Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

[ukieandrew]

Hi was looking around for reviews on the w520 and I ran across this, Lenovo ThinkPad W520 4276 (42762QU) - Laptops / Notebooks
slightly better deal than if you were to upgrade it online including the 10% discount from LOGICBUY10

It is not a good deal.

[hgeblome]

Extra "u"? Ive found the parts list in the repair handbook re the keyboard, any idea why there are 3 FRU no's listed?:

U.K. English 45N2100 45N2170 45N2240

That was a feeble attempt at humor (or "humour" as you might spell it). I didn't realize there was a UK keyboard (we use the same alphabet after all). Is this to accommodate the £ symbol?

[hrana]

hrana: please post about the 1600 RAM. I haven't purchase my extra RAM yet and would like to know if there is significant difference and if mixing and matching will be an issue.

My machine's ship date in 4/21. It's coming via UPS Ground. By the time I order the RAM and the machine gets here it could easily be the end of the month. I'm just giving everyone a heads up but I *will* post the RAM experience.

A Quadro 5010M Would be great! Otherwise ViDock it is. Do you think higher CPUs will be available for the w520?

We'll never see a Quadro 5010M in the W520. If Lenovo hasn't killed of the successor to the W701ds then it *could* show up in that but I wouldn't count on it. The 5010M will be in HP and Dell 17.3" workstation laptops.

It's fairly obvious that nVidia has shifted their strategy with mobile workstation GPUs. It is no longer a game of putting in the fastest part in a machine. They now suggest various GPU models based on screen size (and as a result resolution). The trade-off is between good-enough performance for the resolution for today's software versus battery life. Power hungry parts like the 5010M will be recommended for 17.3" notebooks where battery life is less of a concern. The fastest recommended part for the 15.6" market is the 2000M. While I'd like the option of having a 5010M in a 15.6" system by a Tier 1 manufacturer, it seems like people like me are in the minority.

Does anyone know what the difference between UK and US keyboards is?

There are a few differences in key placements. You might want to Google or Wiki for an image to compare (EDIT: nevermind I attached an image below). Also, the UK keyboard has a pound symbol versus a dollar symbol. They should be easy enough to change. Years ago I picked up a 17" Dell XPS monster laptop in the US for a friend in the UK. We swapped the keyboards without too much of a hassle.

That was a feeble attempt at humor (or "humour" as you might spell it). I didn't realize there was a UK keyboard (we use the same alphabet after all). Is this to accommodate the £ symbol?

There are quite a few differences. The main one that annoyed me was the "@" symbol. I found an image below of UK keyboards as I remember them.

[shashu]

Yeah, and to get the bigger Enter ("return") key. Theres a used on eBay for £1.59 (pocket change) so might just see if it works/is in decent condition.

Im getting a 4276-2QU - $1977 exc. VAT when it arrives in the UK. Anyone got any ideas if/how I could get a better deal? I'm pretty sure there's no way I can use visaperks outside the US.

[shashu]

Oops that's actually just for one key. But yeah, theres a pic of w520 UK keyboard layout in the auction 45N2170 English Key IBM T400 T400s T410 T410s T510 W510 | eBay UK

Still a bit confused as to why there are 3 FRU part no's listed in the parts list, and whether there is any difference between them

[hgeblome]

My machine's ship date in 4/21. It's coming via UPS Ground. By the time I order the RAM and the machine gets here it could easily be the end of the month. I'm just giving everyone a heads up but I *will* post the RAM experience.



We'll never see a Quadro 5010M in the W520. If Lenovo hasn't killed of the successor to the W701ds then it *could* show up in that but I wouldn't count on it. The 5010M will be in HP and Dell 17.3" workstation laptops.

It's fairly obvious that nVidia has shifted their strategy with mobile workstation GPUs. It is no longer a game of putting in the fastest part in a machine. They now suggest various GPU models based on screen size (and as a result resolution). The trade-off is between good-enough performance for the resolution for today's software versus battery life. Power hungry parts like the 5010M will be recommended for 17.3" notebooks where battery life is less of a concern. The fastest recommended part for the 15.6" market is the 2000M. While I'd like the option of having a 5010M in a 15.6" system by a Tier 1 manufacturer, it seems like people like me are in the minority.



There are a few differences in key placements. You might want to Google or Wiki for an image to compare (EDIT: nevermind I attached an image below). Also, the UK keyboard has a pound symbol versus a dollar symbol. They should be easy enough to change. Years ago I picked up a 17" Dell XPS monster laptop in the US for a friend in the UK. We swapped the keyboards without too much of a hassle.



There are quite a few differences. The main one that annoyed me was the "@" symbol. I found an image below of UK keyboards as I remember them.

I think the shrunken left shift key would trip me up the most.

[hgeblome]

Oops that's actually just for one key. But yeah, theres a pic of w520 UK keyboard layout in the auction 45N2170 English Key IBM T400 T400s T410 T410s T510 W510 | eBay UK

Still a bit confused as to why there are 3 FRU part no's listed in the parts list, and whether there is any difference between them

Actually, all the keyboards have 3 FRU numbers. I would call Lenovo and ask.

[shashu]

I'll call Lenovo tomorrow

[Chandler1224]

I am thinking to get a w520 with RAID 0. Does anyone know if I can upgrade it to RAID 0 SSDs by simply replacing HDDs to SSDs in the future?

[Thors.Hammer]

I am thinking to get a w520 with RAID 0. Does anyone know if I can upgrade it to RAID 0 SSDs by simply replacing HDDs to SSDs in the future?

I don't think any of the RAID controllers support data management and TRIM.