Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 and Y400 Announced - Dual Graphics Capabilities

I am an azerty user but I'll probably just swap the keys around and do a registry hack because the AZERTY non-sli will take a lot of time to come out in belgium and costs the same as the german sli version (€999). I'll probably have to pay another €200 for the ultrablay which I sadly can't afford.

 

Or dou you think converting the qwertz into azerty is too much of a pain in the and not worth it? What's the pricing on the ultrabay gpu? I can't seem to find it on the lenovo US site.

 

Converted the Ultrabay GPU will cost around 170-180 euro's.

Also, I think it might be a pain to swap everything. If the only differences are the positioning of the letters it wouldn't be all that bad. You could just swap the A-Q-Z-W (You name them). But the QWERTZ keyboard has some other minor differences.
The Left shift is smaller and there's an extra key right from the shift. Furthermore there are a few keys which we don't use on the right side. I believe the enter key also has a different shape in some cases.
So swapping keys which are the same size isn't that hard, but there a too many keys which we don't even use. Not to mention some keys with a different size.
The only good and 'save' way would be to swap the whole keyboard with a keyboard of choice. But I haven't been able to find the Y500 keyboard on ebay or likes yet.



If you're okay with these things, I'd say try to get the SLI from Germany. The price there is really great.
If you can wait a bit, I live pretty close to the German border and hope to visit a store which sells the Lenovo in about 1-2 weeks time.
I want to check the Keyboard myself. Who knows Lenovo might ship them with QWERTY or something.

 

Yeah the problem is I work with AZERTY which is even more different from QWERTZ. It's also very rare (only France and Belgium use this layout) so I don't think I'll ever be able to buy the AZERTY keyboard seperately . I asked the Belgian lenovoshop already but they don't sell parts seperately.
I really wan't this laptop with SLI but I don't really have the time nor the money to wait for the belgian (AZERTY, available on 11th of january) model for €999 and buy the extra gpu for another €180. When would the gpu even be available in belgium or germany? In 3-4 months or so? If it even comes out.

What do you recommend I do? Buy the German SLI QWERTZ one? Swap the keys or wait for a separately sold AZERTY-keyboard? Or wait for the belgian one with the right keyboard layout hoping that the ultrabay gpu will ever come out in western europe?

 

Does anyone know if both the y500 and the y400 use a glossy bezel around the screen? Thanks.

 

Its glossy.

 

You're stuck with the same issue as I am. Since I'm also looking for the SLI model, which is unavailable here, I'm looking at getting one from Germany.
Also, you need to have a German friend/trustworthy person if you're ordering from the DE lenovo shop. They probably only ship within Germany. That's why each country has it's own store.
I haven't been able to find the SLI in any other German online store yet.

As for what I recommend. Well, that's hard to say really. It's a hefty sum of cash you're paying. But that also means saving 180,- is more than welcome.
There's also the fact that if you buy from Germany, the Y500 will most obviously have the German OS. Though this is fairly easy to change, it's still a thing to take note of. (I could care less about this. I'll probably end up doing a clean install with a new SSD anyway.) Second, and probably the only reason to think twice. The QWERTZ keyboard. While you can probably swap the places of most keys, you'll have a slightly different layout than what you're used to. Hell I got a friend from Belgium who uses AZERTY and I know how different it is. But if you're willing to overlook the smaller shift key, and a few slightly other differences.. I say, get the SLI from Germany.
1. You're saving around 180,- which you can spend on a keyboard replacement later on. (Assuming this will be available.) But this is Lenovo, so I assume they will sooner or later.
2. SLI - aww yeahhh!
3. You don't have to wait for the extra GPU. (Assuming this will be available.) I'm not sure about this one. You can get Keyboard through Ebay and the likes, but the GPU might be harder to get. Whatever there reason might be to not release the GPU here, it would be a pretty sad choice. Still the US already has it, so I do assume this will be available, hell, the whole purpose of the Y500 would be defeated if they won't release it.

This is just my opinion with some rough guessing and high hopes. I should mention, you won't have the Y500 SLI in a short time. The release was already postponed from 15th to the 27th. But overall the SLI is the 'cheaper' and better choice.

 

Thank you. I have family in germany, so that'll be no problem. What does concern me is that i couldn't find an AZERTY keyboard for the y580, which is out for a long time already... so if it would ever be available it should be already for the y580... it seems likely that the same will hapen for the y500 right?

 

Cool!
Tell me if you get the German Y500 anytime soon! I'm really curious about the keyboard. If it's not such a bad mess I'll also get the German SLI Y500.

 

I think I'll just go for it and order it tomorrow (if lenovo doesn't delay it again).

 

So any1 got one with GT650 SLI? How is the performance and price compered to GTX660m? I can order both versions here in Serbia but price still unknown, lol...

 

Sweet! I'll be waiting, ha ha!

@Undyingghost - I believe somebody did a comparison in one of the other threads. Or atleast I remember reading something about the SLI compared to Y580/GTX660. And what I remember: 'The SLI outperforms the GTX660, not by an awesome lot, but still reasonable. - Honestly if you're looking at the Y580 or the Y500 it's just a matter of preference/looks. I prefer the Y500 above the Y580.

 

I think they're delaying it once again. I'm getting really, really tired of waiting.

 

Did you try ordering it?
The status didn't change. Though I remember the last time it also changed at a later date. Well I can wait, though I'd really like to have it this holiday season so I can play around with it a bit more.
It's pretty damn annoying if you need it 'right now' though.
I actually went to the local store again just to look at it today, it's so god damn beautiful. The touchpad feels really cheap though. My old Asus K52J which was a lot cheaper has a better feel to the touchpad.

 

You can only reserve it right now . You had a chance to look at it? Nice, that's not even possible in Belgium sadly enough. Was it bulky? Or not so different from non-gaming laptops?

 

Just a heads up if you order the Y400 Removable Graphics GN35,you are going to need IdeaPad 170W AC Adapter that's another 79.00 dollars.

 

I have never seen a gaming laptop before really. (Well on the internet, but that aside.) So I can't really compare it to a gaming laptop in the 15'' branch. My old Asus is also 15'' and it looks more bulky. But it's actually a bit lighter and slimmer. (Just a few mm, neglect able). But I can't really judge on the weight and stuff yet. The laptop was hooked up to a special power supply so the battery wasn't attached. Though the Y500 looks slim because of the design so you can pretty much say it's not really bulky for a gaming laptop. It's actually only about 200g heavier compared to my Asus.

 

Somebody posted an unboxing on youtube. The y500 SLI.

 

Can anyone confirm needing to buy the 170W AC adapter for SLI Lenovo Y400? I asked a Lenovo Rep and he told me no but I just wanted to make sure.

 

Yes you do need the 170 power brick I have order the y400 gn35 graphics card and was told that you need it.0C22230 Y400 Removable Graphics GN35
-System details $ 206.99 $ 206.99
1 0C22240 IdeaPad 170W AC Adapter (UL)
-System details $ 65.59 $ 65.59
Subtotal $ 272.58
Environmental Fee $ 0.00
Taxes $ 19.08
Total $ 291.66
I got 10% off video card cause my y400 had been delayed and 18% off power brick cause it was not posted that you need it to make it work in sli with y400.

 

What side does the exhaust blow out on the y500? I see the big vent on the left, is this where it blows out? Didn't really want the exhaust on the right where I use my mouse. How hot is the air coming out?

Thanks!

 

Depends if you have single graphics card or two gfx cards installed (the second graphics card in SLI mode is installed in te ultrabay). With one gfx card the vent is only on the left side, while in the case of two gfx cards the vents are both on the left and the right side.
With normal use the air isn't that hot (infact, I'm not sure if there is any air coming from the right side), but somebody else should answer how hot is the air under load necause I still haven't tested mine.

 

I know your question is about the Y500, but I own the Y400 and where the vent is with the 2nd graphics card is on the right. In my experience, my second graphics card has not exceeded over 70C. The air that comes out from the right side is not hot at all to me personally, more like just a little bit of warm air blowing out.

 

Thanks joora and eyung25. You helped alleviate one of my concerns about buying the Y500. Thanks!