W530 Owner's Thread

Any inside news when the 3740qm or 3840qm processors will be available for W530 ?

 

Does it really matter? According to the Intel website specs, the only difference I see between the currently available 3820QM and the 3840QM is 0.1Ghz clock speed increase on the CPU core, hardly something you will really notice in day to day operations. TPD and instruction sets look identical on both. I wouldn't bother waiting for one, just get what is currently available. Unless your waiting for Haswell.

 

Does Ivy Bridge really matter?

Every year one hears the same thing.

 

For most Ivy Bridge is probably not a big enough jump to warrant an upgrade if you already have a decent Sandy Bridge CPU, if you use integrated graphics then it was probably worth a look as the improved GPU in Ivy Bridge is said to be around twice as fast but that was about it.

Regarding Haswell, some people are always waiting for the next biggest and greatest cpu to be released. I tend to just buy what does the job for me here and now.

 

I don't know if this is the right place to ask about my W530 problems ? I recently received my W530 and tried to upgrade the stock hdd to ssd (samsung 830 7 mm). I did the clone of the system from the hdd to the sdd using Farstone and now all of the metro apps of my windows 8 pro x64 did not run if I boot into my ssd driver. The apps would run smoothly if I boot in to the old hdd (I still leave the old system in the hdd just in case the sdd did not work and that how I know the metro apps work with the hdd). Another problem is I have to set the ssd as the first boots in bios in order to windows to use it as the system driver (I cannot swap the physical position of the physical hdd and the sdd as my samsung 830 is only 7mm while the lenovo hdd is 9mm). The last and worst thing is all recover and rescue functions now did not work if I delete the windows from the hdd. I really appreciate if someone can share your experience with upgrading ssd for lenovo w530. Thanks

 

I don't know anything about Farstone, but my guess would be something with the cloning process is amiss. You might want to try making the recovery discs and using those to install the OS on the SSD just to see how it goes.

 

i've now a clevo p170em , big fat 17 laptop...and i want to chage it with a lighter notebook...

the w530 have knowed problems ?

the xrite colorsensor works good or is much more better an external one ?

 

At a guess it sounds like Farstone may not be copying the hdd NT signature, which is often used by Windows for restore points and recovery options, also some software uses it in the licensing process. I don't know anything about Farstone software but that would be my guess. Try Arconis True Image, it's what most of the experienced user here use. It will let you clone the sigs.

When cloning is done right, which is not hard with the correct software, it should be a simple matter of swapping one drive for another and powering ON your laptop. Something is not right with your cloning processes.

 

No issues that I know of, least not with the FHD display which is what I have. Unless your getting the built-in colour sensor for a really good price, you may just want to use an external one. That way, you can use an external calibrator not only on your laptop but also on your other LCD displays.

 

Hello guys,

Just received my W530 with FHD screen and looks like 2 inches from top to bottom all the way from left to right are darker on solid colors (most noticeable on windows 8 login screen with dark green color) it's quite annoying if you have poor lights in your room, also if I set screen at 180 degrees I see orange/red lights leaking from the top of the screen assembly (spot near webcam).

So my question: is my screen defective or all screens behave like that...?

PS: I have Dell XPS 15 L501x with FHD screen and you cannot compare it to this one, w530 screen looks like some low end sh*t that you will get with 5$ laptop.

Update: some low quality photos:

 

It appears that your W530 screen is defective.

Yeah, the W530 FHD screen, really good as it is, can't compare to the FHD screens on the XPS 15 L501x and L502x. (Those are glossy, though.)

 

Hey all,

I just bought a new w530 off of ebay with a raid configuration that I was trying to price check on the Lenovo site but I couldn't find a way to select a raid configuration. Anybody know where to find it?

I'm looking forward to using this machine - It will be my first ThinkPad. I've upgraded my 3 1/2 year-old Vaio's processor, ram and HD and there's just not much more I can do to speed it up. I've been running my new Samsung SSD at Sata 2 speeds and it just got to be too much to bear.

Here's my specs:

Condition NEW
Processor i7-3720QM
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit - English
Total Memory 4GB (4GB x 1) PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz
Hard Drive 2 x 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drives
Display 15.6" Full HD (1920 X 1080) LED Backlight w/ 720p HD Camera
NVIDIA Quadro K2000M 2GB or Intel HD Graphics 4000
Optical Drive None
Battery 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Wireless Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
Multicard Reader 4-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Integrated Camera YES
Fingerprint Reader YES
Bluetooth YES

 

You could add the mSATA, which will be quicker than RAID.

 

Not only that, but it (SSDs in general) would be more reliable than RAID 0 anyway.

 

Well, technically, SSDs in Raid 0 are really, really fast and I keep pretty good backups. But I've already bought the system on eBay, already have an SSD and I've already ordered an mSATA (I do like to have some options ). I won't be trying out the Raid unless I find another great deal on a 2nd 512 SSD. I was mostly interested in doing the price comparison. But as I said, when I went to the Lenovo website, I couldn't find the option to see what the price difference is between the Raid enabled w530 and a standard configuration - if there even is a difference in price. I will be getting 2 500gb hard drives and no optical drive - maybe the price is the same?

 

Assuming that you buy both drives from Lenovo's configuration, there's no price difference between two HDDs in JBOD and two HDDs in RAID. However, you have to specify RAID or no RAID when buying from Lenovo, since they need to configure the RAID in the BIOS; ie, an end user doesn't have the option to "switch on" the RAID.

Anyway, technically two RAIDed SSDs are fast (as far as seq. read/write is concerned), but subjectively I doubt there's any difference unless you're doing large transfers between SSDs all the time. Random access times should still be the same, and that's what give a SSD its "snapiness". But I digress.

 

Yeah, that's kind of being hashed on plenty of other threads. You've answered my question about price. Thank you! To be honest, the ebay seller kind of hedged on the raid configuration so we'll see . . .

But I still can't figure out why I can't get the option to show up in the Lenovo shop.

 

Configuration options change all the time. At one point, the RAID option showed up in the "DVD" section: one may select either the optical drive or the second HDD sitting in an UltraBay caddy adapter with RAID turned on in the BIOS. It appears that RAID is not being offered.

 

I just wanted to give some quick feedback regarding my W530.

I have had this laptop for 4.5 months now and it's the best laptop I have owned.

The FHD screen is good with it's large gamut but not what makes this laptop great as there is better displays out there.

For me what sets this laptop apart is the build quality, very solid feel and performance. I use it for business and it's the type of laptop that can take the bumps. The keyboard is great and the speakers with DHT are not bad at all. Lenovo Power manager is a great tool, that helps to get the most out of the battery, which is actually very good for a high performance unit like this. I use the 9 cell battery and can get around 5 hours from a full load.

The i7 3820QM is a beast of a CPU and having the option for up to 32GB ram is great for people who run VM's. I strongly recommend installing a decent SSD or at least getting the mSATA cache option if you can't afford a SSD for now.

Anyway, for anyone thinking of buying a W530, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

Is the mSATA port running at 3 Gbps or 6 Gbps on the W530?

 

SATA 3 Gbit/s.

 

This disappoints me. I feel like it's not worth it to get an mSATA SSD for a boot drive, simply because it won't be used to its fullest potential.

 

There's little practical difference between SATA II and III.

 

Kindly explain.

Precisely why I thought it deserved mention here, just to warn everyone.

 

Warn us of what?

 

The only practical difference between SATAII and III is higher seq read/write speeds, which is only relevant if you're transferring lage, GB-sized files from one SATAIII SSD to another SATAIII SSD. In any other situation, you won't subjectively (and sometimes objectively) notice a difference. Random access time, which is what makes SSDs feel "snappy", are the same across the board for SSDs. Opening programs will take about the same time for both. Etc. etc.

After having both an Intel 320 as my main drive, and then replaced that with an Intel 330, I don't notice any difference between the two.

 

Which really means if you want to use a mSATA drive for a boot drive, go for it.

 

Yes, my R60e using a SATA I connector seems just as fast as my X220i with SATA II mSATA SSD. At times it seems faster due to the fact it's running Linux, which has lower overhead than Windows 7.

 

I just got my system and it turned out not not have a raid configuration after all, which is fine.

I've definitely enjoyed getting this baby configured and have to agree that the build quality seems really nice. One of the reasons that I veered towards the Lenovo brand was because it was one of few that still has a keyboard without the number pad. Setting the keyboard off center never seemed right to me. So the keyboard was important and this keyboard it really nice.

I also really appreciate the fact that Lenovo has complete manuals available for dis-assembly and configuration. Putting in the new ram, SSD HD and msata chip was very straightforward.

The screen is a major step up for me! Very clean and crisp and easy to read even with smaller font sizes.

I already had an SSD in my old system that I've moved into the main bay to replace the original Toshiba (which will land in my old system). I've saved the secondary drive (an Hitachi) and set up a small (32gb) msata to cache that drive. I wasn't able to get windows to recognize the Samsung msata with the Intel RST drivers (I tried 11.02, 11.06 and 11.07 drives but no go)..So I'm using the MS drivers which seem to be working fine. My preliminary benchmarks didn't really see much difference. I'd appreciate any insight as to why the RST drivers don't see the Samsung PM830. . .

I didn't really see it documented but I managed to split the msata into 2 partitons by creating an NTFS partiton before installing the ExpressCache software. I had to manually create the cache partion using ' eccmd -partion 2' after the software was installed. I'm using the NTFS partion as the location for temp files and pagefile.sys. My thinking is that I will take some of the write demands off of my main ssd and possibly increase the life of the larger investment - the main drive. The cache is using 12gb out of 16gb available so it seems to be working fine. Essentially, I'm just experiment to see what works . . .

I made a backup image when I first powered up so that I could do a test install using the original drive and then come back with a clean install using the same image on my SSD. Both runs went very smoothly for me, with Lenovo and MS running updates happily and without issue. Really, my only issue has been with the Intel drivers. I also can't really complain too much about the amount of bloatware that I've had to get rid of. ( I guess it's a given that Norton will be installed. At least it's easier to uninstall than it used to be.) I would have installed Chrome, Skype and Splashtop Streamer without their suggestions. I only growled over "Nitro" something opening a *.pdf before I'd installed Acrobat Reader. . .

I'll start using it to actually work tomorrow and maybe add more comments. Thanks to those who've helped me make what seems to have been a very good purchase!

 

So the SATA II speeds shouldn't make a noticeable difference compared to SATA II speeds. Interesting... Anybody know of a respectable 128GB mSATA for $100 or less in Canada?

 

Does newegg.com serve you guys north of the border?

See Newegg.com - Intel 525 Series Lincoin Crest SSDMCEAC120B301 mSATA 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Internal SSD

 

In Canada, we have newegg.ca. The drive you posted is a tad expensive, but I've seen the Crucial m4 on newegg for $115, and I'm just not sure about it.

 

I use a couple of those Crucial M4 mSATA SSDs. Nothing wrong with them.

 

Hi I'm stuck at deciding on a w520 and w530. Has anyone used both?

 

What are your priorities? The W530 offers only incremental improvements in terms of CPU/GPU over the W520. So, if you prefer the old keyboard, go for the W520. Get the FHD screen if possible.

 

I have. Both have their pros and cons, mostly centered around the keyboard.

My hands-on reviews of both:
Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Review
Lenovo ThinkPad W530 Review

 

Did you test the W530 with the Lenovo docks to see how well it supports multiple external LCD panels?

 

thanks very helpful, best comparison review I've read. I do actually use esata so I'm leaning towards the w520.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any docks whatsoever. So I couldn't test that.

Thanks! I also use eSATA quite a bit with a hard drive dock, so it's pretty useful for me as well. Though I plan on keeping my W520 just for the keyboard alone (ignoring the other features). Display is excellent too, probably one of the best you can get in the TN world.

 

Be aware the W520 only supports two external displays.

Also, the W520 has a rather interesting history of suddenly shutting off. Static discharge is believed to be one of the reasons due to a poor chassis design. I don't believe anyone has ever gotten to the root cause of the issue.

 

Hello,

Do you know if the W530 with dual core i5 and the Nvidia K1000M uses the same fan/heatsink that the W530 with quad core i7/K2000M or the T530 fan/heatsink?

Beause in the HW manual p92 : http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/t530_t530i_w530_hmm_en_0b48474_01.pdf
The heatsink for W model seems better/bigger/stronger.

Thanks,
Krum

 

2 displays is fine with me. But I can't lose my data. Is this like < 5% of the users experiencing this? Right now I'm quite happy with my t61, lg wuxga, 2.7ghz t9300 dual ida , sata 2 bios, 8gb, ssd. I'm running an esx server on my main rig and just rdp to my vm for any intense work needed. Just need to play with remotefx on one of my vms. I think if any company brings out wuxga again they'd own 1/3 of the high end laptop market. I'll take any other recommendations on laptops that can take 32gb of ram for my vms.

 

My ThinkPad W530 could support 2 U2713hm, 1 U2412m and an internal FHD LCD. It maybe able to support another LCD, but i haven't tried.

 

I have no idea what the defect rate is, and you can bet Lenovo won't disclose that. The won't even acknowledge the problem.

See W520 shuts off intermittently, no BSOD or shut dow... - Lenovo Community

 

I just got a perfect W530 on Craigslist for $875!!
3 year warranty
3.3 quad core
12 gigs of ram and k2000 card.

its pretty nice

i wish i had the better screen.

also the W530 can game surprisingly well, i had issues with the graphics card switching to Nvidia with optimus so i enabled Only discrete graphics in BIOS.

After that I am able to play Planet Side 2 at medium perfectly with max view distance. I could probably push it further.

In other games like League of legends, or Company of heroes... the laptop fan barely spins

overall a pretty good buy.

 

It definitely games well (with the K2000M). I've found it's quite capable when playing Starcraft 2, Skyrim, Portal 2, & Civilization 5.

 

Is anyone using the Intel Rapid Start Technology/Lenovo 30 Day Standby? I installed the iRST Manager (the ASUS version) and have it running and functioning alongside the Lenovo Power Controls in Win7x64. It's really a nice improvement on standard Windows hibernation. My only issue is that I can't figure out how to maintain the "On" setting between reboots or resume cycles. Otherwise, it works pretty well.

I'm really not sure why Lenovo seems to suggest so many obstacles to configuring this. They say that the system *must* be unpluged and that the 3 Hour timer is not configurable but that isn't at all what I've found. I've also found that having the Power Controls installed does not keep the iRST manager from setting the timer.

If I recall correctly, changing the setting in the bios and making the above quoted registry change does allow the feature to work without loading the iRST manager *if* you uninstall the Lenovo Power Controls *and* you have a hibernation partition already set up. But I don't know of another way to manage the charging level of the battery (for battery health) besides the Power Controls application.

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing about anyone else's experiences with iRST and the w530.

 

You could just blow it off and not use it. Speaking of which, what is the current drive configuration in your W530?

 

Yeah, it all started when I thought about getting rid of the hibernation file and reading about the whole new 'hibernation partition' thing - now I'm kind of hooked. The resume time is about 7 seconds which is way better than standard hibernation or just restarting. I'm used to using hibernation and I can live with having to verify that it's on . . . for the time being, at least.

As far as my drives, the Samsung in my sig is my system drive ( w/ 1.4GB system drive & 16GB Hibernation Partion). I have a Hitachi 500GB 7200 in the ultrabay. I've also been playing with mSata chips and right now I have an OCZ Nocti 120GB (w/ 32GB ExpressCache partition & 80GB data partition). I had tried a Samsung 32GB chip but the Intel Rapid Storage drivers wouldn't recognize it. Now I have s an issue with the OCZ and ver 11.7 RST where the SD card reader drivers won't load unless I set the bios to use "Generation 1" SD card settings. I'm not very happy with the speed of the OCZ chip . . I think I'm developing a bit of a 'Goldilocks' complex around the mSata chips . . .

 

Sorry, I don't have sigs turned on because they usually just clutter the screen.

If I had your config, I would not mess with the Intel Rapid Start stuff unless you run a lot of programs that take a considerable amount of startup time.