E6520 Owner's Thread

btw,
do you know the display code for the e6520 touchscreen?

thanks

 

Lookng to replace the hdd that came with my laptop with an ocz vertex 3 ssd that I have. Will I be able to use the original hard drive caddy with the 9.3mm thick ocz ssd, or will i have to purchase an aftermarket caddy that accepts the thicher drive?

 

The Vertex 3 will fit fine with the existing caddy (which is more like a bracket than a caddy). I used to have a Vertex 3 back in the day so I know first-hand.

 

Thanks so much! Looking everywhere for this answer.

As an aside...Does the e6520 support 1600Mhz RAM sitcks?

 

I can also confirm the E6520 supports standard 9.5mm height drives and yes, PC3-12800 1600MHz memory will be seen if your processor supports it.

Scott-

 

Can anyone speculate what the difference would be, really, between DDR3 1600 CAS 10/10-10-10-27 versus DDR3 1333 CAS 9/9-9-9-24 RAM? I'd think the increased timings would offset any increase in speed. Also, where would faster RAM show its performance? It seems to me the the slowest aspect of the E6520 is the video card, and nothing can be done about that, hardware-wise.

 

I am about a purchase a new e6520, and the price difference between the i7 2640m and the i2760QM is about 35 dollars..

Which would you choose. My wife is going to be using this for everyday computing...Office Suite, e-mail and internet.

 

2760QM = better quad-core performance and resale value over the long term. It is worth it.

Scott

Intel Core i7 Mobile i7-2640M (PGA) vs Intel Core i7 Mobile i7-2760QM (PGA)

 

^exactly. I wouldn't sweat it over $35. Make sure to get the 9-Cell.

 

I did the various math and posted it in one of these forum threads many months ago... I will look for it, but in a nutshell the difference is between 5-10% so it is not as much as some may think. Likewise, lower latency memory, even if somewhat slower, can still be faster than higher bandwidth memory that has a moderately higher latency rating.

VRAM should not be compared side-by-side with standard system RAM since it is handled differently within the "GPU circuit bubble" and is often faster within its own pipeline architecture. The NVIDIA 4200M does very well within the E6520 and can be compared to a respectable GT430 card.

Regardless, I suggest CL-7 or better PC3-10600 (1333MHz) and the system will be very happy. The biggest performance boost you will see, however, is going with a SATA-II /III SSD for the primary drive.

Scott-