Lenovo Y580 SLI question

[Deth by SnooSnu]

I'm looking at the Lenovo Y580 that is linked below. I'm wondering if anyone knows if this is the Y series that has the spare bay that I could hook up another graphics card SLI fashion? I'm not as up to date on things as I should be, but I would like the option later of adding in the second graphics card. The other link is to another thread I started where someone mentioned the y400 and 500 series having the second bay.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310660 (laptop)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/85060-35-need-finding-laptop

 

[photonboy]

Spare bay for a second laptop card?

I've never heard of such a thing. I even went to the Lenovo site and could find no information on this.

Nor could I find any mention of an internal addon graphics card for ANY laptop.

*This Lenovo laptop with 660M graphics seems like a good laptop.

**SLI adds micro-stutter. It's not a great idea anyway.

 

[Maziar]

Not possible.This laptop only supports 1 VGA card and it's not even upgradeable(let alone SLI compilable)

 

[Deth by SnooSnu]

Thanks for the input, however it is incorrect. The Lenovo y500 has an ODD bay that they claim can be used for multiple different configurations, including graphics SKI, I just wanted to know if anyone was knowledgeable on the y580 and whether or not it has this optional bay. Lenovo's website isn't exactly the best in terms of finding info.

 

[djscribbles]

I wouldn't count on SLI/xfire upgrades as an option. Even if they do exist, you are at the mercy of the manufacturer of the custom ODD bay GPU replacement for pricing, I would expect to pay a lot of money to get a drop in GPU (more than it should cost), if you can get one at all. (Considering probably less than 1% of owners will ever even consider getting the upgrade, their sales volume will suck, and you get to pay the price for what is essentially a custom solution)

From there, the heat would be a concern, GPUs are hot, where does it vent the heat? Is that venting adequate?

Lastly, how does it even connect and how is it powered?


I think you are chasing a terrible idea, I wouldn't go after this with any expectations. If you have the SLI upgrade option, pleasant surprise, but expect disappointment. Buy the laptop that already has what you need, instead of planning to need an upgrade path; laptops are not really a future-proofable option.

 

[k1114]

You would need a sli cable which is impossible since the y580 is the embedded gpu version (soldered on mobo). If there is an odd bay mxm adapter, I'd like to know about it. But the y580 does have a removable odd. AFAIK there is only a sata adapter. You would also need a bigger power brick.

 

[Deth by SnooSnu]

Ok, thanks for the info Djscribbles and k1114. Very helpful.

 

[KernalPanic]

The Y500 is the only model that supports SLI configurations. The Y580 does NOT have SLI capabilities. (the Y400 has a replaceable bay but specifically has ZERO options for an SLI add-in as I assume it simply cannto handle the power requirements.)

As it stands now, you need to have a more powerful power supply that only ships with the Y500 (newer-gen Windows 8 15" laptop) with SLI out-of-box.

Thus if you order the Y580, you will never have SLI support.

If you order the Y500 without SLI, you would need the bay attachment (replaces your optical drive) AND a new power supply. (175W) Neither seems to be on sale separately on the Lenovo site.

If you order the Y500 with SLI, you would have 650m SLI out of the box (roughly same performance as the 675m stock) but wouldn't have an internal optical drive.
The Y500 price for SLI 650m's seems high given its performance as frankly a 675m, 670mx, or perhaps even a 675mx would be cheaper.

Frankly, the best part about the Y500 is its superior hard disk placement, and the capability to use that removable ODD bay for a second fan.
The SLI option just costs WAY too much right now. Dual fans likely shouldn't be that expensive and would be very welcome for gaming.

 

[buwish]

Best answer selected by buwish.

 

[William Crawford]

Not possible.This laptop only supports 1 VGA card and it's not even upgradeable(let alone SLI compilable)

I know it is unusual but the guy was right and you should update the question here is a link to buy the addon graphics card for SLI.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=460&Code=0C22235&category-id=3E71FB3EB22D4A308B517832F7D2264A&hide_menu_area=yes

I am unsure about a link to the powersupply but I chatted with the lenovo sales and they said that it can be purchased but you need to contact the technical team, "You may contact Lenovo Technical Support at 1-800-426-7378 and 1-877-453-6686, The support will be available 24 hours."

 

[Saga Lout]

After more than three months this is either fixed or irrelevant so time to close this old thread now.