Lenovo Y470 and Y570 Official Owners Thread

@freaksamael

I'll post photos of the BIOS menu today, I apologize for not posting earlier. The BIOS will work on both Y470/Y570 as they use the same BIOS. Thanks for the link to the most up to date software as well, I was only missing the onekey theater and was tired of manually adjusting my display.

EDIT: Photos are up. Bear in mind I'm running a hybrid of 2.06 EC MOD and 2.08 BIOS OEM.
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Confirmed-Lenovo-Y570-V2-06?pid=35510#pid35510

 

I been checking thru earlier parts of this thread btu the information was not all there in a step by step approach. Since there are no new nvidia drivers for the y570 on the lenovo site, how do we properly install the latest drivers? And do they work perfectly fine with the y570 optimus?

 

Uninstall the old Lenovo one's, reboot then install the new ones from NVIDIA.

Nice screens on the mod, is there an option to change the HD 3000 dedicated memory size?

 

That's nice... I may give the bios a shot

 

I just installed the modded bios and am pleased with all the new options.
How do you run a hybrid 2.06 EC Mod with 2.08 bios OEM? what are the steps to install?

Also, how long have you been using the mod and how is the stability? Finally, how is the stability while gaming?

Thank you for all the information. I'll stick with the modded bios, but just wondering your experience.

 

There is an option, I have not messed with it though.

All you need now is the flasher for 2.08 OEM from this post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7937620-post1655.html
Run just like the MOD flasher.

I have been using the MOD in combo with 2.08 for almost a week, I use this laptop 8 hours a day minimum with a mix of heavy gaming and web surfing and other tasks, compiling software ect. I'm not able to do encryption/decryption right now due to AES-NI not being enabled (the option seems to be buried somewhere special). The system is much more stable now than it was on 2.06 as I use to have random crashes and strange lockups multiple times a day. I have not had one since the flash, I have ran it for 6 days. I have seen a huge improvement in stability.

 

@Nemix77

I have changed my video ram from 64MB to 128MB via BIOS.


As a side note, some Steam games now play fluid on the integrated video card. Minecraft also now runs just fine with the GT555M disabled as well, when I first got the laptop this was not the case.

 

What's the highest amount of memory you can dedicated to the onboard HD 3000?

This looks like a something I would do myself which should make the onboard HD 3000 perform better for internet flash videos and Windows Aero.

 

Highest Apeture is 512MB
Highest minimum dedicated is 128MB
Max graphic memory will be 1760MB by default as seen above

I'm sure it can be HEX edited to allow more, but I'm not going in that direction as it seems to be perfect at this setting, as the iGPU will start at 128MB and scale as needed up to 1760MB.

Aero and flash performance do seem to be improved, but I cannot gauge it.

I am no longer forced to run my javaw.exe through Optimus and I love that because now I can play some games without draining my battery when being mobile, also as an added plus Facebook games seem to load much faster.

 

+1 Rep for good info provided.

Just to add to the video memory info, Aperture size is not the same as dedicated to the HD 3000.

Aperture size usually means memory shared with both the discrete and onboard as priority if the video application calls for it. This option is also found on desktop motherboards and doesn't always result in higher frames but most users have reported smoother gameplay setting the Aperture size to a higher number.

I'd say 256MB is a good number for the Aperture size.

 

Eh ... kinda...
Aperture size is more or less allowing the iGPU to grab more texture memory from the RAM not the switchable graphics, kinda like a video buffer overflow that grabs space on your HDD when RAM is spent. So it is shared memory but not between the iGPU and the GT555M.
I only have it set so high because I run a custom texture pack in Minecraft and as we all know Minecraft is not properly optimized like a AAA game. So instead of getting a random crash when playing on the HD 3000, I increased available aperture. While I agree it is not going to help most AAA games, in my situation it is beneficial. But why would you playing a AAA game on the HD 3000 in the first place? Use the GT 555M for AAA games!
It is more similar to virtual memory for extending RAM by using HDD space.
Either way it lets me play some Steam games and Minecraft without draining my battery with the GT555M. I could not before tinkering with it a little.
But it is only used when called on like you stated, so realistically with 8GB of RAM it doesn't matter either way, because it will not affect anything if not called on or if the GT555M is enabled.
When it is called on it actually uses only 1/2 the aperture space due to one half being uncached area and another write-combined area, so in my case it is like adding 256MB of VRAM to the HD 3000 for my modded texture packs.
Here is an old article from 2004 about aperture on desktop AGPs, I'm sure there are more but this one is short and to the point:
What is AGP Aperture size? | techPowerUp
I also use very graphic intensive programs like Adobe CS5 and the like and I don't want to have to use my GT555M for it when the HD 3000 can handle it with less power consumption.
I do want the extra RAM used when using the GT555M so it is a non-issue as it is not being called on when using a program that calls the Optimus, therefor the RAM is free for the CPU to use and not tied to the iGPU as it is not being called for.

NOTE TO ALL:
What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander, I am going down a path that is against the grain and is not for all, please be careful with customizing in this manner as it may VOID YOUR WARRANTY. I thought I should add that, as well as remind you all of how to get back to OEM BIOS in case you need to turn your laptop in for warranty work, follow the downgrade link in my signature to get back to 2.03. I also want to point out that all of my BIOS packages will not flash to incompatible models or series of laptops. Do not do this if you do not understand what is going on or are not comfortable with it.

 

They don't have the option anymore in today's motherboards. It was a AGP thing but then again only found on those motherboard without onboard back in the days. I had a nForce 2 motherboard that had the option. It's a technical way to explain it but not by all means correct with today's graphics.

 

The option is not available in today's motherboards for desktops as they have moved into PCIe and away from AGP, PCIe will auto set the aperture based on RAM available. The HD 3000 is configured more like an AGP than a PCIe device or older onboard video in our BIOS and hardware. Think of it as an integrated AGP. Trust me, it would be a technical feat to share the HD 3000 RAM with the GT555M. Also the option was in the BIOS of many motherboards I have used that had AGP, the option actually pre-dates AGP and goes with original ISA and PCI video cards, an some integrated graphics chip sets. I had an S3 Trio back in the day that had the option. Hell I have a P4 desktop that I keep around for the kids, it has both AGP and integrated and the option is in the bios on that machine. The reason it had to be used at the minimum on older machines is because the system RAM was generally slower than the VRAM on PCI/AGP cards and if used more heavily than native VRAM it would degrade data transfer rates due to the slower system RAM.

 

Doing it this way, you dont lose any optimus settings or such?

 

I believe the uninstaller gives you an option to keep or remove your settings but I cannot confirm. I do not have an OS installed on my laptop ATM.

 

If you run the installer without uninstalling first it will give you the option to keep the existing settings or create new ones.

 

It's usually better the uninstall the old ones, reboot then reinstall the news ones. I'm pretty sure there's a way to export the settings. Driver problems are the worst since it's so closely related to hardware most think it's their hardware failing thus sending back for RMA, I like to avoid problem before they occur and save a much hassle as possible.

 

guys anyone tryed removeing intel and nvidia drivers from lenovo and do driver sweeper and then install latest drivers from intel and nvidia website? does that works due to switchable button? or is there way to modify the drivers

lenovo sucks with drivers -.-

Ps. modify the %"$! frist post, put some more info on the laptop rather then if ur delivery was cannceled - no one wants to know that, people want to see benchmarks, temps and other computer related stuff

 

Hey guys do you know how to track a package using Fedex if you only know the case number?

 

i have the same model as you and follow your steps to unlock the menus
but no luck, the menus are the same as original
steps i follow:
my original 2.08 > downgrade 2.03 > upgrade 2.06 MOD > upgrade 2.08 (bios only)
i run all installers as administrator, what i'm doing wrong?
tks
ps: is there a installer with 2.08 bios and EC? in case of turning back to original bios and ec for warranty work

 

Look at this thread here.

[Unlocked] lenovo y 570 whitelist removal request

There are two bioses that were made by Camiloml. One with just unlocked menus, and the other with eliminated whitelist and unlocked menus.

You'll have to roll back to 2.03 in order to get it to work.

1) Roll back to 2.03
2) Run the compressed file (After which, it will be flashed to Bios = 2.06 and EC = 2.06 and will have all menus in the bios unlocked and whitelist removed depending on which bios you downloaded.
3)You may then flash the 2.08 bios in order to have the most recent bios. The EC will remain the same however.

 

What kind of performance are people getting in the Battlefield 3 beta. My y470 runs super hot (90c cpu, 100c gpu) and my framerate tanks.

 

Hey guys!

I'm going to get my Lenovo y570 i3 version this sunday and I have a question to ask:

Would it be a good idea to put an SSD with a 2nd hdd bay into the optical drive slot?

Is it a SATA 1 or 2 connector (or 3?)

I was looking for this answer on the internet and this forum thread too, but couldn't find the answer.

Thank you in advance!

Regards

 

It's really up to you.

You can also purchase an MSata mini pci-e SSD card and use that as your primary boot drive.

I like keeping my optical drive.

 

So my Y570 just came to the door a few minutes ago, and to people wondering about i5 batteries... I live in Canada and I got the 62Wh battery.

 

I'm probably getting 40-60 frames on medium to high settings with native 1366 by 768 resolution with my Lenovo Y570.

 

Can you share your temps and energy settings?

My cpu goes up into the 90s and i get 20fps on low.

 

I noticed this was already answered but I wanted to ask a few questions, did you reboot after each? Did you check BIOS after each reboot to ensure the flash took? Can you post a photo of your BIOS currently.

For warranty work you can send back with any official OEM BIOS. I am not sure I will ever get a 2.08 EC until Lenovo gets off their lasy butts and posts it publicly or it gets leaked from a Chinese Lenovo site. Lenovo will not ensure you are running the same BIOS as shipped.

 

Your PC is throttling, you need to improve your cooling with either thermal paste or an aftermarket laptop cooler. What is your ambient room temp?

 

Ambient room temp is probably in the low 70s (72F). I just checked the heatsink and it's all clean inside- I think the fan isn't revving up as much (if i recall, when i purchased the laptop the fan was much louder, loud enough that i complained about it). Now, even when gaming, my fan doesn't get loud at all- yes i've changed energy management settings, uninstalled and reinstalled energy management, and i'm running the 2.06 bios (are those latest?)

any suggestions or ideas? perhaps a way to manually control fan speed?

 

Hello. I'm going to be buying this computer this weekend so I was wondering if there was any info I need to know in order to optimize it? Also, I hear that the y570's Nvida Geforce is a 555 with less cores and more speed so anything I can do to push it to equal out?

 

I would advise you don't buy the Y570, as right now there are much better options available for the price range.

The main issue with the Y570 is it's lackluster screen. It's 15.6" with only 1366x768 resolution, which is quite terrible when you consider that 1366x768 is the same resolution used in 12-inch laptops. 1366x768 is a low resolution for a 15.6" screen because it makes things onscreen big and limits you to about one window onscreen at a time (read: multitasking is really difficult). Most 15.6" 1366x768 screens have mediocre image quality as well, due to low contrast ratios. The screen makes more of a difference than any other spec because it makes a difference for everything you do with the computer.

The processor, or a tiny bump in GPU performance, can never make as much of a difference as the screen does.

There are many great value mid-range gaming-capable laptops available right now; the Y570 is not one of them. The Y570 is a terribly-imbalanced system. It's got an semi-upper-midrange GPU and a quad i7, but the worst type of screen possible for this size of notebook.

I would suggest checking out the HP DV6t Quad Edition for $949 with the Radeon 6770M GPU and the 1920x1080 display.
- The 6770M is about as powerful as a true GT 555M, not a 'gimped' 555M like you're getting in the Y570.
- The 1920x1080 display is significantly better than the junky 1366x768 screen the Y570 has.
Link: HP Official Store — Buy and Customize your dv6 and dv6tqe series PC direct from HP
Coupon code: NBY3868
Notes:
- Don't upgrade to the 2GB 6770M, it makes no difference.
- Don't downgrade to the 1366x768 display, I wouldn't be recommending this laptop if it didn't have the 1920x1080 option. I'm only recommending a config with the 1920x1080 display. It isn't worth buying without.

Another laptop that is specced similarly to the Y570, but with a 1920x1080 display and a slightly faster version of the GT 555M GPU (still gimped but is a bit faster) is the Sager NP5165
Link: Sager NP5165
- Be sure to scroll down and select an OS
- The thermal compound is recommended because the stock compound has been known to cause high temps; the upgraded compound has been known to result in good temps.
- You might want to consider the cheap hard drive upgrades
- If you want, the i7-2630QM processor is available, but keep in mind that for many games you won't even notice the difference between the i7 and an i5.

 

Huh, the HP comp is a better deal with that code. I was a bit worried about the Radeon 6770, but considering that the 555 on the y70 is gimped anyway; it may be a better deal. Of course theres the waiting for two weeks, but this laptop can hold out a bit longer anyway.

 

Even if the 6770M was a couple percentage points slower than the Y570's GT 555M (it's not, the 6770M is faster), it would still be worth it for the screen.

My view is it's worth waiting two weeks to get a better laptop, when you plan on using that laptop for 3-4 years.

 

That's what Im thinking. Thank you and I gave you a rep.

 

My Y470 computer came with 2.08 pre installed - I just popped the Intel 6300 card in and can't get past the boot screen, so I can confirm that it is not on the whitelist yet. I am a complete noob at BIOS hacking - can anyone point me to 2.08 with a modified whitelist?

 

I think your post is all opinion, given that the laptop has capability to display on an external monitor the resolution is not that big of a deal. I am perfectly happy with the 720p resolution when gaming, 1080p on such a small screen is too small in my opinion, it is the reason why people would not buy a 1080p tv below 32" for gaming, since you only gain value on larger displays. I have no problem multi-tasking on the display, I also use external monitor every once in a while for applications that have many user options and you can take advantage of the real estate. I really enjoy gaming on this machine. I also believe the build quality of Lenovo far exceeds HP/Sager. Plus HP is going to stop making PCs soon, Lenovo is not. You can easily overclock the GT555M to out perform the 6770M.

 

Only 2.06 has a modified whitelist. You will have to force a downgrade, follow the link in my signature for 2.06 MOD. We will not be able to do a mod whitelist 2.08 until Lenovo releases an OEM 2.08 BIOS for download.

 

thanks bhoran - anyone know what the 2.08 added? IE would i miss anything by downgrading?

 

You may run into stability issues, I had a few random crashes and lock-ups on 2.06 pre-MOD. Not everyone experienced the same crashes I did.

 

I agree, it is pure opinion. I just returned a Dell XPS 15 with the 1080p screen because the laptop kept freezing and Dell couldn't find out why. The screen on the Dell was marginally better than my new Y570, but is not worth the extra $350.00 for it. Everything looks just fine and absolutely no complaints. My Y570 is actually a better built system than the Dell was. I am very pleased.

 

What are your thermal management settings on? Sounds like it is on Super Silent and it will not cool enough for gaming.

2.08 is the latest but there is no way to get an EC without Lenovo updating their website.

 

Has anyone found where you can order another keyboard for the y570? I live in Canada and got the bilingual keyboard which... well literally makes me want to cry.

 

I third this post. I purchased an XPS 15 with i5 and gt 520m and the 1080p display for about $750. The same day I purchased the y570 to make sure which I liked better. The xps screen was far and away better, and it had better speakers, but in day to day use and especially gaming, the y570 worked much better. What most overlook in the quest for higher resolution is that even with a gt555, you aren't going to be able to run newer games at 1080p resolution with any kind of a framerate. On the same titles, the y570 trounced the Dell at 720p (by at least 7 fps on average) and the dell could barely push any of them past 15 fps in 1080p.

Watching movies, however, was way better on the Dell, but since I have a flatscreen I can also use as a monitor, that wasn't a concern for me. It also helped that the Y570 was almost $100 cheaper for a similar processor and memory.

 

Anyone have a fix for this problem:

Maximum processor state and minimum processor state are set to 0% randomly on high performance. Probably when battery is used for a while, even though energy saver setting is used.

 

Hi, I ordered my Y470 two days ago, it's currently on it's way via UPS ground, I will get the package on Monday next week. I'm just very excited, this is my first notebook purchase ever since I started working in 2004.

I've used couple of notebooks back in the days of college 1998 - 2003 (Sony Picturebook, Acer C-100 tablet PC) It's been so long since then, and things have changed so much for the notebook market, both in performance and styling.

I spend over two months doing research, I looked at the different offerings from a list of notebook manufactures including: DELL, HP, Lenovo, Alienware, Clevo, Toshiba, SAMSUNG, ASUS, ACER, APPLE, and RAIN. I also went on review sites, product sits, and forums to get more info on user feedback.

Some notebooks I've looked at: HP Envy 14, HP dv6t, Lenovo ThinkPad, IdeaPad, Alienware M11x, ASUS N45SF, ASUS U30SD, SAMSUNG QX411-W01, Apple Mac Book Pro 15", RAIN LiveBook.


Below are the top 10 requirements for my ideal notebook:

1. Must be around 14-15" display and under 5 lbs
2. Must have 4+ hours of battery life
3. Must have a discreet GPU that will run 3D games: SC2, L4D2, CoH, COD, AoE, BF3, WoT, LoL
4. Must be able to run Ableton Live + Traktor Scratch Pro 2, and other audio production/DJ apps with ease
4. Must house two or more SSD/HDD drives
5. Must run Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash CS5 with ease
6. Must run faster than my current living room entertainment htpc (intel atom+nvidia ion-based nettop 2009)
7. Must have a faster boot-time than my current desktop PCs.
8. Must be able to stream HD movies (.mkv format) wirelessly to my living room 55" TV via WIDI 2.0
9. The Built quality have to be excellent, and the styling should be simple, exquisite and pleasing to the eyes.
10. The notebook need to last me for the next 4-5 years, or longer.

So after two months, I've finally found my dream notebook, from my ideal notebook to the ideapad Y series. Initially, it was a choice between Y570 vs Y470. Later i've finally decided to go with a smaller formfactor Y470 because I wanted the same performance in a smaller package. And not having numeric pad wasn't a problem for me. I really like the concept design and the performance advantages of this notebook. I've never used a Lenovo notebook before, but I really felt inspired each time I looked at the Y series. With this notebook we can creating content and enjoying content, or do both at the same time! I believe that, the things we use for our jobs, or hobbies, whatever they may be, at the end of the day, those ideas we generate, will greatly reflect on the tools that we use.

I've placed the order early this week and purchased the Y470 IdeaPad at $799 (after fatwallet rebate) in-addition to their 3% cash back program (which I won't be able to get the rebate check until after Dec 2011) For $799 price range, it's basically getting the i7+extra ram upgrade for less than $100 (compare to the Y470 i5 version).

I also ordered few some SSDs recommend by other Y470/Y570 users on notebookreview. Here are the final notebook spec:

Lenovo IdeaPad Y470 (085525U)
CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM 6MB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB (w/Optimus)
RAM: 8GB PC3-8500 DDR3 1333MHz
OS HDD: MyDigitalSSD 128GB Mini SATA PCI-e SSD w/trim (MDMS-50128)
Application HDD: SAMSUNG 470 Series 2.5" 256GB SSD w/trim (MZ-5PA256/US)
Storage HDD: 500GB 7200rpm (replacing the ODD combo drive)
Y470 2.5" 12.7mm HDD Caddy

I will be getting all the parts within the next week or so, In the near future, I will be posting some Youtube video reviews once I get all the hardware and software in place.

Cheers!

-theartdude

 

Wow that is a lot of drives! You will enjoy the Y470.

 

I found a Canadian coupon code for the base i7 model.

Lenovo: IdeaPad Y470 14” Laptop w/i7-2630QM/8GB/GeForce 550M $799, 15.6” Z570 w/i5-2410 $599 - Posted Oct. 1, 2011 - RedFlagDeals.com

 

at first i was going to get asus 43sn, but then y470 popped out with nice prices, so i got it. i am happy with it but still, i kind of want it 45sf because of 555gt, but ill stick with y470. its a really nice machine. pes, nba, f1, driver-san francisco runs nicely.

 

EDIT: Just read your post again... Sorry.....