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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room200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Actually, that post was not meant for you (I replied to the wrong person), but to answer your question...yes, I read just fine. Talk about inappropriate levels of anger.room200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
And by the way, whether or not the card works has nothing to do with "FCC markings". It specifically has to be on the Lenovo whitelist whether it has FCC markings or not.Egg - Saturday, August 16, 2014 - link
Regardless to who you were replying to, you were wrong. And I apologize for the anger, but you're the one that replied to me in a way that seemed to directly contradict me... I didn't make you accidentally reply to me.I suppose the FCC markings indicate that they will be whitelisted? From reading other forums, it seems that only cards with FCC markings tend to work. Perhaps Lenovo doesn't whitelist other cards.
fredrikwe - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Can confirm the Intel Wireless AC 7260 in my recently bought i7 modelDigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I bought one of these about a month ago from Best Buy for $1199. It was the grey model with a Core i7 4510U and the 7260AC wireless card. The CPU is basically just a 100Mhz bump. The CPU model is listed on the outside of the box, so you can make sure you're getting the new rev before purchasing.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
forgot to mention it had 8GB and a 256GB SSD for that pricedavidber - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I also got a Y2P from BestBuy. It has the Intel card and CPU bump.I have had it for ~40 days so far. My take on it . . .
1. Battery life - it would be nice if it were longer, but it is not a MacBook Air and I do not expect to charge it once in a blue moon.
2. Screen brightness - there are times that the screen dims for no apparent reason, then brightens up. I have not been able to figure the rhyme or reason.
3. The gyroscope sometimes acts wonky. The device tries to determine what mode it is in and will go back and forth trying to figure it out. To me it seems obvious that it is in laptop mode, but the gyroscope doesn't.
4. If you ever try and get into the bios, be prepared to have a paper clip. No amount of smashing F2 or a F key will work. You need to push in a button then turn the power on for it to actually get into the bios. The Bios also does not save boot order. If you want to boot USB before the SSD, it states it saves it, but it does not.
5. The trackpad. They need to put some sort of coating on it. Within 5 minutes of using it, it looks like the trackpad is 5 years old.
6. The device is quick enough for videos and business use.
7. This is more of a Windows issue than a Yoga issue, but there are some apps that do not scale. Ironically one of them is the Intel drivers update for the WiFi. So bring a magnifying glass or change resolution. Dropbox is the same.
With all the comments, I would actually buy another one.
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
For #2, turn off the adaptive brightness in Windows. http://lifehacker.com/disable-windows-annoying-ada...Rdmkr - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
The screen is significantly brighter when I have it on Balanced mode than when I have it on any other. Automatic switching between modes might cause your brightness inconsistency, although there is also an auto-brightness setting you can turn off. ps. the reviewer should take note of the difference in brightness level between power modes. Is the maximum brightness that was measured the one in Balanced mode or in another?polacchini - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
My Y2P measures 350nits at 100% brightness with auto brightness off. Maybe the reviewer forgot to turn it off?