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Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
UPDATE: issue resolved. The W510 absolutely crawls on 90W power. Needs the 135W adapter.
I made a video to compare my Thinkpads. Both of these were purchased used. I've had the T410s for a couple of years. The W510 was recently purchased.
basic specs:
Thinkpad W510: Core i7 1.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M, 240GB SSD, 90W power supply
Thinkpad T410s: Core i5 2.53Ghz, 4GB RAM, onboard Intel graphics, 120GB SSD, 65W power supply
To try and minimize the number of variables, I boot both laptops into a Xubuntu Live session, open Firefox and go to speedtest.net and run the speed test. For this comparison, both laptops are booting off the same USB flash drive and use the same ethernet cable.
W510 - horribly slow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYfhHjkT9zw
T410s - much more responsive:
https://youtu.be/tw0ptZbLe7s
I have run Memtest86+ on both to 100% completion, and memory on both passes. The W510 even has a faster SSD (SATA III) vs the SATA II SSD in the T410s.
Any ideas what the problem might be, or how I can go about diagnosing this?
I made a video to compare my Thinkpads. Both of these were purchased used. I've had the T410s for a couple of years. The W510 was recently purchased.
basic specs:
Thinkpad W510: Core i7 1.6Ghz, 8GB RAM, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M, 240GB SSD, 90W power supply
Thinkpad T410s: Core i5 2.53Ghz, 4GB RAM, onboard Intel graphics, 120GB SSD, 65W power supply
To try and minimize the number of variables, I boot both laptops into a Xubuntu Live session, open Firefox and go to speedtest.net and run the speed test. For this comparison, both laptops are booting off the same USB flash drive and use the same ethernet cable.
W510 - horribly slow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYfhHjkT9zw
T410s - much more responsive:
https://youtu.be/tw0ptZbLe7s
I have run Memtest86+ on both to 100% completion, and memory on both passes. The W510 even has a faster SSD (SATA III) vs the SATA II SSD in the T410s.
Any ideas what the problem might be, or how I can go about diagnosing this?
Last edited by serpico on Sun Jun 05, 2016 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
T430: i5-3320M(2.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14" 1600x900, NVIDIA NVS 5400M 1GB
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
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- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:32 pm
- Location: Jackson, Michigan
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
when I got my W510 as a refurbished machine the memory was installed wrong. Getting it installed right speeded it up. https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-P ... a-p/249257 Good luck. ~BOB
T60 15.4". My first and favorite, ended life March 2015 may the parts live on. W510 in service until March 2019. Two X201's for the kids, they're built tough, my kids can't kill em. W530 with SSD, started service March 2019.
"If I only had a brain"
"If I only had a brain"
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Restore BIOS settings to default and reboot.
Have you also tried different linux live distros like Linux Mint Debian?
Have you also tried different linux live distros like Linux Mint Debian?
Current Thinkpads: W530 (functional classic keyboard mod), X301, T61, T60, T43, A31p, T23, 600X, 770
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Figured it out - it's the power supply. With the 90W power supply, the laptop is doing a lot of throttling. I redid the test using only battery power and it is much more responsive. Strange Lenovo would design the laptop to run slower (so slow as to be nearly worthless) when plugged in than on battery alone.
T430: i5-3320M(2.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14" 1600x900, NVIDIA NVS 5400M 1GB
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
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- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 3832
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Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
AFAIK the W510 ships with a 135w AC adapter. Using the 90w adapter will force the BIOS to throttle the CPU clock to limit power consumption within the adapter's limits.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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- Location: Loch Garman, Éire
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
The W510 with Quad-core CPU and 4 RAM-slots needs the 135W adapter.
The W510 with Core2-Duo Dual-core and 2 RAM-slots came with a 90W adapter.
The W510 with Core2-Duo Dual-core and 2 RAM-slots came with a 90W adapter.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Thanks for the info. I've got the quad-core and 4 RAM slots.RealBlackStuff wrote:The W510 with Quad-core CPU and 4 RAM-slots needs the 135W adapter.
The W510 with Core2-Duo Dual-core and 2 RAM-slots came with a 90W adapter.
It's basically unusable. I think the reports of people who use their W510 with 90W adapters have the Core2-Duo Dual-core machines. The quad-core is borderline not usable on a 90W power supply unless one has lots of patience.axur-delmeria wrote:AFAIK the W510 ships with a 135w AC adapter. Using the 90w adapter will force the BIOS to throttle the CPU clock to limit power consumption within the adapter's limits.
T430: i5-3320M(2.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14" 1600x900, NVIDIA NVS 5400M 1GB
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
W510: i7-720QM(1.6GHz), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 15.6" 1600x900, 1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
T410s: Core i5 2.53GHz, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 14.1" 1440x900
T60
X60
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
I never had serious speed issues with a W510 on a 90W adapter. Just doing a ctrl+alt+del reboot is supposed to end the throttling. I often did that when I had a W510 but I sometimes forgot and didn't notice any big slowdowns. I got it for the quad core CPU and later replaced it with a W520.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.
Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Since when w510 uses Core2Duo CPUs?RealBlackStuff wrote:The W510 with Quad-core CPU and 4 RAM-slots needs the 135W adapter.
The W510 with Core2-Duo Dual-core and 2 RAM-slots came with a 90W adapter.
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- Admin Emeritus
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Re: Bought a used W510 and it's very slow - something is wrong - help!
Guess I meant Dual-core, Oops!
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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