Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

[xianking]

Well, if anyone figures out a jerry-rigged way to support 3 external monitors with the W520, please let me know.

[schreibman]

Well, my ship date, which was April 22, has dropped off the web site, and in a chat with Lenovo they indicated it may have shipped, (Yes, I have 2 day shipping) so I am getting anxious.

I ordered an OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA 120G from Amazon ( $301.25), after RMA-ing my Intel SSDMAEMC080G2C1 80 GB Internal Solid State Drive after reading performance reviews here and other places.
The issue is that Amazon is lookin as FAR OUT AS JUNE 6! for delivery.

Does anyone else have some alternative vendors that will ship it ASAP!


Also, am looking into a ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 - 170W, any best vendor suggestions? When the DVI's left and right are in play, does the VGA still work? I know that won't get 3 digital displays, but that would get 3.... (I know, 2 + 1 not always =3)

Finally, any other confirmed Power supply options for Aftermarket? I'd really like to pick up another charger, and an Auto/Air adaptor would be great, but with the new 'tip' on this one I can't find any that are a 'for sure' fit.

[r786]

Heads up... NewEgg has Patriot 4GB DDR3-1333 modules on sale for $34.99 each with coupon code EMCKFHJ29 for the next 90 hours. You could pick up 3 modules for a little over $100 for a total of 16GB of RAM. That's a pretty phenomenal deal for RAM that should work in the W520.

Thanks! I ordered 4 of these, and I'll just pull the OEM Lenovo DIMM and sell it locally (for at least $50)... Sure beats paying Lenovo's price for the upgrade from the factory.

[kimocal]

Well, my ship date, which was April 22, has dropped off the web site, and in a chat with Lenovo they indicated it may have shipped, (Yes, I have 2 day shipping) so I am getting anxious.

My original ship date was supposed to be April 26th. I ordered on April 13th. Mine just arrived. I too did the 2 Day shipping.

I ordered an OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA 120G from Amazon ( $301.25), after RMA-ing my Intel SSDMAEMC080G2C1 80 GB Internal Solid State Drive after reading performance reviews here and other places.

I canceled my Intel 80GB mSata drive too because of the write performance. Found the Renice and also one made by a company called MyDigitalSSD on Amazon. These both have the same specs and performance:

Performance:
- Max Read Rate: 260MB/sec
- Max Write Rate: 200MB/sec

Makes me wonder if they are from the same manufacturer.

[Hedgehog_SBM]

Hi All - this is an active thread!

I was initially deciding if a T520 would be a good machine for me. I had decided that the W520 was more graphics power than I needed, A smaller power brick and less battery consumption seemed far better for my travel/mobility needs. After reading a bunch of threads though, I'm thinking once again of the W520 before making the final decision and order. Perhaps you people can help.

Here is a summary of needs, and present T520 configuration planned.

Should I stick with T520 or go W520? RSVP and thanks.

Here's what I'm doing with it:
- business – office suite, some MATLAB, heavy Outlook use, usual web access, mostly the “publication” end of science work. Heftier calculations would be left to servers, but might want relatively mild MATLAB calculations, and some 3-D graphics (but not hefty CAD stuff).
- docked laptop serves as desktop replacement, carry the laptop off to meetings often and don't want to worry about carrying any power brick. Laptop needs to run quietly (esp. low fan noise) due to use in meetings.


Here’s what I need/value most:

1) Great, matte display – high resolution (so 1920x1080 FHD is a must. Is it very good?)
(I do like the “old” 1600x1200 aspect ratio – but can’t get that anymore it seems)
2) Great keyboard – love my present T42p keyboard – hate flat, mushy keyboards
3) Great battery life with good performance (with WIFI on) – T520 has the 9 cell slice battery. Being able to run > 10 hours with 6cell + 9cell slice sounds GREAT
4) Trackpoint is VERY important – and not some bad substitute that non-Thinkpads have
5) Solid build and feel (one person complained badly about the T410 feeling “hollow”)
6) Quiet fan / overall quiet operation is VERY important (loud fans embarrassing at meetings)
7) on-board camera is a plus

Any help greatly appreciated. Would like to order in the next two days of possible.

------------------------------
Planned configuration:

System components
- Intel Core i5-2540M Processor (2.60GHz, 3MB L3)
- Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
- Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode - English
- 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA NVS 4200M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory
- 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
- UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint reader
- 720p Camera
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- DVD recordable multiburner
- Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
- 6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55+
- Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
- Integrated Mobile Broadband – Upgradable

Accessories
- ThinkPad Battery 27++ (9 Cell Slice Battery )
- ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3

3rd party add-ons:
- extra 4 GB RAM
- (optional) 256 GB HDD (to use a sole storage drive)

[BDKC1]

I bought a preconfigured "Topseller" model (4276-37U) from a dealer in Los Angeles on Monday morning (4/18) and received it yesterday (4/20). I'm in the process of prepping it and did notice that Lenovo has posted a new NVIDIA Optimus Display Driver for Windows 7 dated 4/20/2011. My unit has a manufacture date of 4/7/2011.

Since it came with 8GB RAM, I don't plan an immediate memory upgrade. I originally planned to put an Intel 310 mSata SSD in the WWAN slot but decided to hold off (partly due to supply issues and specs) in favor of a 2.5" form factor SSD, probably an Intel 510 ($275 for 120GB @ newegg) or OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3. Since I also need the larger capacity of a regular HDD, I plan to move the 500GB HDD to an Ultrabay adapter. I am also planning to swap a BluRay burner in the Ultrabay in place of the DVD RW drive that came with the unit.

I don't have a dock, but do plan to use an existing monitor that supports both VGA and DVI interfaces and have also ordered a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter so that I can hook it up to my 73" 1080P HDTV.

[ukieandrew]

I bought a preconfigured "Topseller" model (4276-37U) from a dealer in Los Angeles on Monday morning (4/18) and received it yesterday (4/20). I'm in the process of prepping it and did notice that Lenovo has posted a new NVIDIA Optimus Display Driver for Windows 7 dated 4/20/2011. My unit has a manufacture date of 4/7/2011.

Since it came with 8GB RAM, I don't plan an immediate memory upgrade. I originally planned to put an Intel 310 mSata SSD in the WWAN slot but decided to hold off (partly due to supply issues and specs) in favor of a 2.5" form factor SSD, probably an Intel 510 ($275 for 120GB @ newegg) or OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3. Since I also need the larger capacity of a regular HDD, I plan to move the 500GB HDD to an Ultrabay adapter. I am also planning to swap a BluRay burner in the Ultrabay in place of the DVD RW drive that came with the unit.

I don't have a dock, but do plan to use an existing monitor that supports both VGA and DVI interfaces and have also ordered a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter so that I can hook it up to my 73" 1080P HDTV.

Could you provide link to new NVIDIA Optimus Display Driver for Windows 7, pls?

[Thors.Hammer]

Could you provide link to new NVIDIA Optimus Display Driver for Windows 7, pls?

Lenovo Support - NVIDIA Optimus Display Driver for Windows 7 (64-bit) - ThinkPad T420, T420i, T420s, T420si, T520, T520i, W520 (NVIDIA Optimus models)

[novice973]

It fits that backpack perfectly. The W520 is the same size as the W510 and I have been using that particular backpack with the W510 for over a year. My W520 is in my Wenger Synergy right now.

Thanks Thors. Does it feel strange carrying it with the 9cell poking at you? Does it have a lot of room left for books and junk? I was just going to drop by Staples to compare the Synergy with the Pegasus.

[novice973]

My original ship date was supposed to be April 26th. I ordered on April 13th. Mine just arrived. I too did the 2 Day shipping.

What the heck! I ordered mine on April 11 with ship date April 21. The ship date dropped off for no reason and now Lenovo said it may ship in the week of April 21st. Why are you guys getting special treatment???