t520 lcd panel replacement video brands

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Certain notebooks gain a reputation over the years, be it good or bad. The Lenovo ThinkPad-series has been one of those families that has grown for almost 20 years, while still retaining the namesake of being one of the best business notebooks money can buy. Today we look at the new Lenovo ThinkPad T520, which is a 15.6-inch mid-range business notebook that can be equipped with NVIDIA Optimus graphics and a wide range of unique storage options.

The model we are looking at today is the ThinkPad T520, which is based off a rather budget-friendly configuration. It includes Intel GMA HD 3000 integrated graphics, a base 1366×768 LED-backlit display, a second-generation Core i5-2540M processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and an Intel mSATA 80GB SSD. The battery is also the base option, which is a six-cell flush-mount model. A larger nine-cell battery is also offered, as is an even larger nine-cell secondary “slice” battery that clips to the bottom of the notebook.

At first glance it doesn’t look like much has changed in terms of the design of the ThinkPad T520. Lenovo has the same black rubbery paint covering the boxy shell of a body, with large stainless steel hinges displayed on both sides. The only thing displayed on the screen cover is the ThinkPad brand logo and the Lenovo name, keeping the rest matte black.

The bottom of the notebook does have one significant aesthetic change. The bottom shell has changed from a CFRP to a GFRP material (carbon-fiber to a glass-reinforced plastic) which has a different feel than the older T510 and a rougher texture. It doesn’t feel as though this change has impacted the structural rigidity of the body, since it is still as rigid as ever, although it has a more “hollowy” sound as you drag a fingernail over it. Underneath the plastic is still a tried-and-true alloy frame, giving the ThinkPad T520 its strength and durability.

Lenovo offers three different display options for the 15.6-inch T520. These include a 1366×768 HD panel, a 1600×900 HD+ mid-range offering, and a 1920×1080 95% gamut top-tier option. All screens include LED-backlighting and a matte-finish screen texture to reduce glare.

Our ThinkPad T520 included the base 1366×768 panel, which proved to be a good performer for basic duties. Color saturation appeared weaker than other panels, mostly in part to the matte texture versus glossy on consumer notebooks, but it got the job done. Backlight levels were more than adequate for viewing the screen indoors under bright lighting. Outdoor viewing would only be possible in a spot of shade, with the sun overpowering the screen. Contrast levels were adequate, with black levels appearing slightly washed out, especially outside of the sweet-spot. Viewing angles spanned 15 to 20 degrees with the screen tilted forward or back before colors started to invert.

The ThinkPad T520 has two forms of cursor movement, including a spacious multi-touch touchpad and a touchpoint interface. The touchpad measures 3 inches wide by 1.8 inches tall, located slightly left of center. The Synaptics-made touchpad features a textured surface which was easily to glide a finger across. Unlike completely glossy touchpads, the mild finish helps reduce friction even if your finger is oily or moist. As you can see below, the texture is small raised bumps spaced about 1mm apart in all directions.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 offers a good selection of ports and expansion features, albeit slightly condensed from what is given on the smaller T420. The T420 gains an eSATA connection, while the workstation-class W520 gets eSATA and two USB 3.0 ports.

The rear of the ThinkPad T520 includes an always-on USB 2.0 port for charging devices, a 56k modem connection, the battery opening, the DC-input for the power supply, as well as the rear outlet for the heatsink.

The left side of the notebook includes the bulk of the ports available on the T520. It includes three USB 2.0 ports, DisplayPort and VGA-out, FireWire 400, a Smart Card reader, and even a wireless on/off switch.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 was built with IT departments in mind, meaning that most components are accessible without much work. On the ThinkPad T520 user-components are split up into three areas of the notebook, including the primary hard drive bay, the lower memory cover, and the section underneath the keyboard which houses the processor, additional RAM slots, Wi-Fi card, and mSATA/WWAN slot.

The primary storage bay is easily opened by removing a single Phillips head screw. Once the cover is take off, the hard drive can be lifted and slid out of position. The hard drive follows the standard “ThinkPad” mounting configuration which includes thin rubber rails that slip over the sides of the drive and a metal caddy that the drive screws into. Upgrading to a new drive is as simple as removing four screws and swapping the pieces to the replacement.

The lower RAM compartment houses a single memory slot on the T520, whereas the workstation-class W520 has two slots on the bottom. The compartment also gives you access to one of the screws which holds the keyboard in place (which you need to remove if you want to get at the rest of the components up above).

At first glance our Lenovo ThinkPad  T520’s configuration might not look all that powerful with integrated graphics, but Intel has been making huge strides in this area recently. The new Sandy Bridge platform has been able to double or triple 3D performance from the previous generation integrated graphics chipsets. As we will show you in this section, not only is the GMA HD 3000 integrated graphics more than capable, but it beats out the dedicated graphics option in the ThinkPad T410 we reviewed earlier this year.

Moving past the improvements with graphics, the main draw for many users to the Sandy Bridge platform is the faster SATA connection speeds. The ThinkPad T520 supports the latest SATA III 6.0Gbps connection speeds, which are needed to truly take advantage of the current-generation SSDs. In many cases, performance doubles, with drive speeds previously topping out at 250MB/s, now reach as high as 500MB/s. For the enthusiast user, SATA 6.0Gbps speeds are undoubtedly a must.

In our first look there was some initial confusion on of the Lenovo ThinkPad T520 supported SATA 6.0Gbps speeds. During our prep where we clone the stock drive to the hard drives and SSDs we review with the system, we had also upgraded the Intel RST drivers to the latest version. In our hast we didn’t reboot the system before our quick CrystalDiskMark benchmark, and saw the drive (an Intel SSD 510) running in a 3.0Gbps mode. We are glad to say this problem as not been repeatable and for the duration of the full-review everything as been running at the speeds it should be.

The benchmarking of the Lenovo ThinkPad T520 is split up in two sections; stock configuration and upgrade configurations. In the first part we review the system as shipped to us by the manufacturer, whereas in the later part we re-benchmark the notebook using a selection of set drives.

By far the coolest feature of the ThinkPad T520 is the mSATA/WWAN slot located underneath the keyboard. Our review unit came equipped with the 80GB Intel SSD 310 working as the boot drive, keeping the primary 2.5-inch storage bay open for additional storage or scratch space. Lenovo included a low-profile 320GB Seagate Momentus Thin to fill the empty bay, although we didn’t include it in our tests as it wasn’t used for the OS or any applications on our configuration.

Our Lenovo ThinkPad T520 included the standard six-cell battery option, offering a 57Wh capacity. A larger nine-cell battery with a capacity of 94Wh is also offered, which would add about 60% onto your overall battery life. The biggest difference between each of these batteries is their respective sizes, with the smaller six-cell mounting flush to the back of the notebook, and the larger nine-cell battery sticking under an inch.

An optional “slice” battery is also offered as an option for the ThinkPad T520, which when combined with a 9-cell battery boasts an impressive 24-hours of runtime. Sadly, we were unable to get a slice-battery with our review unit, so we are unable to provide measured runtimes of that configuration.

Using the above conditions, the ThinkPad T520 stayed on for 6 hours and 59 minutes, with an average power consumption of 6.2-7 watts. Compared to our original estimate of over 11 hours, it appears the battery gauge wasn’t as accurate as a stopwatch.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 proved itself to be worthy notebook for business-users and enthusiasts alike. Featuring the latest Sandy Bridge components, the T-series offered excellent battery life while still knocking our socks off in system performance. Integrated graphics performance has substantially improved over previous generations, now reaching over 5,000 in 3DMark06. If that isn’t enough for you, the NVIDIA NVS 4200M dedicated graphics is also an option. Depending on your budget, Lenovo offers a wide selection of second-generation Intel Core-series processors in the T520, ranging from the 2.1GHz Core i3-2310M up to the quad-core 2.3GHz Core i7-2820QM.

Overall the ThinkPad T520 has plenty to offer, with a configuration matching any budget. Our only big complaint is the less than appealing port selection offered on the T520. No high-speed data connections are included on this model, with eSATA only being offered on the T420 or W520. The other alternative is USB 3.0, which is only present on the W520. If you can get past that downside, the T520 is a very solid performer.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 has plenty to offer for a wide range buyers. If shopping on a tight budget, a base configuration with integrated graphics and a WXGA resolution screen starts at only $819. For enthusiast buyers with performance in mind, NVIDIA NVS 4200M dedicated graphics, a quad-core CPU, and a Full-HD 95% gamut LED-backlit display options are ready and waiting. No matter what path you take, you get a solidly built notebook with a great keyboard… although just one color; black.

We expect to hang onto the Lenovo ThinkPad T520 for a few additional weeks. If during this time you have any special requests (i.e., benchmark another drive or perform additional tests) we are more than willing to help in our discussion forum.