Y400 or Y500?

[genecor]

Hey all,

Just want to get some feedback/recommendation from fellow users here.

I'm looking at either y400/500 (or maybe Y580 if can find stock at reasonable price)

Usage is for regular surfing, movies, writing, some Lightroom 4.2 + Photoshop CS6 work & gaming (mostly RPG like Skyrim, MMOs like WoW, SW TOR, maybe the latest Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect 3, possible Crysis 3, No FPS stuff). Also, as it is my main computer, it should be able to tahan daily usage of at least 12+ hours a day at work/play. Laptop will mostly be at home attached to ext monitor, keyboard & mouse with CM laptop cooler.


I do some travelling sometimes and might be relocating in the next few months so a desktop is not ideal.

Seeing as how I'm using the laptop hooked up to ext monitor and peripherals, would it make sense to get the 15.6" FHD units? Budget is around $1.5k.

From what I can tell, the main difference between the Y400 & Y500 is the size and screen and the Y500 has the 170w adapter and 2nd unit GT650m included in the package.

Is the second GPU used in SLI worth the extra cost for my usage? Would it make a significant difference in Lightroom, Photoshop, and some of the Games since not all applications are supporting SLi? It seems that the Y400/500 has some Wifi issues according to some user feedback I've read on online forums.

Would the Y400 can play most of those games mentioned in Medium-high settings and able to keep frame rates up >30/s with single GT 650M?

Whatever I can save from the base unit, I can put towards getting an SSD and adding extra RAM and maybe a newer ext Monitor.

Look forward to suggestions and recommendations from y'all.

Thanks!

 

[Unknownx]

Y400 price is $1699 and Y500 is $1999. I think single GT 650M is not enough for running Crysis 3 in 1080p and medium settings, must lower down the resolution to 768p. With your budget for 15.6" laptop, the best choice will be MSI GE60 (i5 model) or Asus N56VZ.

You can check GT 650M/SLI performance here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

Just tick which graphic cards you want to compare and click on restrict button at top or bottom of the page

 

[genecor]

Y400 price is $1699 and Y500 is $1999. I think single GT 650M is not enough for running Crysis 3 in 1080p and medium settings, must lower down the resolution to 768p. With your budget for 15.6" laptop, the best choice will be MSI GE60 (i5 model) or Asus N56VZ.

You can check GT 650M/SLI performance here: Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - NotebookCheck.net Tech

Just tick which graphic cards you want to compare and click on restrict button at top or bottom of the page

Thanks for the link.. useful for some indication on the FPS of games I might play. 768p is acceptable for me I suppose.

Not much info on the package of the y400 on Lenovo Singapore site, but at that price, one could get the y500 and have some spare change (inc 2nd GPu+170W adaptor) in Malaysia with Lenovo Malaysia warranty. Might be better option for me then as I'm mostly JB based nowadays.

 

[Unknownx]

If you're planning to use a laptop heavily for long hours, make sure to keep changing the thermal paste regularly. If you don't know how to do it by yourself, you might want to consider getting a custom built laptop like Aftershock which provide free changing thermal paste service. I think at Malaysia also have another company like Aftershock.

 

[chiaRH]

If the thermal paste is a good brand and it is applied properly I don't think it'll need to be "regularly" changed anyway. From my experience, blowing out dust is a more regular maintenance needed.

 

[Aftershock PC]

I'd agree with ChiaRH that thermal paste application (Though important every year or year and a half), Its much more important to clear dust to ensure there is no crazy build up of dust in whichever system you choose. This also depends on how dusty the environment you are in is.

Notebook check is an awesome evaluation for notebook graphics cards. Just take note of the resolutions listed at the top of the charts, if non-native resolution gaming is a concern for you

 

[chiaRH]

Blowing dust out costs money though. Have to buy the 'air' from Challenger haha

It can also depend on the way the laptop is designed. Those like Aftershock use clevo chassis which are easy to maintain, and some laptops like Asus G75 have "easy-access" fans for cleaning, but for most laptops it may be a bit challenging to clean out dust. Back when I had my old Asus G73, cleaning out the dust from the speaker grille was next-to-impossible.

 

[genecor]

If you're planning to use a laptop heavily for long hours, make sure to keep changing the thermal paste regularly. If you don't know how to do it by yourself, you might want to consider getting a custom built laptop like Aftershock which provide free changing thermal paste service. I think at Malaysia also have another company like Aftershock.

I suspect my current HP laptop is in bad need of such cleaning and re-application. What brands of thermal paste is recommended? I find opening and cleaning isn't so easy with my laptop.

Think you're referring to Illegear, the 15+" is beyond my current budget and the 11" is way too small/compact for my liking, thus sticking to Lenovo or whatever has comparable performance/cost.

If the thermal paste is a good brand and it is applied properly I don't think it'll need to be "regularly" changed anyway. From my experience, blowing out dust is a more regular maintenance needed.

Yes, dust build-up is an issue

Blowing dust out costs money though. Have to buy the 'air' from Challenger haha

It can also depend on the way the laptop is designed. Those like Aftershock use clevo chassis which are easy to maintain, and some laptops like Asus G75 have "easy-access" fans for cleaning, but for most laptops it may be a bit challenging to clean out dust. Back when I had my old Asus G73, cleaning out the dust from the speaker grille was next-to-impossible.

Any idea on the ease of cleaning with the Lenovo Y-series laptops? Alas Clevo is beyond my means given my budget for this purchase.

 

[Aftershock PC]

You can find really helpful videos on youtube for disassembling and cleaning these machines as well as most others Their pretty widespread these days.

Just type [Model Name] Full disassembly

 

[chiaRH]

What brands of thermal paste is recommended? (

Hmm, arctic cooling mx4 or arctic silver 5 seem to be popular. AS5 may be a little hard to find here though. ICD7 is one of the most preferred out there but I don't think it's sold here and it's also a bit harder to apply compared to the others, like it's more viscous so if you're using it you need to warm up the tube beforehand or something like that.

 

[watzup_ken]

Hmm, arctic cooling mx4 or arctic silver 5 seem to be popular. AS5 may be a little hard to find here though. ICD7 is one of the most preferred out there but I don't think it's sold here and it's also a bit harder to apply compared to the others, like it's more viscous so if you're using it you need to warm up the tube beforehand or something like that.

I think MX4 is good enough, and its tried and tested. No curing required unlike the AS5 as well.

To be honest, the dif in temp between a good thermal compound and a cheap/poor one is quite apparent. However, I observed that the temps won't differ much when you are trying out 2 good thermal compounds.

 

[watzup_ken]

Anyway, sorry for deviating from topic.

I would recommend at least a 15 incher for your needs. It is heavier, yes. But I think its worth it when you want a cooler/ better performing laptop. Depending on your budget, Aftershock has got some pretty neat customization. However, if you are not keen, then I suppose Y580 or Y500 can also be good choices at their price range.

 

[genecor]

Anyway, sorry for deviating from topic.

I would recommend at least a 15 incher for your needs. It is heavier, yes. But I think its worth it when you want a cooler/ better performing laptop. Depending on your budget, Aftershock has got some pretty neat customization. However, if you are not keen, then I suppose Y580 or Y500 can also be good choices at their price range.

Yes, I agree on that I'm probably better served with the 15" models. Unfortunately, Aftershock/Illegear/Clevo is beyond what I'm comfortable spending at this juncture and thus I guess the Lenovo Y580/500 would be the one to look at.

 

[perrification]

I strongly suggest you dont buy this laptop (Y400)
I bought it recently and its riddled with issues.
1. Wifi card can only connect to B/G and not N
2. Advertised it has NVIDIA OPTIMUS but it doesnt.
3. touchpad issues
4. there is no 16GB SSD
5. HDD 5400RPM bottleneck the whole system
6. WIFI drops connection anytime it wants. you have to reboot whole system to get it working and trust me the reboot is freaking slow.
7. Practically no support from Lenovo No automatic driver updater etc.
8. most comes with scratches on the keyboard plate
9. USB 3.0 only at 1/2 speed (must do alot of things to finally enable it)
10. USB always-on port doesnt work as advertised and on the go. (again must jump through alot of hoops to get it working)

To sellers. srsly just dump ur stock quick or return them

 

[genecor]

I strongly suggest you dont buy this laptop (Y400)
I bought it recently and its riddled with issues.
1. Wifi card can only connect to B/G and not N
2. Advertised it has NVIDIA OPTIMUS but it doesnt.
3. touchpad issues
4. there is no 16GB SSD
5. HDD 5400RPM bottleneck the whole system
6. WIFI drops connection anytime it wants. you have to reboot whole system to get it working and trust me the reboot is freaking slow.
7. Practically no support from Lenovo No automatic driver updater etc.
8. most comes with scratches on the keyboard plate
9. USB 3.0 only at 1/2 speed (must do alot of things to finally enable it)
10. USB always-on port doesnt work as advertised and on the go. (again must jump through alot of hoops to get it working)

To sellers. srsly just dump ur stock quick or return them

Thanks for your frank feedback. Could you please elaborate on the USB issues and what sort of Hoops that is required to get it working as it should be?

I'd read about some sporadic wifi issues, but yours seems to be quite serious... did you take it up with Lenovo service centre?

Thanks.

 

[watzup_ken]

2. Advertised it has NVIDIA OPTIMUS but it doesnt.
5. HDD 5400RPM bottleneck the whole system
6. WIFI drops connection anytime it wants. you have to reboot whole system to get it working and trust me the reboot is freaking slow.

The rest, I am not sure, but the above points,
1) Optimus should be supported by all Nvidia mobile GPUs. May be you wanna install drivers from Nvidia's website to see if it helps.

2) Not sure how much it cost, but typically, supposedly gaming grade laptops below 1.6 to 1.8K don't come with decent hard drives. That's my observation.

3) Just to check if you know what Wifi card is it running? I have issues with my wifi card not connecting too, and in the midst of usage, it can slow down drastically. Could be the wifi card issue.

 

[genecor]

I strongly suggest you dont buy this laptop (Y400)
I bought it recently and its riddled with issues.
1. Wifi card can only connect to B/G and not N
2. Advertised it has NVIDIA OPTIMUS but it doesnt.
3. touchpad issues
4. there is no 16GB SSD
5. HDD 5400RPM bottleneck the whole system
6. WIFI drops connection anytime it wants. you have to reboot whole system to get it working and trust me the reboot is freaking slow.
7. Practically no support from Lenovo No automatic driver updater etc.
8. most comes with scratches on the keyboard plate
9. USB 3.0 only at 1/2 speed (must do alot of things to finally enable it)
10. USB always-on port doesnt work as advertised and on the go. (again must jump through alot of hoops to get it working)

To sellers. srsly just dump ur stock quick or return them

I'm surprised that 802.11N isn't supported. Touchpad issue is something that seems to be a concern with some batches. Did your unit come with the 16GB SSD? its meant as a swap/buffer drive for Window IIRC. Is your unit with local warranty or a Parallel import? seems that some of the US import models seem to suffer from a higher rate of issues versus the local Lenovo stock, dunno if this has to do with batch production or what exactly.

My concern is about the WIFI and the stability. I have not heard mention about the USB issues, and hope you could elaborate on it if possible. Thanks

The rest, I am not sure, but the above points,
1) Optimus should be supported by all Nvidia mobile GPUs. May be you wanna install drivers from Nvidia's website to see if it helps.

2) Not sure how much it cost, but typically, supposedly gaming grade laptops below 1.6 to 1.8K don't come with decent hard drives. That's my observation.

3) Just to check if you know what Wifi card is it running? I have issues with my wifi card not connecting too, and in the midst of usage, it can slow down drastically. Could be the wifi card issue.

The on-board graphics is disabled at the BIOS level if I'm not mistaken, thus you're always using the Geforce card for graphics with the Y400/500.Thus Optimus functionality should be there if it wasn't disabled. I can only deduce that it might be disabled as it might cause issues with the SLi configuration with dual graphic cards.

Price is probably a factor, of course as end users, we can always upgrade the HDD to SSD for better performance.

The wifi speed drop during usage is a point of concern though.

 

[perrification]

Mine is local batch bought from challenger. Optimus is not enabled even beyond bios as the on board intel 4000 has no soldering to MOBO to begin with. The wifi card is a very old atheros card. And no it does not comes with 16gb msata also. I went to ask Lenovo sales man today and he insisted their model have intel wifi card his expression was priceless when he open device manager to show me. ATHEROS also for Y500.

 

[perrification]

any for the guys who already bought the Y-series.
For USB 3.0 Fix:
"USB 3.0 Fixes
If you're USB 3.0 hard drives keep getting disconnected or is not running USB 3.0 do this:
1. When you install the Lenovo Power Management, open it and turn off the hard disk drive power saver option.
2. After that select the USB 3.0 hard drive, right click and select properties -> Hardware -> Select the USB 3.0 drive -> Properties -> a pop up will open then select Change Settings -> Select the Policies Tab and then set Removal Policy to Better Performance then ok. Shut down Windows 8, remove your portable USB 3.0 drive and boot up then plug the USB 3.0 drive again.

After doing all of this, I was able to use my portable usb 3.0 drive properly in full speeds."

For USB Always-on Fix:
"尊敬的联想用户您好，USB-always-on (USB关机充电) 功能 ( 需要在BIOS Setup Utility中设置)，在电池或电源适配器始终处于供电状态下才可以使用。若不能使用，请插入电源适配器，激活该功能。"

No fix for wifi as its the atheros card. only import set will have n connectivity as they will be on intel wifi card

 

[perrification]

another issue while gaming without being plugged in Y500 Lagging on battery - Page 3 - Lenovo Community