Ideapad Yoga?

I got the screw for the second SSD out of an old laptop. I also saw the statement in the manual to not re-use the screws. I highly doubt this will cause a problem. If I could easily source new screws I would but it is not something that worries me much.

 

Finally watched the MobileTechReview, I really want one of these in the 256 SSD flavor.

 

Gizmodo Review:

Gizmodo.com Updates: Lenovo Yoga Review: This Is How You Build a...

 

Bestbuy is no longer selling YOGA?
Shipping: Not Available
Store pick up: None
Lenovo Yoga IdeaPad Ultrabook 13.3" TouchScreen Laptop 4GB Memory YOGA 13 - 59340248 - Best Buy

 

Just added my 256GB drive and 8GB memory stick. All went well except it wouldn't turn on when I put it back together, I hadn't seated the power switch cable tight enough so simple enough to fix. All is well and I seated the keyboard tighter this time, there is a bit of a trick to pushing down in the center of the keyboard while it is sitting a couple mm up from its final position, then sliding it down to its final position. Anyways, all is well. Here are the Windows Experience ratings, I think someone asked for those:

Processor 6.9
Memory 7.2 (this is with my new Patriot 8GB stick, not sure what it was before - probably the same)
Graphics 4.6
Gaming Graphics 6.2
Primary Hard Disk 7.7

Going to finish transitioning to this computer today to take with me over the weekend while I have lots of work to do, so wish me luck! I might bring my Macbook Pro just in case, but hopefully it all goes smoothly.

Oh, so all told (without taxes since that varies from state to state): $1000 Yoga, $207 256GB mSATA drive, $38 for 8GB memory = $1245. Not too bad. I think I still might pick up the sleeve and possibly a 2nd power adapter.

 

Really awesome, thanks to you and John both for testing This for us.

I may go for the 128 crucial msata on Amazon for $100 less.

 

They don't appear to be selling them online anymore but my local store still has stock (search zip code 84790). Of the 10 stores that come up with my search (NV, AZ, UT), mine is the only one with stock. I'm glad I was able to pick one up. I really like it so far.

 

A couple more notes, the screw needed for the mSATA is a M2x3, I thought I had one (I've been building my own computers for over 20 years) but surprisingly I didn't. I also scavenged one off of an old laptop like John did. If you are thinking of doing this upgrade, I would recommend picking up the screw beforehand.

The screws are "single use" because they have threadlock on them to hold them tight. I've opened my Macbook Pro which uses the same threadlock probably at least 5 times over its 3 years and I've never lost a screw. The threadlock remains on the screw and retains effectiveness, though probably not 100%. If you are at all concerned, you can order threadlocker from Amazon (the Yoga uses blue).

If you are not technical, I highly recommend you skip this upgrade or get someone who is highly technical to do it for you. Like I said, I've been putting together computers for myself and family/friends for over 20 years and I am still uncomfortable inside this machine. The ribbons are delicate and the connector has a lock on it that I hadn't seen before, it took me a little while to figure out how to properly unhook the keyboard and trackpad ribbon cables. I can see someone who isn't patient or careful causing serious damage to these parts. I have always encouraged people to get inside their computers and experiment and upgrade parts, but realize that this computer was not really intended to be user upgradeable and you are risking making a $1000 paperweight. Proceed at your own risk.

 

ok so i have the i7 8gb 128ssd model on order from lenovo and i intend to upgrade the ssd. i was able to get a buisness discount to $1189. do you guys think its worth it for the i7 or should i just get the bb version with the i5 and then upgrade the memory and ssd?
Also I do not have to have this right now so should I just wait and see if a better version comes out in January?
P.S. I dont care about the backlit keyboard or the fan.

 

Hey everyone. I finally got around to creating a walkthrough on how to install the Synaptics driver to enable all the features. I hope this helps everyone out. Feel free to distribute.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55148962/Enabling Synaptics Touchpad Advanced Features v01 11012012.pdf

If someone can sticky this or host it somewhere, would be great.

 

I hate ribbon cable locks - any more detail on these woolooloo? Anyway I'll probably wait until the warranty is up before upgrading - I'll just make do with a SDXC SD card until then - great that the Yoga has a full depth slot. I managed to order a Yoga for store pickup in Chicago today - my sister is visiting from Ireland on the 8th. I did it over the phone to be extra sure - they were very helpful and even called the store to confirm stock & make sure that they held it until closing time. Not realeased here yet and will cost $1694 when it is (for the base model with same specs as BB one apart from 8gb RAM).

 

Hard to say with the i7 vs i5, I decided I would rather have the i5 and get it now. But then again my old Macbook Pro has a Core 2 Duo processor and no SSD and I still felt it was ok for 90% of the things that I used it for (I have a fast desktop system that I use for most things).

If I had the patience to wait, I would. First, I think the Orange models look striking and it would be nice to stand out in the sea of black and silver laptops. And second, I suspect pricing will drop from here towards the holidays. It would also be nice to get some reports on longer term use of the Yoga and also see what other models hit the shelves from other manufacturers.

 

I'm not even sure that ribbon cable is the right word for it, probably not, it was the closest thing I could think to call it. It is basically a flat and wide shiny cable. It has no end on it, it just slides right in to the female connector on the computer and then is clamped down with a "lock". You have to get a fingernail underneath the lock and flip it up to release the cable. It is very small and hard to tell what you are looking at the first time you encounter, so I thought that it was two connectors pushed together somehow and I couldn't figure out how to get them to come apart. If I had tried to use any force, I imagine I could have easily damaged it or ripped the cable.

 

woolooloo,

Any luck on getting the keyboard to sit back in properly/flush? I pulled the keyboard to upgrade to 8GB... removed it very carefully along all edges and then slid it forward to lift very carefully not to break any "clips" everything went fine with all tabs still in place but after I reseated it it will not sit flush again.. there are no broken tabs/clips and not sure why it won't seat back flush... it's loose up near the F7-F9 keys.... so it has some play/flex to it now when typing.....

 

Many thanks, I was just about to do this. So after you "upgrade" back to the Lenovo driver, you can no longer set the 4 finger flick and other settings right?

I wonder why the hell they would cripple this functionality that is built right into the driver.

 

Mine still has some play in that area. I'm pretty that is one of the areas that had double sided sticky tape applied originally. If it bothers you, it might be worth pulling again and applying some fresh. I don't think it bothers me too much (it is much better than it used to be) but I might do it myself after a while. I want to give it some time to make sure I don't need to get back into it for anything.

I have to say the amount of flex in this chassis (especially right between the keyboard and the screen) is ridiculous, especially coming from a unibody aluminum MBP. The thing is, it is sloppy compared to what I've grown used to, but I'm not sure that it really affects anything.

 

Woolooloo,
Sounds like you had the same situation as me. I am coming from a core 2 as well and have only managed to stop myself from buying one because best buy is out. I could get one from best buy for business or from a store near a friend of mine and have it shipped.
I feel like a kid in December who found the toys hidden in his parents closet

 

Does someone knows when the other versions (i.e the orange one) will come out ? Is it January?
And does anyone knows about other countries (Europe)?

Thanks in advance.

 

The only functionality that gets lost once you upgrade to the Lenovo driver is the 3-finger click. I had it set to Mute the sound but it didn't work any longer once I installed the Lenovo drivers over it. 4-finger flick still works. Everything I indicated works

 

Sorry, what I meant is, can you still configure those options? Or do you have to live with the settings you set before you install the Lenovo driver? Just curious because your directions have you changing settings before you install the Lenovo driver. It seems like if you could access those settings afterwards you would set them all at the end. For instance, you have one of the gestures open Notepad - that sounds like a nice feature but I'm not sure which program I'd like to open. But it sounds like I need to choose now and then can't easily change it later.

Thanks again!

 

I talked to BB for business today and they said that the other models they have on there site (all of them are gray) may come out as soon as next week.

Not sure about Europe

 

Oh! Makes sense. You'll have to live with the settings. But you could always start from scratch. Uninstall it again and start from the top. It mentions that as a reminder in the PDF.

 

I'm a little disappointed in the disk benchmarks, sequential read is maxing out at ~270 MB/s compared to ~490 MB/s on the Samsung 830 in my desktop. Almost seems like SATA II instead of SATA III speeds. I don't have time to investigate right now, I'm about to head out for the weekend. Anyone else have any results or thoughts on this? This is true for both of the mSATA drives in my Yoga (one is a Samsung, one is a Crucial)

 

What are you using for your benchmarks? I am entirely satisfied with everything about the Yoga minus the lack of keyboard backlight... I have just finished running some benchmarks using PCMark 7 and Performance Test 8 and found the specs to be similar to other i5/SSD ultrabooks.. getting ready to run some more specific benchmark tests now. I was doing a brief scan of this thread about 20 pages or so and noticed all the viable info you have posted so far including the pictures... much appreciated.

To get to the SSD is it just the 10 screws on the back that need to be removed? Are there any tabs or clips to be concerned with when seperating the back? What size Torx are they? I want to pull the SSD so I can clone it to another SSD before I do a complete WIn8 reinstall to regain all that lost HD space from the multiple partitions.... and I noticed that extra spot in your pictures for another SSD which is a big plus to know. ANy other info is helpful and appreciated....

Kind Regards

 

nm
*10char

 

So, how's battery life? The 8 hours that Lenovo promises?

 

Thank you for the details. Is there any way that those other models could have back-light keyboard?

 

Doubtful to no, that would only be possible with a future refresh if the line is successful.

 

I know it's not an ideal solution to the wifi issues but I've found TP-link powerline wireless extenders to be very fast and reliable unlike the reviewer on Amazon although his replacements worked perfectly (see the comments section).

 

I have replaced a few laptop keyboards and touchpads and the connectors on the Yoga look to be standard issue (good pictures on the chinese teardown mentioned earlier). As you say it's just a matter of getting a fingernail under the edge of the black piece nearest to the ribbon cable and flipping it GENTLY upwards. Reseating the cable properly afterwards is also important. I'd imagine damaging the ribbon cable might mean having to get new keyboard (depending on how it's attached at the other end), damaging the connector itself would be a nightmare. I have seen people taping a ribbon cable in place when they've damaged the lock mechanism - not sure how well this would work though.

I have come across some connectors where you need to to lift the edge of the black bit nearest the white bit ie the edge furthest from the ribbon cable. Which type does the yoga have?

 

I'm fairly certain that the lock engages the connection contact and that if it was sitting there loose (like if taped) the connection would not be made, or would be sporadic at best. I could be wrong, but it appears the lock has metal contacts on it.

The lift edge is on the side that faces the cable and not the connector. If anyone could find a good picture of this sort of connection, I think it might save people some trouble. John was right, getting the keyboard connection back into place is tricky, it really doesn't want to slide in far enough on its own, I used a small strip that I cut off of a "credit card" (actually a membership card, but that sort of plastic card) to push the two edges into place.

 

My hope would be that since the keyboard plops right in with a single connection that we might be able to take the backlit keyboard off of a Yoga v2 and put it in here. Not sure if that is feasible or not - but maybe it could give us a early adopters a solution in 9 months or so when they refresh (assuming commercial success of course). I wonder if a backlit keyboard off of any other Lenovo keyboards would work in here?

 

I think this is the type you're talking about:

 

It's very good, I don't know about 8 hours but I've been using it a couple hours and copying files off a mechanical USB drive that is powered off the USB port, and I've still got 62% battery and it says I have 4 hours left (I've disconnected the drive).

 

That's it or very similar, I guess it is called a ZIF connector. In the picture it looks like it is unlocked and you would push down on the black piece to lock it. Thus to unlock, you lift the black lock with your fingernail right where it sits down on the film cable.

 

I used CrystalDiskMark for the benchmark. Disk performance is acceptable at that level, certainly I am happy with how snappy the machine is, but I think it should bench higher. I'm a little concerned the SATA III implementation might be flawed. Maybe I'm wrong.

Actually, while you do remove those 10 screws, you don't just pop off the back cover to get to the SSD. You have to remove the keyboard, remove more screws, then remove the inside cover. Details are in this document:

http://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad_yoga13_hmm_1st_edition_oct_2012_english.pdf

I'm not sure the size of torx, but very small, I have a little screwdriver with lots of different sizes so I just picked the one that fit - sorry I didn't pay attention to which size it was. Unfortunately I won't be home for a few days to check it. The screws inside are standard philips head.

 

Yeah, those are fairly standard connectors. From the original chinese site did the tear-down, I ran it through google translator and they mentioned that the lower part of the keyboard had metal clips which can be quite fragile. Photos of those would be much more helpful.

 

Those clips are what I didn't engage correctly the first time I reassembled. You need to sit the keyboard into place about 1/4 inch higher than its final place, push it flat to get all the metal clips inserted, then slide it down the final 1/4".

 

went to a BestBuy to play with the Yoga for about 15 minutes and quite impressed. It is much easier to change from notebook to a tablet than the X200t and other "classic" tablets. The screen is very bright with wide view angles. The unit that I played with is also very quiet; I had to put it close to my ears to hear the fan.

 

Finally I lost my patience and ordered i7/8GB/128GB version from Lenovo.com. If BestBuy versions shows up before they ship, I will pick it from BB ( cancel from lenovo.com)

 

woolooloo, thank you for linking to the pdf ( http://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad_yoga13_hmm_1st_edition_oct_2012_english.pdf).

i am not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but in the aforementioned pdf, Android 3.2 is listed as an optional pre-installed operating systems. Does anyone have any information on this?

This thread has been quite helpful in assessing likes/dislikes, but most importantly, the tear down. I'm confident now in purchasing the brick & mortar neutered i5 w/4gb memory, with immediate intentions of pulling the ssd and upgrading the memory, while staying within warranty.

The most common complaint that I've read between novice and power user seems to be the disk space consumption from the factory. It's unacceptable how much space the restore and recovery partitions have taken. Fortunately, there are 2 simple solutions that don't sacrifice your ability to recover. 1) If you have the capacity to archive at least 130gb (external disk, storage array, whatever), you could boot a live distro (like gparted) from a usb drive, and create a binary image of the entire disk, soup to nuts. 2) pick up a new mSATA disk and either fresh install (provided you have installation media), or clone the factory disk to your own. Then fire up gparted again and blast away those unnecessary partitions and reclaim your space!

Lastly, I am a bit put off by rumors that Microsoft may be leveraging uEFI and SecureBoot to make it difficult, if not impossible, to dual boot this machine. That would be the ultimate deal breaker. This machine has a lot going for it, but there are comparable ultra books out there, they're just not touch screen -- admit it, that's your favorite feature.

 

Nice, congrats. BB stocks the i5/4gb configuration for $999. Was the i7 worth the extra $300, considering the memory upgrade would cost about $40 if done on your own?

 

Tried out the Yoga at Best Buy and really liked it, so picked one up.

Got it home, started playing with it and found some issues.

Upper right keys like 9, 0, F12, F11, etc, squeak.

Touch pad is wonky.

The fan makes a grinding noise. Didn't start out that way, started quiet. Started grinding only after I put it in tablet mode a few times. Now it's always grinding.




-

 

I'm really interested in the Yoga, but I use software at work that requires me to tap the Function keys a lot (F1, F2, F3 etc). Is the default function of those keys the laptop specific functions (ie. brightness, volume, etc) or are the F keys default? If the function keys are not default, is there a way to configure them as such whether it be in the BIOS or through windows? Thanks for any help!

 

Trade it out. My first purchase had a ton of light leak on the bottom right, and there was a stuck pixel (looks like a white halo). Any Best Buy won't give you any issues in trading it out. As long as you can show them that there is something really wrong; and the grinding noise is clearly "something wrong".

As for the fan, obviously that shouldn't happen and it hasn't gotten any worse for anyone else, otherwise we'd hear more about it here. As for the touchpad, by default the settings sucks.

I've put together a hack for a more responsive touchpad and a huge addition of functionality
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55148962/Enabling Synaptics Touchpad Advanced Features v01 11012012.pdf

 

Yes, the mode can be swapped out in the BIOS. I think it's called Multimedia [enable/disable]

 

If you have any business connections BB for Business has some on there site. I chatted with them and they confirmed they could ship them.

 

seems the lenovo Twist is a better and cheaper option.

 

Woah, that is an amazing guide! You clearly put a lot of time and effort into it, thank you. That's really good stuff!

 

No way, the Twist is cheaper, but thicker, no SSD, the screen is noticeably more poor in quality and smaller.