X220 Many problems: backlight bleeding, fingerprint throttling, hot 65 watt adapter. [ Edited ]

[THS]

I am having 4 issues right now:

-Backlight bleeding (lots of it)

-Fingerprint reader wont turn off when laptop is off. (im using UEFI, option in settings is missing)

but mainly

-CPU THROTTLING even when in high performance mode

-65W adapter gets VERY HOT

I called lenovo tech support. They make it sound like it's just me. They are also NOT willing to replace it with a 90W adapter.

I am very dissapointed and will likely be returning this unless someone from lenovo helps fix my issues...

Moderator Note: Edited subject to match content.

[ColonelONeill]

Have you tried updating the BIOS? There's some fixes for throttling in recent revisions.

The fingerprint reader is intentionally on; it's a swipe-to-power-on feature. IIRC, you can disable this in the ThinkVantage Fingerprint tool.

A hot 65W adapter sounds like a strange issue though. Does it get hot all the time or only when charging the battery?

[THS]

It came with BIOS 1.20.

The fingerprint option is not available for me because I am using UEFI. That's fine, it will hopefully get fixed eventually.

Even the backlight bleed I can live with.

But the throttling is unaccaptable.

Putting it on max performance and using the lenovo turbo + (boosts fan speed), it still throttles down to 800mhz.

Lenovo power manager also shows the cpu throttling back to 32%.

[THS]

So any ideas ???

At this rate, I'll be returning it by tommorow....

[ColonelONeill]

Are you trying to run it without the battery installed?

[THS]

The battery stays in. I am going to try different gpu drivers.
Whats the best atm for gaming ?

[ColonelONeill]

I'd think the latest available driver from Intel should have the most performance improvement.

I've heard that the brightness is different between drivers though.

[JNavas]

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THS wrote:

I am having 4 issues right now:

-Backlight bleeding (lots of it)

-Fingerprint reader wont turn off when laptop is off. (im using UEFI, option in settings is missing)

but mainly

-CPU THROTTLING even when in high performance mode

-65W adapter gets VERY HOT

I called lenovo tech support. They make it sound like it's just me. They are also NOT willing to replace it with a 90W adapter.

I am very dissapointed and will likely be returning this unless someone from lenovo helps fix my issues...

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1. Excessive backlight bleeding is a defect. Call Support and open a Case. Give them a chance to fix it. If they fail, then you can return it without a restocking fee. I don't experience this with my X220 or I would have returned it.
2. Fingerprint reader staying on is a feature, not a bug, a nice alternative to the two step process of power button and then swiping.
3. CPU throttling occurs because the 65W Adapter is unable to deliver enough power for full performance and the BIOS throttles the system to stay within the power available from the Adapter.
4. 65W Adapter getting hot is normal -- it's being pushed to its limit. What the X220 needs is something with a bit more capacity, like 72W.

My solution to (3) and (4) was to buy a slim 90W combo adapter on eBay at a real bargain price.

I consider it a small price to pay for what is otherwise a very good price for a very good machine

(albeit not as good a machine as we've come to expect from the ThinkPad brand).

[Kruger]

Slightly off topic but has anyone else had issues with the fingerprint reader? Sure it's nice but if it takes like 1-3 minutes to get it to actually read your fingerprint properly and to boot the machine..oh well.

Occasionally it works just fine but most of the time you have to swipe your finger over and over again to get that green light. And yes, I do know how to use it. It's just not very reliable.

[THS]

Ok, just to clarify, the throttling is happening IN REAL APPLICATIONS not just synthetic tools like OCCT.

For example, when I am playing any game (like starcraft 2) or running 3dmark 06, the framerates keep on dropping for a couple seconds at a time.

So my options are:

1) Wait for BIOS update which lenovo says will be coming end of this month.

2) Get it exchanged

3) Get a 90W adapter.

Has anyone been able to get a free adapter from Lenovo ??