rplacd

I may have missed something, but why is this a problem given that OSX runs happily on the latest MBA?

Also recall that the MSATA inset's limited to SSDs anyway - so if you're going to get an SSD, use up the MSATA slot and leave yourself some flexibility with the SATA port that's left.

svl7 has also updated the Ultrabay vBIOS to unlock software voltage control. You're good to go.

Effin' a - now I might just look into fiddling with undervolting as well.

(And I'd just realized I'd forgotten to read the original post I've quoted thoroughly - I'm an idiot)

You can flash main bios with increased voltage. Main bios contains GPU0 bios. GPU1 bios (Ultrabay) is separate and you must flash it with nvflash.

And.... You can flash bios v2.04 (you can patch your 2.02 bios file to upgrade it to 2.04) and modified Ultrabay bios for software vbios editing (watch it on screenshot)

I haven't been keeping up with the other threads, but would you happen to know whether an Ultrabay analogue exists alongside it? More flexibility with voltmodding might be the impetus I need to finally get this machine off 2.02.

And different voltage too.

...and VRAM modules with different characteristics, IIRC: I remember someone on jester_socom's thread getting memory clocks in excess for 2500MHz and ~700 in Heaven to go along with it.

Can anyone confirm that mSATA booting works fine with 2.5" attached? My Y400 can't seem to do this when loading mSATA with Ubuntu and my 2.5" with Win7. Booting off 2.5" works fine but mSATA just gives a blank screen. When I remove the 2.5" or insert it in the CD/DVD slot mSATA boots fine though... anyone else with similar problem?

My hands are bound, though: I've got one of jester_socom's custom BIOSes, and no means of doing the necessary fixes on them.

You mean svl7's old command prompt BIOS Fixer tool? I have a backup of it I can send you but I'm away from my computer right now so it'll be in a few hours. svl7 can probably provide it too.

That's the one - it let you input any file so so wished, if I remember - thanks in advance.

A final dumb question - does anyone happen to have a copy of the legacy Y500Fix? I'm flashing one of jester_socom's custom BIOSes but can't preprocess it since the only files being distributed are per-version versions of the Y500Fix - presumably with specific BIOSes embedded inside.

The modded BIOS already includes the modded vBIOS for the main GPU. If you have SLI you need to flash the vBIOS of the Ultrabay GPU separately using NVFLASH. All instructions and files are in svl7's sticky. Read it carefully.

Furmark doesn't support SLI currently. What you are seeing is your ultrabay sitting idle at 53c.

You're entirely right: I run Unigine Heaven, and clocks scale up as expected. So it turns out to be an entirely different issue - sorry for wasting time with the false association.

So I should come clear with the actual question: how do I flash the separate VBIOSes here onto the MB's 650M? jester_socom's original post links me to svl7's sticky, but he only provides BIOSes with modded VBIOSes already included - the only instruction I get wrt VBIOSes modded separately is to use nvflash, but since that isn't working I presume that's not what I'm supposed to do.

A late addition: I've just also noticed that the NVIDIA Inspector won't touch the onboard GPU's clocks either - in fact, it can't read much off it; note how a temperature of a constant 53 degrees is recorded, even on a FurMark burnin.

I've probably missed something small-but-significant, but here goes: I attempt to flash my onboard 650M that's already been worked over with a fixed 2.02 BIOS flash with an overvolting BIOS, and nvflash screams "Supported EEPROM not found". Can I presume I've inadvertently haven't done something I've assumed I've done?

So we all do, eventually. After a certain amount of time you get to - at the very least - call yourself a masochist and attempt to take a little chauvinistic pride in doing something with less. (That's just what I say to my circa-'11 965 BE + GTX 460 setup...)

The only way to get everything working is to update bios? Isn't that too dagerous?

Can I dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows 8 after bios upgrade?

Thanks for the answers.

The BIOS mod doesn't disable anything else other than the whitelist - it should be noted, though, that it'll purge all your settings. You might have to fiddle again with the knobs for EFI.

Lenovo is preparing to launch the new models of the Y series anyways. The Y500 with GT750M is most likely just a minor change.

Here's the link to the site for the brand new 14-inch model, the Y410p, featuring GT750M and Intel Core i7-4700MQ (Haswell). IdeaPad Y410p High-Performance 14" Multimedia Laptop from Lenovo | Lenovo (US)

Availability for other regions may vary.

Pretty sure there's going to be either Y510 or Y510p with even more powerful GPU. Maybe GTX765M to rival with the new Razer Blade.

IIRC, some folks down over at NBR have them already - go check it out: you might just be sold either on the 900p Y410p or just the fact that Optimus (although with what IGPU I don't know) and SLI no longer mutually exclude each other. (I hear reports of 5 hours' worth of battery - checks out with me; the rMBP with an ~8500 mAh battery gets 7.)

In the meantime, I'll be right here downclocking to Atom-area speeds just to see how to get an hour more or so out of the battery.

I've just found a service manual: Lenovo haven't been keeping to themselves any particularly interesting revelations (not if you're in the know, at least; the fact that the CPU's locked in with only a ZIF mechanism just blows my mind), but it does have a interesting bit of closure:

Screw notices

Loose screws can cause a reliability problem. In the Lenovo computer, this problem is addressed with special nylon-coated screws that have the following characteristics:

• They maintain tight connections.

• They do not easily come loose, even with shock or vibration.

• They are harder to tighten.

• Each one should be used only once.

for those with i7's and modded bios, whats the temps like when some of the cores are disabled? or do games now use more than 2 cores?

On a related note, I'd like to see how that affects battery life as well - I expect the SLI config to take up the lion's share of power consumption ('tis a fair deal at the price), but I don't mind just having another means of squeezing time out of the battery.

I pretty much just caved in and bought the old y500 with sli 650ms cause I had so much trouble trying to order from lenovo's website. Plus I hate waiting and it's been working fine for my needs (3d modeling)

It's even worse when you're in a region that isn't directed served by lenovo.com and where Lenovo seems to think that selling a single SKU seems to be a good idea... I can only get my hands on a 650M SLI. I go abroad to a nearby country, and there I can only find the single-750M.

Sooner than later, I hope, but given that the Surface Pro went out around the end of October I'd doubt they'd be rushing to release an update so soon after the end of the Haswell embargo (although even here I assume that they're going to give the current generation a "good go"; it is a hard thing to assume.)

IIRC, Planetside 2's unusual in overly relying on the CPU - it's rather odd, considering it doesn't have an overly dynamic game world to deal with. I'd personally wouldn't want to make the decision solely on and for PS2.

It occurs to me that even if MS did finally get around to giving the Surface Pro an upgrade, it's hard to predict when - you can't shoot from the hip with the predictions, even if you'd like to assume they're taking a page from Apple on strategy.

I suspect the previous user of the OP's laptop's been fiddling with disassembly as well - but we can't all forget we're getting enthusiast's niche laptops!

Now that I have become accustomed to it, I find it quite good. Faster boots / wake-ups and seem more snappy then Window 7. I had intentions of going back to WIndows 7 on my new laptop but in the end have stuck with Windows 8.

A side note as well on faster boots and wakeups - with the unification of suspension and hibernation I suspect (and I suppose I'm supposed to get the impression) that hibernation's now close to instantaneous - but I can't be sure.

(Tear me apart, internet!)