Drivers List for a Bloat-Free W520 Laptop Achieved?! [Need your thoughts!]

[eladbari]

I only have the Nvidia driver installed. Not the Intel's since I was denied while trying to install it.

I must say that my Bios is now set on Descrete card only. Optimus is disabled.
still, carry on with your steps as youve detailed?

UPDATE edit:
Ok, I still didnt erase what I just wrote above...and its just to explain the possible misunderstanding that happend here. I was sure that there are 2 Drivers to install to cover the Video\GFX drivers for the W520:
1. First is this driver you've mentioned:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-77045

[I thought it included only Nvidia drivers+The Optimus option]

2.And then I thought you should install this Intel's Driver:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-77038

Now I am realizing Probably only the first link is needed, and that covers Nvidia+Intel's drivers +Optimus.
Am I correct now?

[harrisb]

Yes, the second link is NOT for the W520

[eladbari]

OK, my friend...so we have spotted the problem!
The error I got was from trying to install that 2nd driver.
Thank you for confirming that! :]

[salzrat]

This is all good advice. In principle, there is not much bloatware on the Lenovo. From the Thinkvantage tools, I think Access Connections is quite useless, but if you have a 3G card, then it allows you to send text messages. I don't use rescue and recover, rapidboot and autolock. From the preload, there is also the device experience including the thinkvantage toolbox, which can also be left out.

I do use the communication settings app, as it allows to configure the mic for skype (set to multiple voices!), and the thinkpad power manager, which is basically a nice interface to configuring windows power profiles, and it also shows the current wattage, which is useful on the road.

[eladbari]

@salzrat

Thank you for your kind reply & recommendation.

As you can see from your own reply here- even if there is not a lot of Lenovo's Bloatware- you could still see that there are a lot of Tools which are useless for the common user...you & me.
I Do NOT know what it is that made the stock pre-load of Lenovo feel slower than a fresh install of Windows 7. [maybe its the backup & recovery which kept the HDD work constantly? i dont know]....but now things work a bit better. more responsive..less laggy...for example- just launching a video on Windows Media Player Classic-took a while untill the file was launched. Now?After the fresh Win7 install- Boom! you click and the video opens fast...as it should be. no lag.

Lemme ask you about the communication app+and Skype:

I try to change the resolution of the camera on that app to a higher one...not HD neccesarily [like 800x448...but Skype still shows lower resolution than that. it doesnt influence Skype....therefore=maybe this communication app is useless?

any thoughts?

[PanEuropean]

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eladbari wrote:

...there are a lot of Tools which are useless for the common user.

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Eladbari:

Please keep in mind that the W series of laptops are not marketed to the 'common user', they are engineering workstations that are marketed to power users and road warriors.  Almost all of the Lenovo ThinkVantage Tools that are provided with the W series could, realistically, be of use to this target audience, although it is unlikely that any one user from this audience would use every single tool that is provided.

You are a bit of an exception to the rule above, being that you are an outlier (a novice laptop user) who has simply purchased an extremely expensive computer.

Michael

[eladbari]

I think I just needed a powerful laptop, but its just that I dont use CAD and engineering softwares but rather video\graphics softwares which need the same if not more power.
I have studied the market a bit and saw my options and decided that Lenovo could be a great alternative to the normal powerful gaming laptops. The build quality, the matte screen [hate those glossy ones]. I just wanted a powerful laptop that would Not be an expensive piece of flimsy Plastic [=that most of these gaming laptops are]..
The fact that this W series is marketed more towards engineers and IT guys doesnt mean that im a less-serious user and that I dont appreciate all of Lenovo's tools. Just that most of them happen to not be marketed to my personal needs, that's all.

After all...look at the campaign theyve made for the W520, man!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDKmRNikC3E

This is it! This is what i do in my field. Does it make me an amateur? Anyways, I am not novice to computers, I am just novice to laptops since I've never had one and I've only used desktops that came without any pre-installed softwares\drivers.
That's why I was having some hard time getting the gist of things
I still appreciate your opinion, Michael, and everyone else's help :]