I have a couple questions I have the y540 and I was wondering how did you get your Cinebench scores so high. I get around 2630 without-UV and 2400~ with a UV of -125mV. Also, what do you use to OC your GPU and do you have any links to any good guides
@@DragonMarksmen I have a question for u how is the battery life in y540 I am going to buy it by the end of this month so would like to know the battery performance of this laptop
I am looking for the answer and Jarrod has just given me that. It's an ok hardware after undervolting with cooling pad, but I wish Lenovo give us back the manual fan control so that we could get the temps low. Currently using Y720. Hell of a beast but I wanted more compact size laptop and also want to ditch the 'gaming look' as it annoys me a lot. Hate the attention people gave to me when I do my work outside.
Bought this today and im really happy with it. I lowered the CPU usage of powercable to 85%. The FPS decreased a bit but it didnt got hotter than 65 degree. I also could play BF5 on ultra setting with RTX-on in 70 fps. PS: its the only game laptop that looks normal and not like a Christmas tree.
Sooner or later every manufacturer is gonna adopt Acer's undervolting method out of the box. Seeing how everyone has nothing but praise for Acer predator helios 300. 2019 is the year of Acer.
I hope not. You cannot apply same undervolt amount to all laptops, even for same model - no CPU is the same and different CPUs will tolerate different undervolt amount (one 8750h might tolerate -0.100v the other 8750h might only tolerate -.50v, I've seen this happen). Acer just sends review sample units with manual overclock done by workers who prepare those for reviewers.
@@sdfasdfvccvvc Nobody is stopping you from redoing the undervolt why tf are you complaining? Getting the unit pre-undervolted is a great step for people who dont know how to do it themselves or even know what undervolting is. Obv Acer isnt gonna be dumb enough to undervolt the cpu so much it fails, they are gonna have a safe threshold for all the units. WTF some people just complain for the sake of complaining. Acer can put 1000 usd inside every box and I bet some numbskull will still complain.
Most awaited video!! 90 degrees is definitely not optimal but can be worked with. Waiting for comparison with acer helios 300 with both stock as well as UV settings.
@@vaibhav2364 I hope so but better wait for the comparison from the person who has used both devices. y540 is cheaper here(144hz one). so dilemma exists which one to pick.
Performance mode+ undervolt 9db quieter than Helios 300 Temperatures look good, Max fans not needed but if comes back in update it is good. U can check the fan rpm at Max load in Aida fan speed tab, as Helios gets 5700, 6000 CPU GPU fan rpm respectively. Looks like fan spinning at 5000rpm to me in y540 Max load But anyway thanks, this was much awaited review. Can't wait for Helios vs y540 head on review under similar conditions
idk if thats just my Y540 but when using aida it doesnt show the fan speeds. its just a dotted vertical line going straight up. I believe the fan speed controller just doesnt give any readable information to windows/aida.
The Extreme Cooling shortcut SHIFT + CTRL + 1 is gone, right? If you play AAA games and at Performance Mode, does it ramped the fan to the max like we pressed SHIFT + CTRL + 1? My Y720 doesnt ramped the fan to the max while playing AAA games not until I pressed SHIFT + CTRL + 1.
Hi jarrod, just a suggestion maybe you can do videos like upgrading laptop monitor, your own undervolting tutorial (bcoz i know it will probably be better than others tutorial video)
There are a lot of things like that I want to do, I have an "idea list" that's about 50 videos long, I just never get time to dip into it, even working on the channel 15 hours per day x 7 days a week as I get sent too many products to cover, and I need to do these first as usually, well especially with laptops, I only get to borrow them for a few weeks, so have to prioritize them.
Thanks for the video. But, what is the conclusion? Is it working good, or not? Too hot or not? Could you recommend this laptop or it have some thermic problems? (A lot of numbers and comparisons, but, for some beginner users like me, it's not so clear).
It's working on considering the quieter fans, but would be better if they at least give the user the option of raising them higher like the older model. The proper full conclusion will be covered in the upcoming full review.
@@JarrodsTech thanks again for your advices. So, the y530 allow us to control the fans speed but with lower performance? The y540 is more powerful but it produces higher levels of noise? 🤔
Cheers mate! I think the Helios 300 is a better option for those that aren't willing to investigate how to improve their machine or don't know the finer technical details, as it's good to go out of the box, literally just hit the turbo button. That said personally I prefer the more professional design of the Y540, no huge 'predator' logo for one 😛 would also depend on price difference at the time though.
I have Kryonaut so will probably use that, I've never used LM so am personally more comfortable doing it, and I suspect that may translate to the people watching it and wanting to try it themselves.
Don't use Kryonaut, it will lose performance over time because of low viscosity of this paste and low mounting pressure of heatsink in laptops. Use thicker paste like Gelid GC Extreme or similar, they will last much longer in laptops.
I found that you can boost fan speed with alt+q or ctrl+q (don't exactly remember) on y740, even tested it in our local showroom. This shortcut isn't listed anywhere though and I only found it thanks to some reviewer that was doing a lot of deep tests. Is it not possible to do this on y540?
Dont u mean:Fn+ Q ? Also nope. Its not possible on the y540. Fn+Q just cycles through the thermal settings in vantage. I believe the newest bios update also disabled that functionality on the y740.
@@Esablaka Oh yea, it might have been fn+q, thanks for info. It's a shame Lenovo doesn't let you control fans like every other laptop manufacturer. However, isn't it not that important when fans crank up to max speed while gaming anyway? It would be good to have control but I don't see many benefits in that. If anybody knows some advantages over automated fan speed control, please let me know, I wanna get educated :o
@@MrZhampi The fan curve on the y540 (idk about the y740) is pretty bad with the newest bios. I personally went back to the previous bios. The newest bios just starts the fan ramp up waaaay too late . Atleast on my y540
That shortcut does not work here or on my 740 with the latest BIOS, they were most likely running a version prior to the June update in the store (I doubt stores ever update BIOS).
@@JarrodsTech oh there are multiple people out there who got shipped the 28 bios instead of 26 or 27. Some manufacturer stores actually upgrade the bios of their machines.
!!!TO READ IF YOU HAVE HIGH TEMPS!!! Hi, I got this computer for a few months now and I was most of the times reaching 95° during games sessions. Even with a stand to have better airflow passing and undervolting! Undervolting gave me a boost in performances but highest temps were still reaching 90°. I repasted this morning, played some games for a couple of hours and it NEVER GOT ABOVE 80° on CPU still with a constant 4.1Ghz so no drop of FPS whatsoever... I can strongly recommend repasting properly cause the factory one is really bad That way you don't need to limit the CPU and lose performance for the cooling...
Hi! This is a good result! Congrats! I was wondering do I need to repaste, mine is almost 1 year. What type\manufacturer of thermal grease did you use? Because not everyone is reaching result you have after repasting. Thanks in advance.
Hey, thanks mate! I used some Arctic MX4. I watched quite a few videos of how to apply thermal paste correctly... Seeing how the factory one was applied, I think the biggest mistake is to put too much... Hope it's gonna work for you! (Btw, I get results with the combination of undervolting and repasting, one without the other it won't be as good) Cheers
I did undervolt my laptop but I wanna see if it's actually improving the efficiency. I kinda think that the amount by which I managed to undervolt is kinda not really worth
Lower your turbo clock speeds with throtlestop. I have mine set at 40. 45 is way too high stock on this laptop for gaming since you can't control manually the fans. Cpu undervolt on core-250, on cache -125. Overclocked the gpu and im getting excellent performance
Thanks for doing this review Jarrod. The Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019) seems to be a better option in terms performance, thermals and the cost factor so far...looking forward to your full review for the Y540.
Cheers! Out of the box yeah, when I compare them I want to apply the same tweaks Acer do by default on this machine for a sort of apples to apples comparison 😁
8:45 did you check to see if the laptop was actually charging. My y530 can’t be charged unless it’s 94% or lower. It’s a bit annoying but I guess it’s supposed to prevent the battery from being harmed
You can configure this in the software and tell it to always go to 100% or if you want to allow it to be able to maintain a lower level which is better for the battery.
Undervolted cpu core clock -250/ -125 cache. Also lowered the turbo clock speeds from 45 to 40. Overclocked the gpu. Ended up finding the sweetspot thermal wise while getting the maximum performance. Very capable laptop. Would probably be able to increase clock speeds if only lenovo unlocked fan control. The max fans turn on too late at 94 degrees, as a result the cpu gets extremely hot.
Would like to see cooling solution comparisons and u could stream the laptop performance IRL like Steve from OwnOrDisown did for IRL gaming perf test sometimes. Anyway good work snd great vid as always.
Not really interested in streaming I admit, what do you mean by cooling solution comparisons? Like cooling pad? I am in the middle of testing 10+ machines with 3 different pads, vacuum coolers and a stand.
After a second attempt in repasting my Y540 (this timw I used Therma Grizzly Kyronaut instead of Master Maker Gel) the temps dropped by over 10° C under stresstest with no throttling whatsoever. The max temp of the CPU was 82 - 84 °C whilst it got up to 95° before repasting. UV is at -0.165V in core and cach settings
Hi Jarrod! Thanks for all your great reviews! Can you recommend cooling pads that actually help lower the CPU temps of the y540? I also read that by physically raising the back by 1/2 to 1 inch really helps in lowering temps!😁 Cheers!
Well done, thanks! As for the fans, is it possible to lower their speed in any way in order to make the system more quiet? Because I can imagine that undervolting + replacing the thermal paste (please try that :D) one could improve performance slightly while having a quieter notebook. I am going to travel a lot so a loud laptop would annoy any person sitting close to me. :D I'll be needing the Notebook for work (Unreal Engine 4), so I'd get a 2060 instead of the 1660Ti. Also important is a somewhat accurate display. Hence I can't wait for the final review and again: thanks for all the effort testing this device!!!
I wasn't able to control the fans in any way. Under a CPU only load however, undervolting did lower fan speed, but this made no difference in combined CPU/GPU workload such as gaming. Honestly I think 48db under load is already quiet compared to almost all other gaming laptops I've tested, but yeah would be nice if they gave better fan control.
Amazing Channel and Great content , I wonder where was this channel hidden as I'm laptops enthusiastic , your content deserves 2 million subscribers and more soon :) .. wish if you do best laptop for each price segment that would be great
Thanks! I'd like to do something like that, the problem is there are just so many models I haven't been able to get my hands on yet so I can't do it properly without getting a bunch of "but you missed laptop xyz!" comments 😉
@@JarrodsTech you will get those comments no matter what you do 😀 so nevermind them 😉 you can recommend a model every while.. keep up your amazing work 💪💪 i'm sharing your channel to my friends
In India prices of these laptops are way more than anywhere. Literally a $1000 laptop costs no less than $1300. Anyway I'm opting for a i5+1650 configuration since I'm a casual user. But can't decide which one should I pick. My options are Lenovo Y540, Asus ROG Strix G, Acer Nitro 5 all three in i5+GTX1650 configuration. Can anyone help me out ? Obviously I'd want a good display and good thermals. 🙂
Yeah I have an idea for that, given I just finished testing the Aero 15 which is a good candidate, I also have an MSI creator series laptop here, so maybe once I get a few more I can do something like that.
I pretty much always find that it does, so lately with most of the machines I get, I've been doing additional thermal testing for a future video. I'm trying to get at least 10 machines tested under the same workload with it sitting on a desk, with 3 different types of cooling pads, with vacuum coolers, and with a simple stand that just props the machine up at the back a little. I can't recall all the data off the top of my head, but I think there was one machine that preferred just being propped up to a cooling pad with fans, I guess the additional air flow interfered with the laptop's fans.
Hey Jarrod. You are doing a great job. Hoping for more videos coming on this model. I've recently bought this (9750h with gtx1650) but yet to be delivered. I was wondering what will be the effect on the battery run time by these profiles? My guess is, quiet profile will let the battery last longer than the undevoltage or the performance profile. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks! The full review will be up on Monday. I have tested battery life in that video while gaming, and watching TH-cam both with hybrid mode enabled and disabled, so more tests than I usually do, didn't test with different profiles though.
Hey dude I bought this laptop but I need to know the undervolt settings because I need it to run at lower temps, and yeah I also experienced some kind of lag in game for a short duration of time, I mean like while playing a game fps drops instantly for 2-3 seconds then it gets back to normal, how do I fix that, pls help(I have rtx 2060 version)
There are no global settings I can give you, the best value to use varies between each CPU, you just need to experiment for yourself. I use -0.15v in most of my testing as I find it to generally work fine with most machines, you can start there and tweak it up or down as needed.
a repasting video would not only be helpful for those who wants to see the effects of using a different thermal paste, but also as a quick DIY video/tutorial on how to maintain a laptop cleanliness :D
MX-4 and Kryonaut are not good for laptops, they have low viscosity and will "pump out" especially if you move laptop a lot. You will start seeing temperatures going up over time. Thicker pastes are better, like Gelid GC Extreme or IC Diamond, they will last for much longer time in laptops. Hopefully Jarrod will use some of those thicker pastes.
Maybe one day, for now I do not have time to do that. I have already done the same thing to the Y530 though which basically has the same design, so you can follow the process here: th-cam.com/video/pzRfD5iYyRM/w-d-xo.html for undervolting follow this guide: th-cam.com/video/yNt9L3BWOFo/w-d-xo.html
For me on the 740 it just changes between quiet/balanced/performance profiles, so I guess in the past when those actually affected fan speed it helped.
We need to help this guy reach 100K... we need to appreciate guys like this who listen/help their viewers. Gonna ask all my friends to subscribe to his channel
Jarrod, it would be interesting to see how much improvement repasting would bring, since you purchased it. If you will do that - I would really appreciate if you would use a thick, high viscosity thermal paste since that would work better for laptops (more resistant to pump out) over long time especially with laptops with uneven heatsink pressure. I know Lenovo already use high quality paste but it may not be applied correctly for all users so for them it would be interesting to see how to repaste and which temps they should see after repaste.
Palm rests were always fine, you can see the temperatures yourself during different workloads at 5:59 and these are worst case after full heat soak, doesn't matter if you play for 9000000000 hours the temperatures will not get worse than what I'm showing (in my ambient room temp of 21c, a 1c increase to room temp will = a 1c increase to internals).
@@JarrodsTech Thank you for your answer. So at any moment the surface (or bottom) of the laptop wasn't uncomfortable to touch (too hot)? I'm planning to buy this laptop but can not test it, since there are non in the local stores around me and form my experience at this price range laptops usually get pretty hot since they go cheap on the cooling system.
Maybe, it's hard to say, I had the Y530 with i5-8300H and it seems to use the same cooling solution, but mine had thermal throttling. As for which to get for gaming, I think for most cases the i5 is ok today, but many games are starting to demand more cores, so i7 will be better in the future - I still need to make a comparison video between those two.
I'm surprised the fans don't spool up even more, it's relatively quiet @ 50db (in a busy environment) however we can see the effect low fan speeds have on thermals
Quick question, when you show temps in your graphs, are they average over the test period or maximums it hits during the test? I bought new y540 and 1 core hits 95+ pretty fast (others remain mid/high 80s), just by loading a game until fans kick in and drops it down back. I am not sure whether this is normal behavior
Averages, the stress tests are run for 30 mins each, and I don't even start that 30 min timer until I've first run it under load for 30 mins for full heat soak to take place, they're the worst possible results under these workloads within the ambient room temperature I'm testing in.
Hi, any chance you tested the back of the laptop to see how hot it is, for like keeping it on your lap (for browsing)? Also, do you think that it will run cooler with the integrated GPU on? I want to buy this and use it for more than gaming, and I'm a bit worried about the 48C on idle :(
I didn't measure it but didn't seem too bad, to be clear that is the temperature of the CPU/GPU die underneath the heatsink underneath the bottom cover, it doesn't translate into the temperature you'd come into contact with.
Seems like the latest bios update fcked up fan system. There's a thread at reddit where people discussing that problem and resolving it by reverting to the old bios version. Also it looks like cooling pad is really helping since the build design. Which pad model do you use btw?
Sent my Y540 17" back to Lenovo because it ran hot (95C) very quickly in a cold environment. It also started in idle mode around 50-60C so that alone convinced the tech group something was wrong with the unit. Lifting the unit off the table did not improve my temps much at all. It had an RTX 2060 in it.
Have you seen the new HP Omen 17 and 15 2019 version with a RTX max P 2060/2070/2080. Only 1 review online from a month ago. They have a new cooling system called tempest that looks much better than the 2018 model that didn’t throttle. It has a good g-sync screen and 4 lane thunderbolt 3 with bangs Olsen speakers. At a much lower price than the other RTX laptops. I was considering the low cost Tongfang but the Omen 17 looks better feature set for the price. Any idea if you i will do a review of the Omen 17 2019 model?
I haven't, I don't pay attention to any HP laptops because there's unfortunately no point. They don't send review units out in Australia and they cost too much here for me to buy, so unless they start responding to me they'll probably never be included on the channel.
I applied thermal grizzly kryonaut on my 540 after using it for 5 years and the thermals remained the same. I was frustrated since even after repaste the laptop is still 5-7 C° warmer than this video's thermal results.
Can't get nearly as much performance out of my Y540 as many other users (like apparently I should be getting like 100fps with my specs but it struggles to maintain 60), would you recommend a repaste?
Depends if thermals are actually the limitation, use software like hwinfo and see if it's a problem. Also not sure what game you're comparing with, but you'd want to use the built in benchmark of a game to do the best possible apples to apples comparison with my results.
@@JarrodsTech Oh yeah sorry, I forgot to mention I was using GTA V and comparing to other people's results on TH-cam. But the problems are pretty consistent no matter what game - them being very frequent fps drops (down from 60 to 40 every few seconds) and significantly lower overall average fps. CPU temps at idle are usually around 44 or 45 degrees and GPU temps between 45 and 50. Someone on Lenovo forums suggested really bad pasting could be the issue.
@@lordmashie After a bios update this laptop got worse. Before bios update i got 85 degrees max with cooler. Now its above 90 and i get less fps in games.
This video make me sad, can no longer undervolt your CPU by traditional means. Also, this is the future, can you change the thermal paste to see if it makes a difference? Just recently bought a preowned Y540 (9300h 1660TI) and it get really warm, as we can no longer undervolt the CPU due to the bios update
I'm planning to have the full review posted on Monday, so if you haven't already you'll want to subscribe for that one 👀
I have a couple questions
I have the y540 and I was wondering how did you get your Cinebench scores so high. I get around 2630 without-UV and 2400~ with a UV of -125mV.
Also, what do you use to OC your GPU and do you have any links to any good guides
@@DragonMarksmen I have a question for u how is the battery life in y540 I am going to buy it by the end of this month so would like to know the battery performance of this laptop
please do a review and testing of the asus rog strix G531GT
@@DragonMarksmen By any chance, do you have a single channel/ single stick of memory only?
@@Freefalling_shr , Currently I only have 1 8gb stick. I will be getting another one
Haven't even started watching but we need to appreciate our boy Jarrod for FINALLY giving the internet proper Y540 videos...
ikr
I am looking for the answer and Jarrod has just given me that.
It's an ok hardware after undervolting with cooling pad, but I wish Lenovo give us back the manual fan control so that we could get the temps low.
Currently using Y720. Hell of a beast but I wanted more compact size laptop and also want to ditch the 'gaming look' as it annoys me a lot. Hate the attention people gave to me when I do my work outside.
Just trying to help out 😁
You're right.
Use onekey optimiser for conservation mode to limit percentage of battery. Vantage keeps switching it
Bought this today and im really happy with it. I lowered the CPU usage of powercable to 85%. The FPS decreased a bit but it didnt got hotter than 65 degree. I also could play BF5 on ultra setting with RTX-on in 70 fps.
PS: its the only game laptop that looks normal and not like a Christmas tree.
Haha yeah you're right, I prefer the more professional design personally
How did you lower the CPU usage to 85%?
@@Raulzeo
Go in Windows 10 to power options, change plan settings. In there set the maximum processorstatus to 85%.
I hope it works for you.
@@Enes1967 Okay thank you will try and let you know(since mine is on the way)
Y545 looks even more *Normal*
Sooner or later every manufacturer is gonna adopt Acer's undervolting method out of the box. Seeing how everyone has nothing but praise for Acer predator helios 300. 2019 is the year of Acer.
I hope so! They'll have to though, otherwise the competition pulls ahead.
I hope not. You cannot apply same undervolt amount to all laptops, even for same model - no CPU is the same and different CPUs will tolerate different undervolt amount (one 8750h might tolerate -0.100v the other 8750h might only tolerate -.50v, I've seen this happen). Acer just sends review sample units with manual overclock done by workers who prepare those for reviewers.
Jarrod'sTech how do they manage to undervolt every single cpu by -0.15V? They picked the ones that’s stable at -0.15v and discard the others?
@@sdfasdfvccvvc Nobody is stopping you from redoing the undervolt why tf are you complaining? Getting the unit pre-undervolted is a great step for people who dont know how to do it themselves or even know what undervolting is. Obv Acer isnt gonna be dumb enough to undervolt the cpu so much it fails, they are gonna have a safe threshold for all the units.
WTF some people just complain for the sake of complaining. Acer can put 1000 usd inside every box and I bet some numbskull will still complain.
From what i heard. Its still with the inconsistencies in manufacturing of acer
Some units had really bad throttling and backlight bleeding
I feel like everytime a Y540 review comes out, my soul gets a bit wholer
@Shank Adams yeah man, I've been for this for sooooooo long
Haha, hopefully I can complete your soul when the full review goes up next week.
maybe it is a good idea to add noise levels to temperature sheets?
Hmm maybe. I also wanted to add the actual game FPS too but then the graphs will just get crazy.
Finally Y540 review thank you very much. I just purchased the machine.
Me too, with GTX 1650
i bought it too!
@@muniaferdoushi2168 nice , which gfx card?
@@aryansoni3029 1660ti, how is yours performing?mine drains too fast -_-
@@muniaferdoushi2168 hasn't been delivered yet😬
Please make a video on “how to undervolt and costume your y540”
Just use this guide: th-cam.com/video/yNt9L3BWOFo/w-d-xo.html
These are some great thermals! Awesome and detailed review, as always. :)
Cheers!
Most awaited video!!
90 degrees is definitely not optimal but can be worked with.
Waiting for comparison with acer helios 300 with both stock as well as UV settings.
👍
The way you say the last word in every sentence is so different than the rest can't help but notice it haha
Yeah just how I talk I guess.
compare Acer Predator Helios 300 2019 and Lenovo Y540 .....
I will.
Navneet Kumar Helios 300 seems to be the clear winner currently😂 better performance + cooler thermals
The Helios also has 144hz display. This one is only 60hz
@@chikenbutte This model* lenovo also has a model with 144hz
@@vaibhav2364 I hope so but better wait for the comparison from the person who has used both devices. y540 is cheaper here(144hz one). so dilemma exists which one to pick.
Whoever reads this
Have a great day
You too!
Leo Huang THANK U
U too bro
Yes I want to see a comparison but what interest me more is the thermal testing to the area 51m
That video might go up next week, we'll see! If not, probably week after (I'm going away next week).
@@JarrodsTech I want to buy one but I'm slightly worried about it thermal throttle
Performance mode+ undervolt
9db quieter than Helios 300
Temperatures look good, Max fans not needed but if comes back in update it is good.
U can check the fan rpm at Max load in Aida fan speed tab, as Helios gets 5700, 6000 CPU GPU fan rpm respectively. Looks like fan spinning at 5000rpm to me in y540 Max load
But anyway thanks, this was much awaited review. Can't wait for Helios vs y540 head on review under similar conditions
idk if thats just my Y540 but when using aida it doesnt show the fan speeds. its just a dotted vertical line going straight up. I believe the fan speed controller just doesnt give any readable information to windows/aida.
This one appears a bit quieter that the predator, but does it overclock the 1660ti? I mean the GPU is the weak link in gaming on these right?
Yeah i know, you already said that.
The Extreme Cooling shortcut SHIFT + CTRL + 1 is gone, right? If you play AAA games and at Performance Mode, does it ramped the fan to the max like we pressed SHIFT + CTRL + 1?
My Y720 doesnt ramped the fan to the max while playing AAA games not until I pressed SHIFT + CTRL + 1.
@@AngkelBee no Max fans are gone with shortcut after latest BIOS, but they are already cooling the laptop why need max
Hi jarrod, just a suggestion maybe you can do videos like upgrading laptop monitor, your own undervolting tutorial (bcoz i know it will probably be better than others tutorial video)
There are a lot of things like that I want to do, I have an "idea list" that's about 50 videos long, I just never get time to dip into it, even working on the channel 15 hours per day x 7 days a week as I get sent too many products to cover, and I need to do these first as usually, well especially with laptops, I only get to borrow them for a few weeks, so have to prioritize them.
@@JarrodsTech i see. Hope your channel grow fast and reach million subscribers this year
Thanks!
Thanks for the video.
But, what is the conclusion?
Is it working good, or not?
Too hot or not?
Could you recommend this laptop or it have some thermic problems?
(A lot of numbers and comparisons, but, for some beginner users like me, it's not so clear).
It's working on considering the quieter fans, but would be better if they at least give the user the option of raising them higher like the older model. The proper full conclusion will be covered in the upcoming full review.
@@JarrodsTech so, in that sense (with respect to the fans) is better the y530 model?
If you want a quieter machine at the expense of performance loss, I guess.
@@JarrodsTech thanks again for your advices.
So, the y530 allow us to control the fans speed but with lower performance?
The y540 is more powerful but it produces higher levels of noise?
🤔
A review with great statistics.
Hats off for the work.Just bought this guy
Cheers! Nice, let us know how it goes 👍
Nice to see you growing Jarrod! keep up the good work :) btw between the Acer Predator Helious 300 and Lenovo Y540 which would you recommend?
Cheers mate! I think the Helios 300 is a better option for those that aren't willing to investigate how to improve their machine or don't know the finer technical details, as it's good to go out of the box, literally just hit the turbo button. That said personally I prefer the more professional design of the Y540, no huge 'predator' logo for one 😛 would also depend on price difference at the time though.
@@JarrodsTech I see thank you for giving your opinion this improved my choice between the two gaming laptops
Hey Jarrod, I am also getting a CB20 Score of around 3110 with my Y540. I am very interested in a repaste video. Keep up the good work! :)
Nice! Alright thanks for letting me know 👍
Yes the Repaste will be a nice video as a user of Y540 I am interested, but metal liquid or Kryonaut ? What you recommend
Andrei Vaduva watch my channel
I have Kryonaut so will probably use that, I've never used LM so am personally more comfortable doing it, and I suspect that may translate to the people watching it and wanting to try it themselves.
Don't use Kryonaut, it will lose performance over time because of low viscosity of this paste and low mounting pressure of heatsink in laptops. Use thicker paste like Gelid GC Extreme or similar, they will last much longer in laptops.
@@sdfasdfvccvvc its conductivity is good but because of low viscosity needs to be replaced every year. Temperature drops are better than others though
I don't really care about performance over time as I'd basically be testing the results straight away then never using the machine again 😉
really needed this review.... thanks a ton jarrod !
No problem at all!
I found that you can boost fan speed with alt+q or ctrl+q (don't exactly remember) on y740, even tested it in our local showroom. This shortcut isn't listed anywhere though and I only found it thanks to some reviewer that was doing a lot of deep tests. Is it not possible to do this on y540?
Dont u mean:Fn+ Q ?
Also nope. Its not possible on the y540.
Fn+Q just cycles through the thermal settings in vantage.
I believe the newest bios update also disabled that functionality on the y740.
@@Esablaka Oh yea, it might have been fn+q, thanks for info. It's a shame Lenovo doesn't let you control fans like every other laptop manufacturer. However, isn't it not that important when fans crank up to max speed while gaming anyway? It would be good to have control but I don't see many benefits in that. If anybody knows some advantages over automated fan speed control, please let me know, I wanna get educated :o
@@MrZhampi The fan curve on the y540 (idk about the y740) is pretty bad with the newest bios. I personally went back to the previous bios. The newest bios just starts the fan ramp up waaaay too late . Atleast on my y540
That shortcut does not work here or on my 740 with the latest BIOS, they were most likely running a version prior to the June update in the store (I doubt stores ever update BIOS).
@@JarrodsTech oh there are multiple people out there who got shipped the 28 bios instead of 26 or 27. Some manufacturer stores actually upgrade the bios of their machines.
!!!TO READ IF YOU HAVE HIGH TEMPS!!! Hi, I got this computer for a few months now and I was most of the times reaching 95° during games sessions. Even with a stand to have better airflow passing and undervolting! Undervolting gave me a boost in performances but highest temps were still reaching 90°.
I repasted this morning, played some games for a couple of hours and it NEVER GOT ABOVE 80° on CPU still with a constant 4.1Ghz so no drop of FPS whatsoever... I can strongly recommend repasting properly cause the factory one is really bad
That way you don't need to limit the CPU and lose performance for the cooling...
Hi! This is a good result! Congrats! I was wondering do I need to repaste, mine is almost 1 year. What type\manufacturer of thermal grease did you use? Because not everyone is reaching result you have after repasting. Thanks in advance.
Hey, thanks mate! I used some Arctic MX4. I watched quite a few videos of how to apply thermal paste correctly... Seeing how the factory one was applied, I think the biggest mistake is to put too much... Hope it's gonna work for you! (Btw, I get results with the combination of undervolting and repasting, one without the other it won't be as good)
Cheers
I did undervolt my laptop but I wanna see if it's actually improving the efficiency. I kinda think that the amount by which I managed to undervolt is kinda not really worth
I suppose you could monitor the amount of power it uses, or measure battery life with and without it.
Lower your turbo clock speeds with throtlestop. I have mine set at 40. 45 is way too high stock on this laptop for gaming since you can't control manually the fans. Cpu undervolt on core-250, on cache -125. Overclocked the gpu and im getting excellent performance
Thanks for doing this review Jarrod. The Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019) seems to be a better option in terms performance, thermals and the cost factor so far...looking forward to your full review for the Y540.
Cheers! Out of the box yeah, when I compare them I want to apply the same tweaks Acer do by default on this machine for a sort of apples to apples comparison 😁
Cool. Looking forward to the results.👍
I would really like a y530 vs y540, im not finding any reviews between them.
That comparison is on my to-do list.
8:45 did you check to see if the laptop was actually charging. My y530 can’t be charged unless it’s 94% or lower. It’s a bit annoying but I guess it’s supposed to prevent the battery from being harmed
You can configure this in the software and tell it to always go to 100% or if you want to allow it to be able to maintain a lower level which is better for the battery.
Jarrod'sTech what software would that be? I haven’t been able to find it and not being able to charge after 94% is really annoying me
Can you do a review of the lenovo l340 laptop? Ty
Yes, I bought one too, give me a few weeks to get through some other projects and I'll cover it 👍
Undervolted cpu core clock -250/ -125 cache. Also lowered the turbo clock speeds from 45 to 40. Overclocked the gpu. Ended up finding the sweetspot thermal wise while getting the maximum performance. Very capable laptop. Would probably be able to increase clock speeds if only lenovo unlocked fan control. The max fans turn on too late at 94 degrees, as a result the cpu gets extremely hot.
Nice undervolt!
Thanks for the info!! Can you share the GPU voltage/frequency curve you set on the OC?
I just set it statically in MSI Afterburner, I mentioned in the video I used "100MHz on the core and 500MHz on the memory"
@@JarrodsTech why did you choose 100MHz and 500MHz?
Mine is at 150MHz and 350MHz. Is it better for a higher overclock on the memory?
Just a random number I usually pick that most have no issues with.
amazing effort as usual man !!! one of the best if you are not the best !
Cheers!
Finally a y540 video. ;_;
Woohoo!
Would like to see cooling solution comparisons and u could stream the laptop performance IRL like Steve from OwnOrDisown did for IRL gaming perf test sometimes. Anyway good work snd great vid as always.
Not really interested in streaming I admit, what do you mean by cooling solution comparisons? Like cooling pad? I am in the middle of testing 10+ machines with 3 different pads, vacuum coolers and a stand.
Cooling solution between y530 and y540.
Thermal paste video please! Thanks for the great content, Jarrod.
Cheers! If I get time I'll do it, just too many new machines constantly coming in lately that I have to prioritize.
You sure do. Hope the Alienware m17 review is coming soon 😄 Thanks again.
After a second attempt in repasting my Y540 (this timw I used Therma Grizzly Kyronaut instead of Master Maker Gel) the temps dropped by over 10° C under stresstest with no throttling whatsoever. The max temp of the CPU was 82 - 84 °C whilst it got up to 95° before repasting. UV is at -0.165V in core and cach settings
Nice improvement!
Any advice on how to improve performance with this laptop now?
Hi Jarrod! Thanks for all your great reviews! Can you recommend cooling pads that actually help lower the CPU temps of the y540? I also read that by physically raising the back by 1/2 to 1 inch really helps in lowering temps!😁 Cheers!
Well done, thanks!
As for the fans, is it possible to lower their speed in any way in order to make the system more quiet? Because I can imagine that undervolting + replacing the thermal paste (please try that :D) one could improve performance slightly while having a quieter notebook. I am going to travel a lot so a loud laptop would annoy any person sitting close to me. :D
I'll be needing the Notebook for work (Unreal Engine 4), so I'd get a 2060 instead of the 1660Ti. Also important is a somewhat accurate display. Hence I can't wait for the final review and again: thanks for all the effort testing this device!!!
I wasn't able to control the fans in any way. Under a CPU only load however, undervolting did lower fan speed, but this made no difference in combined CPU/GPU workload such as gaming. Honestly I think 48db under load is already quiet compared to almost all other gaming laptops I've tested, but yeah would be nice if they gave better fan control.
@@JarrodsTech Weird behaviour... thanks for the detailed reply, though!
A beautiful, wonderful and appropriate laptop I decided to buy next week thank you for this video ❤️
Nice, let us know how it goes!
Amazing Channel and Great content , I wonder where was this channel hidden as I'm laptops enthusiastic , your content deserves 2 million subscribers and more soon :) .. wish if you do best laptop for each price segment that would be great
Thanks! I'd like to do something like that, the problem is there are just so many models I haven't been able to get my hands on yet so I can't do it properly without getting a bunch of "but you missed laptop xyz!" comments 😉
@@JarrodsTech you will get those comments no matter what you do 😀 so nevermind them 😉 you can recommend a model every while.. keep up your amazing work 💪💪 i'm sharing your channel to my friends
Thanks for the support!
So, how do I undervolt it? thanks for the review btw
No problem, here's a guide: th-cam.com/video/yNt9L3BWOFo/w-d-xo.html
what is the conclusion? hot or not?
In India prices of these laptops are way more than anywhere. Literally a $1000 laptop costs no less than $1300.
Anyway I'm opting for a i5+1650 configuration since I'm a casual user. But can't decide which one should I pick.
My options are Lenovo Y540, Asus ROG Strix G, Acer Nitro 5 all three in i5+GTX1650 configuration.
Can anyone help me out ? Obviously I'd want a good display and good thermals. 🙂
Try asus tuf, it's pretty decent.
I'd probably gt the Y540
Hello
I have just bought this laptop.
at @8:08 what is the laptop cooling pad/stand you are using?
i just want to buy it.
It's linked in the description.
Hey Jarrod , u mightve seen me on ur A15 video. Well my A15 died.
Gonna return it and get this instead.
Update : Got the Y540. If anyone wants to ask a question about it just leave a comment
@@bepis2104 how are its thermals?i mean does it get too hot or it is ok while gaming?thanks
@@bloodstaineddot3529 hey, Its been a month with the Y540 and lemme tell you, undervolting is a must. Apart from that, I love this laptop.
@@bloodstaineddot3529 If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
@@bepis2104 thanks a lot for the quick response! This laptop will probably be the one i will buy since it has mostly positive feedback.
1:14 Does this mean that on quiet mode the laptop will only use 25W of energy? If it does, the laptop would be pretty much silent, right?
Not quite, CPU TDP is different from power drawn from the wall, but yes it's cooler and quieter.
Thanks for the video on this model as I plan on getting it with the 2060. Even though this model is with the 1660ti, it will still be similar.
No problem!
PL1 power limit in performance mode is 70 Watt at the moment.
can you review best editing laptop
Yeah I have an idea for that, given I just finished testing the Aero 15 which is a good candidate, I also have an MSI creator series laptop here, so maybe once I get a few more I can do something like that.
@@JarrodsTech yaaaaay!
Hi Jarrod, curious, what cooling mat did you use/recommend for the Y540? Is it pushing air towards the laptop or pulling air away from the laptop?
Hey, there's a link to my video about it with more info in the description.
does lifting the rear of the laptop improve temps?
I pretty much always find that it does, so lately with most of the machines I get, I've been doing additional thermal testing for a future video. I'm trying to get at least 10 machines tested under the same workload with it sitting on a desk, with 3 different types of cooling pads, with vacuum coolers, and with a simple stand that just props the machine up at the back a little. I can't recall all the data off the top of my head, but I think there was one machine that preferred just being propped up to a cooling pad with fans, I guess the additional air flow interfered with the laptop's fans.
@@JarrodsTech cheers
Please make a general video on how to best use a gaming laptop for long, and how to increase its life in general.
It's on the to-do list.
Hey Jarrod, you should make a discord server.
I may in future, maybe as part of patreon or something, will give it some more thought!
Quick question, do you know the difference between the 300nit version and the 500nit version of the Y740? Is one TN and the other IPS?
Honestly not sure, my Y740 is the 8th gen one with 300 nit screen so I wasn't able to get blinded first hand.
@@JarrodsTech Lol okay thanks anyway
Lenovo WiFi 40 lol 😂
thank god im not the only one
Hey Jarrod. You are doing a great job. Hoping for more videos coming on this model. I've recently bought this (9750h with gtx1650) but yet to be delivered. I was wondering what will be the effect on the battery run time by these profiles? My guess is, quiet profile will let the battery last longer than the undevoltage or the performance profile. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks! The full review will be up on Monday. I have tested battery life in that video while gaming, and watching TH-cam both with hybrid mode enabled and disabled, so more tests than I usually do, didn't test with different profiles though.
Hey dude I bought this laptop but I need to know the undervolt settings because I need it to run at lower temps, and yeah I also experienced some kind of lag in game for a short duration of time, I mean like while playing a game fps drops instantly for 2-3 seconds then it gets back to normal, how do I fix that, pls help(I have rtx 2060 version)
There are no global settings I can give you, the best value to use varies between each CPU, you just need to experiment for yourself. I use -0.15v in most of my testing as I find it to generally work fine with most machines, you can start there and tweak it up or down as needed.
@@JarrodsTech what software should i download for that?
a repasting video would not only be helpful for those who wants to see the effects of using a different thermal paste, but also as a quick DIY video/tutorial on how to maintain a laptop cleanliness :D
I'll see what I can do!
Have you changed thermal compound to something better than thermal grease from factory? MX-4 or, maybe, Grizly Krionaut.
I have not yet, but might do this in a future video. It will remain as stock paste until I finish the review.
MX-4 and Kryonaut are not good for laptops, they have low viscosity and will "pump out" especially if you move laptop a lot. You will start seeing temperatures going up over time. Thicker pastes are better, like Gelid GC Extreme or IC Diamond, they will last for much longer time in laptops. Hopefully Jarrod will use some of those thicker pastes.
I only use the laptop for a few hours after repasting so not sure if that really matters for my results.
Yesss comparison between Y530 and Y540!!!
Ok!
Nice, do u have a planned date for the full review?
Maybe Monday, trying hard to get it done before I leave on holiday on Friday.
Jarrod'sTech Sweet! Really look forward to it fam
Finally is thermal performance a major downside for this laptop compared to Acer nitro 5 and Asus fx505du?
Would be great to see what happens to the temperatures with a re paste.
Might test it out in a future video!
Can you give us a tutorial on how to apply thermal paste and to properly undervolt this specific laptop. (Y540) THANKS FOR THE VIDS MAN!
Maybe one day, for now I do not have time to do that. I have already done the same thing to the Y530 though which basically has the same design, so you can follow the process here: th-cam.com/video/pzRfD5iYyRM/w-d-xo.html for undervolting follow this guide: th-cam.com/video/yNt9L3BWOFo/w-d-xo.html
Does the 17.3 inch version has better cooling? Also, is there any difference in temps/fan noises between 1660ti and 2060 rtx?
Saw somewhere that Fn + Q boosts the fan speed on the Y740, not sure if this would also work for the Y540
Option removed, people had to downgrade the bios to get the option back.
@@TheRealGeonode aaah annoying
worked with the last bios but the newest bios disabled that ability.
For me on the 740 it just changes between quiet/balanced/performance profiles, so I guess in the past when those actually affected fan speed it helped.
As for heat, what do you think is better? lenovo legion or asus tuf?
while gaming do you feel air blowing out of the vents or just feeling of heat radiating (i feel very little air but very warm)
Not too much from the sides from memory, mostly out the back.
We need to help this guy reach 100K... we need to appreciate guys like this who listen/help their viewers. Gonna ask all my friends to subscribe to his channel
Thanks for the support!
Jarrod, it would be interesting to see how much improvement repasting would bring, since you purchased it. If you will do that - I would really appreciate if you would use a thick, high viscosity thermal paste since that would work better for laptops (more resistant to pump out) over long time especially with laptops with uneven heatsink pressure. I know Lenovo already use high quality paste but it may not be applied correctly for all users so for them it would be interesting to see how to repaste and which temps they should see after repaste.
Do you know of any examples? Basically I just have Kryonaut at home so would probably stick to using that.
So did the laptop case got hot on touch when doing the stress test or it is was comfortable to rest your palm and play for 2-3 hours?
Palm rests were always fine, you can see the temperatures yourself during different workloads at 5:59 and these are worst case after full heat soak, doesn't matter if you play for 9000000000 hours the temperatures will not get worse than what I'm showing (in my ambient room temp of 21c, a 1c increase to room temp will = a 1c increase to internals).
@@JarrodsTech Thank you for your answer. So at any moment the surface (or bottom) of the laptop wasn't uncomfortable to touch (too hot)? I'm planning to buy this laptop but can not test it, since there are non in the local stores around me and form my experience at this price range laptops usually get pretty hot since they go cheap on the cooling system.
Do you expect the i5 version to run cooler? And just for gaming do you recommend the i5 or i7 spec?
Maybe, it's hard to say, I had the Y530 with i5-8300H and it seems to use the same cooling solution, but mine had thermal throttling. As for which to get for gaming, I think for most cases the i5 is ok today, but many games are starting to demand more cores, so i7 will be better in the future - I still need to make a comparison video between those two.
should I get a cooling pad if yes then can you suggest one
Hell yeah! Give us the comparison!
Ok!
Finally the thermals :D , Keep it up.
Cheers!
I'm surprised the fans don't spool up even more, it's relatively quiet @ 50db (in a busy environment) however we can see the effect low fan speeds have on thermals
Daniel Pliszka yeah it results in thermal throttle as he said in the vid
Yeah wish they at least let you use max fan manually if you wanted.
Please try to change the thermal paste. I am wondering how mutch it would change
I'll see what I can do!
Great review. Do you think the y540 with the weaker core i5 will be cooler than this core i7 model ?
Thanks, hard to say, I have the y530 with older i5-8300H and it appears to have the same cooling solution, I still had thermal throttling in that.
I have y540 with i5 9300 and gtx 1650. GPU temps are a bit lower than this, but cpu temps are nearly the same
@@Giangypd thank you very much. Im going to buy the sam specs too.
Hey Jarrod, what cooling pad do you recommend using? What are you you using right now for the y540?
It's listed in the description of the video
Can you recommend a thermal paste ... I wanna change mine because it heats 90+ *C.
Which cooling pad to use for legion y540 laptop?
I'm getting the impression that my left one is running a bit slower than the right fan... Is that even possible?
Quick question, when you show temps in your graphs, are they average over the test period or maximums it hits during the test? I bought new y540 and 1 core hits 95+ pretty fast (others remain mid/high 80s), just by loading a game until fans kick in and drops it down back. I am not sure whether this is normal behavior
Averages, the stress tests are run for 30 mins each, and I don't even start that 30 min timer until I've first run it under load for 30 mins for full heat soak to take place, they're the worst possible results under these workloads within the ambient room temperature I'm testing in.
Hi, following your video seems that old Y520 compared to this Y540 there are small changes regarding heating? Not so much improved?
I never tested the 520 so not sure, started with the 530 which is similar to this.
Simple question is the tempreture of lonovo legion y540 is good or no?
When is the thermal testing for the Alienware area 51m releasing?
Maybe next week.
Hi, any chance you tested the back of the laptop to see how hot it is, for like keeping it on your lap (for browsing)? Also, do you think that it will run cooler with the integrated GPU on? I want to buy this and use it for more than gaming, and I'm a bit worried about the 48C on idle :(
I didn't measure it but didn't seem too bad, to be clear that is the temperature of the CPU/GPU die underneath the heatsink underneath the bottom cover, it doesn't translate into the temperature you'd come into contact with.
@@JarrodsTech Ok, thanks, I just saw a review elsewhere that it can't be keeped on your lap because it is too hot :D
Will gtx 1650 and i5 9300h have better termals?
I'd expect so.
Seems like the latest bios update fcked up fan system. There's a thread at reddit where people discussing that problem and resolving it by reverting to the old bios version. Also it looks like cooling pad is really helping since the build design. Which pad model do you use btw?
Yeah :( cooling pad is the Thermaltake Massive 20, I have a video on it linked in the description.
Sent my Y540 17" back to Lenovo because it ran hot (95C) very quickly in a cold environment. It also started in idle mode around 50-60C so that alone convinced the tech group something was wrong with the unit. Lifting the unit off the table did not improve my temps much at all. It had an RTX 2060 in it.
Sounds a bit warm, maybe it wasn't pasted properly.
Have you seen the new HP Omen 17 and 15 2019 version with a RTX max P 2060/2070/2080. Only 1 review online from a month ago. They have a new cooling system called tempest that looks much better than the 2018 model that didn’t throttle. It has a good g-sync screen and 4 lane thunderbolt 3 with bangs Olsen speakers. At a much lower price than the other RTX laptops. I was considering the low cost Tongfang but the Omen 17 looks better feature set for the price. Any idea if you i will do a review of the Omen 17 2019 model?
I haven't, I don't pay attention to any HP laptops because there's unfortunately no point. They don't send review units out in Australia and they cost too much here for me to buy, so unless they start responding to me they'll probably never be included on the channel.
hello , should i use performance or balanced mode for gaming? which would help for better thermals? i lock games at 60fps.
what micro phone do you use? what brand is the coolong fan?
Blue Yeti. Thermaltake Massive 20, linked in description.
I applied thermal grizzly kryonaut on my 540 after using it for 5 years and the thermals remained the same. I was frustrated since even after repaste the laptop is still 5-7 C° warmer than this video's thermal results.
Cold review Jarrod 😁
😁
Hey Jarrod, what cooling pad were you using in this review?? Thanks
This one: th-cam.com/video/Zx2EnUD-DoM/w-d-xo.html
Can't get nearly as much performance out of my Y540 as many other users (like apparently I should be getting like 100fps with my specs but it struggles to maintain 60), would you recommend a repaste?
Depends if thermals are actually the limitation, use software like hwinfo and see if it's a problem. Also not sure what game you're comparing with, but you'd want to use the built in benchmark of a game to do the best possible apples to apples comparison with my results.
@@JarrodsTech Oh yeah sorry, I forgot to mention I was using GTA V and comparing to other people's results on TH-cam. But the problems are pretty consistent no matter what game - them being very frequent fps drops (down from 60 to 40 every few seconds) and significantly lower overall average fps.
CPU temps at idle are usually around 44 or 45 degrees and GPU temps between 45 and 50. Someone on Lenovo forums suggested really bad pasting could be the issue.
@@lordmashie
After a bios update this laptop got worse. Before bios update i got 85 degrees max with cooler. Now its above 90 and i get less fps in games.
@@Enes1967 My issue is worse than a BIOS update
@@Enes1967 hocam önerir misin, asus g531gu, helios 300, msi gl65 gibi seçenekler de var önümde. +5 yıl falan kullanacağım
Hi, is anyone still watching? I just got a Y540 and I would like to try some undervolting and other tweaks
there are a few vids on TH-cam and a reddit thread dedicated to that
This video make me sad, can no longer undervolt your CPU by traditional means.
Also, this is the future, can you change the thermal paste to see if it makes a difference?
Just recently bought a preowned Y540 (9300h 1660TI) and it get really warm, as we can no longer undervolt the CPU due to the bios update
Hi, Any test for RTX 2060 i7 9750h ?