John Ratsey
-
Posts
208 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Everything posted by John Ratsey
-
I've now had my 2022 Gram 17 for several weeks and a report is long overdue although it has yet to take over the prime position on my desk from the 2021 Gram 17. What are the key differences compared to the 2021 Gram 17: The differences from the 2021 Gram 17 The visible differences are: The anti-glare screen (the 2022 screen is the LP170-WQ1-SPF2 whereas the 2021 screen is the LP170WQ1-SPE1 which suggests that the basic panel is the same) The changed keyboard lettering with the main and shift functions being side by side rather than the conventional below and above (I find this change baffling) No fingerprint reader on power button (effectively superseded by the better webcam) Full HD webcam + infra-red sensor at top of screen which works well with Windows Hello Pre-installed Windows 11 (although the later 2021 stock also came with this pre-installed) Rubber strip along the back of the bottom instead of the two back feet (this probably works better if using in laptop mode) The less visible differences are: Intel 12th generation platform with i7-1260P CPU + 32GB RAM Faster SSD (Samsung MZVL21T0HCLR = PM9A1 which is the OEM version of the Samsung PM980 Pro) The biggest visual difference is the screen as illustrated by this photo: I think that LG has done well with the coating as there's no visible reduction in the clarity of text although photographs seem to be slightly less crisp. Overall it's a reasonable compromise with the much reduced reflections. The Battery The battery has a nominal 80Wh capacity. Mine showed 79.51Wh (99.4%) after being plugged in for many hours. The battery drain on idle is around 4.5W with a fairly dim, but usable, screen. After a few minutes I wondered why BatteryInfoView wasn’t showing the estimated battery time. I then noticed that the charge was still on 79.51Whr. This remained unchanged after running on battery for a couple of hours which intrigued me. Perhaps it was a consequence of setting the maximum charge level to 80% so I set it back to 100% and left the computer on charge overnight after which it showed the fully charged capacity to be 80Wh (which, unusually in my experience) is exactly the same as the design capacity. After this the battery discharge behaved as expected. I've yet to do any proper battery drain tests but expect it will handle a working day of light usage. There's plenty of room for a higher capacity battery and I assume that the headline weight was considered to be more important. CPU Performance My Gram 17 is fitted with the Intel i7-1260P CPU which is the only option offered with the 32GB RAM I wanted. Given the thermal and power limitations associated with the slim design the i7 CPU isn't able to reach its potential for any significant amount of time and most likely provides no performance improvement relative to the less expensive i5 CPU but is probably used to keep the marketing people and/or Intel happy. wPrime is a simple test of CPU capability and it's possible to select a different number of threads to share the workload. I tested with normal and high fan setting and with/without Turbo mode enabled. The results are interesting: The high fan setting provides negligible performance benefit in wPrime while disabling Turbo results in about 5% performance reduction which illustrates how much the CPU speed is capped by the power limits when running four or more threads. Cinebench is another software package which tests the CPU and tests both single core and multi-core performance. Cinebench 23 does multiple runs which provides a good test of thermal limitations. The results for this test show that the high fan setting enables a noticeable performance improvement but Turbo mode provides no benefit. That's all for now. More in due course. Any questions or requests?
-
Well spotted! The fingerprint reader in the power button of the 2021 version isn't obvious and the 2022 version looks the same so, without reading the specs, it's easy to assume no change. I've just checked my 2022 Gram 17 and Windows confirms that the FPR isn't available. I think the philosophy is that the face recognition with the FHD camera is better so no need to spend money on the FPR as well. I would note that I've been doing a lot of manual work for the past two weeks and the wear on my fingers has upset the normally reliable FPR on my phone. Perhaps the camera approach is better.
-
Techradar review of the 2022 Gram 16.
-
Yes, they are siblings with much in common. My 13.3 Samsung has the i5 CPU and only 8GB RAM but that's enough for the use it gets as the secondary machine although, as noted above, I did upgrade the storage. I think the AMOLED display is excellent. I did consider the 15.6 Samsung when I was shopping early this year but the UK stock of this model has a white/silver keyboard and surround (clearly shown here) which I think impairs usability because of glare off the keyboard and reduced visibility of backlit keys. The Mystic Blue colour is good. Notebookcheck have a thorough review of the 15.6" Samsung. The supplied SSD is an M.2 2240 but there's a second slot which takes a 2280SSD. I've not noticed rigidity problems with my little Samsung (nor with the 17" LG). Also, I think that modern hardware is much more tolerant of some flexing. Very small mainboards with ribbon cables connecting the peripherals are much more tolerant of bending than products of an earlier era when the mainboard could be as wide as the computer and any bending could upset connections or break soldered joints. I would point out that Samsung isn't yet in the world of 16:10 display panels. My little Samsung has a slot for a SIM card, which can be useful when travelling (but I tend to use my phone as a hotspot which gives the option of putting the phone by a window in order to get a better phone signal). The 2022 Samsung is called the Galaxy Book Pro 2 and has the latest Intel hardware but still has a 16:9 display.
-
So far I've not had any serious disagreements with Windows 11. In my previous brief encounter (on a notebook with an FHD panel) I didn't like being unable to put the task bar up the left side of the display but since I've been running out of space for all the icons I want on the task bar plus whatever is open I'm happy to see if the position along the bottom is better although it eats into the vertical screen space. I see that the English version of the Notebookcheck 2022 Gram 17 review is now available. My Gram 17 has a black keyboard surround unlike the version reviewed (I'm happy with the black). I will shortly start a new thread for 2022 Gram 17 impressions as a better home for my thoughts and observations.
-
I now have that cosmetically damaged 2022 Gram 17 on my desk. I've yet to see the scratches and it looks to be a normal "open box" return. I wonder if whoever originally bought it assumed that the blotchy blue display while Windows was setting itself up meant the display was defective and put the computer back in the box. It had me worried! Once Windows setup had finished messing around the display was fine and I reckon that I stumbled on a good deal as it is the 32GB RAM version that I wanted. I had half-expected that the description was wrong and Amazon would deliver a lower spec version. I'm current exploring and testing my new purchase and will start a new thread with my observations.
-
Yes, 100% processor state enables Turbo mode, 99% processor state disables Turbo mode. That other power option I found recently which can set the maximum processor speed would allow filling that gap in the curve. However, it's not worthwhile doing that for the Gram 17 where the fully turbo speed seems to last no more than a second.
-
Yes, I saw that and can replicate the behaviour. Perhaps it's an HWiNFO bug. In previous times I did a lot of experimenting with the max processor state. This graph is one I prepared 6 years ago: The percentage labels are the maximum processor state and anything below 50% had no effect. The corresponding speed and power consumption have to be deterermined by looking at the HWiNFO results after a standard process (eg wPrime). It would be interesting to see the corresponding graph for recent CPUs. If trying to minimise overall power consumption one has to balance the reduction in processor power against the the longer time to run the process before the CPU and get back to sleep.
-
There's not much to report about this little notebook except that it's running very smoothly and has been on a few more holidays. It's an ideal travel notebook that's frugal on battery and can run on a low-rated USB-C power supply.
-
I turned off Turbo mode by setting maximum processor state to 99% and reset the HWiNFO sensors. A couple of hours of typical usage hours and the maximum processor temperature is 66C and there are no throttling alerts (this is with the computer on the Cooler Master cooler). I'm wondering if those those throttling alerts are linked to the fan trip point temperatures. If you can keep everything below 70C then perhaps everything is happy. What would happen if the Active Trip Point 0 is set to, say, 60C. Performance and esponsiveness seems fine with Turbo disabled. Those bursts of higher speed don't make much difference in overall speed in normal usage (might be noticeable if there's a single-threaded process running) but create the power and heat and spikes which have repercussions.
-
Last evening my 16GB 2021 Gram 17 hit 99% physical RAM so everything stopped while Windows did some housekeeping. I saw that as a signal to order the cut price 32GB 2022 model. I wait to see if it's fully functional. LG claims "MIL-STD-810G Strong and Ready for Combat". I'll also have to prepare for doing battle with Windows 11.
-
I'm not intentionally putting the computer under load. Perhaps it's the innumerable tabs in Firefox but the two thermal throttling alerts always re-appear within a few seconds of resetting the HWiNFO sensors. At the moment it's showing core thermal throttling when none of the cores have exceeded 75C. Perhaps there's another sensor which HWiNFO isn't directly reading. I found a useful bit of software called Power Plan Settings Explorer which lists all the options and allows the user to unhide the hidden settings (the list of ticks shows what is hidden). Last evening I was doing some more research by running wPrime and looking at HWiNFO's CPU sensor data. If Performance mode is enabled then PL1 stays at 28W and the fan works as needed. In Optimal mode PL1 quickly dropped below 28W and, at one stage, went as low as 11.5W. That's for the whole CPU package and around 6W is used by parts other than the CPU which dropped to around 800MHz (like winding the CPU performance back by 10 years or more). I also explored the advanced BIOS settings and read, and need to re-read, the archived discussion about advanced tweaking. The thermal limitations mean that turbo is only any use if there's load on only a single core. I need to try wPrime 32M running 1 thread and seeing the power behaviour. Turbo is easily disabled by setting the maximum processor state to 99% which is my default for battery operation. If only someone sold the dual fan and heatsink unit but I've failed to find it on the www. I wouldn't mind the extra weight and slightly increased power consumption.
-
One annoyance I've been having with my 2021 Gram 17 is that intermittently it slows to a crawl, becomes unresponsive and takes several minutes before it's willing to start running normally. It's reminiscient of the problem I had around 10 years ago with near-full SSDs which basically told the computer to wait while the SSD shuffled files around to create some usable space from the fragments. However, there's loads of empty SSD space and the disc activity is low. I therefore assume that it's a thermal issue. The i7-1165G7 CPU in my Gram 17 is too willing to get close to 100C (perhaps I need to do another repaste) and even when the CPU hasn't got hot there's other thermal throttling. This is what HWiNFO showed soon after doing a sensor reset. I suspect that if there's been too many thermal alerts then the Gram 17 reckons it's time to walk for a while instead of running. Setting the Gram 17 to Performance Mode (which needs to be done on each start / restart / resume) does improve the temperatures but is tedious as it's not set-and-forget. Therefore three days ago I got a Cooler Master Notepal U2 plus V2 cooler to help improve the cooling. It's just the right size for the Gram 17 but the default fan speed was too noisy for my liking. That problem has been fixed using one of these to reduce the voltage and hence the fan speed although I not very happy with the raised notebook position (and I've squashed down the back leg of the cooler to reduce the keyboard slope). I've therefore revisited the power options. A while back I used a utility (name now forgotten) to add some of the missing items in the advanced power options. Putting the Maximum Processor State down to 99% turns off turbo mode which is more drastic than I want (but sensible when running on battery) but I've found that setting the Maximum Processor Frequency to 4500 MHz does cap the CPU speed to 4500 MHz. This will bring down the maximum CPU core temperature but does not stop the other thermal throttling alerts shown above. I need to do some testing to find out the sensible maximum CPU frequency. If only I could buy the longer heatsink and dual fan unit that LG do make then this would be a much better solution to the thermal problem. The i7 CPU is more than the standard LG thermal solution can handle for more than a few seconds.
-
That rubber bar is visible in the notebookcheck review photos. I wonder if it's to reduce the recirculation of hot air from the fan exhaust. The internal layout of the Gram 17 is unchanged and I think it's the same size fan as previously. Amazon UK is offering a cosmetically damaged 32GB RAM 2022 model for a very attractive price (about 35% discount on new). I'd like the extra RAM as Windows 10 memory management on my 2021 16GB Gram 17 seems to be deficient. While most of the time it's using around 85% physical memory, sometimes the usage gets close to 100% despite having a generous page file allocation on a fast SSD. It's tempting but unfortunately there's no improvement in the thermal management.
-
If you can get a complete display including the back and the hinges then I think the swap would be easy: Take off the bottom of the computer; disconnect battery; disconnect display; unscrew hinges; remove old display unit then repeat in reverse to fit the new one.
-
Yes, try to put the feet back so that the glue residue forms a rough circle. I pulled off one of the back feet and took a photo to illustrate how it looks. Your first ebay item will probably be fine. I think LG used something similar but as a ring. The back feet are about 17mm dia and the front feet 15mm but the ring of glue is smaller than the size of of the foot. I can't find the tape circles on ebay UK, only the circular pads (which I'm sure would work fine as they are buried in a hole).
-
I wonder if the backlighting has disappeared as well. Big, backlit, lettering is easy to read in poor lighting. Oh well! Wait to see what 2023 brings. For me, the main drawbacks of my Gram 17 are (a) inadequate cooling capacity for the CPU when under load and (b) not enough RAM (Firefox with innumerable tabs open can get very greedy). There's plenty of room for another fan in the 17" Gram.
-
It's now been opened up 3 times. Yesterday I temporarily put back the original SSD as I needed to release the licence on a software package which didn't like the SSD swap (two other packages didn't complain). While I had the base off I also repasted the CPU to see if I could reduce the occurrence of thermal throttling. The original paste was a bit dry. The CPU still hits the thermal limits under sustained load but now it's running a bit cooler under normal conditions. I also put thermal pads on the SSDs and they are keeping cooler. As for the glue, it's still quite sticky. When the feet are pulled off some of the glue comes with them and some stays on the base cover. I try to put back the feet so that the circle of glue is reformed. However, the computer's feet have an easy time as my Gram 17 is used as a compact desktop and doesn't get put into / taken out of a bag several times a day. Nonetheless, for anyone worrying about the feet getting loose, the fix will be to buy some 15mm circular double-sided tape pads (example here) and use them to replace the original glue when it gets tired.
-
It's a nominal 4TB (never that much in reality plus I've left about 150GB unallocated on each SSD to help with garbage management (which might not be necessary these days). When I've time and inclination I'll work through all my old drives and try to get everything into one place which will then be backed up onto a portable HDD. I also wanted enough space to do some video building. I've not looked at the power consumption as my Gram 17 is being used as a compact desktop which is easy to put out of the way if I want the desk for other uses. However, I think that power management on recent NVMe SSDs is good and they quickly go to sleep if not busy.
-
My screen reflection problems only occurred in the spring when the sun was shining through the window. They may re-appear in the autumn. I agree that the lack of an anti-glare coating improves the sharpness. I'm using the numpad for navigation but, because it pushes the main keyboard to the left I'm often hitting NumLk when aiming for Backspace. I'd much prefer the simple column of navigation keys without the numpad. Getting into the Gram 17 is easy. You need a charp object to prise off the 4 big feet, the small lump between the two back feet and the other screw covers then use a size 0 Philips screwdriver to remove the screws. Finally prise the case apart starting at the middle front. I installed a 2nd SSD months ago and yesterday I changed the original 1TB drive for a 2TB WD Black SN770 which has been on sale here remarkably cheaply. So far it's running fine but I need to get inside again to temporarily install the original SSD to release the licence for a software package which clearly uses the storage drive as part of the device fingerprint (two other packages didn't mind the SSD swap). Having two M.2 2280 slots is a big benefit.
-
I suspect that the docking station could be allowing for both the power it uses and the power it might supply to other devices which can be plugged into it at the same time so the 65W from the LG PSU could be reduced to 45W or less and that's what it reports to the computer. Each USB port is likely to be rated at 1A (ie 5W) minimum. It's unlikely, but not impossible to have, for example, a portable hard drive plugged into every USB port at the same time or be charging phones or other devices. My docking station came with a 135W brick (literally) so it has loads of spare power. The Gram's own calculation of power needed assumes a combination of loaded CPU, devices plugged into the USB ports and charging the battery. If the power source isn't sufficient then the battery charge rate will be reduced and, in the worst case, the battery will supply power to help keep everything else running. If it's running happily after giving the power warning then there's nothing to worry about. The alternative is to look for a reasonably-priced 100W USB-C PSU.
-
introduction Laptop battery management and power state alerts
John Ratsey replied to Ishayin's topic in Components & Upgrades
Much will depend on how the charging behaves if the battery is at or near 100%. A very low trickle charge may not cause significant wear and the computer may let the charge level drop a few % before doing a slow top up. Recent computers tend to behave more intelligently as the battery fills and some may report 100% when the battery is not completely full (I've seen the same with phones). -
What phone are you daily driving currently?
John Ratsey replied to Katja's topic in Mobile Devices & Gadgets
I ordered the Galaxy S22 (smallest model with 8GB / 128GB) on 28th March direct from Samsung UK who had a launch offer of £200 rebate by sending in any old Android phone plus a free pair of Galaxy Buds Pro. At the time of ordering the system said I would get the phone on 22nd April but it actually showed up on 2nd April. As noted much earlier in this thread I had the S21 and was attracted by (i) the slightly smaller size of the S22 and (ii) the 3x optical zoom camera. Testing the cameras was the first task after unboxing and there was a visable, albeit modest, improvement in >3x zoom images compared with the S21. The S22 does feel to be less of a lump in my pocket. It's protected by a thin gel case (a standard purchase for my phones but particularly necessary for the square-edged S22). Prior to ordering I was aware of comments from early owners that the battery drained faster than the S21 and, so far, this has proved to be true. One factor is that the S22 battery has 7% lower capacity but the difference in drain rate is at least double that. I'm hoping that Samsung are working on this problem as there have been two software updates in the past two weeks) but I'm a relatively light user and can easily get through a day. I've got the battery set to maximum 85% charge to minimise the battery wear. -
Posting Images to the forum - Feedback Thread!
John Ratsey replied to Reciever's topic in Internal Announcement Discussion
@Steerpike's studies have prompted me to do my own tests (same 17" screen as @Steerpike but set to 175% scaling) comparing a window capture (alt+PrtSc) with an image captured with Window's Snip & Sketch. Both have the same pixel size (bar a few pixels difference when doing a manual snip). The window capture is 72dpi but the window snip is 168dpi. Both are showing as the same size on my screen if I post them here (which suggests that the dpi setting is not a factor) but are displaying at 33% larger than the original window although the inserted image properties say 791 x 750 pixels. However, and this seems to be part of the problem, something is being too clever and applying the 175% scaling to the inserted image. Overall, for me there is a process of downsizing to about 75% when the image is uploaded followed by 175% scaling so anything which was sharp ends up fuzzy. It's not a problem I've had with other forums although many allow only attachments or thumbnails which open to the size appropriate to the image pixels. -
Perhaps the standard Dell disk image is configured for all versions of Windows and includes the bitlocker setting whereas LG is aiming at the consumer market and only uses the Home version of Windows. LG provides the option in the BIOS to set a password for each storage device and the manual includes the warning "If you forgot NVMe™ Password/SSD Password, you cannot restore the NVMe™/SSD." I don't know enough about SSD security to know if setting a password enables encryption.
