Lenovo y560p - Sandy Bridge - Review + Benchies

So I've had this system for only a few days now, so this review should be taken with all caveats.

I would rate this 10/10, not because this system is without minor flaws, but because of the exceptional performance/cost ratio.

Here's some of my cons:
- Air from vent is rather warm, however underneath and everywhere else is pretty cool.
- Preinstalled Lenovo trashware. All the software slows down the system, a fresh install is definitely recommended.
- Battery life, what what were you expecting? I haven't fully tested, but I think I should be able to squeak 4-5 hours out of it.

Notable Pros:
- Performance. Sandy Bridge, enough said?
- Sub $1000
- Speakers are definitely above average.
- Decent video card
- Excellent keyboard. I don't need a number pad myself, so this actually works better for me.

A note on screen res. I know people prefer more real estate, and I do wish that it had a higher screen resolution, but generally I think it's fine. It's a fairly common gripe for many laptops, but if you look at how most people keep their operating system optimized and all the add-ons their web browsers have, a good chunk of their screen is probably wasted space anyway.
The screen itself is adequate, but not much more. I wouldn't proof pics on this, or do design work without viewing it on a real monitor first. Viewing angle and glare isn't brilliant.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Benchmarks with stock ////////////////////////
// (5400 rpm, 4gb ram, lenovo preinstalled os) //
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
Windows Score:
Processor: 7.4
Memory: 7.6
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 5.8

PCMARK Vantage: 7388 PCMarks
3DMark06: 8633 3DMarks

/////////////////////////////////////////
// Benchmarks with upgrade //////////////
// Crucial C300 SSD, 4gb ram, fresh os //
/////////////////////////////////////////
Windows Score:
Processor: 7.4
Memory: 7.6
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 7.9

PCMARK Vantage: 14038 PCMarks!@#

I know there are not many reviews out there, so hopefully this helps a few people. I'll try to post game framerates when I can.

 

Hey, thanks for the review!

Could you post the specs of the laptop you have, pls?

 

Someone should post the benchmarks for the normal Y560..

 

Here are the specs:

I switched out the hdd with a 128gb crucial c300 ssd hdd.

There is a review for the y560 over at notebook check. The PCMark Vantage score for the y560 with i7 is 6012, so quite a big jump.

 

Is that Mobility Radeon HD 6570 a rebrand of the 5730 used in the previous Y560 models, or is it a new chip?

 

Basically - I think differences are minimal.

 

Correct. Judging by the 3DMark06 test, it is decently faster than the old 5730. I've seen high 7k to around 8k with stock clocks for the 5730.

Thank you for the review. Any chance of some pictures of it?

 

That's good. I'd be bit annoyed to have bought a Y560 in December if the new model had a much better graphics chip, but if it is minimal, that is not a big deal to me. And in any case, I needed it when I ordered it.

 

I bought a Y560 in December as well, but it came from the Lenovo outlet in the configuration listed in my sig for a hair under $700

 

sweet laptop having 6.7 as WIE score is unreal for 14 inch laptop. How much did the SSD cost? I have almost 250 GBs used up on my 500 GB HDD on my lenovo y460, I dont think any SSD can hold enough at the moment for me thats reasonably priced but thats just quible I have plenty of external HDD as well.

 

Does it have switchable graphics?

 

according to the flyers, yes

 

How is the build quality?

 

check the y560 and the y460 lounge (its the same chassis), but its good, imo, for a consumer laptop

 

Yea, it's pretty decent. The keyboard is superb - better than my desktop keyboard. The top is a bit flimsy. I would have preferred a aluminum chassis, or something like it. The external paint color is made to look metallic, and looks pretty nice really.

Just tested batman arkham with everything maxed. Average 58fps.

 

Something to keep in mind: the rapid drive system is just a msata ssd paired with the 5400 platter-based sata hdd. Right now you can get a 32 gb msata ssd from newegg for a Benjamin with a r/w speed of 200/75MBps. New drives are due out Q2 that get 250/180MBps respectively!

It is my understanding that the msata port is just left empty when not configured. Can you please confirm this?

You can see the mounting posts in the top right of this image, right next to the wlan card (PS. there are A LOT of nice high-res close ups at this site):
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More of a 5770 with ddr3 support :/

Can you test what type of VRAM the laptop is using?

 

Yes it is empty. I thought a hundred was a bit of a rip off - although it was a good rationalization for upgrading to a 128gb ssd for the main drive.

I would have waited for the new generation of SSDs too, but travel plans prioritized it. I'm happy with 14k+ pcmarks though.

It's ddr3, not ddr5.

There seemed to be some driver instability with the video card drivers that were included on the lenovo hard drive. I had to revert back to the 5700 series drivers, but I assume they are basically the same.

 

i am waiting for y570 with gt 555m y560p is going for usd 1000 in msia hopefully y570 too

 

Hey, any news on battery life?

4-5 hours estimated certainly looks very good for a 15" laptop with dedicated graphics. Even though gaming-wise its in line with Alienware m11x-R2. However, early reports of Sandy Bridge laptops (was it some Clevo?) claimed it can be pushed to 7+ hours.

 

I'll try to do a proper test on it today after it charges up fully.

I've fairly easily got 4 hours out of it, but I think 7 might be a bit much. 6 might be possible. The system does not seem to have switchable graphics unfortunately. There is a switch at the front for it, but doesn't look like it has anything available in BIOS, which I assume there should.

 

How about noise? Can you hear fan in idle mode? When loaded?

 

Whoa, if you're pulling those numbers with a dedicated card, that's really really good !

 

The last generation were getting 2 to 3 hours with similar specs. I thought the new i7 quad cores had the ability for on the die graphics....(Doesn't mean Lenovo is using it.)

 

You may hate your keyboard after 3-5 months use, my old y550 keyboard sucks now...because it remains all my hand's oil on the keys and unable to wash them out!

Waiting on Y470
Intel SB+ GT555m+8GB+Sexy design(I really like it)+ different keyboard layout.
pics
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BTW: Y460p or y560p with core i7 have no switchable graphic <-----------------it has been confirmed

 

This is perhaps a bad place to post this but looking at the y560p, what do you think are the dimensions and weight of the y460p?

 

All info here: http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/ww/wci/us/ww/pdf/IdeaPad-Y460p-Datasheet.pdf

Btw, battery life is wrong on the sheet. It says 3.5 hours and Lenovo says 5 hours on the home page of the y460p.

 

I reduced screen brightness to one level above minimum which is easily usable in a darkish room, and set Max CPU Processor State to 30% (is it accurate to test doing this?). Looking to be a bit over 6 hours based on windows calculations (time is actually increasing). I will update.

Do you know if there is a way to access that? That would be even better.

Yes you can hear the fan, though it is not distracting for me. Not sure about levels, but it is not a problem for me. I do not have a spinning hdd now.

 

2 hrs through and at 60%, so looking like 5 hours, which is pretty epic really.

 

@greebo3

how have you installed your new AMD drivers?

 

So the new laptop is suppose to have the switchable graphics? Why was it not implemented in this specific model?

 

According to this chart: Lenovo - Laptop computers - IdeaPad Y Series: Y460, Y550, Y560, Y560d - Compare

All y460p and y560p have switchable graphics.

 

oh, I see.
But how come someone with the y560p in the other forum doesn't have that?
How many hours should we expect to get with the integrated graphics on?

Edit: Oh, I see up to 4 hours.
Not sure if I should get this or wait for the e420s

 

Hmm, I'm going to throw the preinstalled lenovo hard drive in and see. I even asked the Lenovo sales, and they said it didn't, but that is obviously not the case based on the Lenovo page.. The manual itself is pretty vague. This was purchased from frys, which I think is the same as the newegg one.
I ended up getting just over 5 hrs on the battery life test, doing some coding, uploading, and web surfing.

 

Does it have a sliver switch on the front right? If so, that would be your switch to change the ATi on or off. When the light is on it means the ATi is currently being used. You can also right click on the desktop and the second one down down list it should say "Configure Switchable Graphics"

 

I think it depends on the chipset. For example, Intel Core i7 on Alienware m17x doesn't have an option for integrated graphics. (Even though it physically exists, it's just inaccessible.)

The battery life seems really good - this is a good news for anyone buying a Sandy Bridge laptop.

 

I have a Y460P and it does NOT have switchable graphics. Just the WiFI switch up front.

 

Use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... gets rid of grease in plastic really well (never tried it, just hear about it). I bought a pack of 4 for $2USD with a coupon I got in the mail. I will try it out soon (I'm working now, just on a break).

The SB core i7's do have integrated graphics into the same dye, but the man. can choose not to use it. The ATI HD 6500M series also supports switchable graphics. I would assume that it is driver-based now since it is listed on Lenovo as being a feature. :/

 

There's no option in the ATI menus to turn it off?

 

I could very well be wrong, but from what I can tell, no, the ATI software does not allow you turn off the dedicated GPU.

 

No I don't see it either. No switch, no option under the desktop menu. I wonder if there are some drivers that will allow it.

 

the switch on other models is dependable on how you install your AMD drivers.

 

I got my y560p yesterday. I reformatted it because of all the junk.. tried installing the drivers from the website but they didn't work because they didn't "recognize" the wireless driver. So after a very miserable experience on the lenovo "premium support" chat.. I got my friend's wireless adapter dongle, plugged it in, and then installed the driver from the lenovo website.. of course after the windows update.(thank you Windows, screw you lenovo)
The performance itself is amazing. (Left 4 Dead 2 on maxed out settings with a nice, solid 60 fps.)
Battery life is very nice for this quad core.(3-5 hours depending on usage)

I saw this thread and was wondering if my laptop would have switchable graphics...
so I called lenovo suport on the phone this time(very nice and helpful in a sense.. meaning they didn't really solve the real problem which was lenovo's bad manufacturing... not allowing for switchable graphics despite the false marketing on the website.
So I had tried installing the intel drivers on the website... to no avail.(the driver didn't recognize any capable hardware.)
the system category in the control panel also showed indeed that I had only 1 adapter (the 6570), I had even contacted Intel Support, but that didn't solve anything either.

So pretty much they used false marketing and I was very disappointed with that and their customer support online, which was horrible.
(he had claimed all my warranties were rendered invalid because I changed the "settings" by reformatting). LOL
I really wish I could switch graphics, but this all comes down to being Lenovo's fault.

 

/facepalm

Btw where do they calim y560p has switchable graphics?

 

Here: Lenovo - Laptop computers - IdeaPad Y Series: Y460, Y550, Y560, Y560d - Compare

 

Lenovo - Laptop computers - IdeaPad Y Series: Y460, Y550, Y560, Y560d - Compare


There's a check mark there. Its also present under the Y460p.
Really sucks that they're falsely advertising. Maybe the engineering and advertising departments don't speak to each other?

 

Return it, like I said a few page before, it has been confirmed no switchable graphic for y560p (gen1). probably gen 2 will have it on March.
But the y560p also last more than 3 hr 30 in real life usage reported by more than 100+ users

My dummy xps 14 with core i5 only last 2hr 10 mins, I called dell, they asked me to buy 9 cell battery.

 

Rumor has it the next set of AMD drivers will make graphic cards switchable in laptops with SB processors. I got a (piece of crap) new HP dv6t Quad Edition and apparently it has been "all but confirmed" the new driver will make it switchable. Too bad a new driver won't make my touch pad at least usable.

 

I hope this is true. The intel HD 3000 isn't even recognized for me.

 

when is y570 coming? i heard in may 2011 thats too late

 

Uh yeah that table is incorrect, then. Can't say I am surprised - they offer tons of models that barely differ from each other except in the model number.