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    15.6" Lenovo 720s GTX 1050 ti? Thoughts? $1399

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by B0B, Mar 10, 2018.

  1. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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  2. dudu321

    dudu321 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey, did any of you guys do a fresh install? Having problem with the Lenovo Energy Management software, on screen displays on fn keys are now not popping up. fn keys still work, just no indication that it did.

    Not a big deal but really more of I just want it to work as before.

    Also when I looked for the energy management software on apps, it's not there. But i did install it for sure and was able to get to the success page.

    Just wondering if any of you guys encountered this issue. Thanks!
     
  3. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    I did a fresh install and deleted all partitions and in the bios switched from RST to AHCI.
     
  4. dudu321

    dudu321 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Did that as well but lost on screen displays. Do you know what driver/ software to specifically install to get that up and running again ?

    OSD for volume and brightness works by using the OSD of windows but camera, mic has no OSD anymore.
     
  5. Kretschmer

    Kretschmer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Random update:
    This laptop has really grown on me. Battery life is excellent at 8-10 hours, the laptop is cool enough to literally game on my lap, and that 1050Ti is a good match for the 1080P panel. I've reduced the 1050Ti clocks to 1650MHz@900mV to eliminate any chance of throttling, which allows for excellent high-preset performance in everything but Witcher 3 (which runs at 45-55FPS on medium).

    My biggest complaint now is the single USB-A port, as I use a Logitech dongle mouse and cannot plug other things in at the same time. Other quibbles include a slightly slow panel (though to be fair I'm used to a 100Hz X34; this might be standard for 60Hz), that undervokting is necessary for stable clocks (why is the stock setup 1800Mhz?), only 8GB of RAM, and the fact that I paid $1290 instead of a more heavily discounted price.

    Still, I enjoy the overall package and would highly recommend it if discounted and purchased by a techie that is willing to undervolt. You pay a bit of a premium for the battery life and muted aesthetics, but this is a great hybrid work/home laptop.
     
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  6. Kretschmer

    Kretschmer Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just noticed that the 720S 15 has an 90W adapter and the 720 Yoga 15 has a 135W adapter. Is that a mistake on Lenovo's site?

    Edit: I found Bob's video on the power throttling. It's a shame that Lenovo skimped on the power circuitry, but I lucked out in having the least vulnerable SKU (i7/1080p). I did see my CPU throttle heavily when doing Prime95/Doom4 torture testing and thought it was temps, but I'll have to check again. Regardless, I don't see that heavy throttling in real-world conditions.

    Bob, how does the responsiveness of your 1080P panel compare to other IPS screens? I see blurriness on moving 2D backgrounds but can't tell if it is a 60Hz thing or panel thing.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2018
  7. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    The panel in the FHD model I used wasn't great for gaming but had very nice colors. It was a Chi Mei display.
     
  8. Kretschmer

    Kretschmer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks again for the wealth of information in your videos and posts, Bob. You're an oasis of useful content in a sea of fluff.

    Edit: Is there a way to check your panel without disassembly?
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2018
  9. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    Long as it’s enjoyed I’ll keep making vids.

    Download HWinfo64 and click on the “monitor” tab.
     
  10. Kretschmer

    Kretschmer Notebook Enthusiast

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    I too have the Chi Mei display. Vibrant but a bit slow.
     
  11. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    Business laptop first and gaming bonus my friend :)

    It’s a pretty nice looking display for sure
     
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  12. Lucas_Skyline

    Lucas_Skyline Newbie

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    Hey BoB, first of all, thanks for all the info. I watched all your videos and I found all the information I wanted on this laptop.

    In the end, would you still recommend it?

    I am looking for a thin and light with a good GPU (1050 is the minimum) and with touch. The Surface Book 2 is way too expensive for me, and I am not considering the XPS 2 in 1 because of the lack of ports.

    The way I see, my options are:

    1. Ideapad 720s (lacks HDMI and I'm a bit concerned with the power throttle... also, touch version makes me wonder about battery life and is a little on the expensive side)
    2. Yoga 730 (no numpad, 1050 is not the Ti and WTF with the 51.5Wh battery? didn't find a review on its battery life with such a small battery)
    2. Spectre X360 15t with Vega (the only thing I dislike about this is the AMD card. With a 1050 ti, this would be the perfect laptop)
    3. Zenbook Pro (no numpad, really poor thermals, but appears to have better battery life than the 720s)

    Thank you very much again!
     
  13. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    I think the i7 version of this is a great machine if priced right. If Lenovo let the CPU rip it would be louder too so I’ll give them that, and only that for doing such a thing.

    I never noticed the performance hit with the i7 but the i5 was a no go. I was cpu starved in many titles and it’ll only get worse over time as software becomes more core dependent.
     
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  14. tunanemesis

    tunanemesis Newbie

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    Is it possible that the power supply circuitry is actually throttling because of its temperature, like the Dell XPS does?
    Just asking because in your videos you said that the power consumption at the wall starts at 90 or something and then drop to 60s. If you see notebookcheck's reviews usually laptops with this config draw between 80-100W when playing games, which means that after an undervolt on both the CPU and the GPU it really should be 90W or even less, which we know that the power source and the power circuitry is capable of delivering, even if not for long.

    Question is, has anyone tried to do something similiar to the XPS mods on this bad boi?
     
  15. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    I'm not sure of the mods you speak of, but for fun a tried an official Lenovo 170w brick. The PSU did nothing to resolve the issue not that I expected it to, but people would have asked if I didn't test it.

    Great laptop otherwise :)
     
  16. tunanemesis

    tunanemesis Newbie

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    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ures-benchmarks-xps-15-9560-kaby-lake.802345/

    basically he put some small dissipators on the FETs and redirected some airflow to it

    Really does seem like a almost perfect laptop indeed, they just had to cheap out on that :|
     
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  17. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    ^^. Thanks for the link! I’ll read through it tonight :)
     
  18. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    With the throttling issue would you still recommend the i7 version of the Lenovo over the XPS 15 9560? I want to use the laptop mainly for video editing on the road (large battery important for this). I mainly use Davinci Resolve for editing and colour correction (70% of use). and the rest of my use is mainly Fusion with some work in Maya and Blender. Ideally I would want 32gb ram - do you know if the Lenovo can be upgraded to 32gb ram?

    Would you still recommend the Lenovo i7 version for what I want? Or should I go withe the XPS 15 9560? There does not seem to be many other choices if I want a large battery in a slim form factor with minimum of 1050 graphics for the price.
     
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  19. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    Ok so the i7 still has the power throttling but having 8 threads can mask the issue in CPU intensive applications. Just don't expect full frequency at max load, obviously.

    DDR4 can be purchased in 16gb dimms and there's two slots total. These all ship in dual channel so you will have to remove both stick and replace them with two 16gb sticks.
     
  20. pdavis4

    pdavis4 Newbie

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    I have the i7 version, and whenever I run Dota 2 (which is cpu intensive along with gpu) on high settings I keep getting a BSOD WHEA uncorrectable error. I ran Prime95 on itself and it was fine, then FurMark and it was fine, then I ran them at the same time, got the BSOD. Do you think I have a hardware defect and should return it?
     
  21. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for your reply. I know it has 2 slots, but will the Bios definitely support 32gb as Lenovo only list it for 16GB? Also it sounds like the i7 version may be okay even with the throttling limitation. Out of interest have you tried running any video editing software or animation software on the laptop (Premiere Pro, Davinci Resolve, Fusion, Maya) How did it perform?

    On another topic, and out of curiosity, I wonder how feasible it is to disable the throttling at the hardware level? I guess it's not the Bios, but a physical controller on the board? Wonder how feasible it is to get the soldering iron out and to have a go at hacking this thing? But then again spending so much on a Laptop, I can't say I would enjoy the experience!

    So truthfully, even with the throttling limitation would you rather have the Lenovo i7 version than the XPS 15 9560? Which would you pick?
     
  22. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Hello everyone!
    Starting from today there is a huge discount on the Lenovo website.
    i7 version for $1100!

    Just ordered mine two days ago for $1300, lol.
     
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  23. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    So I got my laptop yesterday, but faced many problems already.

    1) I can't run any games on it. Battlefield 1 silently crashes, AC Unity runs in a very small window.
    I tried installing NVidia drivers (also doing clean installation), no success. Sometimes Origin gives an error about DirectX, but only for a second, so I have no chance to take a screenshot.

    2) Neither Samsung Magician, nor CrystalDiskInfo can see the drive SMART data. I've looked into BIOS (which I also updated from the Lenovo website), and see that instead of required AHCI (for SMART data) the storage controller is set to RST, Intel Rapid Storage Technology. If I try to
    change it to AHCI it warns that all data will be erased. So I didn't go for it just yet.

    The question is, was is in RST mode from the beginning? Can anyone please look into their BIOS settings?
     
  24. JoeGenoa

    JoeGenoa Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi Bob, I loved your video on this, I just had a question that I hope you could help with. The Lenovo lettering on the lid, is it indented inwards on the lid or does it stick out? I'm thinking of getting one but I'm worried one of the letters could come off. I've seen a few Ideapads in person, on some models the lettering sticks out, on some it's indented, there doesn't appear to be any consistency. Thanks!
     
  25. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    They are about 0.5 mm indented inward. Their cut is very tight, so I can't imagine that anything can pop out metal letters.
     
  26. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    Did you get all your issues sorted?
     
  27. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    I thought this laptop would have come down in price since it was released, but it seems to have got more expensive! Many places (particularly in Europe) it is more expensive than Dell XPS 15. What is going on here?

    It only has a 1050ti and previous gen processor, so I thought the price would start to come down as time goes on.
     
  28. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Well, yes, but that was a quite of journey.
    1) I did clean re-install of Windows with 'Reset this PC'.
    Then everything went very smooth. Probably first time I did too much of tweaking at once, so I screwed up in many things. Mostly, I believe, the issue was related to page file, which I switched off.

    2) It looks like RAID (or RST) is default setting starting from BIOS. Other thing is that when you unplug the battery during RAM/Storage upgrade, BIOS settings will fall back to their defaults. This means that even if I change it to AHCI, then upgrade the storage later and by accident forget to put it back to AHCI, there is a 'good' chance to loose all my data :D

    I didn't find any other disadvantages of RAID vs AHCI. As for SMART data (especially endurance, or Total Bytes Written), I was able to see it with HWinfo.

    ----

    Overall, I am very happy for this laptop.
    CPU undervolt -125 mV, avg temp 70 +/- 10 degC.
    GPU curve ~1700MHz starting from 900 mV. Roughly because MSI Afterburner tweaked my exact 1700 to about 1708-1732 later on.
    Avg temp 65 +/- 5 degC.
    One important thing is that CPU and GPU temps get much lower after about 10 mins of constant gaming. Tested it on AC Unity and BF1 by now. Both have High to Ultra Settings: Textures, Details etc Ultra, Shadows High, Anti-aliasing FXAA, Ambient Occlusion HBAO.
    Gets 40+ FPS.
    CPU does not throttle, stays at ~3400Mhz, with stable Turbo Boost up to 3800 MHz for about 5 mins or so. Impressive, tbh.

    P.S. As a bonus, almost ALL issues related to Optimus/Graphics switching were fixed with the joint effort of Windows+Intel+NVidia. As if it they were waiting for me to buy a new laptop :p
     
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  29. JoeGenoa

    JoeGenoa Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi mergen, I'm thinking of picking up the i5-7300HQ with 8gb RAM and 1050ti (the only spec available here in the UK) and was wondering if these are similar specs to yours. Would you recommend this spec with undervolting? Many thanks :)
     
  30. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    The UK version is rubbish - it only has a 2GB 1050ti when all other countries have 4gb. Also avoid the i5, as judging by the video, the throttling will be an issue if doing anything remotely intensive.

    You could buy the i7 laptop from Germany etc, but in Europe it's just not worth it. You can get an XPS 15 from the Dell outlet for much cheaper, and you will have full Dell warranty. Can't understand the price of this Lenovo in Europe.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2018
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  31. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Can you please tell me more about your main purposes? If gaming, what settings level you want to achieve?

    Look I have i7-7700HQ, GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB. This is enough for me for most of single player games at High to Ultra (see my settings in a post above) at 40-50 FPS and for Online games (like BF1) at Medium to High at 40-ish FPS. It is undervolted and both CPU and GPU aren't too hot (again see my post above).

    As for i5, I expect it to struggle more with online games, since it needs to process all players' actions live, and this is done the better the more CPU threads you have (i7 has 8 vs i5 having only 4). Plus the core and turbo frequencies are little lower, which might in turn be both good (lower thermal) and bad (slower task switching response so to say).

    As for GPU memory, I believe it is really important! Currently I use 3.5-3.8 gb constantly in games. With 2 gb of GPU memory you would have to decrease settings, or you would experience micro stutters.

    Hope this helps!
     
  32. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Guys, I found a very interesting thing.
    With Geforce Experience default settings, playing games I get:
    CPU 60 degC, sub 2000 MHz
    GPU 65 degC, sub 1700 MHz
    30 FPS

    and this everything … on battery! No throttles at all, no overheating! So except for excessive battery drain (I got only about 1.5 hours in BF1 online), it is a very good option to travel and play. Looks like PS4 30 fps @ FullHD experience for me.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 4, 2018
  33. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    By request of some of you guys, here are example screenshots taken in AC Unity and BF1, both on battery and with charger.
    I've taken them somewhere in the middle of game, so the temperatures are already stabilized.
    I think I just got lucky to have such a flexible voltage on both CPU and GPU.

    Battlefield 1 on battery:
    https://ibb.co/kE04bK
    [​IMG]

    Battlefield 1 on charger:
    https://ibb.co/hcBo3z
    [​IMG]

    AC Unity on battery:
    https://ibb.co/dVXjbK
    [​IMG]

    AC Unity on charger:
    https://ibb.co/nja4bK
    [​IMG]

    HWinfo after tuning XTU and restarting, showing the correct undervolt:
    https://ibb.co/egFFiz
    [​IMG]
     
  34. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Here is the FPS example of Rise of the Tomb Raider. What a beautiful game! GPU is stressed almost to its full capacity (3.85 GB of memory out of 4 used!), but the temperatures are still low.
     
  35. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    One annoying thing about XTU: after about 2-3 reboots, it sets the undervolt to default values. So I saved the undervolt under a new profile, so each time I set it back precisely to -125 mV, which I found to be the best my CPU can handle.
     
  36. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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    For that reason alone I usually use ThrottleStop.
     
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  37. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    does anyone know if this laptop is being superseded? The reason I say this is that it has been on the market a while, and most countries are showing limited stock. Also it uses a previous gen processor, so do you think Lenovo is about to bring in a replacement model?
     
  38. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    @tommydog
    I think not yet or not so fast. They just started rolling out their new Legion Y530, which is I believe a direct competitor to Ideapads spec-wise.
    Previous Y520 if I am not mistaken was released somewhere after CES17, i.e. somewhere in summer 2017. Ideapad was released in December 2017.
     
  39. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Some links about Legion:
    Y530 review
    Y530/Y730 announcement

    P.S. Moreover, this year Legions look more business like, so Ideapads will be almost identical (expect for weight).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 8, 2018
  40. tommydog

    tommydog Notebook Enthusiast

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    Not sure if it is a direct competitor. It is bulkier in terms of weight, has been criticised for a poor display and has a tiny battery. I think of the 720s as more of a Dell XPS 15 competitor, whereas the Legion seems to be a different animal.
     
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  41. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    OMG, this laptop is so quiet in normal use on battery, that even minor coil whine fills the room lol
     
  42. mergen3107

    mergen3107 Guest

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    Yes, I agree that it is not a direct alternative. However for specific target audiences the existence of Ideapad might be crucial not to purchase Y. I still remember that I never looked back to Y, when found Ideapad.

    I am not saying that this must be true, but I suppose that Project Management guys in Lenovo consider such rapid choice switches seriously. Thus, they push out Y in summer first, wait half a year, and only then they release new Ideapads.

    Ultimately what I mean is that if you have specific priorities in battery, weight, etc (that you mentioned), then you should:
    a) get current 720S now; or
    b) wait until December for let's say 730S, but for greater price, but not necessarily greater quality in power/heat (6 cores are not that heat effective tbh)

    Otherwise, get the Y now.

    P.S. Remember, some years there are no good choices.
    I was looking for a laptop since October 2017, and purchased mine only in July 2018. So I was looking at generations of '17 and '18 years. What can I surely say is that 2017 was not the best year to buy a laptop: bulky, hot laptops with a lot of compromises (single or soldered RAMs, poor screens, etc).
    Now in 2018 there are many laptops with better power/heat designs, much thinner and versatile.
    Who knows what 2019 will bring...
     
  43. Paparatsio

    Paparatsio Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey, i got the same issue , did you fix it?
     
  44. huntnyc

    huntnyc Notebook Evangelist

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  45. B0B

    B0B B.O.A.T.

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