Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

[dimm0k]

Holy motherf!@#$er... Finally got done reading through this mess!

[Thors.Hammer]

Holy motherf!@#$er... Finally got done reading through this mess!

It could be worse. We could have a W series sub forum and 1450 individual threads.

[dimm0k]

Well after reading through this ridiculously huge thread, I've pulled the trigger on a W520 for the 3rd time! Originally went with a rep that seemed nice and offered me what I thought was the best deal at the time. In the heat of the moment I went ahead and purchased it only to find out through some other reps that I could get somewhat a better deal through them. After too much of what they called "shopping", one rep told me I was flagged and that they all knew what I was doing so my best bet would be to contact my original rep and obtain a better deal with him. Problem is, I tried and it was his refusal that got me to keep looking. I suppose I shouldn't have placed the original order then, but it was too late. Anyway after speaking with this rep I was able to get him to cancel the original order and place a new one using the quote given from another for a slightly better price. What I thought was the best price then turned out to be another falsity when I stumbled upon the mention of the Mastercard Marketplace towards the end of this thread. Signing up for a membership and going to Lenovo through them yielded an even better price! Needless to say I went ahead with an order on my own and now will have to cancel the previous order and ensure the original is canceled at the cost of "burning" my rep. Anyway, what's done is done and with a better final price comes with an earlier ship date and the cost of being sales rep-less. Thanks kimocal and hrana for supplying me with your reps, but before ever contacting them it was too late. I was forced to deal with my original rep...

[Thors.Hammer]

Well after reading through this ridiculously huge thread, I've pulled the trigger on a W520 for the 3rd time! Originally went with a rep that seemed nice and offered me what I thought was the best deal at the time. In the heat of the moment I went ahead and purchased it only to find out through some other reps that I could get somewhat a better deal through them. After too much of what they called "shopping", one rep told me I was flagged and that they all knew what I was doing so my best bet would be to contact my original rep and obtain a better deal with him. Problem is, I tried and it was his refusal that got me to keep looking. I suppose I shouldn't have placed the original order then, but it was too late. Anyway after speaking with this rep I was able to get him to cancel the original order and place a new one using the quote given from another for a slightly better price. What I thought was the best price then turned out to be another falsity when I stumbled upon the mention of the Mastercard Marketplace towards the end of this thread. Signing up for a membership and going to Lenovo through them yielded an even better price! Needless to say I went ahead with an order on my own and now will have to cancel the previous order and ensure the original is canceled at the cost of "burning" my rep. Anyway, what's done is done and with a better final price comes with an earlier ship date and the cost of being sales rep-less. Thanks kimocal and hrana for supplying me with your reps, but before ever contacting them it was too late. I was forced to deal with my original rep...

This is why I would rather buy online and not deal with "humans". I really don't like to play these games.

[damannoa]

Can someone tell me if the full HD display is really worth the upgrade price over the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED? I got the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED because I didn't think it was necessary to get full HD on a 15.6 inch screen. But if someone could advise on whether or not it is worth the extra money I will see if they will change my order.

[kirayamato26]

Can someone tell me if the full HD display is really worth the upgrade price over the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED? I got the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED because I didn't think it was necessary to get full HD on a 15.6 inch screen. But if someone could advise on whether or not it is worth the extra money I will see if they will change my order.

I got the HD+, it's perfectly fine for me. I could've gotten the FHD but decided against it when I thought about how small the text was going to be. The FHD has better colour accuracy and brightness.

[Thors.Hammer]

Can someone tell me if the full HD display is really worth the upgrade price over the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED? I got the 15.6HD+ (1600 X 900) LED because I didn't think it was necessary to get full HD on a 15.6 inch screen. But if someone could advise on whether or not it is worth the extra money I will see if they will change my order.

This probably depends a lot on your eye sight and the role you intend to use the machine for. What will you be using the machine for? Any particular applications that could really use a lot of resolution? How are your eyes?

I have pretty poor vision. Always have. I second guess the FHD purchase all the time but I just run it at 125% DPI to compensate.

[damannoa]

I got the HD+, it's perfectly fine for me. I could've gotten the FHD but decided against it when I thought about how small the text was going to be. The FHD has better colour accuracy and brightness.

By any chance have you compared it next to the FHD screen?
Also I noticed that the specs under your signature is the same one I will be receiving (when it comes in). What is your opinion on the laptop you configured?

This probably depends a lot on your eye sight and the role you intend to use the machine for. What will you be using the machine for? Any particular applications that could really use a lot of resolution? How are your eyes?


I have pretty poor vision. Always have. I second guess the FHD purchase all the time but I just run it at 125% DPI to compensate.

My eye sight is pretty good and I'll be using this laptop for watching movies, games, internet browsing and light photo editing (photoshop and fireworks).

I noticed that most people are getting the FHD screen resolution and was curious as to why. I would hate to get the HD+ and then regret not getting the full screen of the FHD.

[kirayamato26]

By any chance have you compared it next to the FHD screen?
Also I noticed that the specs under your signature is the same one I will be receiving (when it comes in). What is your opinion on the laptop you configured?



My eye sight is pretty good and I'll be using this laptop for watching movies, games, internet browsing and light photo editing (photoshop and fireworks).

I noticed that most people are getting the FHD screen resolution and was curious as to why. I would hate to get the HD+ and then regret not getting the full screen of the FHD.

No, I have not compared it to the FHD screen. However, I've seen some 17.3" FHD screens, and the pixels are too small for comfort in my opinion already, so shrinking that to 15.6" is going to be even less comfortable. I have pretty bad eyes, so I wasn't really keen on making them worse. This is the first real laptop that I've owned (I have a netbook).

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the purchase. It was $1091.30 before taxes. It can satisfy all my gaming requirements (some light SCII and MMOs), and runs plenty fast. 3DMark06 gives about 9230 points. The battery life is good enough for my purposes (6 ~ 8.5hrs, depending on what I'm doing, usually around 7hrs at least on balanced). It feels solid, the keyboard is great, and runs cool for casual use. I have gotten the GPU to throttle (it comes back to normal after a couple seconds), though, while running both Prime95 (4 threads) and Furmark on 1080p burn-in (CPU was around 95C, GPU was around 91C). I can't imagine any single application that would push the system that far, nor am I an avid gamer, so that really isn't an issue for me. I don't use a laptop cooler, so that might contribute to it. I plan on moving this laptop around a lot in university, so I haven't bothered with purchasing one. Yes, I know, it's a workstation and should stay on my desk, and I knew that it was going to be around 6lb when I bought it, but it is still plenty portable as long as you don't bring the brick with it. I have no problems with using it on my lap (much more comfortable than a netbook, actually). Only gripes are the lid flex (although, it is much less than other laptops), and lack of USB ports (would've liked to see 6, but nothing a $5 hub can't fix). And, more on flex, I thought the ThinkPad would've been so solid that there would be literally 0 flex, but that was proven false within the first minute of ownership; though, there is very little flex.

The main selling point of the ThinkPad for me were:
1. The traditional keyboard. A Lenovo chiclet would've been fine too, anything else is a no go for my tastes as a touch typist.
2. No glossy parts. It looks and feels like a real laptop, maybe this is because I saw my first laptop when I was like 5, and that got stuck as the image of what a laptop should look like. I can't help but feel that laptop + glossy parts = (expensive) toy.
3. The reliability of the ThinkPad brand. Honestly, I don't plan on keeping this laptop for more than 5 years and will probably replace it by the 4th year. The longest I've used the same computer for was around 3 years. But, I would like it to run flawlessly for the duration of ownership and be able to withstand a couple of accidents, knowing how clumsy I am.
4. Battery life. I wanted around 8hrs of battery life, and I can get that with the W520.

I think my next laptop will be a ThinkPad, too. It really is great all round, minus the price premium, but I'm willing to pay that for just a no gloss laptop with a nice keyboard.

[damannoa]

No, I have not compared it to the FHD screen. However, I've seen some 17.3" FHD screens, and the pixels are too small for comfort in my opinion already, so shrinking that to 15.6" is going to be even less comfortable. I have pretty bad eyes, so I wasn't really keen on making them worse. This is the first real laptop that I've owned (I have a netbook).

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the purchase. It was $1091.30 before taxes. It can satisfy all my gaming requirements (some light SCII and MMOs), and runs plenty fast. 3DMark06 gives about 9230 points. The battery life is good enough for my purposes (6 ~ 8.5hrs, depending on what I'm doing, usually around 7hrs at least on balanced). It feels solid, the keyboard is great, and runs cool for casual use. I have gotten the GPU to throttle (it comes back to normal after a couple seconds), though, while running both Prime95 (4 threads) and Furmark on 1080p burn-in (CPU was around 95C, GPU was around 91C). I can't imagine any single application that would push the system that far, nor am I an avid gamer, so that really isn't an issue for me. I don't use a laptop cooler, so that might contribute to it. I plan on moving this laptop around a lot in university, so I haven't bothered with purchasing one. Yes, I know, it's a workstation and should stay on my desk, and I knew that it was going to be around 6lb when I bought it, but it is still plenty portable as long as you don't bring the brick with it. I have no problems with using it on my lap (much more comfortable than a netbook, actually). Only gripes are the lid flex (although, it is much less than other laptops), and lack of USB ports (would've liked to see 6, but nothing a $5 hub can't fix). And, more on flex, I thought the ThinkPad would've been so solid that there would be literally 0 flex, but that was proven false within the first minute of ownership; though, there is very little flex.

The main selling point of the ThinkPad for me were:
1. The traditional keyboard. A Lenovo chiclet would've been fine too, anything else is a no go for my tastes as a touch typist.
2. No glossy parts. It looks and feels like a real laptop, maybe this is because I saw my first laptop when I was like 5, and that got stuck as the image of what a laptop should look like. I can't help but feel that laptop + glossy parts = (expensive) toy.
3. The reliability of the ThinkPad brand. Honestly, I don't plan on keeping this laptop for more than 5 years and will probably replace it by the 4th year. The longest I've used the same computer for was around 3 years. But, I would like it to run flawlessly for the duration of ownership and be able to withstand a couple of accidents, knowing how clumsy I am.
4. Battery life. I wanted around 8hrs of battery life, and I can get that with the W520.

I think my next laptop will be a ThinkPad, too. It really is great all round, minus the price premium, but I'm willing to pay that for just a no gloss laptop with a nice keyboard.

Thanks for that in-dept review bud. +1 Rep.
I have been using Thinkpads since 2001 and I will only continue to use Thinkpads. I can't fathom getting a Dell, HP, Acer, etc. It took me a while to finally convince myself that it was time to replace my aging (but still reliable) T43. I was really considering the T420 but wanted something that could handle games decently so I went with the W520.
I got the 80gb intel 310 mSATA drive from newegg which I will be using as my primary drive. I too would like to keeps this thing for a few years before I get another one.