Ludicrously slow Lenovo Legion Y530-15ICH Type Model 81FV0002US

Hello!

This laptop has been running unusably slow for a while, but since it’s not my main computer I never did anything about it.

Now I need to use it. I tried all sorts of things last night that I found on the webs. Eventually, I found ThrottleStop and I followed two guides. That didn’t work and at that point I had screwed around with the laptop so much that I figured I’d just install Windows 10 from scratch. So I did.

This is the report.

The laptop in quest is a Legion Y530-15ICH Type Model 81FV0002US
Hardware: 81FV, LENOVO, LNVNB161216
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz
Logical processors: 12
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16257 MB total

This is the process.

The BIOS is fully updated and set to defaults.

Intel Virtual Technology: Disabled
Intel Hyperthreading Technology: Disabled
DPTF: Disabled
Intel Platform Trust Technology: Enabled

Right after Windows 10 fresh install, Windows reports:
OS version: Windows 10, 10.0, version 2009, build: 19042 (x64)

Right away, the laptop is very slow.

I start the initial round of Windows updates, reboot, and performance is even worse.

I renamed PC and rebooted. It's still horribly slow.

I use two utilities I like: LatencyMon and WhySoSlow by Resplendence. I ran them.

This is what LatencyMon reports:


And WhySoSlow.


I next ran a WhySoSlow Report. It sayeth:
---------------
Your CPU temperature ranged between 46 °C and 74 °C (equal to 114 °F - 165 °F)

Application responsiveness
The highest application responsiveness on your system was measured at 2.348 ms. This value is considered critical, your system does not appear responsive. Your kernel responsiveness is also considered poor which is likely to be the cause of the problem

Kernel latencies and real-time capabilities
The highest kernel responsiveness on your system was measured at 2.311 ms. This value is considered critical, your system is very likely to have difficult processing tasks in real-time. Note that this value says does not say anything about your overall system performance
---------------

That's not good at all.

Next, I updated the Lenovo drivers from Lenovo:

Bluetooth Driver 21.20.0.4
Realtek LAN Driver 10.31.828.2018
Intel WLAN Driver 20.70.0.100
Intel Management Engine Interface (MEI) Driver 1914.12.0.1256
Intel Bluetooth Driver 20.70.0.4
Realtek Camera Driver 10.0.17134.20057
WLAN Driver 21.20.0.5

During this time, Windows is also updating.

I reboot when updates are complete.

Now Windows reports:
Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 20H2
OS build 19042.928
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.551.0

Performance is better now, but not great.

Ran LatencyMon again. Screenshot:


And another WhySoSlow Report:
-------------------
Application responsiveness
The highest application responsiveness on your system was measured at 1.802 ms. This value is considered poor, your system does not appear very responsive. Your kernel responsiveness is also considered poor which is likely to be the cause of the problem

Kernel latencies and real-time capabilities
The highest kernel responsiveness on your system was measured at 1.728 ms. This value is considered poor, your system is likely to have difficult processing tasks in real-time. Note that this value says does not say anything about your overall system performance
---------------------

I next set the battery power mode to best performance and update Windows again.

Just in case it's important, this is the Power Options, Processor Power Management screenshot:



Also if it's important, a Device Manager screenshot of stuff that came up a lot last night when I was researching:


And this too:


Still very poor performance while all of this is going on.

While Windows is updating, I turn off background apps.

Then I update NVIDIA drivers (driver only, no Experience) from NVIDIA.

Another reboot when Windows is finished updating.

Now Windows reports:
Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 20H2
OS build 19042.964
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.2020.0

Windows is still unresponsive.

I run WhySoSlow again and get this:
----------------
Application responsiveness
The highest application responsiveness on your system was measured at 0.510 ms. This value is considered fair. More info..

Kernel latencies and real-time capabilities
The highest kernel responsiveness on your system was measured at 0.467 ms. This value is considered fair, your system may appear to have difficult processing tasks in real-time. Note that this value says does not say anything about your overall system performance.
-----------------

LatencyMon at this point:


The new driver info for Intel Dynamic Application Loader Host Interface.


2020 now.

I attempt to update the driver, just in case there is one, and Windows takes me the Windows Update and displays a bunch of optional drivers to install:


I instal them all and then reboot when Windows says to.

Laptop is still slow.

After reboot, Windows has more optional driver updates to install.


Windows says to reboot again, so I do.

Now the device manager looks like this:


There's been changes, but the Intel Dynamic Application Loader Host Interface drive is still the same.


Laptop is still really slow.

I run another WhySoSlow report:
------------------------
CPU Temperature
Your CPU temperature ranged between 51 °C and 65 °C (equal to 123 °F - 149 °F) during the tests.
Your processors are not running cool but still at an acceptable temperature.

BIOS and chipset behavior
The highest measured SM BIOS interrupt or other stall was 533 microseconds. This is considered very poor. Your system will have difficulty handling multimedia in real-time and will be subject to unexpected stutters and unresponsive behavior.
-------------------------

The laptop is much more responsive at this point.

I run LatencyMon again:


I'm thinking now that there's a hardware problem so I run an Aida64Extreme stress test.

Temps:


Powers.


And Clocks.


I don't really know what that all means, but there it is in case it's useful.

Lastly, the Aida64 stress test report:


The laptop is still very slow.

I don't know what to do next.

Ideas?

 

Well, after all that it was decided by higher powers to install Ubuntu on the laptop, and so far so good.

 

Your model seems to have an HDD, I would point on that. Maybe check its health with a tool like CrystalDiskInfo.

 

@smellhole high DPC latency may be characteristic of your model, however you have tiny caching SSD + HDD for storage from factory, which is just terrible for system responsiveness. Put a proper SSD in your laptop, install Windows on it - and it won't be dreadfully slow anymore.

 

"The BIOS is fully updated and set to defaults.

Intel Virtual Technology: Disabled
Intel Hyperthreading Technology: Disabled
DPTF: Disabled
Intel Platform Trust Technology: Enabled"

Any particular reason you have hyperthreading disabled? I would keep it enabled if I was you, as it will improve performance in most applications.