Hardware Should I just get a new laptop?

[ilman]

You've got a Y570, right?
You should have waited a year or so for the Y580. I own it currently. It has quite the specs and it's the first hardware I owned that hasn't overheated even once(max temperatures running Dolphin -80 degrees Celsius, on idle- 40-50 degrees) and I don't have to clean it from dust since it has automatic dust extraction.
I suggest changing the thermal paste if you haven't yet, since my old laptop (Acer Aspire 5536G) had almost none and it was overheating to 100 degrees constantly.

 

[the_randomizer]

You've got a Y570, right?
You should have waited a year or so for the Y580. I own it currently. It has quite the specs and it's the first hardware I owned that hasn't overheated even once(max temperatures running Dolphin -80 degrees Celsius, on idle- 40-50 degrees) and I don't have to clean it from dust since it has automatic dust extraction.
I suggest changing the thermal paste if you haven't yet, since my old laptop (Acer Aspire 5536G) had almost none and it was overheating to 100 degrees constantly.

My laptop hasn't overheated at all, but it does get hot. As far as getting the Y580, you should have told that to me a year ago. Well, that's what I get for being an impatient moron

I don't trust myself to take apart a laptop and reapply the thermal paste as that would require me to dissemble a large portion of the hardware. Not to mention tampering with such things voids warranties with most companies. Videos or not, I haven't the skills or the confidence to do so, I'd much rather have a trustworthy friend do it. I have no doubt it would help the temperature though; can't I just "disable" hyperthreading via msconfig since the most recent BIOS locked the CPU settings? I find that way to be much safer IMHO, because there is plenty of evidence showing that HT makes the CPU work harder, therefore it must generate more heat. I don't even use anything that requires it, so no harm no foul, right?

My reasoning behind getting a desktop would be better performance at lower temperatures since there is more room for the components to "breathe" in I guess. I doubt I can return this for a trade with Lenovo without having to pay some exorbitant restocking feed.


Anyway, I read something about a dedusting mode that most Lenovo machines have which supposedly help with performance by dislodging dust from the vents, though I haven't tried it myself.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

My laptop hasn't overheated at all, but it does get hot. As far as getting the Y580, you should have told that to me a year ago. Well, that's what I get for being an impatient moron

I don't trust myself to take apart a laptop and reapply the thermal paste as that would require me to dissemble a large portion of the hardware. Not to mention tampering with such things voids warranties with most companies. Videos or not, I haven't the skills or the confidence to do so, I'd much rather have a trustworthy friend do it. I have no doubt it would help the temperature though; can't I just "disable" hyperthreading via msconfig since the most recent BIOS locked the CPU settings? I find that way to be much safer IMHO, because there is plenty of evidence showing that HT makes the CPU work harder, therefore it must generate more heat. I don't even use anything that requires it, so no harm no foul, right?

My reasoning behind getting a desktop would be better performance at lower temperatures since there is more room for the components to "breathe" in I guess. I doubt I can return this for a trade with Lenovo without having to pay some exorbitant restocking feed.


Anyway, I read something about a dedusting mode that most Lenovo machines have which supposedly help with performance by dislodging dust from the vents, though I haven't tried it myself.

Nothing requires HT, it's there to improve performance for certain jobs. You can disable it, with a potential performance loss in the apps that take advantage of it. You probably won't notice the difference though, since you have a pretty beefy CPU.

 

[the_randomizer]

Nothing requires HT, it's there to improve performance for certain jobs. You can disable it, with a potential performance loss in the apps that take advantage of it. You probably won't notice the difference though, since you have a pretty beefy CPU.

The funny thing is that the CPU settings are "locked" in the BIOS, and the only way I can change is via msconfig->boot->advanced->no. of CPUs. Setting it to "4" reduces the number of cores to 2 and threads to 4, setting it to 1 sets it to one core, two threads. Which no. would I set it to to make it four cores and 0 threads? I know it's not 8 since that's the default no. Does PCSX2, Steam and Dolphin use HT at all?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The funny thing is that the CPU settings are "locked" in the BIOS, and the only way I can change is via msconfig->boot->advanced->no. of CPUs. Setting it to "4" reduces the number of cores to 2 and threads to 4, setting it to 1 sets it to one core, two threads. Which no. would I set it to to make it four cores and 0 threads? I know it's not 8 since that's the default no. Does PCSX2, Steam and Dolphin use HT at all?

I don't know what apps take advantage of HT as it depends on what they're using the CPU for. Some steam games probably take advantage of it, but not all.
I think Windows just sees the 4 threads as 4 cores, and I don't think there's any way to disable it without using the BIOS. I did some quick googling and it seems it's possible to flash an unlocked BIOS to access the locked settings, but you'd have to find one that fits your laptop specifically, and I don't know if one is available.

 

[KingBlank]

You're right, I have been way too focused on the negative when there was nothing to really worry about in the first place. Granted, I still will do a comparing and price matching for a desktop in the near future, but I will no longer get so uppity about the laptop getting hot. It hasn't shut down in the year or so I've had it, and as long as I keep the dust levels under wraps, I doubt I'll ever have that issue

Ahh, I upgraded from a Alienware M15X (with a core i7 and other fancy stuff) to a desktop because of 1. the tempretures and 2. It was rapidly losing value
Built this desktop last year with a GTX 560 ti, GPU and a i7 2600k CPU.
the main advantages that ive found with the upgrade are.
1. No cooling issues (with a well ventilated case that is )
2. Better gaming performance as a result
3. Can be upgraded whenever ( Got a GTX 670 a few months back )
4. Much cheaper
It was about $1600 bucks NZD for the desktop 1 year ago
I bought the laptop 2 years ago for $2300.
the laptop is now worth about $900
the desktop is now worth about 1600 (with the new graphics card which cost 500 - 270)

Prices based off a NewZealand site called "Pricespy"

Its definetly worth building PC if you are willing to sacrifice portability
Im using a cheap $300 dell latitude d630 for all my journeys etc, its a great setup to have (nice desktop + cheap laptop)

Anyway, this post turned out huge, Good luck with your decision making!

 

[the_randomizer]

I don't know what apps take advantage of HT as it depends on what they're using the CPU for. Some steam games probably take advantage of it, but not all.
I think Windows just sees the 4 threads as 4 cores, and I don't think there's any way to disable it without using the BIOS. I did some quick googling and it seems it's possible to flash an unlocked BIOS to access the locked settings, but you'd have to find one that fits your laptop specifically, and I don't know if one is available.

That's what I was afraid of. Figures. Well, guess I'm s**t outta luck then. Any suggestions as to where to go from here? Look for components to make a desktop?

Ahh, I upgraded from a Alienware M15X (with a core i7 and other fancy stuff) to a desktop because of 1. the tempretures and 2. It was rapidly losing value
Built this desktop last year with a GTX 560 ti, GPU and a i7 2600k CPU.
the main advantages that ive found with the upgrade are.
1. No cooling issues (with a well ventilated case that is )
2. Better gaming performance as a result
3. Can be upgraded whenever ( Got a GTX 670 a few months back )
4. Much cheaper
It was about $1600 bucks NZD for the desktop 1 year ago
I bought the laptop 2 years ago for $2300.
the laptop is now worth about $900
the desktop is now worth about 1600 (with the new graphics card which cost 500 - 270)

Prices based off a NewZealand site called "Pricespy"

Its definetly worth building PC if you are willing to sacrifice portability
Im using a cheap $300 dell latitude d630 for all my journeys etc, its a great setup to have (nice desktop + cheap laptop)

Anyway, this post turned out huge, Good luck with your decision making!

Well, it kind of got outta hand due to my paranoia. I can certainly keep the laptop when I bring it to school since they, you know, actually have a GOOD internet connection; the one I have now really, really sucks.

Is there an off chance that the cooler could be disrupting the airflow and exacerbating the heat issues? Normal or not, I don't like seeing 80+ Celsius temperatures.

 

[KingBlank]

I can certainly keep the laptop when I bring it to school since they, you know, actually have a GOOD internet connection; the one I have now really, really sucks.

Opps, i forgot to mention another reason for my Laptop to desktop upgrade.
I was afraid to take my Alienware many places because of its price, so i ended up mainly just taking it to LANs or friends places, thus limiting its portability.
I think i almost take my desktop to as many places as I used to take my Alienware anyway, cause theres less chance of it being damaged

EDIT:
I assume you will see this after you reply.
In answer to your question about the cooler, i would say the cooler will only be a problem if the fans are blowing toward each other (cooler fan -> <-laptop fan) or away from eachother (cooler fan <- -> laptop fan)
or maybe if the intake/outtake is blocked by the cooler ( i bet its not designed that badly though)

 

[the_randomizer]

Opps, i forgot to mention another reason for my Laptop to desktop upgrade.
I was afraid to take my Alienware many places because of its price, so i ended up mainly just taking it to LANs or friends places, thus limiting its portability.
I think i almost take my desktop to as many places as I used to take my Alienware anyway, cause theres less chance of it being damaged

EDIT:
I assume you will see this after you reply.
In answer to your question about the cooler, i would say the cooler will only be a problem if the fans are blowing toward each other (cooler fan -> <-laptop fan) or away from eachother (cooler fan <- -> laptop fan)
or maybe if the intake/outtake is blocked by the cooler ( i bet its not designed that badly though)

Well, just found out that the cooler isn't entirely at fault, as it's right underneath the intake vents and drawing cool air towards it. I ran some tests and some programs run perfectly fine without it, such as Snes9x and Project 64 (neither of which exceeded 64 Celsius on average), but Dolphin...hoo-boy, don't want it off for that; it peaked at 91 Celsius!

Ugh, it's worse than I thought.