Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

Overclocking reminds me of drag racing.

 

johnksss gets excellent CPU scores, but I don't see any PCMarkVantage or PCMark 7 scores.
Unlike "synthetic" benchmarks, PCMark 7 and PCMark Vantage simulate a typical productivity scenario.

The fastest notebook (Clevo X7200) in this recent (10/14/2011) Anandtech PCMark 7 comparison got a PCMark 7 score of 4,868, which is only 6% faster than my W520:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4954/alienwares-m18x-part-2-amds-radeon-hd-6990m-in-crossfire/2

Could you let me know your PCMark 7 score?
http://www.pcmark.com/benchmarks/pcmark7/

EDIT: I just received johnksss PCMark 7 score from him: 5,824 PCMarks - a new World Record for Laptops!
http://3dmark.com/pcm7/193538
(too bad the Lenovo BIOS does not let W520 users overclock their i7-2960XM to 4585 MHz)

 

Just like to reiterate how they are indeed still synthetic benchmarks.

 

Is it possible to disable somewhere the pop up that comes when you push/pull the wireless button?

 

The W520 cannot be overclocked. At least so far I am not able to overclock my 2920xm W520.

 

It is on AC power, but I will try to update to 1.32 when I get home

 

If you have the Lenovo Power Manager CPU setting on Turbo yet your machine sits at or below 800MHz, then it is defective and needs warranty work. I am assuming when you say it is on AC power that it was cold booted that way and you have not removed the power cord then plugged it back in.

 

Why should turbo not work if I pull the power out and in again, thats the whole ponit of me buying a docking station so I can have mobility and then power when I dock it in..

 

New updates have just been posted (1 Nov 2011) at the Lenovo drivers & Software matrix:
Drivers and software - ThinkPad T420, T420i, T420s, T420si, T520, T520i and W520
Particularly:
BIOS 1.32
Power Manager 3.64
Power Management Driver 1.63

 

same problem here!!I have 2720 2000m and 1.32 bios. Anyone has any idea?

 

I use 125% DPI, I find it works well for me.

For sound on the W520, see this thread:
W520 Sound Enhancement Thread - Lenovo Community

In particular, the instructions about half way down page 8. It made the sound on my laptop 100x's better.

 

any reason not to choose RAID option while configuring W520 at lenovo.com? looks I'am not actually need it, but when I will sell it it can be bonus for somone + one day I could decide to use raid.

so here is question, is there any downsides if notebook configured with raid? worse performance with non raid setup or some issues? (must be there some reason, why they don't configure all w520 with raid by default)

 

DVD will not provide if you choose RAID.However DVD is useless nowadays. You could even install your OS from USB disk. Another reason for RAID is the original adapter from Thinkpad rather than one from ebay which probably from China. You should aware that W520 provide us with SATA 6Gbps speed which needs a high speed adapter to max its performance if want to use an 2nd SATA Hard Disk.

 

I am trying this one
W520 TurboBOOST not working on battery or after up... - Page 29 - Lenovo Community
Download ThrottleStop 4.00 Free - Performance Adjustment Tool for Core 2 / Core i CPUs - Softpedia

 

Well you don't get the DVD player/burner for one, but I only use that for installs so I have a nice external for that. You'll have to remove the extra drive and reinstall the OS if you want to free the ultradrive bay for a BD player or the like.
But yes I think it's silly that you can't just order it with the RAID chipset, but they cater to business folk, not tinkerers like me.

 

So true

The M18x R1 with 580M SLI is an amzaing machine. Johnksss is also known for really pushing what a machine can do. We are lucky to have him.

 

yeah this is what i got on pc vantage with a machine that i've been using for 6 months.They were done on different days but i'm not sure that matters. Not sure i'd even want to overclock since this is my
work pc.

NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 19736 PCMarks

NVIDIA Quadro 2000M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor,LENOVO 4270CTO score: 4587 PCMarks

 

Ask Lenovo at W520: Speedstep not working properly (on battery)!... - Lenovo Community

It's their bug. Of course they may say it's "by design".

I was just pointing out that you are making blanket statements that leave out details. Turbo works correctly from cold boot on AC.

 

This scenario is fixed in the next BIOS release. There was a bug in the embedded controller firmware in which going from cold boot on battery to AC would result in a CPU throttling to 800MHz. TurboBoost will be available on both battery and AC with that update. There will be a permanent restriction (power agenda) on battery with TurboBoost only being available when the IGP is utilized. TurboBoost was basically corrected in BIOS 1.32.

 

I have yet to see anyone publish a comprehensive test plan and results with the 1.32 BIOS for the W520. I certainly haven't seen all the ones I can think of in the thread at BIOS 1.32 released for W520 - post feedback here - Lenovo Community.

I think it's way too early to declare it corrected.

 

All the scenarios for TurboBoost were addressed by BIOS 1.32 with the exception of the cold boot on battery to AC which is corrected by the updated new embedded controller firmware in the next BIOS release. This should finally address all of the throttling issues.

 

Actually, I just ran that test case and about seven others. Cold boot on battery then back to AC works properly on my machine.

Looks like this puppy is finally fixed. It only took 8 months.

 

What is the level of your embedded controller?

 

Thank you for pointing that out. It actually works Good job!

 

You could always take your CPU back to 3GHz in all combinations with ThrottleStop. However my 520 only slows down when I do a cold boot only with battery in which situation the CPU will stuck at 800Mhz after you plug in the AC adapter. After this happen you could simply start ThrottleStop and it will be OK. If I boot it with both AC adapter and battery, nothing is wrong. So I assumed that when you boot your W520 the system will probably run a power test for your lap. If the power supply is not enough then the BIOS will make a notice to this situation. After you plug in your AC adapter, a bug from a BIOS will prevent the lap from jumping out of the initial situation. That's why we need to use ThrottleStop to send it an order and bring it back.So the final solution is a correct BIOS from lenovo. I will keep on testing my W520s. Another 2630QM to go. I will update ASAP!

 

I assume that question was for me. I am on 8AHT36WW (1.18).

 

Thank you.

 

Those are nice scores. I decided to sit this generation of CPU's(i7 2nd Gen) out when it comes to benchmarking. In the Alienware threads I find it can be somewhat of an addiction....lol. There's too many games installed and going to be installed in the next 3 months to worry about benching. I'm still trying to rush through BF3. I just bought Sonic Generations and MW3 comes out on Tuesday!!!

Life is too good!!

 

Is anyone else experiencing an issue with the trackpad where it stops responding if some keys are pressed down at the same time? This doesn't affect the Trackpoint.

E: Nevermind, apparently the palm sensitivity feature on the trackpad disables it when keys are pressed.

 

I agree. I do it every month or so to make sure that the changes i've made haven't hurt performance. If I notice a big change in performance I backup,se, reload my image from before and then restore what I need from the backup.

 

I'm trying to put together a W520 with at least a 250GB SSD as the primary drive. Looking at the Lenovo site the SSD options are very limited. Is the only way to accomplish this by buying a stock W520 then do the upgrade when I get it? Strange way to do business or I'm missing something on their site.

 

It's actually much better to buy your own aftermarket parts than to get them from the OEM. Advantages are that you can get a cheaper drive/RAM/whatever, a higher-quality drive (I could have bought an Intel 510 series drive for the price of an OEM Samsung(?) 128GB drive when I purchased my laptop), and it gives you some geek cred (lol)

 

That's your best bet with the ssd anyway. It's much cheaper to buy the ssd from someone other than Lenovo. Lenovo doesn't offer a ssd without extensive testing so that's probably a lot of the reason that the selection is limited. After trying several I would have to say they are making the right decision. If you go with intel it will fit in the drive caddy and should be as stable and reliable as anything you could use. It won't be the fastest but other than the lag on reboot at this point it seems to work pretty much flawlessly. Just make restore disks when you first boot and then install the ssd and load it up. You will be pleased with the results

 

Thanks for the advice. If I go with the Lenovo I'd want to put in at least a 250GB SSD so if you have any advice on what to use I'd apprecieate it. I'd gladly spend more for the best (most reliable). My son's a certified geek...so he'll get the job and the credit...or the blame...lol

 

i'd go with the intel 510 in whatever size you think will work best. It should be rock solid. that's what i'm running now and I don't regret it at all. I tried another brand first that gave a bunch of trouble and replaced it with the 510. Totally different machine reliability wise. I'm using the 250gb and 16 gb of memory. 7 of that is dedicated to a ramdisk.

 

You could also look at the Intel 320 (still a great SSD, especially if you've never used one before. Difference between SATAII and III is really only detectable under benchmarking). You could also look at the Crucial M4 SSD if you want an alternative to the Intel 510. All of these SSDs are reliable. I wouldn't go with anything with a Sandforce controller in it, however (practically everybody else, especially OCZ).

 

I did look at both of the Intel SSD's and a 300GB would be my choice. I really like the W520 but I'm torn between it and the Dell Precision. They cost out about the same (around $3000 decked out) but I've already got two dell docks that would work with a Precision and I'd have to buy two for the Lenovo. On the other hand the IPS screen on the Precision 4600 seems to be having some serious issues and that may be the deal breaker.

Open to any suggestions and arm twisting. Tell me how good the W520 is and how great their support is. Please!

 

I would go with the w520. No comparison in service between Lenovo and Dell service. If it's for business and not play then go with the W520 you will be glad you did. I don't think you can get a better dockable laptop.

 

I have experience using both and if you are okay with Dell's keyboard (personally, I can't stand anything that isn't traditional style), then it's a toss-up in my opinion. Only way to decide between the two would be:

-Support? (poster above me says Lenovo is better, but I have no person experience so I can't comment)
-Do you need an IPS panel or FirePro graphics? (Dell)
-Who will give you a better price?

As for the last bullet, call both Dell and Lenovo to haggle over the price. Call one and try to get as low as possible, then go to the other and say something like "Dell/Lenovo offered a M4600/W520 for $xxxx, can you do better?", then go back to the company you originally called to haggle with the other company's price in mind. Add to that the coupons and discounts out there (like Lenovo's Barnes and Noble discount) and you could save some serious cash. For example, using the B+N discount, an email promotion (10% off), and haggling over the phone, I was able to shave $500 off a $2167 configuration (about 24% off, which is near the maximum possible discount you could ever get anywhere with a laptop). That was also the first time I've ever haggled for any large purchase (I bought my car with cash from a family member).

 

This sh** is making me crazy! I'm stuck at ~35% CPU without reason and can't change no matter what i do! I'm using AC only.

Thanks, for speakers i don't know but headphones... It's mind blowing! The post didn't say it but we have to manually go to device manager and update driver after package was installed...

 

Run resmon (built into Windows 7). You should be able to identify what would cause 35% CPU in a few seconds.

 

any reason to take Wifi 6250 instead of Wifi 6300?

1. better battery life of 6250?
2. less radiation while working? (as 2 antennas generate less emission)
3. better more/stable drivers of 6250?
4. almost the same performance on real day usage?

 

1) If there's any battery life savings, you won't notice it. Both cards take up relatively little energy compared to other laptop parts.
2) Lol, WiFi radiation? You should be more worried about the radon gas in your house than WiFi (or cell phone) radiation.
3) Not sure about this. Intel tends to make good drivers for all of its products. I haven't heard of any problems from 6205 owners, and I've never had problems with my 6300.
4) Depends on the router you're connected to. The 6300 will perform the same as the 6205 unless you're connected to a higher-end router with three antennae. If you're connected to a router with one/two antennae, the extra antennae on the 6300 will do you no good.

However, I would still recommend the 6300 because it's difficult to upgrade a WiFi card later on in a laptop's life (as opposed to RAM or HDD/SSD). It's also very cheap in relation to the rest of the laptop; what's ~$30+ when compared to a $1400+ laptop?

 

Hi,
I have a Dell Precision M6500 with quad i7 xtreme, 32 GB of RAM, stock mechanical 500 GB 7200 RPM drive and a second M4 256 GB that I use for all my VMs -- many at the same time-- and I also have a W520 with very similar configuration

pros to the W520:
- smaller than my 17 inch monster
- superior build quality (they are both nice, but IMHO Lenovo W520 has a better keyboard, mouse stick, sturdier)
- support, support, support --> supper ^ (n+1). Dell support is OK'ish for corporate "at a desk" or N.A. based, try to call them from different regions of the world from one week to the next and might as well drop in in a lake -- useless
- bezel does not come apart as it does on the Dells (lower left hand corner) -- fringe use case affecting road warriors
- in my experience, better screen and more compact

pros to dell:
- all metal finish

cons to both
- power supply, it weighs a TON

 

Oh i forgot : Someone mentioned about trackpad being disabled while multiple keys are pressed, that anonoys me too, but worse : when pressing z+a for example you can't press a third key (gaming)! You just hear a sound supposed to tell you too much pressing at same time i guess... How to fix al that?

 

Thanks for all the Dell/Lenovo comparisons...it all speaks very highly of the W520. Has anyone installed dual SSD's in a 520, one as a boot and the second for data/storage. Was thinking about buying one with the stock 128 and adding a 300 for data and storage. Is it easily done? How would you mount the second SSD?

 

Question for all of those who own W520's. It looks like they don't come with HDMI, but instead DisplayPort. Are you able to get audio to work from a DisplayPort->HDMI adapter?

 

Works as long as you get the right adapter/cable. I got a adapter from startech.com and it works flawless. (The one I got from ICUDU didn't work with exact the same settings so it really boils down to the right cable).

 

Just get a Ultrabay III or similar bay and mount the 2nd disk in there instead of the optical drive. The official bay works for me, it leaves a gap but I'm fine with it.

 

Not much you can do about key jamming. Most non-gaming keyboard will suffer from it.