Ideapad Y510P

It works on SLI, but for it to work you need to reinstall both GPU drivers for it to function.

If you are on battery, switch to the intel GPU.

 

I'm terribly sorry to do this to you guys, but could someone tell me about the battery life on the SLI version while doing simple tasks like word, web browsing, etc? I looked through about 30 pages and didn't find the answer. I'm sure it has been asked over and over again. Appreciate it!

 

3 hours ish.

*but*

Theres a little hack you can do to enable Optimus on SLI models. Uninstall the Nvidia drivers. Then download and install the latest Intel drivers for the 4600HD, restart PC. Then install Nvidia Drivers for the 750M, restart PC.

Then go to Nvidia Settings, 3D settings, Preferred Graphics Processor and choose "Auto-Select". Congratz you have SLI and Optimus. Enjoy the extra battery life without the sacrifice in performance.

 

What is the approximated battery life with optimus working?

 

Depends on what you're doing and what power mode you're on.

 

Can someone suggest the optimal cooling pad for this laptop?

 

I bought the single GPU version last Thursday, and it is set to arrive tomorrow although I won't be there to get it till next Thursday .

In the meantime, I've been doing some research online about Optimus compatibility, GPU/CPU performance, and other items/questions. I am not particularly tech savvy, but I hope this can be useful to some people out there. Here's what I found, for what it's worth:

NotebookCheck Review of SLI version
Brief review of single-GPU version from an owner

Optimus
The SLI function appears to be what restricts the laptop from using Optimus to switch to the onboard Intel HD graphics to conserve power. However, SLI users have reported that they could activate the Optimus driver by removing the 2nd ultrabay GPU, which makes it seem likely that the single-GPU laptop will not have an issue using Optimus. The second review link I pasted above refers to using the Optimus technology with no issue in the single-GPU version.

CPU Performance and Turbo Boost
The first review I posted mentions that the Turbo Boost feature of the Haswell cards is not working at maximum efficiency with the SLI version. I couldn't find any information about this feature with the single-GPU variety, but it could definitely be an issue as this brand new CPU performs significantly worse than last-gen tech on some multi-core CineBench tests (single core test results are better than last-gen). Let me know if you find any information specific to the y510p regarding Turbo Boost other than that NotebookCheck review.

GPU Performance
The single-GPU version performs very strongly on the performance / price scale, from what I've found online. It is worth noting that the SLI version apparently suffers from microstuttering below 40fps (as do many SLI configurations), causing some games to actually appear worse than they do with the single GPU variety when run on high settings. Read the first notebookcheck review for more details. Also, the dual SLI version will run a bit hotter and drain more battery, so keep that in mind. As the drivers continue to get updated, the SLI-version performance will probably improve.

Battery Life
Single GPU version looks like it will last 3.5 to 4.5 hours, depending on if you switch to onboard graphics and enable some other power saving modes. I will update all this stuff once I actually receive my laptop and can test it.

SSD compatibility
I just preordered one of the new Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSDs from NewEgg (Release Date 8/14/2013). From what I saw online, they offer similar performance to the Samsung 840 Pro series, but are priced much more affordably in my opinion. They are a definite upgrade over the standard Samsung 840 SSD series. I plan to remove the 1TB drive that comes with the laptop and replace it with this SSD. My build also came with the 24GB SSD, and I will leave that in. Note that the SSD also reduces noise level, power consumption, and physical weight of the laptop.

Ultrabay
My laptop shipped with a standard DVD optical drive in the Ultrabay. My plan is to remove that optical drive and place the 1TB drive that came with the build into that slot. To accomplish that, I purchased an HDD caddy. I bought mine from this 3rd party site, mainly because there is a video of the guy on the actual page for that caddy replacing an optical drive faceplate onto the caddy. I feel a little bit better buying something from a company that is willing to make a video explaining what to do for at least part of that process. Pretty sure I saw someone verify that this caddy is 9.5mm, which is the right size for the ultrabay.

TrackPad
Most people say it kinds of sucks, but that there is definitely an option in the settings somewhere that you have to disable, which makes the experience much better. i can't remember exactly where I saw that but will update if I remember.

Conclusion
This laptop isn't perfect, but I got it for $789 before tax, and it's hard to beat that. Add in about $230 for the SSD 250GB upgrade and HDD caddy, and I've hopefully got a machine that will stay extremely powerful for 3-5 years while being wallet friendly at total cost of about $1,050. Crossing my fingers that the thing doesn't show up at my house DoA.

 

Hey guys, considering buying the Y510p, and have a question or two. First, I know the price is lower than normal right now. Do they have sales this big very often(should I jump on it now)? Second, if I buy the single gpu version, does the ultrabay come empty, and if so, do I need to buy another accessory to install a second hard drive/optical drive in it immediately?

 

This needs you to get rid of the 2nd GPU right? Wondering if there's any way to do this without having to remove that every time. Would be convenient for college ;D

 

According to that post, you can follow those steps and leave in the 2nd GPU. SLI means 2 GPUs (or more).

 

Sir Shfvingle,

I just posted on this. The single GPU version comes with a dvd drive in the ultrabay. I have no idea about the sales timing. I assume that you might be able to get discounts on slightly older CPU laptops as well.

You can buy an HDD caddy to put another HDD in the ultrabay instead of the optical drive if you want.

 

Hey guys. My laptop will be here today and I plan on immediately ditching the stock hd. I remember reading somewhere that I need to unlock the bios via the installed version of Windows 8. Any truth to this?

 

Nope. This allows you to use both the Intel HD and the Dual cards in SLI ^^

 

You dont need to hack the BIOS to swap HDD's. You only need to hack the bios if you need to overclock or switch wireless cards.

 

Oh ok. I'm not too worried about that stuff so I guess I'm good to go. Thanks!

 

Laptop was supposed to ship yesterday, now it says it'll ship tomorrow....

 

Are you by any chance in the USA? I would like to order that HD caddy as well, any idea if they ship to USA? Anybody seen these on a US site? Thanks!
.
.BTW, my y510p arrives tomorrow!! Cant wait :thumbsup:

EDIT: seems they do ship to USA.

 

I see a slight problem with the 3rd market caddy, its just a standard caddy that can be used in any laptop. It doesn't have the black clip piece that the ultrabay uses..

 

Detach the clip piece from the Optical drive and attach it to the caddy?

 

Yes, the video on that 3rd party site showed how to detach the bezel from the optical drive and stick it on the caddy.

 

I meant the clip on the inside, that's how the ultra bay parts stay in place since they're not screwed into place.

 

The caddy that I bought states that it can also be mounted with the lock/clip that comes with the optical drive. Whether that is true remains to be seen. I will let you guys know in a bout a week.

 

There's 4 screws, 2 on the back and 2 on the side. I don't know if all drives have these screws or not. I've never messed with any of the slim ODD or any caddies.

 

How soon do you think it'll be when I can find a SSD to replace the 24gb SSD so I can install the os on that.

 

Roughly one year, maybe less. Lenovo is putting M.2's in more and more of their laptops, Apple is also ditching Msata for M.2, simply because it's much faster.

 

I took the little clip from my second 750m for use on my generic 9.5mm caddy, and it locked in smoothly.

More importantly, I've gotten the HDD to be recognized in the caddy without the clip attached to it at all.

 

My y510p has finally arrived home, and I'm loving it so far.

But... how do I properly update the nVidia card's driver? I let geforce.com auto-detect my graphics card, and it advises me to get an update from Lenovo itself. However, there appears to be only one graphics driver on their site, which doesn't seem to be the latest.

Also, will Optimus somehow disappear if I managed to update the graphics driver? I remember seeing someone claim that only the manufacturer's driver supports switching between graphics cards.

Thanks in advance.

 

So you're going to let the caddy and drive hang on just by the sata data/power ports? That could be a bad idea..
The clip isn't so it's recognized. The clip is for it to stay in since the ultrabay is a screwless system.

 

This is good news.... I'll try it out! Thanks for letting me know!

 

Hi, could anyone tell me which nvidia drivers the y510p comes with? I have the SLi version, everything was working great up until I decided to try out the 320.49 WHQL drivers, now I have major screen flickering/stuttering problems when trying to play games with SLi enabled. I can't find the "stock" drivers anywhere, and I want to try switching back to them if I can find them and figure out how to do that

 

Unfortunately I'm not able to get both SLI and Optimus working at the same time using your procedure.
I uninstalled the Nvidia drivers as you said, but when I install the latest Intel drivers for Intel HD 4600, the driver installer says that my computer does not meet minimum requirements. Only after physically removing the 2nd GPU does the driver installer work. At that point the computer is only using the Intel HD Graphics. When I slide the GPU back in and install the Nvidia drivers, the computer goes back to SLI-only mode and Optimus doesn't work. The Intel HD graphics doesn't show up anywhere while the 2nd GPU is inserted. Any work-arounds or am I missing something?
I appreciate the help!

 

Comes with like 310.11 i think.

 

It worked for someone else, i dont see why it's not working here. Hmmm. Try pm'ing Bubbarob. Also, are you using the drivers from the Website or from the Lenovo partition? You need to use the non-Lenovo drivers.

 

Alrighty, thanks, I'll try to get those installed

 

Never mind. I went ahead and installed nVidia driver anyway, despite geforce.com's recommendation to install only Lenovo's drivers. Everything works out in the end.

 

I'll do that. And I got it from Intel's website. Thanks.

 

Hey guys, Im new here but today my y510p (2xgpu,24gb ssd version) has arrived. It seems to be a great notebook but sometimes it freezes. I know there are over 150 pages, but no time to see all so here is my question: it is possible to install clean windows 7 on ssd disk? What about drivers, i had look on lenovo site and every component looks have a win 7 version. Is there any problems/ experiences? have a nice day

 

To do a clean install of windows 7, power down the laptop. Then press the button on the side, go to the BIOS and turn off Secure Boot and set UEFI mode to legacy. Then power off the PC, press the side button again, open the boot menu, boot off your Windows 7 USB stick/DVD and install to the HDD. Once that is done, install the Windows 7 drivers from here: Drivers and software - IdeaPad Y510p Notebook. After this, you will want to go to Intel and Nvidia website and download the latest video drivers for maximum gaming performance. Once that is done, all that's left is to configure the caching SSD that came with the laptop. Open Disk Management, and erase the partition on the SSD, leaving free space. After that, download and install this program: ExpressCache Software for Windows 7 64bit, Windows 8 64bit - ThinkCentre, ThinkPad. Voila you're all set with windows 7!

PM if you have any issues with Wifi Card upon doing a windows 7 clean install.

 

would this process be the same with the y410p?

 

Yes. Both laptops are almost identical.

 

Yea thanks. I had a lot of reinstalls done yet, but i was wondering if there is any traps or so on. One more thing. I will install windows on non ssd partition? Could i install windows on ssd?

 

@merju

I believe the SSD is the cache for the drive. Its a hybrid drive so certain things will be moved their automatically. Programs that are more frequently used will be moved to the SSD cache of the hybrid drive. After a few startups, the os should be automatically be in the SSD partition. (i think)

 

I PM'd him and it turns out I was right. That method is still limited by the fact that you have to remove the 2nd GPU to run optimus. So as of now there is no SLI + Optimus configuration. I hope that will change sometime!

 

Apologies if this has already been answered. I just picked up my y510p (non-SLI) recently, and I'm loving it so far, but there are 2 problems it is having.

1. I want the trackpad buttons to NOT control the mouse. When I move the pointer to a link and go to click, I inevitably move the pointer a bit when I touch the button to click it because the buttons are part of the trackpad itself. It happens every time and makes the buttons useless. This is just insane. Is there a way to make the button portion of the trackpad not serve as part of the trackpad?

2. The screen keeps flickering twice every 10 seconds or so after restarting. The problem goes away when I go into nvidia control panel and select the graphics setting (auto-select, nvidia, or intel), but it's really annoying to have to do that when I reboot. My guess is it is switching between the intel and nvidia graphics, but I don't know why it is doing that. It does it indefinitely until I go into the graphics settings and choose something, but it doesn't matter what I choose, so it's not the default setting that's the problem.

Problem #1 is REALLY annoying. I don't understand what is wrong with synaptic and elan. My 15 year old Dell laptop had a flawless trackpad. The technology was fine 15 years ago. Why does every laptop nowadays have massive touchpad problems?

For diagnostics sake, I have installed a SSD in place of the HDD and put Windows 7 on it. I installed the drivers out of the Lenovo drive (copied from the HDD that came with), and installed intel then nvidia graphics drivers as suggested elsewhere to enable graphics switching. Is Optimus a program, or is it built into the nvidia drivers?

 

Can someone suggest the optimal cooling pad for this laptop?

 

In my experience, the caching algorithm used by ExpressCache is very aggressive in flushing the contents of the cache, and the OS is not immune from it. I can feel it working throughout the day if I'm using my laptop heavily. A program that I used several times at the beginning of the day no longer loads quickly when I open it up at the end of the day since it has been kicked from the SSD. Since I never shut down/reboot the computer except once a month to install Windows Updates, my startup time is virtually unchanged from when I had just the mechanical hard drive because the Windows startup files are never in the cache long enough to speed up my boot before they are evicted by my often-used applications. Maybe the situation is better with the 24GB SSD in the Y510p but probably not by a whole lot.

Another thing to note when you have the SSD cache is that you should treat it like a real SSD and never defragment it, even the mechanical hard drive portion. Defragmenting the hard disk a lot leads to excess writes and wear on the SSD cache since all the files on the HDD have moved and need to be re-written to the SSD, so performance will be slow for a while as the cache fills up again. The HDD shouldn't get too fragmented anyway due to the nature of how SSD caching works.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that, in addition to the above, full system anti-malware scans should also be kept to a bare minimum for the same reasons when you have an SSD cache. I do one scan per month and it usually takes a day or two before system responsiveness goes back up to pre-scan levels.

 

Looks like Intel gets the finger on this one. Hope they one day permit the use of Optimus with SLI.

 

How is Intel to blame here? If anything, Nvidia should be the one responsible for making this work. Optimus has never worked with SLI, and it's been that way since its inception. I don't think it's a simple solution, otherwise Nvidia would've implemented it a long time ago. There's already a lot of complexity in both hardware and software involved in the implementation of both SLI and Optimus, so I think trying to fuse the two together when neither are exactly perfect and trouble-free, to say the least, is a recipe for disaster. You can glean from AMD's Enduro fiasco just how difficult it is and how much time and R&D is required to make something like this work.

 

One company should buy the other, then they could integrate better and destroy AMD

 

Wow and that's coming from a Canadian too? Of all the non-sensical things you post on here, this has got to be the most inane. I guess when they talk about quality over quantity, it works the other way around too.