Y480 with 650m review

I thought I would post a review of the updated Lenovo Y480 with Nvidia GT 650M and Intel core I7-3630QM CPU. I had a hard time finding information on this updated model when I was shopping around. This won’t be a full review as this laptop has been covered well with previous Y480 reviews. I just wanted to touch on a few points that I feel lack information.

I can confirm this model comes with the Nvidia GT 650M with GDDR5 memory. I contacted Lenovo when I was considering this model to find out if it was GDDR3 or GDDR5 and the sales staff could not tell me. I was happy to find the GDDR5 version when it arrived. I have mixed feelings about Lenovo's customer service due to this experience. They were helpful with a price match after I had ordered but they did not know their product at all.

The cooling system works well. You can see the beefy copper heatsinks if you look at the exhaust on the side. I tested the system after playing a DX11 game for an hour, then running 3DMark11. The ambient temperature was 21.4C (70.5F). The GPU reached a maximum of 66C. The CPU reached a maximum of 85C.

Edit- I forgot to add the regular use temperatures. After surfing the Web for a few hours, the CPU reached a maximum of 54C. The Nvidia GPU was steady at 34C. The ambient temperature was 70.4F.

I further tested the cooling system by overclocking the GPU and forcing the CPU turbo mode on. The GPU at 1175 MHz core and stock memory speed reached 68C. The CPU with forced turbo reached 86C.

Despite all the negative reviews, I think the screen is great. I didn’t want a 1080P screen. The 650M does not have the power to run games at 1080P, nor did any laptops in my budget. I find the 768P resolution a perfect match for the 14 inch panel. The desktop icon space is plentiful and the font is easy to read.

Two things that I don’t like bout this laptop are the thickness and weight. I measured it at 1.25 inches thick. Lenovo lists the weight at about 5lbs. That may not sound like much but trust me, it’s clunky. I wish I had the budget for an ultrabook with these specs.

Overall I am happy with this laptop and I feel it offers quite a bang for the buck. I hope this review helps someone!

 

Thanks for the review & comments.
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These are shipping with GDDR5? Nice. If only the screen was better than 768P. I personally would much prefer a 900P screen with that GPU. In fact, I simply will not buy a 768P laptop ever again!. (Manufacturer's are you reading this? haha)

Does anyone know of a screen replacement (900P) for the Y480?

 

how do you "force turbo mode" for cpu ?

can you bypass automatic throttling this way? because the bios is set to stop turbo after it reaches 85C

 

Hi Link626,

I was able to force turbo using a utility called throttle stop. It has a "set multiplier" option that you can use to set a specific multiplier, in this case I selected turbo. This utility was intended to stop the automatic throttling of Intel "i" series CPU's. Im not aware of any BIOS settings that override the throttle stop settings. However, I have read of fail-safe settings built into the CPU that can cause throttling regardless of the throttle stop settings. I think these take effect at higher temps than 85C though.

 

I agree so much! I absolutely hate 1366x768, and having to look at it on a 15" display has made me want to never see it again. That said, I did some math, and realized that 1366x768 on a 14" display is equivalent to 1280x800 on my 13.3" Dell XPS m1330 which I liked so much. What I'm trying to say is that it's not so bad. I've also used 1600x900 on a 14" display and it's a little on the small side for me, but acceptable. I don't know of any replacement screens for the Y480, however if you want a gaming laptop with a 14" display at 1600x900, check out the Gigabyte U2442. It currently has the 640M (non LE), and starting next month, should start shipping with the 650M.

 

How is the size compare to 15"s? If you happen to have comparison?

 

I can confirm this model comes with the Nvidia GT 650M with GDDR5 memory. I contacted Lenovo when I was considering this model to find out if it was GDDR3 or GDDR5 and the sales staff could not tell me. I was happy to find the GDDR5 version when it arrived. I have mixed feelings about Lenovo's customer service due to this experience. They were helpful with a price match after I had ordered but they did not know their product at all.

The cooling system works well. You can see the beefy copper heatsinks if you look at the exhaust on the side. I tested the system after playing a DX11 game for an hour, then running 3DMark11. The ambient temperature was 21.4C (70.5F). The GPU reached a maximum of 66C. The CPU reached a maximum of 85C.

Edit- I forgot to add the regular use temperatures. After surfing the Web for a few hours, the CPU reached a maximum of 54C. The Nvidia GPU was steady at 34C. The ambient temperature was 70.4F.

I further tested the cooling system by overclocking the GPU and forcing the CPU turbo mode on. The GPU at 1175 MHz core and stock memory speed reached 68C. The CPU with forced turbo reached 86C.

Despite all the negative reviews, I think the screen is great. I didn’t want a 1080P screen. The 650M does not have the power to run games at 1080P, nor did any laptops in my budget. I find the 768P resolution a perfect match for the 14 inch panel. The desktop icon space is plentiful and the font is easy to read.

Two things that I don’t like bout this laptop are the thickness and weight. I measured it at 1.25 inches thick. Lenovo lists the weight at about 5lbs. That may not sound like much but trust me, it’s clunky. I wish I had the budget for an ultrabook with these specs.

Overall I am happy with this laptop and I feel it offers quite a bang for the buck. I hope this review helps someone![/QUOTE]


can u run the gpuz and then post it here?