Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

[wtlloyd]

Are you able to switch display gamuts on the W520? Specifically, is there an sRGB and a separate wide gamut (Adobe or proPhoto RGB) choice? Would you be able to profile the display separately in these different gamuts?
Or is it just all one....?

I can since I have tested both. The sensor on the palmrest for the W520 only tests a single location on the screen. It does a reasonable job and at $70 isn't a bad deal for someone that just wants some color, gamma and brightness correction.

External sensors and calibrators do a better job. They will test 5-8 different parts of the screen. Once purchased, they can be used on multiple machines and monitors. In fact, some will calibrate more than one monitor at a time and understand docked versus undocked situations. But you pay a lot more for the external sensors with those capabilities. I use the Spyder3Elite which can be purchased for less than $200. I think I paid $175.

[Mech0z]

Anyone know the difference in outdoor useability between standard X201 Tablet display and W520 FHD?

[plympton]

Does anyone know if you order a W520 with RAID if they include the DVD-drive or not? It seems like you are paying quite a premium for the RAID option (when it is a "$0"), if they don't include the drive as well.

And yes, I know you technically shouldn't be able to use it, but it's an academic question. How would they expect you to load software?

[ukieandrew]

Does anyone know if you order a W520 with RAID if they include the DVD-drive or not? It seems like you are paying quite a premium for the RAID option (when it is a "$0"), if they don't include the drive as well.

And yes, I know you technically shouldn't be able to use it, but it's an academic question. How would they expect you to load software?

I have ext Lenovo DVD/RW I can connect to USB. I did not order RAID, I thought I will configue it on my own later. My laptop should arrive on Monday and now I do not know what should I do...

[BDKC1]

Thanks AESdecryption, for the link. Unfortunately, Provantage, like Newegg, is back ordered on the Intel 310 series msata (80 G).......until May 30, they say.

Have you thought about using a regular 2.5" SSD instead? You can get a 120GB Sata III drive for close to the same price as the mSata Intel 310,

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

If you need a regular HDD too, you could put it in an Ultrabay adapter.

Advantages are:
1) more capacity options
2) better performance
3) slightly easier install (keyboard removal not necessary)
4) easy to remove HDD for better battery life in certain situations

[Usul99]

[QUOTE=hrana;7411458]Your system looks fine. It's a matter of preferences.

* The cost of a added the i7-2820QM over the i7-2720QM for a measly 0.1Ghz is not worth the cost.

* I'd rather you got 1 4GB DIMM and upgraded using all the memory kits we've posted in this thread. On sale, you should be able to buy another 12GB of RAM (3 4GB modules) for a little over $100 for a total of 16GB of RAM.

* If you must spent the difference in cash, then I'd put into an on-site warranty. With a Depot warranty you'll have to mail in your notebook for any repairs which means you lose 7 days of work. If you have a backup machine that might not be as big of a deal but for some of us losing a primary laptop at an inopportune (traveling, etc.) time can be disastrous.

* Or you could spend the money you'd save by getting an Intel 80GB mSATA drive for a bit of extra performance until you buy those SSD replacements.

* Finally, pickup a Panasonic UJ-242 blu-ray burner for less than $200 on eBay.

Those are only my preferences... if you're happy with how it's configured then go ahead and buy it. Also, I'd call in. Chances are you can get a 3 year on-site warranty and ThinkPad Protection thrown in for free like I did.


I'm planing to buy a W520 in the next two days with similar specs. You do bring a very interesting point "* The cost of a added the i7-2820QM over the i7-2720QM for a measly 0.1Ghz is not worth the cost. ". Most people are getting the i7-2720QM for that very reason. On the ThinkPad W520 manual it does state that the CPU can be "serviced/replaced". What motherboard model does Lenovo use for the W520? What is the FSB Speed? If it can handle the i7 Quads with DDR3-1066/1333/1600, does it mean that the chipset supports up to 1600 FSB and future CPUs of that speed? Do you guys think it would be worth the upgrade?

On another note. If I'm understanding the RAID options "because of the threads on the subject, thanks guys!" correctly. I can choose RAID (0) and add 1x micro SSD drive later . My order will consist of 1x 500GB 7200rpm drive "in the primary drive bay" and on a later date. Use 1x micro SSD drive in the PCI-Express WWAN "mini" slot as the boot drive. Is this possible and is it the best option? I want to keep my optical bay available for a Blu-ray dive.

Any comments would be great! Get up too 35% off on Lenovo's Canadian site, use "CAPEASTERBUNNY" eCoupon, savings end April 25. Enjoy!

Lenovo - Easter Bunny Sale

[commander]

I want to try mSata SSD too, exclusively for the OS. Do you think that the performance will be OK? I also want to put something like Intel510 to the main HDD bay exclusively for my work files (big graphic files) and then I want to put the standard 500Gig HDD into the ultrabay for multimedia.

OR I can put the OS on Intel510 and buy this Amazon.com: MyDigitalSSD 128GB 50mm Bulletproof mSATA (Mini SATA PCI-e) SSD - MDMS-50128: Electronics and put work files here, but I know nothing about this drive and also its quite expensive.

The last thing is, if I go by the first way, if Intel510 is not an overkill and for example Intel320 would be enough. What do you think?

[kirayamato26]

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on this with the CAPEASTERBUNNY as I am Canadian:

ThinkPad W520 - $1091.30 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Ships within 9 bus. days

Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3,1333MHz FSB) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.4GHz1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)12
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED backlight Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) No Fingerprint Reader
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD Recordable5
9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery60
None
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty7

Future planned upgrades include:
- Another 4GB Module of RAM when they are on sale
- A SSD when they are mainstream
- A BD burner when they are mainstream
- Maybe a mSATA SSD

Yes, I know the 2620M is a dual core. The same configuration with a 2720QM is about $100 more. For my purposes (will be a computer engineering university student), i.e. note taking, office productivity, and some gaming, a quad core would be overkill anyways. Any comments?

[drunckenmonkee]

I want to try mSata SSD too, exclusively for the OS. Do you think that the performance will be OK? I also want to put something like Intel510 to the main HDD bay exclusively for my work files (big graphic files) and then I want to put the standard 500Gig HDD into the ultrabay for multimedia.

OR I can put the OS on Intel510 and buy this Amazon.com: MyDigitalSSD 128GB 50mm Bulletproof mSATA (Mini SATA PCI-e) SSD - MDMS-50128: Electronics and put work files here, but I know nothing about this drive and also its quite expensive.

The last thing is, if I go by the first way, if Intel510 is not an overkill and for example Intel320 would be enough. What do you think?

One thing to keep in mind is that the mSATA does not support SATA3. So if you are already planning to get an SSD for the main HDD slot, I don't know what the benefit of using the mSATA slot would be unless you really needed that additional 80gb but with that in mind, you might as well go for a slightly larger SSD in your main HDD slot then.

[drunckenmonkee]

I have ext Lenovo DVD/RW I can connect to USB. I did not order RAID, I thought I will configue it on my own later. My laptop should arrive on Monday and now I do not know what should I do...

I'm not positive about this but I've heard that if you didn't order your laptop with a RAID configuration, there is a good chance that you cannot activate this later as the non-RAID laptops ship with a different motherboard that doesn't have a RAID controller.