John Ratsey

If you want something really light then look at the Samsung Galaxy Book family or the LG Gram. They may not offer 14" but their 15" models are lighter than other 14" notebooks and have decent battery life. The older models have come down in price while the new models don't offer significant improvements. While they may not appear to be sturdy they seem to be fairly durable. I've got a 13" Samsung which came from Curry's outlet on ebay and a Gram 17 from Amazon Warehouse. Both appeared to have been unused.

I used this and cut a piece to suit my needs. I had some left over from using the material in previous years to improve cooling of hot chips (earlier generations of SSDs used a lot more power when under load). However, a compressible pad could give an advantage if it touches the computer base but avoids the risk of transfering load onto the SSD. I did not apply any pad to the bottom of my SSDs. The chips are only on one side and there's not much space between the SSDs and the mainboard so a very thin pad would be needed. I don't think the pads are needed for thermal management. My WD SSDs don't exceed around 55C unlike some of the SSDs from earlier era (I bought my first in 2009).

I've not really noticed the potential speed boost because LG failed to upgrade the cooling system and, instead, put relatively low power limits on the CPU so any speed boost is short duration. I could fiddle with the power limits in the advanced BIOS settings but I'd then get even more fan noise.

I haven't noticed my Gram 17 making annoying high-pitched whines but that may be because any sound is drowned by the continouus purr of the cooling fan or maybe because my ears are old enough that they struggle to pick up the highest frequencies. Furthermore, I put thermal pads (2mm, I think) on the SSDs because I had some in the drawer. The pads should benefit the cooling but could also dampen any vibration of the electronic components. Thanks for the tip about removing the base. I'll have to remember that for when I next need to get inside.

Two here: 1. A Dell E310dw A4 monochrome laser print that lives on standby for the everyday printing. It cost me £35 in 2016 and I've subsequently replaced the toner (in 2017) and the drum (in 2021). It's not had a hard life. 2. A Canon MX925 A4 multi-function inkjet which cost me £128 in 2013. It has probably scanned more pages than it has printed. I've lost count of how much ink (not Canon ink once the warranty had expired) it's consumed. Because it doesn't get used much then it has to go through head-cleaning whenever it's switched on. I would prefer to have one device which did everything (printing, scanning, copying, duplex and with photo-quality colours) but consideration of anything which might tick all the right boxes will have to wait until one of the current machines needs to be replaced. And when that happens I'll look at what's on offer at https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/c/582/Printer-Deals/ (UK only).

I would be more interested in the dGPU version if it means that the dual fans reduce the overall fan noise when the dGPU isn't used. However, this noise problem isn't enough to get me thinking about going shopping should the RTX3050 be released for the UK market. At the moment it's listed on Amazon UK but sold by Amazon US. Maybe in a couple of years there will be enough other improvements (eg better CPU efficiency) to justify an upgrade. I'm a little surprised that the OLED panel uses so much power. My 2021 13" Galaxy Book Pro has an FHD AMOLED panel and very good battery life. However, a 17" panel has 70% bigger area to illuminate than 13". More important, under my usage conditions, there's no obvious difference between the AMOLED panel and LG's very good IPS (or similar) LCD panel. The little Samsung is also much quieter than my Gram 17.

I think that's identical to mine. Someone somewhere might be able to do a BIOS mod to reveal more settings but it's not something I would try unless desperate and it's possible that would still not reveal a default brightness setting.

@SteerpikeMy Samsung has the AMI BIOS with the Aptio Setup Utility. Does yours? If so, then this might be relevant.

I don't recall seeing any default brightness setting in the LG BIOS and I've also checked photos I took of various BIOS pages and see nothing relevant. I've also just looked in the Samsung BIOS (which has remarkably few settings) and there's nothing relevant to brightness. Google found me a reference to the maximum brightness problem with Reflect but with no solution. I wonder if the problem lies with the graphics driver in the WinPE environment. I know nothing about this but wonder if there's a startup text file with some settings which can be edited. Otherwise you'll have to get a sheet of tinted film to hand over the screen.

I didn't have this model of the Samsung. I used to have the X3B and then the X3C but both have been rehomed several years ago. The solution, if there is one, may be in the archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20220121212133/http://forum.notebookreview.com/forums/samsung.1011/ . Have you tried enabling adptive brightenss and covering the ambient light with some black tape so the computer thinks it is in a dark room? I recall doing this on a notebook to disable the auto brightness but can't remember which one.

I've got a WD SN850 in slot 1 and WD SN770 in slot 2. They both seemed to offer best value for performance / money at the time of purchase and I have no regrets. Before each purchase (the SN770 was bought first) I searched for the quality reviews (eg Tom's Hardware and Anandtech) and checked for any adverse comments for the SSDs I was considering. Prices seem to be steadily dropping and 4TB will soon be affordable. I think idle power consumption is no longer an issue but the system power settings may be a factor. Go to the power options via Control Panel and check the Link State Power Management under PCI Express settings is set to Maximum Power Savings. As for the question of new sticky pads, I've not yet felt the need to buy any. If you prise the rubber feet and screw covers off carefully then the adhesive remains and is still slightly sticky and will hold things in place when you put them back. Id that's not enough, you could use a very small amount of a glue (eg UHU) which remains flexible when it sets. The pre-made sticky pads speeds up manufacturing by avoiding the problem of the glue getting in the wrong places and needing to be removed.

I'm now on my 2nd Gram 17 and each has accumulated about 6 months use as a desktop. The most obvious wear being a shiny area on the left palm rest. The 2021 Gram 17 (16GB RAM) was bought secondhand in early 2022. My eyes loved the big screen (apart from the occasional reflection problem) but occasionally suffered major slow-downs due to full RAM (Windows' memory management asleep on the job?). When I saw a 32GB 2022 Gram 17 in Amazon Warehouse at 2/3rd of the new price I grabbed it. This has solved both the overflowing RAM problem and the screen reflections. The only improvement which would get me to upgrade would be a better cooling system as the current inadequate small fan limits the CPU performance (every now and again I unsuccessfully search the www for a dual fan cooling solution). I would note that my Gram 17 is either in use on my desk or put away if I need the desk space for something else. I use a 13" Galaxy Book Pro for travel. If I did need to take the Gram 17 out of the house then I've got a neoprene sleeve made for a 15" notebook which fits nicely.

I'm another happy Gram 17 owner. I got there by way of my eyes wanting a screen bigger than 15.6" but not wanting to give up my desk to a desktop so I bought a Dell Optiplex All-in-One which proved to be too big for convenience. If I want to use my desk for something else then it's easy to close the Gram 17 and move it out of the way. The Gram 17 has two M.2 2280 slots which gives me enough storage space but the one failing is inadequate cooling system. LG decided to fit one small fan when there's room for more, probably to keep within the target 3lb weight.

I resorted to using hibernation. However, I follow the progress with this battle with interest.

I would love to buy the dual fan option mentioned in the listing here for the 2021 Gram 17. Unfortunately, Google can't find a source for it. Also an Ultrabookreview review of the 2022 Gram 17 has been published recently. There's also a review of the 2022 Gram 16.

That's also my view. It seems to be speculation in something with no physical or intellectual property value.

I recall that CPJ was still a teenager when he became chief moderator at NBR. This states that he wrote his first review in 2005 in the days when NBR was run by Andrew Baxter who was happy to accept reviews from most people on the basis that multiple reviews by relative amateurs (including me) would provide a better overall understanding than a few highly detailed reviews. While it's possible that CPJ's first reviews were in the amateur category he quickly became recognised for his consistency while each review broadened his overall knowledge. Somehow he also managed to attend school and knowledge. I also agree, however, that Ultrabookreview and Notebookcheck are currently the best places to look for the most comprehensive reviews including what the inside looks like.

See here for a screen photo showing the thermal triggers. The fan on my Gram 17 seems to be running permanently although it's not an obnoxious whine and is less obtrusive than a fan switching on and off or having frequent big changes in speed. Samsung make a 15.6" 2-in-1 which is worth investigating. I've got a 13.3" Galaxy Book Pro which is normally very quiet so it's possible that Samsung have a slightly better cooling system than LG. The QLED display is extremely good.

The lettering is one of these (I found it on UK ebay) but I perpetually wonder why notebook manufacturers don't print some symbols on the keyboard surround during production. The challenge was finding white lettering. I first tried using lettering created by my Dymo LetraTag label maker but black lettering on a white background didn't look very elegant (although that's what is on my little Samsung). I haven't bothered with putting the lettering on my new Gram 17 as I'm much more familiar with the port locations. The lettering on the keys is moulded translucent plastic and won't wear out. One advantage (in addition to convenience and reduced port wear) of the QR USB-C connectors is that pulling a cable won't casue the computer to take a trip to the floor. I'm using the right-angle connectors to route the power cables to the back of the computer although this configuration can't coexist with using the HDMI port.

@Steerpike my 2021 Gram 17 is currently resting pending rehoming but I've got it out and photographed the keyboard. There's a shiny area on the spacebar, the touch pad looks used and you can see where my palms rest on the palmrest. The other keys look new. After taking the photo I've tried to clean the marks using some isopropyl alcohol on a cloth. The touchpad now looks much better but the other wear marks persist. I've also looked at the keyboard of my Galaxy Book Pro which I bought in January 2022. It hasn't had as much use as the LG and there's a shiny area on the space bar but no other obvious wear.

I think the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro (or the newer Book2 Pro) 15.6 is the other contender for the crown of being the lightest. Last year's models of both the Gram 15 and the Galaxy Book Pro can be found within the $1000 budget. Notebookcheck have comprehensive reviews of both https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-Book-Pro-15-NP950XDB-laptop-review-Insanely-lightweight.585548.0.html , https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-of-the-LG-Gram-15Z90P-1-1-kg-2-4-lb-15-inch-laptop.595386.0.html . Notebookcheck's data indicates that the Samsung is the smaller and lighter of the two but has only a 64Whr battery compared to the LG's 80Whr battery. The Samsung also has an AMOLED display. I would suggest that you read both reviews. If you have any specific questions then it may be best to ask them in the appropriate manufacturer forums here as there are a few members who own one of these brands if not the specific size you are considering. I have a Gram 17 as my main computer and a Galaxy Book Pro 13.3 for using when away from home. I personally have found no cause for concern about the lack of rigidity in these thin and light notebooks. There was a time when the mainboards of notebooks extended the full width of the case and any flexing resulted in stress on the electronics. Now the mainboards are much smaller with supplementary boards and ports connected using ribbon cables.

I've got a normal Gram 17 which spends most of its time on a desk so I've not given the battery a good test. However, as the notebookcheck review comments, the LG Gram has a small fan and heatsink which effectively means that the CPU can only run at full power for a very short period before slowing down to avoid overheating. This also means that the ability to guzzle the battery power is also throttled and helps to extend the battery run time. LG has provided a good size of battery given the design focus on minamal weight and thickness. LG's claim of 18.5 hours is based on "Video playback time testing conducted by LG in March 2022 using FHD video playback (1080p resolution), airplane mode on, 150 nits brightness, earphones, and default power options. Actual battery usage time and performance may vary depending on various factors, including network connectivity and application use." Video playback support is now built into the GPU so video playback not a very challenging test. Display brightness is a key factor in the run time and 150 nits is probably inadequate for comfortable viewing in a well-lit room. This video might help understand the brightness issue. Anyone wanting to maximise battery run time should do their own experiments to find out what uses the power. The starting place is to minimise the number of open software packages. The more the CPU can sleep then the less power it uses. While LG's 2022 normal laptops have an anti-glare coating, I expect the 2-in-1 models with touchscreens are still glossy because it is much easier to clean fingerprints off plain glass than coated glass. If LG had made significant changes to the display then I would expected this to have been mentioned in the sales info. Most likely it is the same as last year which the notebookcheck review noted wasn't bright enough for serious outside use. However, brightness sufficient for use outside will substantially increase battery drain. The LG Smart Assistant software provides four fan options (called cooling mode): No noise, Low, Normal and High. The slower the fan speed then the more the CPU speed is throttled to avoid overheating. If you are in a quiet room then the noise of a high fan will be very noticeable. I'm happy with the normal setting although I have adjusted the thermal triggers in the advanced BIOS settings. The fan speed responds quite quickly to CPU load and thermal requirements. Rigidity used to be a key durability consideration when the mainboards occupied the full width of a notebook and any flexing could result in failure. These days, however, the mainboards are much smaller with ribbon cables connecting auxiliary boards such as those with the ports so a bit of bending doesn't cause problems. Displays are also more tolerant of flexing than in a previous era. I would also mention that if overall portability is a key consideration then the LG Gram will run on a 45W PSU although it will give a warning. 45W is plenty to run the computer but not to also quickly charge the battery at the same time (my Gram 17 is using about 25W from the mains socket as I type this). It will even work, with more warnings, using a suitable 25W USB-C phone charger. Whether the LG Gram will suit your needs will depend on your expected usage. If it's web browsing, emails, video watching or normal office tasks then the modest CPU power (effectively no more than 2GHz due to the cooling system thermal limits) will be fine. If you want to do heavy number crunching or 3D gaming then it will give disappointment.

I think modern SSDs run cooler than earlier generations. FWIW I've got both a WD850 2TB and a WD770 2TB in my LG Gram 17 each with a thermal pad about 1.5mm thick which I happened to have in the drawer. I've just hit both SSDs with a couple of passes of CrystalDiskMark 4GB Q32T1 (which seems to be the fastest of the tests) and the SN850 maxed out at 68C while the SN770 reached 72C. Both cooled down quickly to around 40C (room temperature is about 22C). Actual ambient temperature in a notebook will depend on hardware design and the cooling system. An SSD located close to a CPU or GPU will be more vulnerable to heat from those devices than one located elsewhere and if it's hot at the start of having to do some work then it will be even hotter at the end. If you are frequently doing writes of tens of GBs then thermal performance may be a consideration but otherwise it's not something I would lose sleep over. I've ended up with WD SSDs because a website I buy from had very good offers for these at the time I was looking for something (several months apart) and my research didn't reveal any serious problems with either to discourage me from buying them.

I've known hardware which was very fussy about the driver installation process otherwise Device Manager won't know what has been connected and will therefore give an error although this is normally "Unknown device". Error 43 seems to relate to graphics in which case the discussion here about finding the correct video driver could be relevant.

I've managed to significantly reduce the fan noise under my normal (=light) usage condition by increasing the fan operation trigger temperatures in the BIOS. These settings are in the Advanced BIOS options, Platform Thermal Configuration. To get there first get into the BIOS (hold down F2 while the LG logo is showing during (re)boot then first hold down Ctrl, then also push down Alt, then also push down Shift and finally push F7. There is pre-defined list of temperatures. I raised both triggers by one step (trip point 0 from 71 to 79C and trip point 1 from 55 to 63C. Perhaps another option would have been to reduce the fan speed for trip point 1 to, say, 50. I deduce that those trip points are not steps in the fan speed but there's interpolation between them and also includes an unchangeable minimum temperature to trigger the fan operation. As I type this HWiNFO shows the CPU temperature fluctuating around 60C, which is below my new trigger point 1, but the fan is still running but more quietly than before. I also found that I could disable the S0 sleep state in the ACPI settings which will disable Modern Standby. However, while this makes S3 sleep available it doesn't work properly as the computer immediately reboots when it wakes up. I suspect other things need to be changed in Windows 11 to get S3 sleep to work properly. As this may be a generic Windows 11 issue I've started a separate Modern Standby topic in the Windows forum.