Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

[hrana]

I got my RAID-enabled W520 today. It has two 320GB 7200RPM drives in it. Nothing stellar but I figured I'd post a HWiNFO32 and CrystalDiskMark screenshots. I'll install the Intel 310 80GB mSATA drive and the first 8GB of 1866Mhz RAM under the keyboard tonight. The modem daughter card was also delivered today. I'll see if it is possible to retrofit it into the modem-less W520. I ordered a second set of 1866Mhz modules today and an external slimline enclosure for an old DVD-RW which should be coming by Thursday at the latest.

Now I juts need to find a briefcase-like bag for the W520 and I'll all set!

[schreibman]

The easiest way is to go into the sound card properties and turn on sound equilization. It's a filter that applies in real time on the sound card. Should boost your volume to a healthy level.

Bass Boost and Loudness Equalization worked for me.

Thanks!

[schreibman]

Hope we can buy just that spacer alone, as I already have the tray.

Ditto, I really find the UltraBay setup to be really janky;my OCD really goes into overdrive when I am stuffing my W520 into my bag and can see through the bay adaptor onto my HDD.
Also, did I miss a step in installing the HDD in the ultrabay? It seems to 'jiggle' a bit if the laptop is in its side.
Yes, I know I shouldn't be jiggling the laptop whilst on its side, but imagine it is in that position when in the back pack.....

[wnuk]

And FYI, I ran tpfancontrol today. Although you can certainly reduce fan noise, it comes with a cost. I don't like the increased heat.

I don't like increased heat too, and this app is called "tpfancontrol" not without a reason - all temperature levels and fan speeds can be changed in tpfancontrol.ini file.

[Thors.Hammer]

I don't like increased heat too, and this app is called "tpfancontrol" not without a reason - all temperature levels and fan speeds can be changed in tpfancontrol.ini file.

Do you have a suggestion for the W520 then? I am looking for the settings that keep the W520 nice and cool to the touch yet run the fans quietly.

Here are the current Lenovo Power Manager plan settings I am using. The W520 runs nice and cool with them, and the performance is still good even in Optimus mode.

[CONTROL]
Schemes=1
CodePage=1252
[PWRSCHM0]
SchemeName=MyPower
Description=
MonitorOffTimerAC=0
MonitorOffTimerDC=1200
HddOffTimerAC=300
HddOffTimerDC=30
StandbyTimerAC=0
StandbyTimerDC=1500
HibernateTimerAC=0
HibernateTimerDC=0
DispBrtnessAC=6
DispBrtnessDC=7
DispBrtnessAC_16=12
DispBrtnessDC_16=14
CpuSpeedAC=2
CpuSpeedDC=4
C4AC=0
C4DC=1
OptiFanControlAC=100
OptiFanControlDC=2
AutoOddAC=0
AutoOddDC=0
GfxPowerSettingsAC=1
GfxPowerSettingsDC=0
CpuTurboAC=0
CpuTurboDC=0
RRateIdleTimerAC=0
RRateIdleTimerDC=900
RRateWhenIdleAC=1
RRateWhenIdleDC=1
DimBrtnessAC=4
DimBrtnessDC=2
DimBrtnessAC_16=8
DimBrtnessDC_16=5
DimBrtnessTimerAC=1200
DimBrtnessTimerDC=600
nVidiaHybridAC=1
nVidiaHybridDC=0
DiscreteGpuTimerAC=9
DiscreteGpuTimerDC=9
Sleep_AllowHybridAC=0
Sleep_AllowHybridDC=0
Sleep_AllowWakeAC=0
Sleep_AllowWakeDC=1
PCI_LinkStateAC=1
PCI_LinkStateDC=2
Multi_PlayingVideoAC=0
Multi_PlayingVideoDC=2
USB_SelectiveSuspendAC=1
USB_SelectiveSuspendDC=1
Desktop_SlideShowAC=0
Desktop_SlideShowDC=1
Processor_CoolingAC=1
Processor_CoolingDC=0
FnF4AC=1
FnF4DC=1
PowerBtnAC=3
PowerBtnDC=3
LidCloseAC=0
LidCloseDC=0
StartMenuPowerBtnAC=0
StartMenuPowerBtnDC=0
RequirePasswordAC=1
RequirePasswordDC=1
LowBatt_AtAC=10
LowBatt_AtDC=10
LowBatt_NotifyAC=0
LowBatt_NotifyDC=0
LowBatt_ActionAC=0
LowBatt_ActionDC=0
CriticalBatt_AtAC=0
CriticalBatt_AtDC=0
CriticalBatt_ActionAC=0
CriticalBatt_ActionDC=3
ReserveBattAC=0
ReserveBattDC=0

[wnuk]

@Thors.Hammer
I currently have three years old Thinkpad R61 (T8100, 4GB RAM, Nvidia NVS 140M) and planning to upgrade to W520 in a next few weeks, so my fan settings could not fit to you. Anyway, my settings in TPFanControl.ini are :

MenuLabelSM1=Smart Mode 1/  

Level=53 0		
Level=55 1		
Level=57 2              
Level=59 3		
Level=61 4
Level=63 5
Level=65 6
Level=67 7
Level=90 64

From my experience, the most important settings for "quietness" and "coolness" are the first two - when fan stops (at my case at 53 Celsius degrees), and when fan starts (55 C). All next fan levels (2, 3 and so on) should be set to fit the first two.
But since the biggest heat producer in my laptop is Nvidia card (so what that is almost four times slower than current Intel integrated graphics) this settings could be "too noisy" or "too hot" for W520, so try adjust those settings by yourself

[Volker]

Also, did I miss a step in installing the HDD in the ultrabay? It seems to 'jiggle' a bit if the laptop is in its side.

Step 1: Add 4 screws



Step 2: Slide screw heads under the 4 plastic notches:



No more jiggling!

[infinus]

I've found tpfancontrol to be a little clunky on the W520. There's something that doesn't seem to play too nice on mine. Here's what I currently use (in F not C).

Level=90 0
Level=115 1
Level=130 2
Level=145 128

I try to keep it simple. I find the fan does weird things while switching between the intermediate speeds. I also pass off control to the bios early while it's heating up because I've found that extended runs forced at level 7 will cause the fans to suddenly shut down for no reason. Under bios control I don't see that behavior.

[RamGuy]

Tried to go through a few pages without any luck on so here it goes.
How is the screen on the W520? I've seen mentioning about the Full-HD panel being RGB-LED and not just white LED? Is this true? How come Lenovo doesn't mention anything about this if it's true, last years W510 Full-HD screen was only white LED.

[shashu]

I did a clean install on my W520 but every time I start Windows I am getting a beep - that is "Default Beep (Windows ding.wav)" - so I disabled Windows sounds completely but now I am getting some kind of internal beep. It's driving me crazy. I have checked the Event Log but I can't really find anything suspect in there. There are a few Windows Update items that won't install. I realise this is a little OT but if anyone can help me I would be much obliged. I'm thinking of doing a complete reinstall, which I hope I can avoid.

EDIT: I've narrowed the problem down to the Bluetooth radio. I have installed the Thinkpad Bluetooth drivers. Devices listed in device manager are Thinkpad Bluetooth 3.0 and Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator. Whenever I turn the radio off/on using fn+F5 I get the beep, and whenever I start my machine up. Connected device (bluetooth mouse) isn't causing the beep.