Life with the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro
by Brett Howse on July 30, 2014 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Notebooks
- Lenovo
- Windows 8.1
- Yoga
General Performance
With an Intel Core i5 4200U, 4GB of DDR3L-1600, and a 256GB Samsung SSD inside, we are right in the middle of the road as far as the Yoga 2 configurations available. It is standard fare for an Ultrabook, though the 4GB models are thankfully being phased out by most OEMs now. Being that this device can pull double duty as a laptop or a tablet, we will also do some comparisons on the tablet side.
Performance Graphs
We’ll start with general performance. PCMark gives us an evaluation of several scenarios, as well as storage performance. Being designed as a laptop, the Yoga 2 Pro does not suffer as harshly from throttling as something like the Surface Pro 3 does, although the SP3 does have the slightly faster i5-4300U.
Performance is right where we’d expect it to be for the 4200U. There were no signs of throttling during normal operation.
For storage, the Yoga 2 Pro comes equipped with a Samsung OEM SSD. This is likely the same drive used in other devices such as the Surface Pro 3, and the performance is similar. We'll likely need to wait for the next generation Yoga before we see M.2 PCIe SSDs improve storage performance.
Gaming Performance
While the Yoga 2 Pro is certainly not considered a gaming machine, a user may want to play the odd game on it. With Intel HD 4400 graphics though, it would be practically impossible to game at the native resolution of this panel.
With the Intel HD 4400, the Yoga 2 Pro does fine in low demand benchmarks such as Ice Storm, but it is quickly taxed to the point of being unusable on titles with more graphically intensive workloads. Tomb Raider and Bioshock, even at the value settings, are almost unplayable on the Yoga 2 Pro. You'll want to either drop to minimum detail settings or stick to older/less demanding titles (and thankfully there are plenty of those available).
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bullzz - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
the only thing I dont like about the stand mode is the keyboard facing down. it might get dirty easily. but this is better than the flip mechanism other OEMs use. also not sure how the hinge will hold after 2-3 yrs of abuseCaedenV - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
This is the primary reason I went with the XPS12. A little smaller (which is a plus for me), and the display flips so that it hides the keys in tablet mode which seems like a better design. So far I am very happy with it.Rdmkr - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
As a Y2P user I find this a very fair review. I do think it merits mentioning that the wifi card can be replaced, thus mitigating the device's greatest out-of-the-box weakness.Arrgh - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
No, YOU'RE unwieldLy. ;)JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
It's generally more helpful to say, "Typo on page two: unwieldly", but I suppose some prefer snark and sarcasm to simple information. Thanks for the correction. :-)ingwe - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
That was a brilliant response Jarred. I am dying with laughter.Anytime some starts with sarcasm in a comment I read every reply with implied sarcasm.
Alexey291 - Saturday, August 2, 2014 - link
Nice sucking up. I totes approve.Egg - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
As a Y2P owner, I'd say this is a fair review, imo. I personally don't use my laptop in bed, so I find stand mode not very useful. I do use tablet mode to read; I sit in a chair and prop it up against the table. Battery life is rather disappointing if I have brightness up.I did switch out the wi-fi card myself. You have to order the right one (one with FCC markings) and you need a Torx T5 driver.
One question: Did you have this issue? http://superuser.com/questions/782477/show-hidden-...
(Side note: The refurb models on Newegg are a great value. I got the i7 256 GB model for $1000 after tax :D )
Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
After the 8.1 Update came out, I did notice that. 8.1 Update changed the default scaling on the Yoga 2 Pro from 200% to 250%, and it also enabled the 8.1 per display scaling. It's the scaling that causes this for you if you set it back to 200%, the arrow goes back to where it was.Egg - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
For me, it's very off center when it's at 250%, slightly off center when it's at 200% (look closely, it is definitely off center), and perfect at 150%. Sadly, I prefer it at 250% scaling...