T410S w/switchable -> lots of System freezes and screen going blank issues.

[Larswa]

Hi Muskie,  Sorry for you - and I feel the same.  I just sent mine in for around a week ago and I am expecting it back tomorrow. Will post here with the results of how it is working.  But it smells more like a design error so I am not having any high hopes ...

[Larswa]

Allright!   I got my machine back from repairs today. Took about a week from pickup to dropoff, and I have now been stresstesting it for a couple hours with video and games and running 2 external 1920x1200 monitors.

Earlier this would bring the machine to a melting point and shutdown after 10-15 minutes, from room temperature.

This far it looks really good. Fan is running off course, but it is keeping nice and cool ... MUCH much cooler than before repairs.  I will see if it holds up and update this thread if it does not.

But fingers crossed - it looks like the repair fixed it.  Honestly I didn't think they would get it fixed ... I was certain this was design problems combined with crappy drivers and bios... but now I am a lot more positive.

And hoping I didn't jinx it by writing this after only a few hours :-D   

So guys ... get it shipped off to repairs asap!

[Larswa]

System is still running smooth and cool, a little hotter when driving my two external 24" screens, but switchable is working now!  

After the latest bios + grachics card driver updates for june, the switching and the Windows power settings seem to work as they should.  I am starting to gain some trust in the platform now.

I asked support what had been serviced on the laptop, and the answer was that the motherboard had been changed. 

So there is still hope for this model!!  

Only annoyance now, is that the model I got was with the multitouch screen. Not exactly the most clear/sharp screen I ave ever seen, but ok.  I only use the laptop screen about 25% of the time. 

[Larswa]

T410S w/switchable still overheating when on Nvidia -  HEAVY performance problems on any graphics related tasks.

 I'd like to hear if anyone else is experiencing these issues with their either dedicated, or switchable grachics T410S????

I had it repaired and it looked good for a few weeks. See this thread for that ...  http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T410S-w-switchable-gt-lots-of-System-freezes...

But now its back where the temperature gets into the 80's and everything grachics related stutters badly.

I just have to browse the web, with a few open windows. Play video, and have a VMware workstation machine running. CPU is at around 30-40% and heats starts building up. Fan is runnin at around 4.000 RPM or more - more than when laptop just sitting idle.  Temperatures get worse untill this point:

Even moving a windows across the screen stutters. And its not just the GPU that is heating up. I can see how CPU usage of approx 50-60 % makes the temp jump almost 10 degrees celsius, and ensures that everything is crawling. Video in a VERY small window can play, but enlarging the window with video, makes it stutter too.

I don't know if sending it back to repair is going to fix it. Before I do so - I'd like to hear if anyone else is experiencing these issues with their either dedicated, or switchable grachics T410S????

Oh .. and giving it a breather and letting the temp back down to 60 celsius brings it back to life, and video performs well again.

[deyman]

How do I know if the 410s I have contains "switchable" graphics? I'm having all kinds of freezing issues with mine.

[Larswa]

Does it run really hot before it freezes?

You should have a green Icon from the Nvidia driver with two arrows (running on discrete) and one arrow (running on integrated) in the Notification Area. Right click on it and you can see the Nvidia logo etc.

Also, in the windows power options (at least on windows 7) , you should have a section on GPU Settings, with a sub sction named "NVidia Hybrid Graphics".

[buzzlight]

Howdy,

This is not really a question about the freezing/switchable graphics, but about the use of a 256 GB SSD in the "bay." Is that in the bay that would normally accommodate the DVD drive? If so, what kind of SSD are you using (and adaptor to get it to fit in the bay?)

I am thinking about getting a T410s but would like more than 128 GB in an SSD, so if there was an option to add another 256 GB SSD that would really help me.

I suppose another option is to get a non-switchable graphics T410s and use the ExpressCard34 to add a solid-state drive/memory...

Thanks for any advice!

[rsannie]

(got confused from buzzlight's post)

re temp when running discrete... i thought it was normal for the temp to go around 40-70 when running discrete graphics card?  But I dont get choppy display on either integrated or discrete even after watching movies for a long time.

I also used displayport -> HDMI, even with sound out to HDMI and no problems so far. 

[Larswa]

Hi Buzz, I am using the "Lenovo ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III".  It will take a 2,5" drive, and I am using a Crucial 256GB.  Can't remember the name of it.  

It plugs into the (pci?) architecture of the T410S  and it is about the same speed (actually a little faster) than the built in, so there does not seem any performance cost by using the bay for a drive.

[Larswa]

Hi rsannie,

Just to understand ... you also have a T410S with switchable?   And you do get those temps, but no choppy graphics??   I am looking at whether to accept this ... for now. (there are 3 years warranty) or send it back in for another round of repairs ... not that I think it will help.