W530 vs. W520

They just won't ship you an optical drive if you opt for a HDD. You can buy an aftermarket Ultrabay adapter and your own HDD and get the ability to switch between the ODD and HDD.

 

Disable it and pull out the rubber cap?

 

I just tried configuring a W530 - gives you an option of:

No color sensor

and:

No color sensor w/Bezel

What's up with that??

 

The big question with the W530 will be whether it also throttles on battery like its ancestor?!

 

Is that a good or a bad thing?

I would think it could go both ways - but hopefully this aspect can be user-configured...

By the way, the docking stations offered are only 90 watts max - so is this a comparable chip in processing power??

I just had one delivered about 3-4 weeks after ordering it - would they accept it back for a refund if I wanted the W530? (I understand that one has to pay a restocking fee - any experiences of having that waived?)

 

Well, for me, it was an awful thing with W520 that I finally returned it after exchanging a couple of machines and gave up at the end and waited for the new lineup. I was about to get convinced by some people on the W520 forum that this is 'by design' and 'it save battery', pla pla pla and that any machine with same specs would throttle on battery but after testing machines from Dell and HP myself with exact or higher specs (including 2nd and 3rd generation Intel processors), I do not think one should deceive himself and accept it as a fact or change it to an advantage!

 

No, there is actually a dock with USB 3.0 that is 170W. My experience is that they will accept the return and waive the restocking fees if you are placing a new order and just explain nicely why you are doing that.

 

Thanks for the info!

However, some of the new specs on the W530 do not seem to be very well thought out...

 

So its finally happened...chicklet keyboard. Well I guess there will be no more thinkpads in my future.:banghead:

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Is the battery life increase that big between W520 and W530?

Because if the X220 vs X230 gives any hint: X230 gets 521 minutes in NBR's test, X220 gets 527 minutes. That's a 1% drop

If it's the same with the W series, battery life is no reason to wait for W530

 

Many people are saying it might be slightly better. I don't know, as I haven't used either, but looking at pictures, I like the design of the chiclet better anyway. It's more uniform, than the old keyboard, not to mention it looks more modern. And the keys they got rid of, I'd never use anyway. Just my two cents.

 

Yea, anyone who shells out 2 grand for a new laptop probably isn't likely to criticize it in any way.

But to call the new keyboard BETTER than the old one (that made the Thinkpad a legendary brand that even people not interested in computers have heard of)? 1 less row of keys, and Print Screen between the right Alt and Ctrl? Really...?

I mean - I'd probably end up caving and getting either a W530 or T430 sometime.. but I'd never claim the new keyboard is BETTER. It's just got so little thought put into its design. One could conceivably get used to it, and be productive with it (not disputing that), but there's no way it's better.

 

When i say people have said better, I more meant the physicality of it, not necessarily the layout. But I think the layout is better. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I respect that my opinion is not everybodies.

Anyway, what is the single most improved thing on the W530 as compared to the W520? Whether hardware or software?

 

That's a good question. It's probably the hardware. At full performance it's energy usage is down compared to the W520.

You get that, but you loose the 7-row keyboard and the eSata port. All of that with a price premium.

 

Well, that's Intel's doing. What does Lenovo add on top of that? Any significant improvements from the W520? Any known problems fixed?

Because there is no color sensor. If you want one, config with the second option and eventually you may be able to install a color sensor yourself when it becomes available. (Remove the rectangular piece of plastic from the rectangular hole in the palmrest.) Nice, eh?

 

Received my W530 yesterday. I am switching from a W701 so the keyboard feels small. We have ordered W510, W520s and they were decent. The new keyboard does not feel bad at all. The position of the PrtSc is weird for me . Actually the typing is pretty good overall.

I got the 2438-2MU with the Extreme CPU and K2000. This has the color sensor, but I do not have a need for that. I added my own SSD in it (Actually moved it from my old mahcine) so I cannot comment on the software. I have in the past disabled the Optimus in the W520 as it had issues, plus we had a hard time figuring out how to use it with projectors. as it did not run in duplicate mode or the other , I forget. This one I have not tested yet. Nothing much has changed in terms of the machine itself. The harddrive it came with was a 9mm wiht the rubber bumpers thickened. but the cavity is same as the W520. it doe sloose the Esata but get 2 USB3 Intel ports and a firewire port. Te display port is now a mini display port instead of the larger one. Power Adapter is the same as 170W in W520.

I wish the screen was higer res like the apple , which actually at this price point would have been a better choice as the Macbook Pro video card is about 15% better GT650M compared to the K2000. Too bad my boss would never allow me to buy the macbook (I would use it as a PC though since ALL my major apps are in Windows, Revit, 3DSMax etc) The Retina screen would have been sweet.

 

Lenovo fixed multi-monitor support, which was broken in W520/Qx000M. If you need to get more than 2 external monitors, without additional devices, W530 is the way to go (and with desktop use you don't care about the keyboard layout changes, as the good old USB Keyboard with Trackpoint 55Y9053 is still there). Lenovo ThinkPad W530 Optimus - Quad Multimon - Keith Combs' Blahg - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

CPU is a bit faster, GPU is faster and battery life is better too. Lenovo ThinkPad W530 - mini review - Keith Combs' Blahg - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

The only real drawback is the lack of eSATA = you can't connect a fast SSD and get 250MB/sec, it will be quite a bit less with USB3. And the keyboard, although there is a small hope to get the old one back as an option.

 

I'd say the sound is the biggest improvement. Every single review I've seen of the W520 says it has horrible audio, whereas the W530 sounds pretty good.

 

Sound on the W520 is just garbage, period. Nearly tinny, no bass whatsoever, and they're quiet. W530 is a complete 180 from that.

As for the keyboard, the keys themselves are actually the same size as the older keys. The only objective difference between the two is the placement of several keys (Print Screen on the bottom-right. Really Lenovo?!). Of course, people coming from older Thinkpads will love the older style, though that's not to say that the newer keyboards are complete trash. But if I had to choose, I'd stay with my W520.

I explain more in the W530 I just finished. I'll post when it comes online.

 

Installing Dolby Home Theater drivers to W520 significantly improves in the department. I wonder if audio-related hardware is different between the two.

 

I don't see those drivers on support.lenovo.com for either machine. The W530 comes with Dolby Home Theater v4 for Professionals.

 

They aren't official for W520, but work fine. http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/657971-dolby-home-theater-your-thinkpad.html

Sound quality, even with this, is incomparably worse then even Logitech Z205 USB speakers. I wonder if Lenovo had upgraded the actual speaker hardware in W530.

 

Is Dolby Home Theatre royalty free and thus the drivers and software is freeware? When I looked at the Dolby site a little while ago it didn't seem to be.

In other words, the install thread for the W520 might be technically illegal. I really don't know. I am not a lawyer.

For the W530, make sure you keep a copy of SWTOOLS. I assume it's there. Someone can confirm.

 

I've just installed the Dolby drivers for my W520 and it works just fine. Sounds similar to the W530 imo.

Didn't have to pay a cent for it, too.

 

What link did you use?

 

Used the NBR guide written by 600X (linked in power7's post above ours).

 

If I post a copy of VMWare Workstation 8 on mediafire.com, does that make it free, too?

 

Yes. Duh, it's mediafire.

 

Just like if it's on BitTorrent it must be free and legit.

It appears Lenovo licensed Dolby Home Theatre v4 for the W530. I'm not sure about the ThinkPad W520 so it's the reason I asked.

Being in a forum thread here doesn't make it legal, and if it is illegal, it should be removed.

 

To everyone reading this,

I would ignore the detractors and simply use the Dolby drivers if you have a W520. I use them on mine, and have nothing but extremely good things to say about them. I do not, however, have a W530 (yet!) and cannot comment on whether this perceived difference in audio quality is due to the default drivers, or actual difference in hardware.

Having owned (and still CURRENTLY own) at least 2 pieces of every single Thinkpad series released since the T43 era, I would be surprised indeed if Lenovo actually decided to put better audio hardware in this current incarnation. They're certainly cutting costs in every way possible, and audio is certainly not high on the priority list of their biggest customers.

The Dolby drivers were posted openly on the Lenovo official forums, by one of their appointed 'Gurus', and was even commented on by Mark_Lenovo. I have no doubt at all that it is not illegal (gasp!) to use them on a machine that isn't a new series W530 or T430.

For you guys who bought the new W530 (a group I'll no doubt join within the next few months), congratulations on your purchase. You do need to realize that (unless something changed REALLY recently) buying a new model basically means you get updated CPU and GPU; things like audio, screen, heat dissipation, and other important factors are normally NOT in the deal. In fact, very often these issues become worse during a model transition. One case in point is the movement from T60p to T61p, which lost the Flexview screen option. I do not have a T61p (have 2 T61's, 1 widescreen and 1 4:3), but am pretty sure that the WUXGA in the T61p is similar to my W500's (ie, total crap).

Of course, it's entirely possible that Lenovo in all their wisdom actually fit better speakers in the W530, than the W520. Just saying that it'll not only go entirely against the norm of the past few years, it's also something that I've never noticed in years of buying new Thinkpads. Certainly not the 'complete 180' turnaround some users have mentioned, and having installed the Dolby drivers myself I would say chances are, this perceived difference should be software-related.

Here's the link on the Official Lenovo forums for the Dolby drivers:

W520 Sound Enhancement Thread - Page 8 - Lenovo Community

 

Subjectively-speaking, I felt that the W530 has *much* better audio quality than the W520. While I did have a review unit, I didn't completely disassemble it to find out what physical speakers they now use (didn't do that for my personal W520 either). Maybe Lenovo did put new ones in there, maybe not. Only thing I know for sure is that the drivers are different.

Whatever the reason, the newer Thinkpads have better audio than the older -20 series. Headphones are equal between the two; I'm just talking about the built-in speakers.

 

There is the audio device ("sound card"). There is the audio device driver. In some cases, there is also sound enhancement software. Finally, there are the speakers.

Of course, if the speakers are cheap to start with, no device + driver + enhancement can make them sing. But I want to point out that there are more than just speakers.

 

Ah, okay. Don't know a lot about audio except for what comes out as the final sound. Not much of an audiophile

 

No problem. Actually, the issue at hand is more about computer design than being an audiophile. When the IBM PC was introduced, it had one speaker and was capable of making one sound: beep.

 

[nostalgia]Yes. Which didn't stop people from playing multi-voice music with it. Via software. It was completely groundbreaking at the time: http://www.oldskool.org/sound/pc/#digitized .[/nostalgia]

 

so it's been out for awhile. Has anyone owned both, is the w530 much better or marginally better. I need to get a w520 or w530 for working with VMs.

 

We have both in my company. The W520 GPU implementation isn't our favorite because it is limited to two external panels. The W530 will drive four. If you have that need, definitely get the W530.

If you need eSATA, that was removed on the W530.

 

thx Thors. So there is only a marginal difference between the two? Does the w530 run much cooler are the 3rd gen i7 much better than the 2nd gen on the w520? I actually don't keep up much with notebook cpu, chipset etc.

 

lead_org probably has the best answer on that. He has some fancy thermal measurement cameras and equipment so he might have already documented the differences. I believe he has both machines.

He is a frequent contributor here. His website is at Think.Scopes.