry.

 

FINAL PROOF - RunCore Pro V T50 6GB mSATAIII 120GB RCP-V_T50028-MC RUNS IN SATA2 / 3Gb/s ON W520
Dear W520 owners, I have just replaced my existing WWAN card with RunCore mSATA and the final proof is that it is running with SATA2 speed.
Attached are the result of comparison RunCore mSATA vs. Vertex3 Pro.
I am downloading now PCMark 7 and PCMarkVantage and will post those test too.
[UPDATE]
Here are the test results running with W7 x64 installed on Vertex 3 Pro 240 GB:
PCMark 7 4421, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2820QM CPU @ 2.30GHz,LENOVO 428223G score: 4421 PCMarks
PCMark Vantage 17968, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2820QM CPU @ 2.30GHz,LENOVO 428223G score: 17968 PCMarks
Here are the results running W7 x64 installed on RunCore mSATA:
PCMark 7 4110, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2820QM CPU @ 2.30GHz,LENOVO 428223G score: 4110 PCMarks
PCMark Vantage 16736, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2820QM CPU @ 2.30GHz,LENOVO 428223G score: 16736 PCMarks
[/UPDATE]
Positive:

• Already formatted with NTFS
• Recognized by W520 OOTB, drivers for RunCore installed automatic.

Negative

• Only SATA2 in MiniPCI-e slot - but this has nothing to do with RunCore mSATA itself, it is simply the fact that current Sandy Bridge & QM67 chipset architecture support only 2 SATA3 ports, other 4 ports are SATA2.

My conclusion is - not suitable for W520 owners while only SATA2 speed, on the other side too expensive for 120GB to be running as 2.5'' SSD in Slot 0/1, the money would be better invested in larger, 480GB SSD with SATA3 or maybe in the future successor model to W520 (W530?) would have more SATA3 ports.

 

@wolfindersteppe

Thanks for taking the time to do this - I've been waiting to see what the actual max speeds of this card would be, definitely not worth the extra cost for me if the performance is the same as SATA 2 devices. Much appreciated.

 

have you had any trouble with the vertex 3? Freezes, bsod's, etc?

 

No, I have applied this Solution: C300 Disk Freeze-ups in Windows 7 solved... - Crucial Community registry fix.

 

yeah i did too but i kept getting bsod's. 2.09 was the last firmware i tried and that didn't fix it so i sent it back. that was the fastest drive i tested in my machine and the as-ssd score i got was pretty much the same as yours. I have the 2920 so that may have something to do with it.