X1 Yoga Gen 3 (Silver)

[hajime]

Hi, received the machine (i7-8650U, 16GB, 1TB, HDR WQHD) and here is my first impression after 1 hour of use:

- very light
- unlike the X1E and other Thinkpad, the palm rest area and the case is covered by some kind of coating. Nice to hold and touch. No need to worry about fingerprint.
- the case is very beautiful but the combination of black keyboard and the silver is a bit ugly.
- unlike the X1E, there is no jet engine noisy fans. I can hear the fans when playing youtube videos but it is not so loud to the point of annoying. I am OK with it.
- unlike the X1E, the bottom gets hot very quickly and easily. I never felt heat from the bottom of the X1E.
- the keyboard is very good but the keyboard of my MBP 2010 17" is even better. Of course, it is much better than the butterfly keyboards on the MBP 2016-18.
- speakers are excellent
- I turn brightness to half. Full brightness is too bright to be comfortable.
- no backlight bleeding, no dead pixel
- nice overall built quality except for slight misalignment between the red dot and the shutter to camera.

Now, I have some issues:

1. How come the machine cannot play 4K youtube videos even on its laptop screen without constant pausing? Is it because the Intel iGPU not powerful enough? It plays for a few seconds, pause, and repeat. If I change to 1440pHD, there is no problem. When I change back to 2160p HD, problem re-occur. Switching between full screen and non full screen on the laptop screen also had pause. Here is a test video for you to try out:

Next, I used a USB-C to HDMI 2.0 adapter to connet the X1Y3 to a 4K TV and played this video and other 4K videos only on that TV screen. Same problem.

I tried it on my MBP 2010 17". Same issue. What is the reason?


2. I need to set the scaling to 150% to feel comfortable reading. The screen estate of the WQHD is a bit too small for me. I prefer the 4K screen of the X1E or the rMBP 2014 15" screen. I will need more time to see if I can get used to it. I don' know if I will be happy with the 14" 4K screen of the C930. If the pausing is due to the less powerful Intel iGPU, I may have the same problem using the C930.

 

[maflynn]

nlike the X1E, the bottom gets hot very quickly and easily. I never felt heat from the bottom of the X1E.

The quote below is the reason why your current laptop gets warm on the bottom:

unlike the X1E, there is no jet engine noisy fans.

Is it because the Intel iGPU not powerful enough?

I'd probably say that was the case.

I tried it on my MBP 2010 17". Same issue. What is the reason?

The 2010 machine being almost 9 years old is not a good comparison, the components are so old that its no surprise that it struggles at 4k.

 

[hajime]

I wonder if I get X1E but only use the Intel iGPU and Nvidia 2080/2080Ti eGPU would avoid those jet engine noise problem.

 

[GoldfishRT]

No.

 

[SDColorado]

With power comes heat and the heat needs to be vacated.

The options for the most part is a quiet but less powerful machine, which can result in the playback issues you are having or a powerful machine that is going to have fan noise as it’s vacates the heat from the chassis.

There are some “hybrid” combos like the SB2 which has the GPU in the base and the rest in the display. But hybrids have some shortcomings as well.

A couple of ways to work around it include buying a small lightweight and quiet laptop for your work/studies and a desktop for the heavy lifting; view those 4K YouTube videos on a Smart TV or invest in an Apple TV, Roku, or similar; buy a set of quality noise cancelling headphones and forget about the noise. Even if you don’t play music or watch a movie and just have them on “silent,” you won’t really hear the fans either.

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

Hi, received the machine (i7-8650U, 16GB, 1TB, HDR WQHD) and here is my first impression after 1 hour of use:

- very light
- unlike the X1E and other Thinkpad, the palm rest area and the case is covered by some kind of coating. Nice to hold and touch. No need to worry about fingerprint.
- the case is very beautiful but the combination of black keyboard and the silver is a bit ugly.
- unlike the X1E, there is no jet engine noisy fans. I can hear the fans when playing youtube videos but it is not so loud to the point of annoying. I am OK with it.
- unlike the X1E, the bottom gets hot very quickly and easily. I never felt heat from the bottom of the X1E.
- the keyboard is very good but the keyboard of my MBP 2010 17" is even better. Of course, it is much better than the butterfly keyboards on the MBP 2016-18.
- speakers are excellent
- I turn brightness to half. Full brightness is too bright to be comfortable.
- no backlight bleeding, no dead pixel
- nice overall built quality except for slight misalignment between the red dot and the shutter to camera.

Now, I have some issues:

1. How come the machine cannot play 4K youtube videos even on its laptop screen without constant pausing? Is it because the Intel iGPU not powerful enough? It plays for a few seconds, pause, and repeat. If I change to 1440pHD, there is no problem. When I change back to 2160p HD, problem re-occur. Switching between full screen and non full screen on the laptop screen also had pause. Here is a test video for you to try out:

Next, I used a USB-C to HDMI 2.0 adapter to connet the X1Y3 to a 4K TV and played this video and other 4K videos only on that TV screen. Same problem.

I tried it on my MBP 2010 17". Same issue. What is the reason?


2. I need to set the scaling to 150% to feel comfortable reading. The screen estate of the WQHD is a bit too small for me. I prefer the 4K screen of the X1E or the rMBP 2014 15" screen. I will need more time to see if I can get used to it. I don' know if I will be happy with the 14" 4K screen of the C930. If the pausing is due to the less powerful Intel iGPU, I may have the same problem using the C930.

One thing to consider is your internet connection. You said Youtube so I am assuming you are streaming. 4K files are a lot larger than 1080p. Maybe the bottleneck is your connection. I say download a 4k clip and test it then.

 

[SDColorado]

FWIW, I am playing that sample video of the birds in “4K 2160p” on my Surface Pro 5 (2017)

Playback is smooth, video looks beautiful, and while my model is an i7 and does have a fan, the fan has yet to kick on 10 minutes in.

Not sure how the Yoga graphics card compares to Intel Iris Plus 640 in the SP5 though

 

[GoldfishRT]

Runs absolutely fine on the X1C I've got here with the 8650u and HD 620.

Makes a great case for this HDR display too holy crap.

 

[hajime]

With power comes heat and the heat needs to be vacated.

The options for the most part is a quiet but less powerful machine, which can result in the playback issues you are having or a powerful machine that is going to have fan noise as it’s vacates the heat from the chassis.

There are some “hybrid” combos like the SB2 which has the GPU in the base and the rest in the display. But hybrids have some shortcomings as well.

A couple of ways to work around it include buying a small lightweight and quiet laptop for your work/studies and a desktop for the heavy lifting; view those 4K YouTube videos on a Smart TV or invest in an Apple TV, Roku, or similar; buy a set of quality noise cancelling headphones and forget about the noise. Even if you don’t play music or watch a movie and just have them on “silent,” you won’t really hear the fans either.

I am waiting for PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 components before building a high end workstation. Should be out by next year this time?

 

[maflynn]

I am waiting for PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 components before building a high end workstation. Should be out by next year this time?

What does PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 give you that you don't have now? I mean you were content with the power and performance of a laptop just two months ago, what would PCIe 4.0 provide now?

 

[hajime]

What does PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 give you that you don't have now? I mean you were content with the power and performance of a laptop just two months ago, what would PCIe 4.0 provide now?

Higher bandwidth for me to put multiple GPU in one workstation to do parallel CUDA computations. Most motherboards do not accept 4xPCIe 3.0x16. Even they do, it is through some switching mechanism that is not truly 4xPCIe3.0x16. Yes, it may not matter for gaming but for scientific computations, it does. Researchers have tested it already.

 

[maflynn]

Higher bandwidth for me to put multiple GPU in one workstation to do parallel CUDA computations.

Do you need that much cuda processing power? Your prior posts regarding cuda seems to indicate that you're not working on that. Even so, is waiting worth the increased processing power?

 

[hajime]

Do you need that much cuda processing power? Your prior posts regarding cuda seems to indicate that you're not working on that. Even so, is waiting worth the increased processing power?

My work situation has changed. I am going to start working on cuda. At the beginning, while I am learning to do it, obviously I don't need that much power but once I start working on projects, I will need the power.

Your question of "is waiting worth the increased processing power?" is a very good one. At some point, I have to draw the line.

 

[maflynn]

My work situation has changed. I am going to start working on cuda. At the beginning, while I am learning to do it, obviously I don't need that much power but once I start working on projects, I will need the power.

Your question of "is waiting worth the increased processing power?" is a very good one. At some point, I have to draw the line.

I just made the assumption that those who code in cuda now, have plenty of options in front of them and while PCIe 4.0 offers improvements, the state of the technology today means there's probably more power then what most people need. I'll be the first to admit, I don't follow GPUs, CUDA and the like very much and I could be completly off base

 

[hajime]

I don't know why the fans of my my Yoga

I just made the assumption that those who code in cuda now, have plenty of options in front of them and while PCIe 4.0 offers improvements, the state of the technology today means there's probably more power then what most people need. I'll be the first to admit, I don't follow GPUs, CUDA and the like very much and I could be completly off base

I also have not used nor know much about these things.

 

[Queen6]

I'd probably say that was the case.

The Intel GPU should play 4K with no issue, even an i3. More likely related to the connection or the stream at that point in time, unless the notebook has a poorly designed antenna array.

Q-6

 

[hajime]

I connected my X1Y3 to a TV via eGPU. While watching 4K videos, the X1Y3 was silent but the area above the function keys got very hot. Probably if I push the laptop to do heavy stuffs, it may not work out well.

 

[Queen6]

I connected my X1Y3 to a TV via eGPU. While watching 4K videos, the X1Y3 was silent but the area above the function keys got very hot. Probably if I push the laptop to do heavy stuffs, it may not work out well.

Sorry, but at this point in time what do you seriously expect? High performance notebooks will have associated fan noise, if not they will throttle significantly AKA Mac's. Low performance notebooks will run cool and quiet, equally they are not designed for heavy workloads and it shows.

To me at the close of 2018 what you need to fulfil what you "want" is separate hardware for differing use cases. I travel internationally for work purpose with two computers; one is a 17.3" hex core powerhouse, the other a 12" tablet based 2in1 that is passively cooled, for one very good reason, neither can do what the other excels at. You'll be chopping & changing your hardware indefinitely at this rate, as your expectation is not aligned with current technology...

Q-6

 

[hajime]

Sorry, but at this point in time what do you seriously expect? High performance notebooks will have associated fan noise, if not they will throttle significantly AKA Mac's. Low performance notebooks will run cool and quiet, equally they are not designed for heavy workloads and it shows.

To me at the close of 2018 what you need to fulfil what you "want" is separate hardware for differing use cases. I travel internationally for work purpose with two computers; one is a 17.3" hex core powerhouse, the other a 12" tablet based 2in1 that is passively cooled, for one very good reason, neither can do what the other excels at. You'll be chopping & changing your hardware indefinitely at this rate, as your expectation is not aligned with current technology...

Q-6

Merry Christmas to all.

Yes, you are right.

I like the Powerbook with Duo Dock combination but Apple is not making it.

I have ordered the parts to build a high end workstation (i9, RTX2080Ti). Now I am trying to decide which one to choose as my on-the-go work laptop. I know that the WQHD screen resolution is a bit low for me. I don't need a high performance laptop but one with 4K 15" screen is desired.