Lenovo Y470 and Y570 Official Owners Thread

I cant even play Starcraft 2 higher than on low everything without it stuttering/occassional lag... VERY annoying. Hope that I'm doing something wrong.

 

You're doing it wrong.

 

Please review the entire thread.

 

Agreed, not many users having problems with those games on GT 555M. Must be a Windows, driver or software problem on your end.

It's not fully recommended but I always do a clean install on all my laptops to remove rubbish from the manufacturer and have the most up to date drivers without overlapping the old ones.

If you want to take this route just make sure you make a default recovery DVD before doing so, so that you can revert back to factory defaults if anything should go wrong.

 

thanks for the absolutely useless help. You could atleast tell me what to search for. Also didn't even tell me what I did wrong. So get off your high horse.

But nevertheless I guess I should explain the problem a little better: The games seem to play OK; there is no lag for a little bit. But then, it starts to "stutter", which is something I haven't experience on weaker GPUs for Starcraft 2... Not exactly sure what I can do about it. And no its not just because of big battles some times its completely smooth during the battles, other times its laggy.
BTW I have the y470 (550m)
EDIT: Except Nemix

 

I'm assuming SC2 and COD was played online when the stuttering happens. If so, I could be a router and WiFi issue. Some routers prefer certain WiFi cards over others, the default Intel card is good but it doesn't mean it'll work good with every router out there. Check you ping if this is the case then go to DSLReports forums for answers there.

 

No, offline cod... Online sc2 @lowest is okay but I don't think it's as smooth as it should be with the 550

 

Well, apparently the Lenovo warehouse found out there was something wrong with my order and called. They hadn't known that I've been trying to get this resolved. So, they're sending me a replacement now instead of a refund

 

Maybe Lenovo forums has answers or you can join and ask the question there.

 

maybe I'm overestimating the 550m?

 

Guys, most of the answers to your questions have been posted. :\

 

In a 100+ page thread, the least you could do is tell us a relative page number, what to search for, or the exact post number.

 

No one gave us thread numbers or keywords. You specifically signed up to post in this thread (judging from your post count). The time it takes you to beg for answers and complain when there not fed to you, you could have easily cleared 20+ pages or more. Having recently went through half of the thread before I purchased my laptop, I can confidently say the answers you seek could be found in that range.

Your time is not more valuable than ours. Go through the thread starting backwards, or be ignored.

 

Lol OK. What you dont know is that I did read the entire thread before buying this laptop for reviews/problems. I guess your 13 posts just gives you as much credentials on the internet as an ivy-leaguer in life huh

 

I posted my response in the hope that you would discontinue bloating the thread with redundant questions. I see you will not listen to reason. Worse, you respond to criticism with terrible comebacks that tempts the reader to question your mental maturity.

If its true you read the entire thread before your purchase, than I think it it ought to be even more palpable to your taste to simply go through the 'post-purchase' threads to find the answer to your problem. Good luck.

 

I don't understand you people. Just because you spent hours upon hours reading every single post in this thread doesn't mean that other people have to.

You have the time to do it, and you enjoy researching products that you're interested in. Great. Doesn't mean everyone else should be the same.

You talk about time being valuable. Do you realize that you would have spent less time just giving him the answer rather than repeatedly telling him to find it himself?

Now, if the "Search this thread" feature actually worked, then I could understand you telling people to look for the answers themselves. But unfortunately, it doesn't.

 

really? is it that hard to type 'display' for screen questions or 'keyboard', 'weight' or 'shipping' in the search thread box?? it worked for me when i lurked.

 

I wouldn't be asking if I hadn't tried. I'm not stupid. I don't ask questions before trying to figure it out on my own. Ideapad1, I highly doubt you remember everything you read in this thread and what ever other thread you've been lurking in without posting. You say that my comeback was terrible but it's quite valid, actually. You have 13 posts, as little as any newbie, no proof of reading the entire thread yourself, and can't even answer my question. Seriously, if you've got nothing good to say, why did you reply in the first place? If u you care so much about cluttering in this thread, you wouldn't have posted either.

 

I tried and tried to get my laptop sent to Lenovo for warranty work, then I tried to get an RMA so I could just get rid of this pile of crap. Don't get me wrong, not everyone received a bunk PC that would not even run WEI or would lock up during web browsing. I was unlucky I guess. After giving up in frustration with Lenovo customer support and deciding to keep the damned laptop and just use it occasionally for light web browsing or music/video I decided to look into the problem further and expanded my search to other users with a similar video chipset (GT 540M based GT 555M w/ Optimus). I located a modified INF for 280.26 that seems to have helped me.

NVIDIA Forceware 280.26 (OEM Notebook)

I have now ran WEI (with disappointing results):
Processor: 7.4
Memory: 7.6
Graphics: 5.5
Gaming graphics: 6.7
Primary hard disk: 5.9 :|
Base score: 5.5

I now can run games with a freeze/lag every 5 or so minutes. I still have yet to get Homefront to even BOOT. Fear 2: Project Origin ran beautifully on full high settings.

Nvidia needs to cut the crap and let power users drain their battery and ignore the stupid Intel graphics. At least give us the option to run desktop via the GT 555M. There is no reason this machine's base score should not be a 5.9 with a standard HDD and 6.7 with an SSD. Now I'm discouraged from even buying an SSD as the laptop boots in 45 seconds anyway and it will not improve my Base score. My older laptop that just went kaput would consistently score 6.0 with SSD and with no Optimus on an inferior GPU. ?!? Really?

At least now I have a media machine but now I have to go out and get a laptop that is not Optimus enabled (with GTX chipset) or get one with ATI graphics as I hear they have no problems with Optimus. My guess is Intel is doing this on purposed because of the Intel/NVIDIA lawsuit. Sabotage from the inside, and the users are the victims. In the end I'm just going to most likely install Linux on this machine now and use it for a different purpose (web/video/music).

Down and dirty, I feel mislead by Lenovo advertising (gaming machine my @$$) and I find their customer support is lacking in issues where the customer wants to return an item outright and when a customer has an overly technical issue beyond manually switching the Optimus switch on the front of the laptop or doing driver upgrade and a power cycle.

EDIT: Also I know WEI means nothing in real world but some games require this number to be higher or they will not boot due to not having required hardware. My main gripe is about having to tweak the system to even run games and other games just flat out will not run even though it is labeled as a gaming system.

BTW: I own/complain about a Y570 i7 8GB RAM 500GB/7200RPM w/ Optimus Nividia GT 555m

Extra info on the Intel/NVIDIA setlement:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...tle_patent_dispute_with_6_year_1_5b_deal.html

 

You might want to look into updating the Intel HD Graphics drivers to the latest off Intel's download site. My lowest score is 5.7 which is the Intel HD 3000 graphics on my Y570 with the latest drives from Intel.

PS. The disk score will not change regardless of which mechanical hard drive you install even a Momnetus XT, only SSD's will give you a better score on the hard drive.

 

Man you didn't read my post very well, I am well versed in updating the drivers, as I explained to Lenovo customer support, several times ... all drivers are the latest and greatest. I also noted in my post above that the score should be limited by type of HDD you have installed. "There is no reason this machine's base score should not be a 5.9 with a standard HDD and 6.7 with an SSD." The HDD should be the lowest common denominator unless running SSD, then your video card should be the lowest with SSD, to have the video card be the drag even with a mechanical HDD is disappointing on a gaming machine. In my opinion even your 5.7 is sub par with this configuration it should be a 5.9 minimum period. Dell has a PC with similar specs and it hits those numbers repeatably from the factory...

 

I have similar WEI scores, except my graphics is a 5.9. Still below what it ought to be. This graphics issue and the headphone jack noise are definitely something I hope lenovo will release software to patch up in the near future. Its unfortunate there is a 15% restocking fee for refunds...

I understand you own the original games, but percepts there are cracks that permits Homefront to boot regardless of the base score? Try http://geekmontage.com/texts/homefront-crash-lag-freeze-sound-launch/
Perhaps there recommended fix for not launching will help.

Alternatively, you could try the WEI hack: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/169907-how-hack-your-windows-experience-index-scores.html

 

I had tried that before, as I found it on a Dell M14x thread about the same issue. Thanks for the post. I just feel that there is something physically wrong with the model I received as it even locks up if watching youtube videos. My problem is that Lenovo would not work with me on shipping and only gave me a run around on what was wrong, transferring me to the warranty department and back to software support ad nausem. They would not even let me return this laptop as a factory defect RMA.

I appreciate your post and hope it helps someone with similar issues and a fully functioning system. I would love to get a 5.9 on my graphics as that would mean the sandybridge i7 is working as designed and described by the manufacturer. Congrats on having a fully functioning system, I was not so lucky.

Edit:
I just erased all my previous scores and re-ran WEI and my PC shut off mid test twice in a row. Something is seriously wrong with this system. Anyone else experiencing random lock ups on web browsing and WEI shut downs? This cannot be an isolated incident. If anyone else has these issues and can get Lenovo to listen please send me a PM.

Edit2:
Starting a vanilla install of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and will grab all fresh drivers again, maybe it has something to do with the OEM software supplied or bloatware.

 

I'm sorry you received a defective unit. I also just reran wei and got a 6.2 on graphics. I have your identical model with the latest drivers. Lenovo really ought to work with you on replacing that sytem, as its clearly defective with no fault on your own.

My suggestions would be to try calling IBM ( Contact IBM - United States. I was pissed about the late shipping of my unit and emailed them instead of web lenovo, and the next day my unit shipped. Its possible its because I contacted IBM instead.

If you try calling Lenovo again, just repeatedly ask to speak to a manager. Say "i know you can't do it, please transfer me to someone who can." This worked when I eventually canceled my order with lenovo (after it shipped) and went and bought from Amazon.

Last, try PMing the mods at IdeaPad Y, U, B, V, and Z series Laptops - Lenovo Community with your problem. Its possible they can help. Users named Yigit and Serge1410 are usually helpful, and will at least respond to you.

Good luck getting another unit. Its unfortunate to invest so much in a PC that fails to deliver upon the expected performance.

 

So I just finished the vanilla install of Win7 Ultimate, currently doing windows updates. I installed all of the drivers from the Lenovo site as well as Intel & NVIDIA graphics drivers from their respected sites. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get a driver for the lcd screen? It was not listed on the Lenovo website. My lcd is called Generic PNP Device right now.

I'll let you all know if a vanilla install helps after everything is installed and functioning.

EDIT:
Just finished all of the updates and I have re-ran WEI (with impressive results):
Processor: 7.4
Memory: 7.6
Graphics: 6.3
aming graphics: 6.7
Primary hard disk: 5.9 :| (expected)
Base score: 5.9 :| (expected)

I now have the scores I should have gotten originally. I will let you know if I still have gaming issues. Now I plan to get a mSATA SSD HDD and pair it with my 500GB so I can get a WEI of 6.3. I will only get a SSD for it if I run into no more problems. I'm starting my Steam install now, will keep you posted.

 

Good news indeed. Congrats and Happy gaming.

Tip: goto the Nvidia panel and turn the slider all the way to maximum performance. I've noticed I've gotten higher FPS with graphic intensive games like the Witcher 2 by doing this.

 

Okay sounds many people are like RMAing the laptop for nothing on this thread just because they getting low graphics scores with WEI. Chances are you'll be getting back the same laptop from RMA with nothing fixed because nothing was wrong in the first place. You'll end up 4 weeks without a laptop and loose that time on your warranty period. There's a tech support number to contact Lenovo for such small issues because who's know it maybe fixable over the phone. If not a RMA approach would be appropriate afterwards.

Just some pointers:

Be sure to have the manual graphics switch on the laptop enabled before running Windows benchmark. A white light would indicate that the NVIDA graphics with Optimus is enabled.

Make sure you have all updates via Windows Update.

The Intel HD 3000 can get you a desktop graphics rating anywhere between 5.6 to 5.9 in most cases, so don't go thinking there's anything wrong with your laptop if you score a 5.7 and someone else gets 5.9; it's just the way WEI works and the reason why most people on any forum do not take the ratings given by Windows serious because it's seriously flawed.

Go over to NoteBookCheck and check for reviews on Sandy Bridge laptops using just the Intel HD 3000 and you'll see what I mean by the Intel graphics score.

I'm not trying to point fingers but this is the exact reason why I hardly visit this thread because people are so clueless on who to contact for minor issues. As stated above Lenovo has a toll free tech support number and forum for Q & A. Intel and NVIDIA both also have their respective forums for additional questions and answers.

 

Nemix, you are not reading any of my posts and only skimming over them...

The issue may or may not be resolved, I am still testing. Did not have time to test last night because a man has to sleep. I am not 100% sure that the problem was resolved and no I wanted to RMA my laptop because it was sold as a gaming laptop and in reality it would not even surf the web well. Also I did contact Lenovo numerous times and they were clueless and could not help me. I mentioned that several times in this thread. Also with newer Optimus drivers you don't need to switch the manual graphics switch for WEI as it will test the discreet graphics now without it switched [tested and proven]. Also an Intel HD 3000 consistently scores over 6.0 in most other commercially available similarly built systems, and in fact scores 6.3 on my system (not 5.7-5.9 like you said or the 5.3 I was previously getting). And for the final time it is written in my posts above that I did get the latest drivers again from Intel and NVIDIA and then did the full suite of Windows Updates then ran WEI. Also I stated in another post that WEI is worthless but some games still check it to see if you have required hardware.

My primary issues may still remain that I may not be able to play games I own on my gaming laptop and I also need to see if I get random freezing in games as well as full lockup when streaming videos.

While I will agree with you that there are a lot of repeat or simple fix questions in this thread, I want to state that I read the whole thread and did not see anyone else with a Y570 that was having similar problems. This gives my posts merit especially since I may have found a fix and have been contributing to the thread positively, unlike your condescending tone and generic responses, you sound like Lenovo support. "Durr update dwivers and do a power cycle... Oh that didn't work, well let me transfer you to Warranty Dept. for an RMA." By not trying to point the finger you in fact are and in reality the finger needs to be pointed in Lenovo's direction for releasing either garbage hardware or garbage software. I exhausted every avenue before posting in this thread, including NVIDIA, Intel, and several other forums with similar issues. Nothing fixed my laptop, ergo this is not a simple issue and is a deeper lying issue within the Lenovo standard hardware/software configuration. There is no reason the laptop should function differently with up to date drivers and their version of Windows fully updated versus a Microsoft version of Windows fully updated with up to date drivers. There is no reason that a customer should spend a week trouble shooting his machine to get it to operate as advertised. There is no reason I should have to go out and buy another copy of Windows for my brand new laptop. There is no reason for the one key recovery to recreate the issue rather than fix it. As I stated I tried every avenue and contacted Lenovo numerous times, hopefully by putting that at the end of my post you will read it next time you skim over it.

 

Not sure if this question has been asked, but what case do ya'll recommend for the y470?

 

I've been getting choppy results on l4d2 after I installed the new driver update.
Switched back to 275.5 driver and everything was fine again.

 

Veno and alkaline,

I got my y470 a few days ago, it's the i7 version with 500GB HDD. First impressions I have to say it is a very stylish and sleek laptop. It remains very cool except on the left side where the heat exhaust is. In terms of battery lief, I haven't tested it yet and I just have it plugged in at home. A lot of people are complaining about the screen quality but it's fine for me. Ofcourse, I am no graphics editor or anything like that. Overall, I am quite happy with this laptop and it was a good purchase.

I have a question for the forums: To save the battery's life (durability), is it better to remove the battery while at home and just keep the laptop plugged into the AC adapter?

 

Concerning battery health, I've noticed that Lenov's pre-installed some energy management software on my i7 y470 that allows me to set a power scheme that's for "best battery health". You can access it through: Start > All Programs > Lenovo > Energy Management > power management options.

Practically, this means that the laptop doesn't charge while plugged in until the battery capacity drops to below 45%. of course, I can't comment on the long term usefulness of this approach, but it seems to make sense: the laptop runs off battery most times and only takes charge from AC when capacity drops below a threshold. I'm thinking it could explain why some users earlier in this thread experienced slow charging times.

 

@ bhoran83

I admit, I did skim though your post and I apologize.

I know there's a BIOS 27 for the Lenovo Y570 that is not on the Lenovo download site, give Lenovo a call and see you can get the BIOS sent to you by email, maybe it might fix your problems.

 

Thanks for this post. I was wondering if having my laptop plugged in all the time would kill my battery. I set it to the best battery health setting now, since I usually have it plugged in when I use it. Thanks!

 

Just a friendly reminder to those who wish to preserve their battery:

Discharge the battery to ~40%, take it out, and store it somewhere cool.

 

How does this preserve the battery? I did the same only mine was charged to 100%

 

Anyone on this thread have the latest BIOS 28 (2.06) on file?

If possible, can you please upload it via MegaUpload. The only place I can find the BIOS is on a Chinese forum which I cannot read and Lenovo does not bother to update their BIOS's on their download site to the latest.

Mine shipped with BIOS 27 (2.05) but the latest on Lenovo's download site is BIOS 25, this sucks for anyone looking to download the latest BIOS for an update which could help resolve problems without going through Tech Support or RMA.

I'm currently trying to get a hold of Lenovo to resolve the problem, this is unacceptable.

 

Not sure about the science. but they say the 40% preserves the maximum amount of charge (figured from experiments and such).

If you really want to get into the science, you can read about it. Or you can stick the simple guidelines on this page:

How to Store Batteries – Battery University

 

My laptop shipped with 2.06 on it, you may be better off possibly with your current BIOS. I will see if I can make a backup of mine if you are interested. Just a heads up Lenovo BIOS downgrade isn't possible with factory software as I tried to go back to 2.03 to see if it resolved my issues and got an error about having a future version. I didn't try and bypass it to force a downgrade out of fear of making my problems worse. Good luck with customer support, hope you have better luck than I did.

On a side note, the generic drivers for the audio card enable the red LED in the port to illuminate but you lose out on some SRS features, anyone been able to enable this feature with the Lenovo provided drivers? I like being able to find my audio port in the dark, but I also like the SRS features.

 

I just use the latest driver from Realtek with Lenovo's SRS control panel, I also notice the LED is gone with OEM drivers but I like to have the latest drivers installed on my machine.

If you can make a backup of you're BIOS that would be really great, please do provide a link to the upload if possible.

Thanks,

 

Does anybody know how to make the SRS Premium Surround Sound setting stay on Music? For some reason every time I reboot my computer, it goes back to the Movie setting. I never watch movies, but I listen to a lot of music, so it gets a little annoying to keep switching it.

Is there any easier way to set it to Music every boot, or is there a way to make it permanent? Thanks!

 

Mine always boots up in the normal setting... do you have the one key theater set to movie mode? if you put it in intelligence mode it'll switch to music automatically...

 

latest BIOS 28 (2.06) on file - (working for y470): IQY0206AX64.exe

 

Thanks for the upload freaksamael, this has really made my day.

The update process went as smooth as butter and my WEI ratings are exactly the same before and after the flash, so no harm done plus the new BIOS now officially supports the Intel 6300 (5Ghz/3x3 MiMO).

I have a i3-2310M version of the Y570 because there was no i5 version available in Canada, my HD 3000 onboard only dedicates 64MB of my 4GB total system memory; i was kinda hoping the BIOS update would double up the dedicated memory on the HD 3000 onboard but I guess it was just wishful thinking.

Can anyone who has a i7 version with 8GB confirm how much ram is dedicated to the HD 3000 onboard with 8GB total system memory and can you pull out one stick of 4GB so that there is only 4GB remaining and check how much is dedicated afterwards...thanks in advance.

I'm going to upgrading to 8GB of ram very soon anyway but I'd just like to know ahead of time that there maybe a possibility that adding more ram ma result in higher dedicate system memory to the HD 3000 onboard, regardless; I can pretty much make use of 8GB with my usage.

 

I'll check that for you today at lunch, I have my laptop at work today. I did rip the top 4MB of my bios and was going to strip my keys and upload it for you to add your keys and manually flash via DOS but since you got the official file that is much better and easier!

Also my PC has not had any issues what so ever since the fresh install of Windows. Even have Homefront booting with the workaround and Solidworks works with no lag. I still have yet to see my PC go into a full lock as before or even lag in gaming.

My understanding is that Lenovo will soon release BIOS 2.07, some Chinese users had minor bugs they discovered.

EDIT: I also want to voice the InsydeH2O BIOS files are a pain to obtain a backup of work with and edit, I miss the days of AMI BIOS and Pheonix BIOS.

EDIT2:
8GB config seems to be the same as your 4GB config. Also the Intel chipset seems to share the 2GB discreet graphics card's memory. Does that mean the Intel chip uses GDDR5?

Intel HD 3000 dedicated memory 64MB, Total available Graphics Memory 1696MB, Shared system memory 1632MB.

 

Oh.. that explains it. I thought that only controlled the screen contrast and such. I always kept it on movie because I think it looks a lot better. Thanks!

 

Thanks bhoran83 for the confirmation and I'm glad the fresh install solved your problems.

I've asked Lenovo to add an option for changing the dedicated graphics memory for the HD 3000 onboard but looks like they either can't do it or do not want to do it.

From reading on the Thinkpad thread, my understanding is that the HD 3000 can dedicate up to 512MB of system ram (not total shared), which should help with Aero and programs/games that use the HD 3000. But all those Thinkpad systems did not have discrete graphics card like the Y470/Y570 and had 8GB of total system ram.

This sucks, cause it's clearly possible to dedicate more system memory to the HD 3000 just Lenovo is not adding the option to the BIOS to allow users to change the setting, even without a BIOS option Leonovo can make changes under the hood to make the BIOS dedicate more ram if it detects the system has more than 4GB of ram.

@ freaksamael

Where did you grab a hold of the official BIOS 2.06 release for download?

PS. Please let us know if there is newer BIOS release is available and upload if possible.

Thanks.

 

From this site and this site in Chinese using Google translate and registering...so, at least, bios modding (STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED) could be useful... . Anyhow, let's wait for official 2.07 and MAYBE we'll have this possibility.

As for announcement, I'm in the same boat with you regarding chinese... From time to time I'll check Lenovo drivers page...
From naming convention I think that the file name for v2.07 will be IQY0207AX64.exe or version 47CN29WW. Google is our friend.

 

Thanks for sharing freaksamael.

Googling will definitely help but Chinese, Google translate and registration is a mess.

We'll leave this task up to you on the this Lenovo Y470/Y570 community thread if you don't mind.

If there is a BIOS update just upload onto the thread, it doesn't have to be right at release but anywhere within 2 weeks would bew good, this way you don't have to check very often.

Preferred would be official BIOS update files uploaded onto the thread, so there's less chance of messing up for new comers.

 

Hi. New here, and from Canada. Can't find a physical Y470 anywhere (just online).

Want to get one of these, but need some feedback about the quality of the displays. I saw a great post about 20 pages back listing all the makes Lenovo uses for this model, but has anyone that does any kind of work with the screen quality (photos, video, graphic design, CAD, 3D, even games) commented about the relative quality? I can find online references to viewing angles, some brightness and the reflectivity, but nothing about the qualities: whether shades are smooth (or 'light parts blow out to white', or 'dark tones fall off a cliff to black'), if they are sharp, etc?

I'm willing to drive about 20 miles around the greater Toronto area if someone knows where I can see one, or otherwise, if someone could just post their qualitative opinion about their display qualities. Or maybe just some general advice, like "Anything not from AUO is A-OK".

Apologies for the very long first post. I hope to be a member of this particular thread within the next week or two!