W530 Still?

[dr_st]

My W530 (32GB ram, 500GB SSD) is now being tasked with feeding an HDMI input projector. Is there any way to get an HDMI output from the W530, shy of taking the dock with me when I need to accomplish this and using a DVI to HDMI adaptor?

You can use a DisplayPort to HDMI dongle, even a passive one.

Welcome to the forum, BTW.

[heilong]

My W530 (32GB ram, 500GB SSD) is now being tasked with feeding an HDMI input projector. Is there any way to get an HDMI output from the W530, shy of taking the dock with me when I need to accomplish this and using a DVI to HDMI adaptor?

Hi. I've used a Mini DisplayPort Male to HDMI Male Cable (a cheap one, so probably passive) to connect my X230 to an HDMI input of a monitor. I suppose it would also work with W530.

[ajkula66]

Sort of "bumping" this thread...

Shopping for a very dear friend of mine who has very limited computer knowledge and needs a desktop replacement that should last another 2-3 years for not much money.

I found a W530 in decent shape, FHD, 24GB RAM and a 240GB SSD, i7-3740QM.

Another slightly cheaper option is a T450 in HD, Intel i5 5300U, 16GB RAM and a 192GB (?) SSD.

What does the collective wisdom of TPF say ?

Many thanks in advance.

[TPFanatic]

I vote W530 for more screen, RAM, and power.

[unix_joe]

W530, easily. Desktop replacement, it's just a nicer system to type on, even if the screen isn't that great.

[lj4028aim]

I am interested in the wireless you upgraded to.
Where and how is it installed?

Original WLAN card out (Bluetooth Daughter Card as well), new WLAN+BT card in. It's a direct mPCIe replacement, antenna connectors are compatible as well.
You can find it on e.g. AliExpress by searching for "AX210HMW Mini PCI-E", price is ~31 EUR. The sticker on the card says Model: MPE-AXE3000H. No need to tape any pins or do any other magic. But obviously you need an unlocked BIOS to remove the WLAN card whitelist. If I remember correctly, to make Bluetooth work, I had to go to advanced BIOS settings, USB ports, and enable the one port in the list that was disabled. The card works with stock AX210 drivers from Intel, both WiFi and Bluetooth.

On my X230, I used another option: an official Intel AX210 card (only available in M.2 form factor), and an M.2 to mPCIe adapter, I got one on eBay, it's called "M.2 2230 Key A+E to Mini PCI-E Adapter Converter for Intel wifi Card AX210 AX200", brand name is "fenvi". It comes with two extra-short antenna cables. The original antennas (IPEX/U.fl connectors) plug into the matching sockets on the adapter, while the short cables (with smaller MHF4 connectors on both sides) go from the matching sockets on the adapter to the sockets on the Intel card. The entire setup takes more spaces than the original mPCIe card, and is easy to fit if you don't use the second mPCIe slot on the X230. It's possible to use together with a 3G card, not sure if it could coexist with an mSATA SSD.

Hey @heilong, thanks for sharing those. I am currently running W530 since 2013. Currently just upgraded my RAM to 32GB. I noticed that my PC doesn't come with bluetooth function. I am curious for your scenario whether your machine comes with bluetooth function. Also, I want to upgrade my wifi up to 5GB and add bluetooth to it. I saw you posted model for choice and talking about the whitelist. Does the model you mentioned could accomplish my upgrade? Do you have a solid tutorial on Youtube that folks can follow through? Thanks for your time and help in advance!

[heilong]

Hey @heilong, thanks for sharing those. I am currently running W530 since 2013. Currently just upgraded my RAM to 32GB. I noticed that my PC doesn't come with bluetooth function. I am curious for your scenario whether your machine comes with bluetooth function. Also, I want to upgrade my wifi up to 5GB and add bluetooth to it. I saw you posted model for choice and talking about the whitelist. Does the model you mentioned could accomplish my upgrade? Do you have a solid tutorial on Youtube that folks can follow through? Thanks for your time and help in advance!

On the original W530, Bluetooth 4.0 was optionally provided by a separate "Bluetooth Daughter Card", it has its own special connector. Such a card can be purchased new or second-hand even now, and is very cheap. It only supports Bluetooth 4.0, no BLE, so is somewhat outdated.
If you want the most recent WiFi and Bluetooth, get the MPE-AXE3000H from AliExpress (Intel AX210 chipset). It's plug'n'play, but you have to do the 1vyrain BIOS reflash to remove the whitelist. I don't know of a YouTube video, but if you have basic computer knowledge and can read and follow instructions, you should be fine with this: https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain/#before-installing
To summarize:
- Clear any BIOS passwords if you have them set. If not set, you might want to set some known password then clear it, just in case.
- They also recommend to reset BIOS settings to default, I haven't done it but might be safer to do so
- Assuming Windows OS, download IVprep, right-click downgrade.bat, Run as administrator, let it downgrade your BIOS - https://github.com/n4ru/IVprep
- Download Intel AX210 WiFi and Bluetooth drivers from Intel (they are two separate downloads) - you will need them later
- Download 1vyrain image, follow the download link on this page https://1vyra.in/
- Download either Rufus or unetbootin
- Use either to flash the 1vyrain image on a USB flash drive
- Boot from the flash drive, follow instructions
- Adjust the BIOS settings as you like, if desired (or keep the defaults)
- In the BIOS advanced menu, go through the settings until you find the USB port settings, there's something like "USB per port disable control", set it to Disabled (if you don't do it, Bluetooth won't work)
- After everything is successful, follow the Lenovo W530 hardware maintenance manual to replace the original WLAN card with the new one. Pay attention to which antenna connector goes to MAIN and AUX jacks on the WLAN card
- Boot into Windows and install the previously downloaded Intel drivers

If all this sounds like rocket science, find a buddy who will help you with this. Or if it sounds doable, try it and post back if you have troubles at some stage. Also post with a thanks if you do succeed

[TPFanatic]

Just want to advise that the W530's LCD can be replaced with a superior model.

If like me you are dissatisfied with the best OEM option of the TN FHD B156HW01 V4, I suggest you look into an IPS mod.

There is a rare LVDS IPS FHD LCD (LP156WF4-SLB1) that can be modded into a W530 with some physical destruction.

There also exist an IPS FHD eDP adapter module for sale on aliexpress intended for the W530 that makes compatible eDP FHD IPS LCDs, also that require physical destruction to make fit.

You can also be insane like me and repurpose the T420 or T420s QHD adapter for use in the W530, and install an Innolux N156KME-GNA 2560x1440 panel that works except for a loss of framerate. This is not a perfect mod but the increase in screen real estate is palatable.

All of these IPS mod requires physical destruction of lid structures and it's very DIY and trial and error. But the option does exist for W530.

[friedrich-eugen]

Hello Heilong,

I just noticed, there could be a way to upgrade the WLAN/Bluetooth on my TP ...

I seems a little more complicated than those modds to TP A31Ps I did some 20 years ago... but possible.

Did I understand You correctly:

(1) A downgrade of the Bios (today: G5ETB6WW 2.76) comes first, is neccessary
(2) A compatible Bios has to be used and modded (whitelist)
(3) A return to the latest Bios would not be possible, as Lenovo changed the security features (added one)

Thanks in advance

[TPFanatic]

Yes, that's the 1vyra1n mod and you can use 1vy-prep to take care of the BIOS downgrade.

[friedrich-eugen]

Thanks,
but that I did accept as possible.

What I realy want to know is, is it possible to reapply the latest Bios and keep the whitelist off??

Tia

[TPFanatic]

I believe no....
The security patches include closing the exploit that makes 1vyra1n possible, and preventing downgrading to a vulnerable BIOS, hence the need for the 1vy-prep tool to bypass the downgrade-prevention.
When you flash Lenovo's BIOS you reinstate the whitelist.

[my03]

Hi all,

just saw this thread Myself, just like many of you did some upgrades to our beloved W530. In my case, i started by flashing Ivyra1n to get rid of the whitelist. I also installed the following:

3940xm cpu (repasted it + gpu with Kryonaut a few years back)
32GB ram
mpcie (256GB) in place of the wwan where i nowadays boot OSX Sonoma
SSD (256GB) in the ultrabay booting Linux Mint
512GB ssd in the common 2.5 slot

in my case i have the 1000M GPU so its not as great as the 2k series but it runs "fairly" recent games good enough.

As a matter of fact, despite havig a few more recent machines to my disposal, this is the goto machines in all cases. Despite being from 2012, it still performs quite nicely (i'm sure you guys agree on this one).

+ built like a tank


ps. i'm typing this on my goto travel companion, the Lenovo related Fujitsu 729u lifebook (12.5 inch screen) running OSX Sequioa (I5-8365u cpu)). Despite being many generations newer, the W530 actually can keep up with it imho. Sure, the 729 is a light-weight (1.11 kg) when the W530 is not, but that is also what makes the 729 perfect for bringing on travels, while the W530 will have its spot at home).

[SAIYAN48]

I loved my T530 with its classic keyboard, but it sadly died. One issue was the fact that the ExpressCard isn't fast enough for good eGPU gaming. I took most of its parts and put them in my T520i, except the CPU.