Lenovo Y500 SLi review

Hello ! i have a question for those who know about this, Do you think this laptop can handle autocad? and solidworks? thanks !

 

Hey guys.

Would a Y500 with 6gb of RAM and an i5, while still maintaining the 650m SLI, be drastically different from the one reviewed here?

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question.

 

I own one. Let me put it to you this way, I get 60fps in Far Cry 3 at 720p with High settings. (to achieve this, update to the most recently drivers by NVIDIA, install the NVIDIA Geforce experience beta, then go into the NVIDIA control panel and turn off multi-display, turn on SLI). With one card active, it got 25-30 fps.

The thing you have to understand, on the desktop when i3/i5/i7 is benchmarked against each other for gaming, with everything else being equal, the frame rates are the same. While there are exceptions to this rule, most games don't use more than 2 cores very efficiently. The graphics card is what matters the most, then the clock speed of the processor, then lastly the number of cores over two.

Since the i5 version has a higher speed processor than the i7 version, I expect that version to be the faster of the two for most games.

Before anyone points it out, I am well aware that the most recommended desktop gaming processor is an i5 3570K. This is because it has an unlocked multiplier and can easily overclocked. The number of cores isn't even part of the concern, it's just the cheapest Ivy Bridge out today that is like that.

 

Im interested in this Lenovo but I have a question, can you show the temps under Prime95 with TurboBoost off?

 

Just picked up the Y500 Removable Graphics GN36 SLI upgrade for a sweet deal of $137 on Lenovo

Y500 Removable Graphics GN36 | Lenovo | (US)

 

when did this offer started? damn i don't have enough cash til next paycheck! i hope this discount won't end soon!

also i hope they'll do the same with the 170w adapter.

 

I guess today, I checked and saw the price drop so I swooped it up FAST.
I realized I need the damn 170W adapter as well, but that is $80, so I don't feel bad getting it at that price, cause basically you get the adapter and SLI card for the original price of the SLI card before discount !

 

Which i5 is this?

 

What is the MAX RAM this notebook supports???

Thanks!!

 

16GB, with 8GB in each slot.

Why no y400 love? Y400 Removable Graphics GN35 | Lenovo | (US). Wait, would the y500 version fit in the y400?

 

Any recomendation on what ram should I buy? (amazon)

Thanks

 

Sure, this is what I'm getting myself: Amazon.com: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10): Computers & Accessories

 

I would think it fits the Y400, but cannot confirm.
I would take a gamble and order it and see if it works, return it if it does not.
Looks like the same exact thing in both pics.

Mine shipped today, although it said it would ship 2/27, so I am pleasantly surprised.
I also ordered the 170W power adapter, since my Y500 comes with the 120W adapter (hoping that ships quickly as well).

Why no y400 love? Y400 Removable Graphics GN35 | Lenovo | (US). Wait, would the y500 version fit in the y400?[/QUOTE]

 

Just picked up a new Y500 and compared it to my $1100 MSI GX60 with 2011 3dmark View attachment 92364 View attachment 92365 The 7970M is running on the msi but the software isnt reading it who knows.

 

I plan to run racing sims on my Y500, so I think the better CPU on the Y500 and the fact I plan to run SLI will make it a better value than the GX60.

 

Is your y500 an i5 model? I'm asking because my y400 with its i7 3630QM has a physics score of over 7500.

 

Weird I re-ran the benchmark and the scores went up!

 

What scores do you get if you OC the gpu ??

Enviado_SGSII

 

Do you guys think this laptop could be a feasible desktop replacement with some mobility? My monitor has HDMI (Does it use the GT650M's over HDMI? would be horrible if Intel integrated graphics would be used), then with a USB 3.0 hub I could connect, Full sized keyboard, Mouse, External HDD so on....

Can anyone tell me what audio chip is used? Maybe the Creative USB X-Fi would be a solution for me. Realtek is usually really poor over quality headphones, except maybe ALC892 and up is ok'ish.

Can anyone try GTA 4 on it and or FSX on high details and report some FPS? (in SLI) (CPU heavy games/simulator).

Not sure if I should get a new desktop with FX-6300 and just keep my ATI 6850 or get a laptop like this.

 

yes the HDMI uses the gt650m as this laptop doesnt seem to support nvidia optimus, sound card on mine is realtek hd audio, here's a gta 4 benchmark I ran when I had the game

Statistics
Average FPS: 58.89
Duration: 37.17 sec
CPU Usage: 44%
System memory usage: 66%
Video memory usage: 51%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1920 x 1080 (59 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: Very High
View Distance: 40
Detail Distance: 60

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 8
Microsoft Windows 8
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
Video Driver version: 310.90
Audio Adapter: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz

 

so does this already have the second graphics card or do i have to buy it

Newegg.com - lenovo IdeaPad Y500 (59359557) Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 1TB HDD 5400rpm Dual NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI

 

All hope in humanity is lost...

 

LOL He just lacks reading comprehension.

 

SLI = 2 cards

 

Not to mention it says, " Dual NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M..."

 

Very expensive
In Germany, since today, it is sold for 799€ (equipped with SLI) ( LENOVO IDEAPAD Y500 MBG3RGE Notebook (39cm (15,6"); Core i7; SLI Grafik; 8GB RAM; FREEDOS) bei notebooksbilliger.de)
And yes it has dual graphics already built in.

 

Umm, no it's not.

That's a lesser configuration with the 768p screen and 500GB 5400 RPM HDD. Anyway 799 Euros is 1030 USD so the Newegg model is actually a better deal at $1050. I was able to get a Y500 with 1080p, DVD drive, 1TB HDD, Ultrabay GPU, and 170W AC adapter all for $959 (744 Euro) from Lenovo.com.

 

Hi, I am wondering if when Lenovo puts up the 650m ultrabay (I heard they will be sold separately eventually) I could throw it into my Lenovo Y570 with the Geforce 555m and the i7-2670QM. Obviously they would not work in SLI but a 650m slightly beats out a 555m (967 vs 1280 benchmarks)

 

You can't just push it in the Ultrabay I think you also need the SLI connector and I'm needing help about that process... Anyone want to help

 

Does anyone know the installation of the Utrabay 2 card? I know you also have to buy the SLI connector

 

Am just remove the optical drive and insert the 2nd gpu.

 

We have a Y580, purchases in XMAS 2012. The FHD display quality is fantastic. It's a very bright 250 nits display, with VERY good viewing angles, although it's a glossy screen. I believe the Y500 has the same screen. On paper, the Y500 LOOKS like a better machine, after all, 2 x GT650 = GT660 * 1.3x or 1.4x, however, it seems that many games DO NOT support SLI interfacing of 2 cards. Battery life is a disappointing sub-3 hours on both machines, and they don't make a 9-cell battery to help with the battery life problem. I am pretty sure that the Y500 is just a Y580 with a different GPU on the motherboard.

All in all, the Y580 is a more versatile machine due to better 3-D graphics, but it costs $200 more than the Y500 with SLI (memorial day sale :Y500 @ $850 with 1TB + 16 GB SSD vs Y580 @ $1050 with 1 TB drive + 16 GB SSD). The Y580 guarantees that all games run faster than a GT650 machine; the Y500 guarantees that only SLI-enabled games will run faster than a GT660 machine.

The one ergonomic problem with the Y580 / Y500 is that the front edge hooks upwards,it doesn't taper downwards faster and faster, like a thnkpad or an old RX-7 automobile. A friend of mine who bought it on my recommendation, said the front edge wasn't comfortable on the bottom sides of his wrists. Other than that, keyboard is great, lighted keyboard is great, 1920x1080 FHD Glare Wedge is super, it's about 1 inch wider than it needs to be, the battery-life sucks, and Windows-8 sucks, too.

 

SLI easily beats a gtx 660, particularly when overclocked. Y580 is weaker.

 

I agree. I think he's severely underestimating SLI support. Saying "many games do not support SLI" is patently false. It's a very mature technology at this point and pretty much all recent games, especially AAA titles, from the last 10 years support it and have game profiles in the Nvidia Control Panel. If your game is old enough that there's no profile available, it probably doesn't need SLI anyway or you can manually add it and have it work just fine. For example, I added Unreal, a 1998 game, as an application profile and SLI still worked in it.

As far as scaling is concerned, that varies on a per-pplication basis. It mainly depends on how well the game is optimized for multi-GPU and how GPU-limited it is. A very GPU-limited game like Metro 2033 is going to see the best scaling when adding the second GPU, up to almost 100%, while a CPU-limited game like Planetside 2 is not going to get as much of a performance boost, but there still will be one. When I overclocked my 650M SLI I got a 142% increase (26 FPS to 63 FPS) in Battlefield 3 and a 150% increase in Metro 2033 over a stock single 650M. So adding the second GPU and then overclocking can make a massive difference in gaming performance.