New Y460 and Y560 Ideapads

Post script:

Using MSI Afterburner and FurMark, I was able to stabily overclock the 5650 to 800 / 950. Min / Avg / Max framerate on Furmark started at 30/35/45 at the default clocks, and then rose to 42/49/62 after overclock. Max temp at stock were ~76*; max temps after overclock were about ~83*. I wouldn't recommend it for daily use obviously, but for a game that needs just a tad more oomph, it worked great.

 

Thanks for your help. You've convinced me to get the y460 over the 4820tg and k42jv. I'm only worried about the shipping delays some people have with lenovo (some mentioned it took months to receive their y460 and 560s). You seem to have received yours in a week (did you order over the phone?)

I'll order and hopefully i wont have moved by the time it comes.

 

my lenovo y560 2eu reaches 83C,80C(gpu and cpu) when playing pes 2010 for 20 mins is that normal?by the way room temperature is 35C

 

As long as your laptop doesn't slow down or shut down, pay no attention to temperature.
It means it is working as intended.

 

I think it's definitely YMMV. I ordered mine on the 22nd and I'm still waiting for it.

I called to ask for an update and they told me to expect it by the END of next week. Pretty weak.

 

Yet another update...

Through surreptitious means, I was able to get my ATI drivers updated to the Catalyst 10.7's while retaining switchable functionality. The existing drivers were Cat 10.2, which were missing optimizations for a multitude of newer games, along with ComputeShader and some video codec acceleration as well.

My benchmark framerates in Just Cause 2 went up by 15% (Dark Tower) to 23% (the flyby of the desert), and frame rate consistency is far better. I'd strongly recommend updating drivers if you haven't.

Edit: That wasn't fair, some linkage would help get you in the right direction Switch on your ATI card, and download + install this:

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/920...mobile/10-7_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe <-- The direct download link for ATI's Catalyst Mobility 10.7 drivers.

When you install, your screen might black out on completion. Once your drive light has settled down, touch your power button and let it shut down. Then bring it back up, and you should be done.

 

Thank you so much. Any person who can help me get more FPS is one awesome person.

And yes, the screen does go blank but give it a few minutes and shut it down.

 

Thanks for the links. So if I were to download the official drivers directly from ATI, it will disable video card switching? Just wondering, since you did say it was through surreptitious means

 

Can someone post their 3dMark06 and Vantage scores for their y460's? lots of talk of overclocking and good things about ideapads, but how about some results we can look at?

 

He never posted a screen shot, but 3DMark06 for the 5650 should be ~7500 with stock clocks, so sounds about right.

 

Any amount of +rep would be appreciated for someone of my n00b status

It did NOT affect my switching capability -- if it had, I would not have posted it for the masses. And +rep might also be appreciated in that scenario if you find it helps

 

Hey fellow laptop enthusiasts! I think I'm ready to buy the Y460 now. I live in Canada, and the best price I'm getting right now is 945 $ without taxes. Anyone know how to get it for cheaper?

 

Getting a better price would require first knowing how you obtained your current price Coupon? Sale? Cash back? Employer / academic discount?

Through my EPP discount + the sale they had (that ended last week) I picked up the XXX model for XXX. That was pretty much as far down as I could go...

 

I just picked my y460 up, and am looking for a little help hooking it up to my HDTV. I've got a 37 inch LG 1080p. The computer correctly detects it when I plug it in via HDMI (I can see it in the catalyst control center) but the TV doesn't seem to be detecting the signal from the computer...

Any thoughts? I haven't even gotten as far as the black bar issues everyone is mentioning.

 

Hey guys, I just bought a Y560 off TigerDirect. A few months ago I bought a 640GB hard drive to upgrade my old laptop. Is there anyway I could use that in my new Lenovo? I want to backup my data and reformat my old drive, then somehow copy the new, smaller 500GB drive with recovery partition intact over to the 640GB drive. How can I do that?

 

I'm not much help; my old Hitachi 50v500 connected via an HDMI-to-DVI able worked the very first time I connected it.

This can be done, but you'll need something like Acronis or Ghost to do the disk transfer. Otherwise, you might be able to use the 'rescue' DVD's to recreate it from scratch on the new drive, and then manually drag files over from the old drive. This won't help you with applications that you've installed...

 

If anyone is looking for a good cooling pad, I found one that works great on the y460. These temps were taken while paying Fallout 3 for 1 hour. It seems these laptops rely heavily on the cooling of the bottom of the laptop. It lowered my CPU by 5C, GPU by ~10C and the SSD by about 5C. (Similar room temp. ~75F)

Targus - Laptop Chill Mat - Black/Gray - AWE55US

 

Yeah. I was surprised that this was posing an issue. I was (am) really looking forward to getting HDMI working on this so I can eliminate some of the cables that I'd had to endure with my last notebook. One to the TV AND one to the stereo is not as good as just the HDMI.

I'm going to keep trying when I have free moments at home. There has got to be a solution for this, ESPECIALLY, since the computer is detecting the right TV...

On the cooling pad issue, I just bought this one:
Newegg.com - Thermaltake Ixoft Fanless Notebook Cooling Pad Model R15ON01

I was playing L4D2 last night, on my bed with this thing under the computer and everything was hunky dory. Kinda a nifty idea, and very portable which I liked.

 

Hi
Just want to know if anyone played Starcraft2 with Ultra setting ?
Just wonder if Y460 can handle Ultra setting ?
thanks!

 

I got the cooler master notepal u2.

 

I called Lenovo Canada twice and spoke to two different Rep this week to ask for a lower price, but both said $944 was the lowest price they could offer. I figured that these people might not be given commissions for selling Lenovo's laptops, and therefore not willing to negotiate prices with potential customers. But anyway, I still ordered y460 today

 

I can't say for sure, but my 330m handles 1366*768 High with very few slow downs. The 5650 is a much better GPU, so I would say yes. Worst case would be High/V High settings IMO.

 

I think that is quite good considering your room temperature. Are you in Spain?

 

w/ a coupon lenovo has the y460 for 799.00 before taxes and shipping

for these specs:

System components
# Intel® Core™ i5-520M Processor ( 2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MB )
# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
# ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB
# 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
# 14.0" HD Wide LED 1366x768
# Industry Standard Touchpad
# 500GB 5400
# DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
# 6 Cell Lithium-Ion
# Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 1000
# Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
# One year
#


is lenovo cust service good? is this a deal?

 

Great deal! I would say decent. I heard people say if you talk to customer support people in the US, the service is great. Overseas, hit or miss.

 

HDMI solution
1. get updated video card driver. Make sure you have the ATI card on.
2. call tech support


Canada y560 prices
Use redflagdeals dot com to check for comp prices, I got mine for $857 with tax and shipping, y560

Customer Service is great in canada. Took them only 3 days to fix and ship it back to me.

Esata still is a problem, they have no clue how to make it work.

 

Has anyone tried replacing the thermal paste on the y460 or y560? Are there any links to other forums where someones tried it? I would just like to know how easy it is with this laptop.

 

Hey guys, thanks to all the posts out here, I have pulled the trigger on the $799 deal for the Y460!

I had planned on just blowing the whole thing away once it arrives and install Win 7 64 on this thing. I am curious if there is a link anywhere or posts already available which would tell me which drivers are best and where to get them.

I have tried the search function out here but it isn't getting me too far.

Thanks again!

 

Well there is a partition on the harddrive that has all the drivers that you will need. However, you can download them here: Lenovo Ideapad Support & downloads - Drivers & Downloads

 

Thanks ~350! I saw some folks mention other drivers aside from the Lenovo site as well, do any of them from the actual vendors work better, ie. ATI, Realtek, etc. as opposed to the Lenovo stuff?

 

I lol'd on the ~350!

Anyways, I'm sure some would work but getting them from Lenovo you know for a fact that they will work. Plus it's so much easier to get them at one place instead of going to each individual site to get them.

Regarding the ATI: Most updates from them don't support switchable graphics, so if some are really old, that is why. Luckily, user AlbuquerqueFX found a way to get the lastest(10.7) and still have switchable graphics. (Information on that is two pages back.)

 

I'm glad you caught it, my attempt at humor did not go in vain! Thanks again for the help, it was the majority of your posts that made me pull the trigger!

 

Originally Posted by raytang
Thank you, AboutThreeFitty
I tried what you suggested, core clk at 700MHz and mem clk 900MHz
My Y460's 3DMark06 score jumped from 7377 to 8417
It is real nice.


8400 sounds sweet. There's i5 540 y460 available in Thailand, one of the retailers in the computer shopping center will have 5 available on the 12th at a very good price for Thailand... but have to bus 4 hours to Bangkok to pick it up....

 

So I've got a rather sad story to share with you all.

I just received my Y460 last Thursday, exactly 2 weeks after ordering it. Booting up the system, everything was fine until I noticed the screen repeatedly dimming itself, despite the computer being constantly used. I switched off the dimming in the Energy Management software (and double checked in the Windows Power management), and even turned off adaptive brightness. Still dims. At that point it was getting out of hand - the screen would dim to 10-20% brightness within 20 seconds of me switching up the brightness.

Called tech support, we ruled out the problem being hardware based. Ok. We uninstalled Energy Management, and it worked - no more dimming! I was happy, and went to sleep. Next morning, I realized the side effects of uninstalling Energy Management. None of the buttons on top of the keyboard worked anymore. That includes the volume buttons which I used pretty often. Usually I wouldn't care, but this was a new system...

So I took up an offer for a replacement unit to be sent. They tell me it'd take at least 3 weeks for it to arrive. ****. My school starts in less than that. Now they are offering a full refund. I really wanted to love this laptop, but a combination of bad luck and slow shipping is making me look elsewhere.

I tried absolutely everything I could think of. Including re-installing Windows to factory condition, as well as downloading the Energy Management software from Lenovo and re-installing that. If anyone has had similar problems, please let me know.


My impressions of the laptop -

Dimensions and weight were nice, I found it pretty thin and light. But that is from somebody switching from a 17" Dell brick.

I found the keyboard had a LOT of flex. I can push down on the palm rest on the right hand side, and an entire 1/4 of the keyboard would flex with it. Pretty scary.

Overall build quality was mediocre at best. Cheap plastic feel to the entire machine. The screen quality was ok, when it wasn't dimming by itself.

I didn't have the time to test out a whole lot of games, but I did try out Mass Effect 2 demo and the game was buttery smooth at max settings. I was impressed. And that was with the bunch of bloatware it came with which I didn't bother to delete. I played some older games on it (FEAR 2, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines) and obviously they were ripped to threads... I'm sad to let it go, because I am most likely going to purchase the Acer 3820TG with the 5470 from Staples due to time constraints. Well, at least that'd discourage me from gaming as much... :/

/rant slash review from a sad customer

 

Did you try disabling/uninstalling the light detector in device manager?

 

It wasn't the light detector... I already turned off adaptive brightness via Services (so I'm not even using it). The only permanent fix was deleting Energy Management.

Heck, I even got excited when reinstalling Energy Management seemed to work, but the screen started dimming regularly again after awhile (stopped dimming for like 4 hours, then it started again dimming at 1-2 minute intervals). It is like the thing has a life of its own.

 

The correct way to adjust when to dim the display and how much your display is being dimmed is not at the "Energy Management" Software, and it has nothing to do with the light detector/Ambient Light Sensor either.

You should do this steps:
1) Go to "Control Panel" -> "Hardware and Sound" -> "Power Options"
2) Click "Show additional plans"
3) You should see altogether five plans which are :
"Energy Star", "Power Saver",
"Balanced", "High performance", and "Super Energy Saver"
4) Depending on which plan you use most often. I usually use
"Energy Star" plan, so click "Change plan settings" under
"Energy Star" plan.
5) Then click "Change advanced power settings"
6) Scroll down to "Display" and expand, you should see 4 groups
7) You could adjust "Dim display after" how many minutes
8) You could also adjust "Dimmed display brightness"

If you do not want your display to dim at all, make all percentage values
on "Dimmed display brightness" equal to "Display brightness", and click "OK".
That is it.
I don't see why you need to uninstall "Energy Management" Software.

 

Hey everyone,

I finally hit the button and bought the y460 with the i5. The ~$840 price tag after the coupon really sold it for me over the 4820TG and others.

Although it won't be in my hands for a while, I really am looking forward to playing around with it. Are there any official threads up for the Y Series Ideapads? Comparing benchmarks, solutions to popular issues, reviews, etc?

Can't wait to get my hands on it

 

Dude, that is exactly what Energy Management does. It is just Lenovo’s software to control Windows Power Options. And if I wasn’t clear, I put the screen to NEVER DIM in both Power Options and Energy Management. It was the first thing I tried.

 

Did you turn off ALS (Ambient Light Sensor) in the Lenovo Energy Management? it wasn't clear if you turn that off or not.

open Lenovo Energy Managerment> click on the gear at the bottom inbetween i and ? > click on smart control > uncheck ALS

ALS still works even if u turn off Adaptive Brightness in Services.msc

 

Haven't tried that, I'll let you know if it is a permanent fix. Just re-installed the software and so far so good - but so was the last time I re-installed it, good for 4 hours before it started to dim itself again. For now, +rep to you for catching that

 

Here's the Y560 review.
Notebookcheck: Review Lenovo IdeaPad Y560 Notebook

 

hey guys does this model have switchable graphics?
Lenovo IdeaPad Y560 06462MU

 

What processor does it have? i7 quad core don't support switchable graphics. All others should.

 

did it fix it?
thanks for the rep.

 

I have not seen the screen dim yet, after about 5 hours of on and off usage. I think you may have found the solution. That has to be the most obscure settings control ever - a secondary settings button, under the main one. And its ability to override Services.msc is just plain nasty.

Now I'm a bit torn if I should still go ahead with the return lol... They just sent me the UPS label for the return. I'll leave the computer on overnight with screen saver and see if dims. After that I'll make a final decision.

 

it is because the ALS doesnt use microsoft's adaptive brightness service. it uses it own software, part of lenvo energy management.

it will dim unless u turn off dim/turn off display after a certain time.


EDIT: anyone know how to always hide the lenovo battery management icon in the task tray?

 

To the Guy who asked if Y460 can handle Star Craft 2 at ultra setting...

the answer is it can handle ultra setting but you will notice some slow down in the motion of the units but can still be playable.

If you want smooth playtime you have to play with the settings. I have set mine to texture quality ultra, shaders to ultra, other settings are high and a few medium. I find this customize setting don't have much difference when you configure the display settings to all high.

using: Lenovo y460 430 M
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Does onekey theatre just change the gamma and contrast settings? Or does it do something more unique/special than that? I'm probably going to clean install and I wonder if I even need that.

 

I don't know the terminology but it makes the colors "Pop" and makes blacks look even deeper. It also changes the way the audio works; gives it a surround sound feel.