Thinkpads Forum

Does the sandy bridge issue discussed in the following video affect W520?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJcE2alQPvY

No.

"No" is correct. But if you're the sort of person who is going to want proof and be running tests, read on...

Lenovo (along with Dell, HP, and other "Enterprise" providers of systems) do some sleight-of-hand in the BIOS so that newer chipsets will report their devices using older IDs. This allows IT departments to maintain fewer system images as the same drivers can be used for multiple chipsets and steppings.

This practice confuses software that tries to determine the stepping of a chipset by looking at those ID codes. I suppose nobody really ever cared until this whole Sandy Bridge B2/B3 thing. Disconcertingly, these programs will incorrectly report a W520 to have a B2 stepping on the chipset. (The Lenovo BIOS is reporting "04" revisions instead of the actual "05". Likewise some models from Dell, HP.)

Some good information on this -- and how to reassure yourself that you do in fact have a B3 chip -- is over at the Lenovo forum.

david and volker are correct - I read through that thread on the lenovo forums almost in it's entirety, and the Lenovo engineers explained it in all it's tech-y details Also, nice summation of the thread, david!

Thanks David and KongMD! I wanted to know the behind story as well. No only the Yes/No answer. Thanks for clearing the issue!