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- First reviewJuly 22, 2017
- Last reviewJuly 22, 2017
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CWDa's Reviews
Lenovo - Yoga 910 2-in-1 14" 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 1TB SSD
Lenovo Yoga 910 Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Work your way with this Lenovo Yoga notebook. Its 14-inch display has a 360-degree hinge, so it can be used in tablet, stand or tent configurations, and its 1TB hard drive provides ample room for files and documents. This Lenovo Yoga notebook includes an Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM to run programs efficiently.
Posted by: CWDa
Verified Purchase:Yes
I spent many hours researching "ultrabook" options. I have purchases several Yoga laptops for family members and we have had good luck with them. So, I was biased to like the Yoga 910, but I was dismayed by the concerns written in other reviews. So, rather than rehash all the details found in many reviews, let me address my views on several concerns I had read about in my research.
1) The Right Shift Key. There is no denying the odd keyboard layout choice the designers made. The bottom-right 6 keys are:
? / UP / R-SHIFT
LEFT / DOWN / RIGHT
This layout puts the UP/DOWN keys right above/below each other, which makes sense from an arrow pad standpoint, but that removes the typical double-wide R-SHIFT key (like the L-SHIFT) and moves R-SHIFT to the far side of the up arrow. For touch typists, you will not get used to this!
However, there is an "easy" fix. The app "KeyTweak" is available which allows you to remap/swap the UP and R-SHIFT keys so that despite the labels on the keys, the R-SHIFT is moved to where your finger expects it. For touch typing, all is right again. The downside is that when I DO want to navigate with the arrow keys, I'm not in touch-type mode and hitting the "shift" key to go up is not quite natural yet. I discovered another consequence. For the remapping I've done, the remapped up-arrow doesn't "repeat" when I hold it down. This may be another KeyTweak setting to look for. I'm also considering remapping the RIGHT and DOWN keys so that up and down are over each other again. Lots to experiment with, but I haven't taken the time because it doesn't bug me that much.
? / UP / R-SHIFT
LEFT / DOWN / RIGHT
This layout puts the UP/DOWN keys right above/below each other, which makes sense from an arrow pad standpoint, but that removes the typical double-wide R-SHIFT key (like the L-SHIFT) and moves R-SHIFT to the far side of the up arrow. For touch typists, you will not get used to this!
However, there is an "easy" fix. The app "KeyTweak" is available which allows you to remap/swap the UP and R-SHIFT keys so that despite the labels on the keys, the R-SHIFT is moved to where your finger expects it. For touch typing, all is right again. The downside is that when I DO want to navigate with the arrow keys, I'm not in touch-type mode and hitting the "shift" key to go up is not quite natural yet. I discovered another consequence. For the remapping I've done, the remapped up-arrow doesn't "repeat" when I hold it down. This may be another KeyTweak setting to look for. I'm also considering remapping the RIGHT and DOWN keys so that up and down are over each other again. Lots to experiment with, but I haven't taken the time because it doesn't bug me that much.
Bottom line on keyboard layout, the annoying shifted-RSHIFT can be fixed easily. So, I didn't ding my rating for it. Nothing's perfect.
2) The Fan
Many reviewers indicated a march louder fan noise than expected and described it as loud and distracting. When I began using my Yoga 910, I too experienced a nearly-constant running fan. The fan wasn't loud in the "grinding gears" sense, but it was ever-present and very audible in a quiet room but not noticeable in a loud classroom. Most reviewers complaining of fan noise received feedback to "update drivers", and some indicated it didn't help, so I didn't hold out much hope. And with the fan running, I was only getting about 3-4 hours of battery life.
When I had a chance, I decided to open the Lenovo system maintenance app have it check the system. There were indeed a few things it recommended updating, though they seemed innocuous and unrelated, so I updated everything the tool presented as available. Sadly, from a scientific point of view (because I now don't know which thing helped), I then also took a second action. I opened the power settings and switched from a hybrid profile to a power-savings profile and adjusted every setting I thought could help. I didn't need high performance while editing documents and web surfing on battery. I tweaked some "while plugged in" setting for better performance, but mostly turned stuff down.
Many reviewers indicated a march louder fan noise than expected and described it as loud and distracting. When I began using my Yoga 910, I too experienced a nearly-constant running fan. The fan wasn't loud in the "grinding gears" sense, but it was ever-present and very audible in a quiet room but not noticeable in a loud classroom. Most reviewers complaining of fan noise received feedback to "update drivers", and some indicated it didn't help, so I didn't hold out much hope. And with the fan running, I was only getting about 3-4 hours of battery life.
When I had a chance, I decided to open the Lenovo system maintenance app have it check the system. There were indeed a few things it recommended updating, though they seemed innocuous and unrelated, so I updated everything the tool presented as available. Sadly, from a scientific point of view (because I now don't know which thing helped), I then also took a second action. I opened the power settings and switched from a hybrid profile to a power-savings profile and adjusted every setting I thought could help. I didn't need high performance while editing documents and web surfing on battery. I tweaked some "while plugged in" setting for better performance, but mostly turned stuff down.
To my delight, as I rebooted and powered up, the fan came on for a few seconds and then it completely shut off. I then used the laptop continuously while plugged in and later while on battery, and it ran silent with no (audible) fan for hours with no heat problems. Since then I've used the laptop for a couple weeks and the fan almost never runs (at a level I can hear, anyway). I couldn't be more pleased. This is the "fanless" experience I've always wanted from a laptop and I'm finally getting it.
Everything else is great! The screen is stunning. The icons are set with some scaling to automatically give me high resolution, but scale up the icons for usability (probably a Win10 thing). Touch is responsive. TouchPad is OK, though I turn it off when I'm typing because my palms brush against it and move the cursor. I also like the charge cord that comes in two pieces: an extension cord segment (plugs from wall to brick), and the brick (which has a standard wall plug directly mounted on it). This way I can haul just the brick to school and leave the extender at home plugged in.
Anyway, great laptop.
My Best Buy number: 2638623521
My Best Buy number: 2638623521
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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