Hopefully this is the right place. I am considering getting a Lenovo W520 Workstation laptop. The specs are i7-2720QM, 6GB DDR3, Quadro 1000M/Optimus switching with intel HD. at this point, i dont know what wireless it uses or which lan port. I think the wireless is a lenovo card. what hardware will work with snow leopard. Either way im getting this computer even if it isnt hackintoshable.

The W510 has a hacked BIOS allowing for installation of 3rd-party WIFI and 3G cards, internally, that is.

The bigger deal is Optimus. I know the Precision models and Thinkpad models are advertised as having Optimus, which is fairly problematic. The EliteBook does not seem to have it even though the same GPU is offered on all three models.

The problem is that Optimus uses Intel as the primary GPU, and then routes the Nvidia GPU through the Intel GPU when needed. There are no functional Intel video drivers at the moment for anything newer than the ancient GMA950.

If it is possible to manually select only the Nvidia GPU in the BIOS (unlikely) then this laptop should be ideal.

Note that using i7 machines supposedly requires a bootloader configuration tweak, although this is set-and-forget. The main issues are Optimus and BIOS lock-out of replacement WIFI and WWAN cards.

Check the EliteBook 8560w to see if it has Optimus. I have thus far been unable to answer that question myself. If all three lappies have Optimus, then we need to find the one that allows Nvidia-only GPUing. If none of them enable this, I'm going to go for a refurb W510!

Especially since the new dual-core i7s aren't that much faster than the old ones. Note that the newer quad-cores, by comparison, are much faster than the older quad-cores.

Even if it doesn't work, I'm still buying this laptop. I love its specs (Up to 32GB Ram on 4 DIMM slots).

Originally Posted by NighTalon

The W510 has a hacked BIOS allowing for installation of 3rd-party WIFI and 3G cards, internally, that is.

The bigger deal is Optimus. I know the Precision models and Thinkpad models are advertised as having Optimus, which is fairly problematic. The EliteBook does not seem to have it even though the same GPU is offered on all three models.

The problem is that Optimus uses Intel as the primary GPU, and then routes the Nvidia GPU through the Intel GPU when needed. There are no functional Intel video drivers at the moment for anything newer than the ancient GMA950.

If it is possible to manually select only the Nvidia GPU in the BIOS (unlikely) then this laptop should be ideal.

Note that using i7 machines supposedly requires a bootloader configuration tweak, although this is set-and-forget. The main issues are Optimus and BIOS lock-out of replacement WIFI and WWAN cards.

Check the EliteBook 8560w to see if it has Optimus. I have thus far been unable to answer that question myself. If all three lappies have Optimus, then we need to find the one that allows Nvidia-only GPUing. If none of them enable this, I'm going to go for a refurb W510!

Especially since the new dual-core i7s aren't that much faster than the old ones. Note that the newer quad-cores, by comparison, are much faster than the older quad-cores.

I have the W520 running RHEL 6.3 at the moment. The BIOS does allow to select only the Quadro 1000 graphics -- which is how I have it set.

Any new news on installing Snow Leopard on a W520? Much appreciate it. Thanks.