T520 Review

I have finally received my T520 and considering there aren't so many T520 reviews I wanted to share my first impressions.

Configuration and Performance

I took advantage of the recent Lenovo "DOORBUSTER" sale and ordered a fairly powerful machine. I have core i7-2720QM quad core, FHD wide-gamut display, NVidia 4200M with Optimus, 8 GB RAM (added 4 GB), 80 GB Intel 320 SSD (also aftermarket upgrade), Intel Advanced-N 6300, and other goodies. All this cost me just about $100 more than the T420 that I had to return because of the screen quality.

OOB, the machine was quite responsive. The CPU rarely got utilized for more than about 25% even under a moderately heavy load. I have changed a few CPU- and power-related settings in the BIOS and clean installed Win 7. That's where the problems began. Choosing the balanced option for the fan in the BIOS lead to the CPU throttling problem that has been discussed on this forum, so I switched the setting back. Also, choosing max performance for the CPU in the BIOS resulted in the CPU being at its highest stepping all the time, which I also fixed by going back to "optimized" ( update: all the CPU problems have been solved in BIOS 1.28).

I installed the SSD and the additional RAM, but for some reason, I no longer see that snappiness that the SSD provides (e.g. it takes some time for Firefox and other apps to launch). I checked whether TRIM is enabled, and it is. I can't quite tell what is causing the problem so your input would be appreciated ( update: solved - see below).

Also, even though others suggested that the T520 with a quad core would have USB 3.0, mine doesn't have one ( the T520 does not come with USB 3.0).

UEFI Only vs Legacy BIOS

I have tried both the UEFI Only and BIOS installations and the legacy BIOS boot indeed takes longer - ~34 seconds for the legacy BIOS vs 23-25 seconds for UEFI Only. This is from the moment I press the power button to a usable desktop. I have ended up setting it to legacy BIOS for now to see how the machine behaves and will probably be switching to the UEFI Only mode in the future.

Size and Build Quality

Size-wise, the T520 seems to suit me better than the T420. After working on the T520, I realized that its smaller sibling would be too small for me. My laptops do not travel that often and for a desk computer, having a small screen size usually makes me slouch. Also note that the T520 (if configured with a quad core CPU and NVidia) comes with a 135W adapter, which you don't really want to be carrying around.

Overall, the laptop feels very solid, but I have a few really minor gripes about the build quality. OOB, the laptop had a scratch on the bottom, which shouldn't be acceptable for a factory fresh machine. Furthermore, if you try to flex the laptop, there is no flex whatsoever but there are creaks that can be heard. I didn't have that with the T420. Probably, it's due to the larger size of the laptop.

Another cosmetic annoyance is that the rubber "feet" on my machine are not level and the laptop literally stands on three legs and wobbles when I put my hand on the palm-rest. I have a piece of cardboard under one of the feet now. Please, let me know if you know of a more elegant way to solve this problem ( update: solved - see update below).

Heat and Fan Noise

The laptop stayed relatively cool even under moderate load. HWiNFO32 reports an average CPU temp of about 42-47 C with the ambient temperatures of about 75-82 F. Under load (not extended), the CPU temp climbed to 65C max, which is relatively cool.

The fan stays on pretty much all the time, but at around 2600 RPM it's quiet. It does spin up under load, but it's not loud by any means. Now, here is my major complaint: As reported by other T520 and W520 owners on this and other forums, the T520 suffers from the pulsing fan problem. The fan would spin up and down for a brief moment every 5 seconds. This is quite annoying. Especially, considering that this problem has affected ThinkPads since 2003-2004 (e.g. T43) and Lenovo engineers should have learned how to write the instructions for the embedded controller by now (see http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Embedded_Controller_Firmware or http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_with_fan_noise#Acceleration_.28pulsing.29_problem). I have posted a thread on Lenovo Forums hoping to draw Lenovo tech people's attention ( update: fan pulsing solved - see below).

Display and Optimus

The Full HD screen is gorgeous. It is high-contrast, bright, and doesn't have the griddiness that the T420 has. I haven't seen blacks looking so black on other displays. Colors literally pop and may look over-saturated due to the wide gamut. However, I used the color profile posted on NotebookCheck's W520 review page and used it as the system default and now colors seem accurate. Please, note that not all apps color manage so you will still see some over-saturation in certain applications. Google Chrome is one of such apps that do not color manage. That's the reason I decided to use Firefox (there is an add-on that allows you to load ICC profiles or use system defaults), and now colors look great when I browse the web. By the way, I like both Firefox and Chrome so this was not a major problem for me. For video playback, I opted for Media Player Classic Home Cinema as it seems to be the only media player to offer color management.

As for the Optimus, the NVidia card seems to be dormant most of the time, which is good. You can see when your dedicated card kicks in by using the Optimus Test Tool ( Optimus test tools finally in users hands - LaptopVideo2Go Forums) and that does happen that often. In my case, Nvidia card only kicked in when I launched a 1080p movie. Also, this may be related to the Optimus drivers loading on startup, the screen flickers a few times during the boot.

Battery Life

Looks like I could squeeze about 4.5-5 hours out of a fully charged 6-cell battery with light loads and screen at 13/15. With a Full HD movie and NVidia on, the battery holds about 2.5-3 hours.

Conclusion

Overall, I am happy with my purchase. The screen, the power of a quad core, the dedicated graphics that only kicks in when needed are major advantages. However, I have small gripes about the build quality and am still trying to figure out what causes low responsiveness of the system and applications that started happening after the clean install ( update: slow responsiveness solved - see below).

I am also hoping that if those affected by the pulsing fan problem can nag Lenovo support, they will acknowledge the problem and make fixes to their controller. I hope this will not take as long as in the case with the T43 (took them about 4-5 years to release a BIOS update that supposedly fixed the problem). And I don't really want to use TPFC as I don't really know how it affects the machine (temps, stability, Optimus, etc.) ( update: fan problems solved - see below).

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Update 1: To those who focus on the negatives in the review, please, read the conclusion. Those drawbacks mentioned in my review are really minor and can happen with any item that is mass-produced. They definitely do not cause any functional issues. Overall, this is one of the best laptops I have ever owned. Especially, if Lenovo fixes the fan problem (please, let them know that the problem exists though), the T520 will be just perfect By the way, I used my wife's nail polishing emery stick/file (or whatever those are called) to shorten one of the rubber feet and now the laptop is level.

Update 2: Looks like installing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver and rolling back to BIOS v. 1.21 seems to have solved the slow responsiveness problem.

Update 3: To solve the Firefox slow start up problem (which may due to the Optimus), disable hardware acceleration under Firefox Advanced Options.

Update 4: To solve the slow transition between blacks and whites (response time?), go to Intel HD Control (right click on the desktop > graphics properties > power > maximum performance) (courtesy of namaiki). To make your speakers louder, right-click the speaker icon in the right bottom corner of your screen > playback devices > speakers > properties > enhancements > check loudness equalization (courtesy of infinus).

Update 5: The fan pulsing problem has been resolved in BIOS 1.28. The fan also works at lower RPMs than before. There are also no problems with either the CPU throttling, speedstepping, or Turbo Boost. Everything is working fine with the new BIOS.

Here is the link to the BIOS 1.28 discussion thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/595753-official-t520-bios-1-28-thread.html

Finally, I have a laptop, which I am 100% happy with.

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The 135W AC adapter is 1.83 lbs. Wow, that is an anchor.


Also... that 520 is a mighty beast.

 

thanks for that review! you definitely convinced me to go uefi only on my w520 when it gets here

 

Considering I have only just ordered a very similar set of options, the review has ruined my day! If I have as many problems with my new machine, I will be returning it!

In particular, I worry about the comments on heat and noise and responsiveness associated with the quad-core. I have been checking reviews and asking for advice on this forum for days to help me decide on 1) gpu 2) cpu - and decided that other than under heavy load, the quad should be just as miserly as the dual - yet have reserves, with its higher TDP, for extreme situations. After this review, I now am worried that the i7 quads 2630QM and 2720QM are inferior for other than extreme needs to the high-end dual i7-2620M? (as well as having a much bigger mains "brick"). I hope when I receive my T520 I have a very different experience; otherwise I will know that i will have made a wrong choice of cpu. But according to their blurb, Lenovo do not appear to accept any alterations to changes to an order once made?

I wonder if after clean install the SSD and windows are configured right? On my much older and lower powered system with a 2-year old SSD, everything mundane is almost instant and silent. I would expect the same in a new system. I turned off things that SSD's dislike, such as background defrag (!), background virus and spyware scanning, system restore, file indexing, etc etc...

I chose the T over the W mainly because I didn't want the more powerful dedicated extreme gpu.

As for usb3, it should have been clear from the specs that it is a W-series feature.

I have never experienced the now infamous "pulsing fan". It sounds awful! I will have to see.

When i chose my W500, I depended largely on the advice of the wonderful Keith Combs (his review of a quad-core W520 is at Welcome to Windows Live. His quad-core report is very very positive, compared to the one above. I hope his review is closer to the reality i will have. (smile and sigh)

 

Hey Antskip. If you opted for a quad core, I don't think you made a wrong bet (although mine is different). It is indeed powerful. The slow responsiveness may be due to a number of things that are not CPU-related. Btw, I did disable defrag, system restore, hibernation, indexing, so I would guess it's possibly power management-related. Again, before the clean install, the machine was working just great. Another thing I would suggest you do is hold on to the original BIOS. I also tend to think that it's the new 1.25 version of the BIOS that might have messed things up.

Re: "the review has ruined my day! If I had as many problems with a new machine, I would be returning it!", I wouldn't say that my review has anything that should hold anyone from buying the T520. Besides a few minor things, such as the non-level rubber feet and the scratch, the machine is solid. There are no perfect laptops and you can find flows in any of them. And the minor gripes that I have in my review can't outweigh the advantages of this beauty: e.g. performance while staying relatively cool and quiet, the amazing FHD matte screen, Optimus, best typing experience, reliability, etc. I just can't tell you off the top of my head if any competitor offers this range of features at a comparable price.

But again, my main complaint is the fan acceleration/pulsing and my dissatisfaction is mostly due to the fact that this problem dates back to the era of the T40/R40, T41, T42, T43 (I used to own a T43), etc. and it is unclear to me why Lenovo would make the same mistake with the T/W520 after so many years of user reports/complaints whereas the solution seems to be trivial - fixing the BIOS embedded controller firmware.

 

Hello ferganer20! Thank you! Your follow-up comments have cheered me up no end. I have been obsessing about your details but (to me) dark review for hours. I love my W500, especially its exceptional keyboard and its many design features (like thermal management). Coupled with an SSD, I love the Thinkpad. The only real problem with the W500 is the weak (though detailed) screen, a problem the new FHD screen on the 520 and 520 series should fix. After your experience, I will just tweak the system as I receive it (smile) But really, with a modern SSD, everything should act almost immediately, the internet connection permitting...

As for fan pulsing - you mention it is a long-standing problem with Thinkpads - but I have not seen it on my W500. Maybe it is not there or, if it is, I am not sensitive enough to notice? Maybe a further bios update will fix it. The past two years I have been impressed with Lenovo's ongoing work to improved existing machines...

The feet issue worries me - and the scratch should not be acceptable at all in a new machine. And why the need to have the feet anyway? (though I already rest my Thinkpad on an ergonomic / heat-dissipating alloy stand, which lifts everything above the desktop). I don't like the sound of them at all - especially if they are not perfectly even. Seems like another instance of poor quality control.

Anyway, I will receive my new T520 with curiosity and report what I experience. I will configure the SSD and Windows with the many settings I have found work optimally for my W500, and go from there. I will know then what I have (smile/sigh)

 

The W520 has optimus, it's not dedicated nvidia graphics, just clarifying.

Until the EC firmware is improved I find tpfancontrol very usefull in reigning in the fan.

 

I understand the W520, like the T520, has optimus (switching between the integrated/internal gpu and the dedicated/external gpu - I have an earlier version in my W500) - just that when optimus switches to the dedicated gpu of the W520, it is to a very powerful unit compared to the one on the T520, a gpu of a similar range to the one I am used to in my W500.

 

Re: "As for fan pulsing - you mention it is a long-standing problem with Thinkpads - but I have not seen it on my W500."

The pulsing fan problem seems to affect only some models. Here is a link to a wiki: Problem with fan noise - ThinkWiki .

I didn't have the problem on the T420 and haven't seen anyone reporting it on the latest iteration of ThinkPads other than the T/W 520. That makes me think that Lenovo unintentionally (?) made the same mistake while scripting the EC firmware.

 

infinus, how is tpfancontrol treating your machine. Any issues with overheating, throttling, noise, graphics switching, etc?

 

On the version that's on the author's website I had a minor issue of the fan stopping entirely from time to time even when the machine is under load. He made a version specifically for the EC on the newer machines, one of my past threads contains links to it. It handles the EC much better (I never see the fan stop unexpectedly anymore) but the program is a bit more quirky. He did a bunch of things to try and handle read errors from the EC it looks like (basically adding in a hystoresis affect). The new version is also only in Celsius at the moment. I'd consider it kind of a beta but I trust it more than the original version while under load. I customized the .ini fan speeds to my liking and am happy with it.

Ultimately I'd rather leave it to BIOS control but I really don't like the quirks in Lenovo's code right now. Eventually if I have my machine booted for awhile it'll spin my fans to 3000 rpm and never drop them.

As for throttling, I actually get LESS throttling with tpfancontrol. The hotter the CPU gets the more it reigns back on turbo boost. With tpfancontrol I can set it to ramp the speed of the fan up to a level beyond what the EC will ever command. If I'm running BOINC with 100% CPU and GPU (I have the 2000m on a W520) loads under BIOS control the temperature will climb to right around 200 F, with no turbo boost dialed in. With tpfancontrol, the fans ramp up higher and I sit around 180-185F with a little turbo boost still in play. The W520 with 2000m under full load is dissapated right around 120-130 watts of power according to my kill-a-watt.

 

Bumping this up to report the following.

- The fan pulsing problem has been resolved in BIOS 1.28. The fan also works quieter, at lower RPMs than before.

- There are also NO problems with either the CPU throttling, speedstepping, or Turbo Boost. Everything is working fine with the new BIOS.

 

Ferganer, why would the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver help?
Isn't that a raid driver - only useful if you have multiple HDDs?
What am I missing here?

(I need to know because I have a similar problem - I pulled back on some of the services, etc., and although the computer seems faster at a number of things, it has a delay before programs open (and before the cntl panel opens as a menu, although it opens right away from a link).

 

@ Wombat Pete

Frankly, I can't tell you why. I reinstalled all the drivers and played with all possible settings cuz the slow responsiveness was driving me nuts. Many trials and errors later, I installed the RST driver and it helped. At least, I think it was the RST. It is possible it was the BIOS as I installed the RST and the BIOS at the same time. Or maybe the combination of the two.

 

OK, thanks. I'll try it!
Why not?

 

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology — Product overview

Intel Rapid Storage Technology provides benefits to users of single drives as well. Through AHCI, storage performance is improved with Native Command Queuing (NCQ). AHCI also delivers longer battery life with Link Power Management (LPM), which can reduce the power consumption of the chipset and Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive.

 

Hi Ferganer, how are the speakers on the t520? I've seen lots of reviews online about the w520's muddy, low volume, muffled speakers. Since the t520 is the same chassis (or so I've been told), was just wondering how the sound is. Thanks! Excellent review!

 

Great review! Can you comment on the graphics performance on the T520 vs the T510 and its NVS3100? I've got a T510 and the 3100 GPU is a bit of a downer.

 

Overclock it.

 

I find the sound on the T520 to be more than adequate for my needs (I watch movies and listen to music only occasionally). It is pretty loud and accurate (see the review for how to improve the sound). But it's no substitute for a set of good speakers if you are into watching movies or throwing parties. This is a business machine and you shouldn't expect a home-theater like sound performance. Again, it is on par with most of the laptops I previously owned (e.g. Sony FW).

 

Sorry, I never owned a T510. I owned a multimedia-oriented Sony FW590 with a dedicated 1gb vRam and I can say that the T520's Intel HD3000 performs the same if not better than the GPU on the Sony. Never had any GPU-related lagginess or other issues.

The Optimus Nvidia card should perform even better but it is hardly ever used as there is no need for it with my day-to-day usage. Note, however, that I don't play games, at all. But from what I read, the 4200M should be fine with mid-range games at high settings or more resource-hungry games at medium settings.

 

HUGE. You get epic reps, sir. Thank you!