Feb 26 2019, 04:59 PM
QUOTE(Anwar Ali @ Feb 7 2019, 10:14 AM)
Lenovo Legion Y530 Review
Background
Initially I wanted to buy a mobile workstation for my engineering consulting work. I considered both Dell 7530 and Lenovo P52. Unfortunately for Dell Malaysia, mobile workstations can only be purchased through their premium retailers, not directly from Dell. It is impossible to customize at Dell Malaysia website and check the final price before I order it – everything needs to be done through their retailers. Very slow process…
I considered Lenovo P52, but it’s too heavy and there were too many complaints about overheating, just like Dell 7530. The final price can be very high too. Also, for my kind of work (Industrial Engineering discrete event simulation which requires good graphics), Nvidia Quadro discrete graphics does not provide any advantage compared to GeForce series.
Four years ago, I bought Acer Aspire V15 Nitro with Core i7-4720HQ and GTX960 discrete graphics. It was very powerful, much more powerful than the 5th generation cores which come after it. However, thermal management was a serious issue. Serviceability of the Acer was also a problem, cannot just open the bottom cover, but need to remove the keyboard as well. The screen hinges broke after a few cycles of trying to service the thermal paste and changing SATA HDD to SSD. The performance of the laptop eventually affected my work productivity, hence the need to get a new laptop.
I considered gaming laptops for my work, but not Acer given my previous experience. My son recently bought an ASUS gaming laptop which the screen hinge broke just after a few months of use. So ASUS is also out. I had two good experiences with Dell laptops, XPS and Inspiron. Their after sales service was excellent. They were purchased during the days Dell Malaysia allows customization. Unfortunately, customization is no longer Dell Malaysia’s strength. The laptop I wanted to be configured per my requirement cannot be purchased, hence Dell is also out.
I have used IBM and Lenovo ThinkPad laptops during my days of being employed by MNC technology company for 25 years. I have purchased Lenovo Yoga 13, first generation, for my daughter’s college use 6 years ago and it still works. With customization allowed by Lenovo Malaysia, I thought I should try buying Lenovo laptop again.
The buying experience
Once at Lenovo MY website, the chat window will pop up allowing live chats with their agents. Being an engineer, reading technical reviews is a must before deciding which model to buy. That sometimes drives me nuts. Eventually, I narrow down my choices to Lenovo Legion gaming laptop. They don’t really look like gaming laptop but more business-like. The Y530 was my choice, given the 2.3 kg weight. Win 10 Pro was selected. I know I will upgrade the SODIMM to 32GB (16GBx2), so the default 8GB is fine. I selected Core i7-8750H with GTX 1060 to get mobile workstation-like processing power and better than Quadro P1000 graphics performance that comes with entry-level ThinkPad P52. The default 256GB NVMe SSD is fine, but I opted out the SATA HDD. This is where I run into problem. I asked the Lenovo MY chat agent whether the SATA HDD cable, screws, and housing will be given if I choose to order without SATA HDD. They said no, need to be purchased separately. I checked various reviews and forums (including lowyat) mentioning the SATA HDD cable, screws, and housing actually come with it if we choose to buy without SATA HDD. I don’t trust the chat agent; they just have no idea what they are selling. Finally, I clicked order on 22 Jan 2019, exactly two weeks before CNY holidays hoping to get it before CNY.
The delivery experience
The order was released to Manufacturing (Lenovo factory in China) 2 days later and it was shipped on 26 Jan. Here is where I started to learn more about Lenovo. Lenovo shipped the bag first, then the mouse. Laptop was shipped last. So there will be 3 different deliveries. Luckily I work from home most of the time being semi-retired, but for those who work in office, this can be a problem.
The laptop shipment tracking shows a very un-optimized flight path. From Lenovo factory in Hefei to Shanghai, then delayed 2 days for export clearance, then to Incheon Korea, then to Shenzhen, then to KLIA, and finally arrived in Penang.
01/31/2019 11:00 A.M. - Your package is awaiting release from the clearing agency for formal entry at the import location. / Your package was released by the clearing agency.
01/31/2019 10:56 A.M. - Your package was released by the customs agency.
01/31/2019 10:52 A.M. - An import license is missing and is required for clearance. / Your package was released by the clearing agency.
01/30/2019 5:51 P.M. Penang, Malaysia An import license is missing and is required for clearance.
01/30/2019 12:02 P.M. Penang, Malaysia Warehouse Scan
01/30/2019 10:36 A.M. Penang, Malaysia Import Scan
01/30/2019 9:28 A.M. Penang, Malaysia Arrival Scan
01/30/2019 8:51 A.M. Sepang, Malaysia Departure Scan
01/30/2019 7:22 A.M. Sepang, Malaysia Arrival Scan
01/30/2019 3:53 A.M. Shenzhen, China Departure Scan
01/30/2019 1:05 A.M. Shenzhen, China Arrival Scan
01/29/2019 11:17 P.M. Incheon, Korea, Republic of Departure Scan
01/29/2019 4:06 P.M. Penang, Malaysia An import license is missing and is required for clearance.
01/29/2019 4:06 P.M. - Your package is awaiting release from the clearing agency for formal entry at the import location.
01/29/2019 7:38 A.M. Incheon, Korea, Republic of Arrival Scan
01/29/2019 5:43 A.M. Shanghai, China Departure Scan
01/28/2019 8:42 P.M. Shanghai, China Export Scan
01/28/2019 1:42 P.M. - Your package is being processed at the clearance agency.
01/26/2019 10:30 P.M. Shanghai, China Arrival Scan
01/26/2019 6:00 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Departure Scan
01/26/2019 1:50 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Export Scan
01/26/2019 1:50 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Shipped
After arrival at Penang airport, this is where the problems started. When the laptop was shipped from China, Lenovo sent email on warranty registration which means warranty starts on ship date. Lenovo already has the serial number and detailed configuration of the laptop, but they did not apply and submitted the details for SIRIM import permit (required due to WiFi and Bluetooth radios) ahead before item delivery. Lenovo only starts the SIRIM import permit application after the laptop has arrived. This caused unnecessary 1-day delay.
Then UPS screwed up. The UPS Penang [very incompetent] import person told me their runner tried to take out the laptop box from Customs before import duties were paid. Hence it was confiscated by Customs on 31 Jan 11:00am. The import duties were only paid on 1 Feb 6:26pm. I have to keep calling and following up with UPS Penang, otherwise it will not be delivered before CNY holidays. Eventually it was delivered on 2 Feb 10 10:32am. It was stuck at Penang airport for 3 full days due to Lenovo’s inefficiency with SIRIM import permit and UPS not paying import duties on time.
The preliminary product experience
The laptop box was not double-packed. I personally think it should be double-packed. Lenovo uses a very large box for the free bag. By right they should use that box to protect the laptop which costs a lot more money. Fortunately, the laptop box was still sealed when I received it.
The first thing I checked was any damaged or missing parts. Luckily I found the SATA HDD cable and screws in a plastic pack. The Y530 looks pretty nice and very business-like. The vents for air flows are very well designed, very large vent at the bottom cover for air intake and large vents at the sides and rear for exhaust. With such a good design, I never notice it getting hot but I still put the laptop above laptop cooler, just to be safe.
After creating Windows 10 Pro recovering disk, I removed the stock 256GB Samsung PM981 M.2 NVMe SSD and replaced it with 500GB Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe. For the SATA HDD, the frame was inside the laptop, so I put in 500GB Samsung 960 EVO SATA, using the screws and HDD cable that come with it. I installed fresh Windows 10 Pro using the recovery disk. The SATA SSD already has my work data. I also replaced the stock 8GB RAM with 16GB x 2 RAM. Installing other software which I already have original licenses took a while; some of them actually license transfer (like Microsoft Office) from the older laptop.
The upgrades improved the laptop performance and will definitely improve my work productivity.
One thing I really don’t like is the InsydeH2O BIOS. It is too basic. Remember this is a gaming laptop where advanced users will try to fine tune and get the best performance from it. You cannot do that with this very basic BIOS – there is no Advanced Setting menu.
Others
I also sent email to mycs@lenovo.com asking them to change the warranty start date to actual delivery date, which they did within hours.
I don’t know yet about after sales service but I guess with the use of SSD drives, this laptop can last.
Summary
• A good product can be spoilt by its delivery experience.
• Lenovo MY chat agents don't really know much about what they are selling.
• Locking the BIOS to very basic functions can be an insult to advanced users.
Will I recommend this product to others? I already shared enough about the buying and delivery experience with Lenovo MY. You decide.
I owned the previous gen Y520 and it have heck more problem i ever expected Background
Initially I wanted to buy a mobile workstation for my engineering consulting work. I considered both Dell 7530 and Lenovo P52. Unfortunately for Dell Malaysia, mobile workstations can only be purchased through their premium retailers, not directly from Dell. It is impossible to customize at Dell Malaysia website and check the final price before I order it – everything needs to be done through their retailers. Very slow process…
I considered Lenovo P52, but it’s too heavy and there were too many complaints about overheating, just like Dell 7530. The final price can be very high too. Also, for my kind of work (Industrial Engineering discrete event simulation which requires good graphics), Nvidia Quadro discrete graphics does not provide any advantage compared to GeForce series.
Four years ago, I bought Acer Aspire V15 Nitro with Core i7-4720HQ and GTX960 discrete graphics. It was very powerful, much more powerful than the 5th generation cores which come after it. However, thermal management was a serious issue. Serviceability of the Acer was also a problem, cannot just open the bottom cover, but need to remove the keyboard as well. The screen hinges broke after a few cycles of trying to service the thermal paste and changing SATA HDD to SSD. The performance of the laptop eventually affected my work productivity, hence the need to get a new laptop.
I considered gaming laptops for my work, but not Acer given my previous experience. My son recently bought an ASUS gaming laptop which the screen hinge broke just after a few months of use. So ASUS is also out. I had two good experiences with Dell laptops, XPS and Inspiron. Their after sales service was excellent. They were purchased during the days Dell Malaysia allows customization. Unfortunately, customization is no longer Dell Malaysia’s strength. The laptop I wanted to be configured per my requirement cannot be purchased, hence Dell is also out.
I have used IBM and Lenovo ThinkPad laptops during my days of being employed by MNC technology company for 25 years. I have purchased Lenovo Yoga 13, first generation, for my daughter’s college use 6 years ago and it still works. With customization allowed by Lenovo Malaysia, I thought I should try buying Lenovo laptop again.
The buying experience
Once at Lenovo MY website, the chat window will pop up allowing live chats with their agents. Being an engineer, reading technical reviews is a must before deciding which model to buy. That sometimes drives me nuts. Eventually, I narrow down my choices to Lenovo Legion gaming laptop. They don’t really look like gaming laptop but more business-like. The Y530 was my choice, given the 2.3 kg weight. Win 10 Pro was selected. I know I will upgrade the SODIMM to 32GB (16GBx2), so the default 8GB is fine. I selected Core i7-8750H with GTX 1060 to get mobile workstation-like processing power and better than Quadro P1000 graphics performance that comes with entry-level ThinkPad P52. The default 256GB NVMe SSD is fine, but I opted out the SATA HDD. This is where I run into problem. I asked the Lenovo MY chat agent whether the SATA HDD cable, screws, and housing will be given if I choose to order without SATA HDD. They said no, need to be purchased separately. I checked various reviews and forums (including lowyat) mentioning the SATA HDD cable, screws, and housing actually come with it if we choose to buy without SATA HDD. I don’t trust the chat agent; they just have no idea what they are selling. Finally, I clicked order on 22 Jan 2019, exactly two weeks before CNY holidays hoping to get it before CNY.
The delivery experience
The order was released to Manufacturing (Lenovo factory in China) 2 days later and it was shipped on 26 Jan. Here is where I started to learn more about Lenovo. Lenovo shipped the bag first, then the mouse. Laptop was shipped last. So there will be 3 different deliveries. Luckily I work from home most of the time being semi-retired, but for those who work in office, this can be a problem.
The laptop shipment tracking shows a very un-optimized flight path. From Lenovo factory in Hefei to Shanghai, then delayed 2 days for export clearance, then to Incheon Korea, then to Shenzhen, then to KLIA, and finally arrived in Penang.
01/31/2019 11:00 A.M. - Your package is awaiting release from the clearing agency for formal entry at the import location. / Your package was released by the clearing agency.
01/31/2019 10:56 A.M. - Your package was released by the customs agency.
01/31/2019 10:52 A.M. - An import license is missing and is required for clearance. / Your package was released by the clearing agency.
01/30/2019 5:51 P.M. Penang, Malaysia An import license is missing and is required for clearance.
01/30/2019 12:02 P.M. Penang, Malaysia Warehouse Scan
01/30/2019 10:36 A.M. Penang, Malaysia Import Scan
01/30/2019 9:28 A.M. Penang, Malaysia Arrival Scan
01/30/2019 8:51 A.M. Sepang, Malaysia Departure Scan
01/30/2019 7:22 A.M. Sepang, Malaysia Arrival Scan
01/30/2019 3:53 A.M. Shenzhen, China Departure Scan
01/30/2019 1:05 A.M. Shenzhen, China Arrival Scan
01/29/2019 11:17 P.M. Incheon, Korea, Republic of Departure Scan
01/29/2019 4:06 P.M. Penang, Malaysia An import license is missing and is required for clearance.
01/29/2019 4:06 P.M. - Your package is awaiting release from the clearing agency for formal entry at the import location.
01/29/2019 7:38 A.M. Incheon, Korea, Republic of Arrival Scan
01/29/2019 5:43 A.M. Shanghai, China Departure Scan
01/28/2019 8:42 P.M. Shanghai, China Export Scan
01/28/2019 1:42 P.M. - Your package is being processed at the clearance agency.
01/26/2019 10:30 P.M. Shanghai, China Arrival Scan
01/26/2019 6:00 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Departure Scan
01/26/2019 1:50 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Export Scan
01/26/2019 1:50 P.M. Hefei (CN), China Shipped
After arrival at Penang airport, this is where the problems started. When the laptop was shipped from China, Lenovo sent email on warranty registration which means warranty starts on ship date. Lenovo already has the serial number and detailed configuration of the laptop, but they did not apply and submitted the details for SIRIM import permit (required due to WiFi and Bluetooth radios) ahead before item delivery. Lenovo only starts the SIRIM import permit application after the laptop has arrived. This caused unnecessary 1-day delay.
Then UPS screwed up. The UPS Penang [very incompetent] import person told me their runner tried to take out the laptop box from Customs before import duties were paid. Hence it was confiscated by Customs on 31 Jan 11:00am. The import duties were only paid on 1 Feb 6:26pm. I have to keep calling and following up with UPS Penang, otherwise it will not be delivered before CNY holidays. Eventually it was delivered on 2 Feb 10 10:32am. It was stuck at Penang airport for 3 full days due to Lenovo’s inefficiency with SIRIM import permit and UPS not paying import duties on time.
The preliminary product experience
The laptop box was not double-packed. I personally think it should be double-packed. Lenovo uses a very large box for the free bag. By right they should use that box to protect the laptop which costs a lot more money. Fortunately, the laptop box was still sealed when I received it.
The first thing I checked was any damaged or missing parts. Luckily I found the SATA HDD cable and screws in a plastic pack. The Y530 looks pretty nice and very business-like. The vents for air flows are very well designed, very large vent at the bottom cover for air intake and large vents at the sides and rear for exhaust. With such a good design, I never notice it getting hot but I still put the laptop above laptop cooler, just to be safe.
After creating Windows 10 Pro recovering disk, I removed the stock 256GB Samsung PM981 M.2 NVMe SSD and replaced it with 500GB Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe. For the SATA HDD, the frame was inside the laptop, so I put in 500GB Samsung 960 EVO SATA, using the screws and HDD cable that come with it. I installed fresh Windows 10 Pro using the recovery disk. The SATA SSD already has my work data. I also replaced the stock 8GB RAM with 16GB x 2 RAM. Installing other software which I already have original licenses took a while; some of them actually license transfer (like Microsoft Office) from the older laptop.
The upgrades improved the laptop performance and will definitely improve my work productivity.
One thing I really don’t like is the InsydeH2O BIOS. It is too basic. Remember this is a gaming laptop where advanced users will try to fine tune and get the best performance from it. You cannot do that with this very basic BIOS – there is no Advanced Setting menu.
Others
I also sent email to mycs@lenovo.com asking them to change the warranty start date to actual delivery date, which they did within hours.
I don’t know yet about after sales service but I guess with the use of SSD drives, this laptop can last.
Summary
• A good product can be spoilt by its delivery experience.
• Lenovo MY chat agents don't really know much about what they are selling.
• Locking the BIOS to very basic functions can be an insult to advanced users.
Will I recommend this product to others? I already shared enough about the buying and delivery experience with Lenovo MY. You decide.
first the screw use, unscrew to replace the ram but few month down the road, many screw were missing, i'm really sure i tighten them , i replace them with new set of screw and
few month later same thing happen, few screw is missing
search online and its a common problem with lenovo then the worst ever thing happen, one of the hinge start to spoil , when opening/closing make a loud noise call lenovo come n fixed it, they come with wrong part and come second time
next thing happen , keyboard issue, the keyboard will not register few word, solution : untight few screw
sound WTF but it did solve the issuethe current newest issue, the casing for the screen is loose on one side
and its not repairable as a clips broken if you ask me , i would say stay away from lenovo for sometime
This post has been edited by carsalesperson: Feb 26 2019, 05:00 PM
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