Thinkpads Forum

Were (are) there any T520 models with Intel graphics (i.e., NOT nVIDIA) and a quad-core i7 processor?

Background:
My current T60 and T60p are running out of CPU (a bit) and memory (a lot), so it's time to start shopping for my next laptop.
I don't want a chiclet keyboard; both thinkwiki.org and this forum confirm that the 420/520 series are the last Thinkpads with a full-stroke keyboard. I'll be running OpenBSD (--> doesn't grok nVIDIA at all), and I'd like the bigger FHD 1920x1080 screen, so the T520 (with 16GB RAM + 1TB Samsung EVO 850 SSD) looks like my best choice. So far all the Intel-graphics T520 I see for sale with i7 processors are dual-core, with i7-2640M (dual-core 2.8GHz, 4MB L3 cache, 35W) the fastest CPU I've seen.

I'm not brave (& tolerant-of-hot-running-laptops-with-short-battery-lifetime) enough to go for a 55W CPU, but the i7-2860QM (quad-core 2.5GHz, 8MB L3 cache, 45W) would be very nice...IF it exists with Intel graphics.

Thanks, -- Jonathan

All of the quad core models shipped with the 1GB NVS 4200m.

That having been said - you can set the GPU type in BIOS to integrated only and disable the nVidia GPU...

theterminator93 wrote:All of the quad core models shipped with the 1GB NVS 4200m.

That having been said - you can set the GPU type in BIOS to integrated only and disable the nVidia GPU...

Thank you for the prompt reply!

Disabling the nVidia in the BIOS is an interesting idea... but I'm still worried about
1. power draw (--> battery lifetime), and
2. some other posts have reported that in models with an nVidia, the DisplayPort digital-video-out is connected only to the NVidia, so running integerated-Intel-graphics-only would mean no digital video output. If anyone has a T520 with nVidia graphics driving an external monitor or monitors via the displayport connector, and would be willing to try the experiment of temporarily disabling your nVidia graphics in the BIOS, I'd be very interested to see a followup post with the results of the experiment (what effect, if any, does this have on your external monitor(s)?).

Or I may decide to live with the i7-2640M dual-core (which seems to be the best CPU I've seen for sale with Intel graphics).

thanks again, -- Jonathan

FYI: you can install the classic X220/T420/T520 keyboard in the X230/T430/T530 with only an EC-update in BIOS and some minor modding of the keyboard itself: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=120776

I just loaned out my eDP to HDMI cable to a friend late last night, so unforunately I can't test this out for you right away.

One other tidbit is that you can put a quad core CPU in the dual core motherboard. You just won't have four RAM slots. The upper limit of the 2-DIMM boards is 16GB, twice that of the T61.

theterminator93 wrote: One other tidbit is that you can put a quad core CPU in the dual core motherboard. You just won't have four RAM slots. The upper limit of the 2-DIMM boards is 16GB, twice that of the T61.

Are you referring here to the T520 or the T530?

Thanks, -- Jonathan

I can't speak to the *30 series as I don't own one, but on the 20 series, you can install whichever 2nd gen CPU you want. Heat dissipation may become a problem with quad core CPUs on the T420 and on the 15" models with the incorrect heatsink, though.

One solution to a underpowered T60 is replacing the motherboard with a T61 board and then modifing the board and ram to allow quad core cpus with a 1066 mHz FSB. See http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=110620
It's a big boost from the 3gb ram you have now and you keep your 4:3 screen.

I have a 3210M in my T420. Needed to flash 'coreboot' to the bios chip. There are some hitches to using coreboot on a T520, for example "DisplayPort only connected to Discrete GPU", see https://www.coreboot.org/Board:lenovo/t520

Of course, you needn't fiddle with bios if you get a T530.

RealBlackStuff wrote:FYI: you can install the classic X220/T420/T520 keyboard in the X230/T430/T530 with only an EC-update in BIOS and some minor modding of the keyboard itself: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=120776

Thanks -- that's a promising idea. After a bit of reading I've followed up with some T530 questions over in the T530 forum.

Thanks again for the suggestion! ciao, -- Jonathan