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Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520
Author(s)
Agent_Pumuckl
Introduction
This page contains a summary how this laptop works with Linux.
If you have the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 and you are running Linux on it please consider adding your comments to this page. By contributing you will help other people running this laptop or trying to make a decision on whether to buy it or not.
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Specifications
| Name | Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 |
| Processor | Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2430M CPU @ 2.40GHz (Turbo up to 3.00GHz) |
| Screen | 15.6” HD AntiGlare (beamless) LED 16:9 (1.366 x 768) |
| RAM | Up to 8 GB |
| HDD | 500 GB (7200 rpm) |
| Optical Drive | DVD +/- RW DL |
| Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics 3000 |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet Realtek® 802.11bgn Bluetooth 3.0 |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | Gaming not testet. 1080p video playback works without any problems. |
| HDMI | Yes | Video and audio via HDMI works. |
| VGA Connection | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | Combined connection for headphone and line-in. |
| Trackpoint | Yes | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | Upgrading BIOS to version 1.20 or higher solves problems with activating wlan. Otherwise you have to blacklist the acer_wmi module. |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| USB | Yes | USB 2.0 only. |
| e-SATA | Yes | Combined connection e-SATA/USB. |
| Card Reader | Yes | |
| Mini PCI ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| Camera | Yes | HD Webcam (720p). |
Notes
Tested on a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 NZ3BBGE 1143BBG.
The distribution that I have used for testing is Arch Linux.
According to the Wiki of ubuntuusers.de the IBM Active Protection System Linux Driver (HDAPS), that should protect the HDD in the case your laptop will fall down, does not work due to the lack of suitable drivers.
Everythink else worked out of the box (wlan after upgrading the BIOS).
Summary
The Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 works very well with Linux.
Discussion
bought the e520(i3) in early feb,2013. from what i had read before it seems there was a problem with the BIOS and it needed an update for linux to work properly. My unit seems to have already been updated, cause i tried several linux distros and all seem to work well, everything is configured out of the box, and runs much better than the win7 that came with the machine :)
i ended up dual booting with linuxmint 14 cinnamon, and for now, there's absolutely no reason for me to go back to windows..
With gentoo it was pain to get everything working a while ago (2.6.39). Some patching and far-from-obvious kernel module settings necessary. I have failed with active HD protection and the ACPI is not quite working: laptop is overheating, because kernel reads temperatures from wrong thermometer. I can solve only by enabling discrete graphics, at the cost of 2h of battery uptime. :( Out of the box? NOTHING was working! Got to try arch:)
James Healy : great to hear! I ordered this ntb yesterday and I wondered if it will work good and this is really great news! I love Arch Linux and now even Lenovo :)
excellent mate I am using arch for about 2 years I love that linux distro … my girlfriend got me the think pad e 520 for my birthday and I installed arch on it right away such a sweet laptop … powerful grate feel and after the bios update everything worked out the box didn't matter what distro I tried on it excellent bit of hardware :) i am so pleased with both arch and e520