W530 Owner's Thread

Ctrl-Break is used also by the Visual Studio debugger.

 

Unfortunately, the W530 Hardware Maintenance manual doesn't list part numbers (or I'm excessively tired and missed it) like previous generation ThinkPad manuals. Can someone with the new Bluetooth 4.0 module post a part number? Thanks in advance.

 

Samsung 830 Series 256GB is on sale today at Amazon. Ordered one for $195.

 

Uhh... is it BTH\MS_BTHBRB
or
BTH\MS_BTHBRB\7&6F98DB4&0&1

 

It'll be on your build sheet. I'll call Lenovo today and see if I can find a part number.

 

Anyone stick in DDR-1600 MHz SODIMMs and have the system downgrade to 1333 MHz?
I had the minimal memory on my W530 (Samsung 4GB 1333 according to purchase sheet). After I put in Corsair Vengeance DDR-1600 (2x8GB 1.5V), the system (F12 on bootup) says everything is running at 1333MHz
Not that it matters for overall speed but it's annoying that I bought 1600MHz memory only to have it run slower :-(
MemTest86 also claims it's running at 1333MHz...

 

Yes, all of your memory sticks will run at the speed of the slowest memory stick (1333MHz, in your case). If you want 1600MHz, you need to remove the factory RAM.

 

Hi there,

like privatejarhead said, if you mix 1333 and 1600 MHz RAM it will downclock and run on 1333 MHz only.

I have 4 x 8 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 MHz in my W530 and it runs fine on 1600 MHz without changing anything (MemTest86+ also confirms that speed).

Only in battery-only-mode MemTest86+ shows weird clock rates (almost 3700 MHz) but those seem to be a read-out-error of MemTest as it runs without the slightest problem.

Much regards,

Wolf

 

Sorry...braindead typing on my part..my Lenovo invoice said 4GB DDR1600 memory...didn't know it was Samsung until I ran the BIOS diag.

I'm going to try the diags again with only that in and then just pull it out and see what happens since the Vengeance ones are supposed to be 1600.

 

Are the all the same voltage and timings?

 

Voltage and timings won't matter as much as the DDR3 speeds. For iGPU gaming, there's a noticeable difference between 1333 and 1600 (so I'm told), but timings aren't noticeable outside of synthetic benchmarks.

 

It is pretty unlikely to "feel" the difference between latencys (the clock rate is somewhat more "feelable") in the normal use, that's right, but if you do alot of database work in RAM, full encryption read/write and similiar stuff, you can still get a small improvement of it.

iGPU will work a nice bit faster (it can be used for multiple tasks and is energy saving so not bad) with 1600 MHz vs. 1333 MHz RAM. Not that anyone using a W530 with a K1000M/K2000M would use it for gaming, as the Kepler Quadro will beat it easily.

Okay, so they should be all 1600 MHz modules, hmm.

Either the Samsungs (I got 1600 MHz 4 GB Samsung modules with mine, too, but replaced them altogether) are different profiled/latencywise and confuse the automatic setting through the BIOS and the feature which Corsair claims "Auto-Overclock", the chip on the Vengeances holding the basis settings sends improved "standard" settings if used "too low" by the BIOS...

Or the BIOS simply doesn't care what they send but decides to auto-set everything to 1333 MHz because it can't recognize a compatible-to-all-modules (mixed) setting aside from the slower 1333 MHz one.

It's a shame that Lenovo locks their CPU and RAM advanced settings, d'uh. On the other side, they are business machines and they would have alot of kids blaming them because their overclocked i7 3920XM caused a core meltdown like Fukushima if they were accessible so easily.

Still, they could make the RAM latency/divider settings accessible. Not that big/dangerous deal without voltages.

Much regards,

Wolf

 

Yeah, shame that at least the XM quads aren't overclockable.

Also, the nuclear reactors didn't meat down; they were perfectly fine. The flood walls were the failure points, and after a huge flood and the 5th biggest earthquake in the world, I'm not too surprised they failed.

 

This is a bit offtopic, so don't care about it if you're here for W530 postings.

The news there in europe spread, that after several days of fighting the overheating - through failed cooling systems / power lines - cores, one or two reactors were having partial meltdowns to lower building parts?! Even as Tepco declined such things a long time (sure, their money.. hehe).

They flushed them with water the whole time, causing a lot of nuclear radiance which has gone to several places, but it took a long time to cool them enough for a non-critical state.

Its a good thing it didn't end like chernobyl where the molten core had no catch cavement at all and is still (after all those years) hot and not absolutely sealed even with the sarkophagus. But the humans have in the end the most problems with the destruction they cause - nature has reclaimed the area pretty well and alot of animals live there which is a good thing.

I've not seen videos from the near complexes in Fukushima, just one or two amateur inside videos and one "road trip" up to the buildings where the geiger counters were like permanent buzzers with a dose of radiation forcing them to turn around.

People tend to forget quickly what they don't see or feel.. there not much people still think about it anymore. Like "out of the eyes - out of the mind."

Much regards,

Wolf

 

And here we are, talking about CPU/GPU cooling... so that we can game nicely on laptops.

 

Hehe, I had the idea of a compressor chilled laptop in the past, but it's too crazy to build, heavy like hell and consumes like 80 times more energy than the laptop itself.

Better just use, what's available. Those 2011/2012 laptops are very fast compared to even first gen mobile i7's. Only thing missing would be a true x4 optimus capable, easy to set up and reliable on every laptop eGPU connection. Maybe in the future..

Back to topic, I am distracted easily from the point.

Much regards,

Wolf

 

Hi to all. I finally get my Corsair Vengeance 8GB x 2 (16GB) 1600MHz RAM Kit. Now I want to install these two modules of ram. Opening the bay in the bottom, I got access to Dimm 3 and Dimm 4 slots. I suppose the default factory 4Gb of RAM is installed in the slot 1 under the keyboard. There should be also slot 2 free under the keyboard.
In which slot I can install the ram to get dual-channel feature? Can I leave the 4Gb installed and install the 16Gb ram in the slot 3 & 4 and get a total of 20Gb? All the memories are running a t 1600MHz.

Thanks

 

Just got my W530 last night, loving it so far. But does anybody know how to fix the TrackPoint cursor motion so it's smoother? Seems very choppy when using the trackpoint.

 

Hello Roger,

yes, there are two slots under the keyboard, to access them, you have to remove the bottom RAM closure with the 2 screws and unscrew two near to each other longer screws (one in the bottom RAM area on the left side, one on the downside, both marked with little "keyboards").

The MiniPCIe and mSATA slot are also under the keyboard.

To remove the keyboard then, just open the laptop, use two finger nails or plastic cards and press the keyboard "up" a bit in the display hinge direction while trying to liften the front area (where the touchpad sits).

If you press it strong enough, you can just take it out (be careful about the one cable, no need to remove that connector if you are just swapping the RAM, just place it carefully on the palm rest).

About the mixed modules: it should run in dual channel if two modules are placed below the keyboard or in the bottom cover as this is the way, the W530 models with 2 preinstalled modules arrive.

Mixing modules might, like someone else experienced, limit the laptop's/corsairs functionality to run in 1600 MHz mode automatical. Then there's either the possibility to remove the two 4 GB modules or to live with only 1333 MHz, if this case occurs (yes, even if all 4 modules are indeed made for 1600 MHz).

I would place the both Vengeances in the top slots under the keyboard and the two 4 GB modules in the bottom one. This way, if all run in 1333 MHz because of mixed modules, you can easily remove the two bottom modules and reach 1600 MHz without any further change (as tested by me and others, even with 4 x 8 GB Vengeances they run smoothly and perfect in 1600 MHz mode).

One thing to notice: If you mix two Vengeances and one 4 GB (probably Samsung) module, I am not sure if dual channel will work. Maybe it will only work in 1333 MHz single channel mode then, in this case I would surely remove the 4 GB module and maybe replace it with two more similiar Vengeances later on.

Hope it helps!

Much regards,

Wolf

 

Hello K_Wall,

if you use the stock installed Windows or installed your own one with the Lenovo drivers afterwards, you should have a little program allowing you to configure the behaviour of the trackpoint/touchpad.

I didn't try it out myself on the W530 (using external mouse if I work on it) but it still should be there. You can also configure several options over the system control => Mouse settings, which might work independent from the other tools settings.

Much regards,

Wolf

 

FYI I got the W530 with the Quadro K2000M and ran CUDA-Z for you, here are the results:

CUDA-Z Report
=============
Version: 0.5.95
CUDA-Z
OS Version: Windows AMD64 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1

Core Information
----------------
Name: Quadro K2000M
Compute Capability: 3.0
Clock Rate: 405 MHz
Multiprocessors: 2
Warp Size: 32
Regs Per Block: 65536
Threads Per Block: 1024
Watchdog Enabled: Yes
Threads Dimentions: 1024 x 1024 x 64
Grid Dimentions: 2147483647 x 65535 x 65535

Memory Information
------------------
Total Global: -2048 MB
Shared Per Block: 48 KB
Pitch: 2.09715e+06 KB
Total Constant: 64 KB
Texture Alignment: 512
GPU Overlap: Yes

Performance Information
-----------------------
Memory Copy
Host Pinned to Device: 6093.53 MB/s
Host Pageable to Device: 2364.14 MB/s
Device to Host Pinned: 6112.74 MB/s
Device to Host Pageable: 2817.34 MB/s
Device to Device: 11980.6 MB/s
GPU Core Performance
Single-precision Float: 333755 Mflop/s
Double-precision Float: 23828.2 Mflop/s
32-bit Integer: 95151.8 Miop/s
24-bit Integer: 94969.8 Miop/s

Generated: Sat Aug 04 03:20:13 2012

 

Order status says - released to manufacturing and estimated ship date - August 2nd.

This is so frustrating. I've never had this issue before. Anyone else experienced this? What's the point of having "order status" if they don't bother to update it?

 

Thank you so much for your advice and instructions! I placed the two Corsair's ram modules in the slots under the keyboard, then checked by CPU-Z and these are working in dual-channel mode at the speed of 1600MHz, perfect! I taked off the 4GB Samsung default factory module, because it have different timings, so it will not match with the Corsair's modules.

Thanks again,
Roger

 

Hey, what are the best tools for benchmarking my hardware?

Also, the K1000M is much more powerful than I thought. I was able to play Unreal Tournament 3 at 1920x1080 smoothly with the default settings. Mind you, I was playing in singleplayer, but nothing caused any lag.

Also can play Skyrim at 1080p on High Settings fairly well.

 

I typically use FutureMark software for reviews. Stuff like PCMark Vantage, 3DMark Vantage/3DMark11, etc.

BootRacer is a dead-simple way to measure boot times.

Prime 95 to stress test the laptop, make sure none of the components are bad.

 

Yep...exactly what happens to me, even thought the two Vengeances are rated for 1600 MHz and the Samsung 4GB is also rated for that speed.

Total memory is 20GB, but they're running at 1333MHz which is ok w/ me until I get two more Vengeances (G.Skill 16GB 1600's are only $80 this week at newegg but people have reported bad experiences w/ them and a T530)...

 

My laptop shipping date is set to August 6, a bit worried with hearing in several places shipping day just after weekends usually gets extended on a Monday. My 1st Lenovo purchase so far hasn't been so great (Lenovo AU). First they made a mistake and didn't charge my card except the $1 required for verification, then calling support only got me some Asian that barely understood English (I'm not a native English speaker, but work as a software consultant in Australia, none of my clients has a problem understanding my English), then after resolving the issue with credit cards team, I went to track the order in Lenovo tracking page, after few days, the DHL specific tracking information showed for the accessory parts (mouse, backpack, etc..) but not the laptops itself, which is understood as the work required for them is much less, but what I don't understand is that the tracking links all go to some page that keeps throwing several errors instead of data (probably Java exceptions).

I got my laptop with 16GB RAM from Lenovo and got another 16GB Mushkin RAM. Seemed to have good reviews, and low voltage (1.35v instead of 1.5v), and cheap. Anyone tried it on W530 yet? Would I expect a timing issue as mentioned with Corsair? Any idea how to test that it's working with 1600MHz not 1333MHz when I get the laptop?

Also, anyone tried Windows 8 on it? Any expected date for upading drivers or drawback on using Windows 7 drivers until the new ones come?

 

That might just be an issue with the AU branch; over here in the States I've had no issue getting a competent American sales agent.

As for the RAM, I have two Mushkin sticks installed alongside the stock Samsung sticks. After a little over a year of use, I've never ran into any problems with the memory whatsoever. You shouldn't run into any timing issues, and if you do you'll really not notice it (since you'd need some very specific, synthetic benchmarks to actually see it). You could use Memtest86 to check the RAM and also to stress-test it (note that it'll run for several hours).

 

Hey, anybody know of a fix for this issue? I've noticed you can't use the keyboard and trackpad/trackpoint at the same time. I.E. When you're playing a game, and you hold "W" to go forward, you can't move your camera around using the trackpad/point. You can test it out. Put the cursor in a text field and hold down any key, the try to move the mouse. Anybody know of a fix? This is really bothersome.

 

This is likely a feature designed so you don't accidentally move the cursor around when you're typing something. You should be able to disable it under the mouse settings menu in control panel.

 

I've got the K100M, here are my results:

CUDA-Z Report
=============
Version: 0.5.95
CUDA-Z
OS Version: Windows AMD64 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1

Core Information
----------------
Name: Quadro K1000M
Compute Capability: 3.0
Clock Rate: 405 MHz
Multiprocessors: 1
Warp Size: 32
Regs Per Block: 65536
Threads Per Block: 1024
Watchdog Enabled: Yes
Threads Dimentions: 1024 x 1024 x 64
Grid Dimentions: 2147483647 x 65535 x 65535

Memory Information
------------------
Total Global: -2048 MB
Shared Per Block: 48 KB
Pitch: 2.09715e+06 KB
Total Constant: 64 KB
Texture Alignment: 512
GPU Overlap: Yes

Performance Information
-----------------------
Memory Copy
Host Pinned to Device: 6114.4 MB/s
Host Pageable to Device: 2502.33 MB/s
Device to Host Pinned: 6258.12 MB/s
Device to Host Pageable: 2907.19 MB/s
Device to Device: 10174.3 MB/s
GPU Core Performance
Single-precision Float: 190263 Mflop/s
Double-precision Float: 13597.7 Mflop/s
32-bit Integer: 54268.6 Miop/s
24-bit Integer: 54170.2 Miop/s

Generated: Sun Aug 05 13:04:26 2012

 

What RAM is recommended for the W530: Corsair($129.99) Mushkin($104.99) or G.Skill($94.99)? I notice that the timings on the Corsair is 10-10-10-27, as opposed to 11-11-11-28 and 11-11-11.

What do these numbers mean, and is it worth the extra $35 to get the Corsair, or would the G.Skill be fine? I'll be mainly using it for virtualization, so will the G.Skill work, or would it make a significant performance difference to get the Corsair?

 

There's really no need to worry about timings whatsoever; the only important numbers are 1333MHz, 1600MHz, etc (though anything above 1600 is a pure waste). You'll be fine with the G.Skill, or any other known brand. Anything on sale that's 204-pin, DDR3 1333MHz or higher will work in the W530.

For comparison's sake, I have two cheap Mushkin DIMMs in addition to the factory Samsung DIMM and both work great (even if the timings are difference; don't recall the numbers).

 

I read that someone with the T530 had compatibility issues with the G.Skill. I recommend to go with the Mushkin or the Corsair for maximum compatibility

 

What sort of compatibility issues? Seeing as all RAM is pretty much the same these days, I wouldn't see why G.Skill wouldn't work. Link?

 

so guys, what about the laptop quality? im about to buy one with student discount (im portuguese) and i want to know if i can trust on thinkpad build quality since i dont want to send the laptop back to german and pay transportations costs because build quality issues...

thanks

 

It's just as durable as my W520. Only differences between the two are upgraded CPU/GPU/etc and a new keyboard.

Considering that I've dropped mine several times (both on and off, closed and opened), dropped heavy things on it (like the 170W brick from a few feet above), and other nasty stuff, Thinkpads will survive a beating well with out minor cosmetic damage at worst. About the only way I think you can break a Thinkpad easily is if you took a power drill to the display, or sledgehammer to the rest.

 

thanks.. and this model could came with build issues? like the palm rest with the palm rest, etc etc.. i saw a few thinkpads that came with build imperfections and im a bit afraid about that.. my big afraid is that the laptop came with issues (buil issues)..

:/

 

All laptops have the potential to be defective, not just Thinkpads. It's just a chance we have to take when shipping to our doors or buying in store, I suppose.

Mine came with absolutely no defect whatsoever, and even arrived in nine days (I was quoted two weeks).

 

yes, but some brands have bigger possibilities of getting a deffective laptop... i guess ... the laptop would be for 3ds max and solidworks since im studing for industrial designer. im also in doubt about geting the macbook pro retina... can you tell me wich one is more durable and reliable?

 

Business laptops will definitely be more durable and reliable than the rMBP. Not only that, but you can also upgrade parts of the computer yourself if you need to (rMBP's parts are all soldered in. No replaceable parts, period). Aluminum laptops (especially MBPs) will dent (at best) if you drop them, whereas I have no actual damage on my laptop (though I have a small dent from dropping the ~2lbs power brick on the palm rest from several feet up). Thinkpads have an internal roll cage made of magnesium to protect the parts inside, whereas the rMBP doesn't. Thermals will also be an issue in the rMBP since the whole line of Apple laptops are just one giant heatsink (into your lap or desk). Workstations like the W530, M4700, and 8560w all have proper cooling solutions (because they're actually meant for work, unlike the rMBP).

Unless you're required to use OSX, there's no point in buying any Apple laptop for school/work purposes. Your university might even ban OSX and OSX programs, even if the programs you will use are cross-platform; I know my university takes this policy for things like Office and MATLAB for compatibility reasons.

 

couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Thanks a lot... Now im sure it will be a thinkpad...

 

Always happy to help

 

Hi every one,
I'm new in the forum and will be a first-time thinkpad user in few weeks :0

I went through the whole tread to find about RAM memory speed compabitility issues, as I just bought online 16GB 1333MHZ and it seems that it will work along the 4 Gig of stock memory in my future w530 without any issues.

I just want to double check that the laptop will work if I add this 2 dimms in the free slots, for a total of 20GB - othertwice, I won't even open the memory package and will return it:

Product Name: G.Skill DDR3-1333 16GB Dual Channel SODIMM [SQ] F3-10666CL9D-16GBSQ;
CAS_Latency:9-9-9;
Capacity: 16GB(8GB x 2);
Speed: DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600);
Test_Voltage: 1.5 Volts;
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered;
Error_Checking: Non-ECC;
Type: 204-pin SO-DIMM;


privatejarhead: Did I understood you well? Can I upgrade the GPU in the w530? That's awsome!

Cheers,
juan.

 

Hi.
I would like to buy the w530 in the near future. Theres only a few questions on my mind.

1. Since the w530 only has a miniDP which you could use for HDMI output i would like to know which adapter you can use. Most adapters are marketed especially for Apple Products. Does this mean there would be compatibility issues or doesnt this matter?

2. Can you use the official nvidia driver for the graphics card or do you have to use the ones from Lenovo? If so: How often does Lenovo update their graphics drivers? I am asking this because i am using a sony vaio right now and their driver support ist really really bad.

I hope somebody here could help me.

 

1) You could use the Apple adapters if you wanted to. They're pretty overpriced though; I'd check out Monoprice or Amazon to find other miniDP-to-HDMI adapters. Just make sure that they carry the sound as well as the video.

2) You can use nVidia's drivers just fine.

 

Hello Juan,

the RAM should work fine, even if combined with the other module(s), but it will probably run on slower latency settings.

I would've gone for 1600 MHz 8 GB modules like Corsair Vengeances, as they are proven to work with the W530 and are a little bit faster than the 1333 MHz modules.

But if you ain't using especially memory bandwith using programs, you'll not notice it probably. It is also not possible to set the memory speed manually, so if your 4 GB module is 1600 MHz and additional memory is 1600 MHz too, but different timing/latencys, the W530 could still downclock it to 1333 MHz for all modules.

So it is not a big matter, just some slight cons for some users which depend on memory speed and/or latencys.

Upgrading the GPU (= Graphic) in any W510/W520/W530? Should be absolutely impossible, as they are soldered for what I know. The CPU (= Processor) is indeed swappable, but the GPU in W5*0/T5*0 Models? Never heard about them being slotted and removable..

Much regards,

Wolf

 

Thanks Wolf...

Fortunately, I managed to cancel the order so will try to find Corsair Vengeance in Australia (the worst place in planet to buy technology). Thanks for the advise.

Is a 1.35v SODIMM better compared with a 1.5v for a Thinkpad w530 at all? I read in this thread that a user prefered the low voltage one.

Cheers,
juan

 

The difference in power usage between 1.5v & 1.35v is minimal: a couple watts at best, and that's under load. At idle, the difference is less than a watt. However, some folks prefer to save as much power as possible.