Thinkpads Forum

I got the Intel version, sorry not an AMD fan, with the 4500mhd graphics card.

HD video works fine in WMP up to 1080p, and you can skip around with only a few seconds to catch up to seeks forward or backward with 1080p. Youtube 1080p on the other hand gets a bit choppy, will try adding a broadcom mini pcie HD decoder to see if it will help, 720p youtube vids play fine.

BIOS has crippled whitelist so you cant upgrade to just any half size mini pcie card, I hope Zender or someone can figure out the area to change or toggle in the BIOS via HEX editor... PLEASE

Also, strange, my BIOS I received the laptop with is at version 1.11 yet the website lists older versions of 1.07 and 1.08 as being the latest, so the one I received has a BIOS not yet listed on Lenovo's homepage.

Its a great small light for travel laptop with enough kick in power to make me happy, and a great replacement for my netbook. At settings tweaked down I get btw 6.5 - 7.5 hours out of it, yet with LCD at full blast on brightness its 4.5 - 5.5hrs.

I was hoping someone can tell me how to back up my BIOS, and also how to identify if its still Phoenix based. or if someone (or Zender) can look at the current BIOS available on the website, to see if they can be modded.

now that i can get a thinkpad with a trackpoint and an AMD CPU there it absolutely no reason for me to ever be forced into purchasing an intel product ever again.

(just had to post that as a point of opinion, glad you like the edge in any guise though.)

Zedicus wrote:now that i can get a thinkpad with a trackpoint and an AMD CPU there it absolutely no reason for me to ever be forced into purchasing an intel product ever again

So in the case of the Edge, you will choose to go with a clearly inferior CPU, just because you don't like Intel?

not hardly. the addition of the radeon graphics combined with a cpu that really is not inferior in most ways makes for a system that i can actually run games on. contrary to an intel based rig with even the gma4500 in it. (my friend has a similar spec intel based laptop with a gma4500, sad waste of money if you ask me.)

also it is totally dependent on which price bracket you are looking at. so dont go comparing your 1000$ intel model to my 500$ AMD version. (i dont actually know if that is the model you purchased, just making a statement for general thought.)

Indeed, AMD CPUs are typically cheaper, and when you look at price/performance ratios, it is not clear that Intel is better.

Although, to be fair, the differences are not as you claim them to be. Currently at Lenovo's site the AMD version starts at $579, while the Intel at $799, certainly far from the $500 difference you suggested. And the cheapest AMD model is completely inferior in other specs. Once you actually configure them with similar RAM/HD/battery, the difference is a mere $100...

Yes, the integrated HD3200 is noticeably stronger than the GMA4500. For gaming, you will probably get more, on average, from the AMD rig. The Intel one will be stronger for general processing due to the more powerful CPU (I don't have exact numbers, though), and will offer better battery life as well (according to Lenovo's numbers and experience with different models as well).

I guess it comes down to personal needs. I can certainly think of scenarios in which either one will be preferred over the other. It is just that from your earlier comment it seemed as if your preference stems from a case of brand loyalty, or an irrational dislike of the other brand. If this is not the case, I apologize.

I am extremely irritated by the fact that the Laptop came with BIOS version 1.11 and the website is only up to 1.07/1.08... wtf
How do I get a newer BIOS than listed on their own homepage, or at least the equal BIOS of mine now which is 1.11 so I can force update a modded version of it???

I wanted to modify the BIOS to disable whitelist mini pci-e check, it appears to be Phoenix based, so this should be possible, but I don't want to downgrade.

Anyone have any insight on this?

sodapopdima wrote:I am extremely irritated by the fact that the Laptop came with BIOS version 1.11 and the website is only up to 1.07/1.08... wtf
How do I get a newer BIOS than listed on their own homepage, or at least the equal BIOS of mine now which is 1.11 so I can force update a modded version of it???

I wanted to modify the BIOS to disable whitelist mini pci-e check, it appears to be Phoenix based, so this should be possible, but I don't want to downgrade.

Anyone have any insight on this?

i have run into issues doing this as well. i was going to try dumping the bios from my actual laptop to get an image that would hopefully be openable in some type of editor. i have had no luck extracting the .iso from lenovo. extracting your bios is fairly easy, you just need a copy of winphlash and any other bios file to use to get the program to pass the check, and then set the program to backup only and you should be good to go.

PM me if you need too, ive done a number of whitelest m mods, maybe we can figure this one out too, if i have the spare time for it.

i have run into issues doing this as well. i was going to try dumping the bios from my actual laptop to get an image that would hopefully be openable in some type of editor. i have had no luck extracting the .iso from lenovo. extracting your bios is fairly easy, you just need a copy of winphlash and any other bios file to use to get the program to pass the check, and then set the program to backup only and you should be good to go.

PM me if you need too, ive done a number of whitelest m mods, maybe we can figure this one out too, if i have the spare time for it.

I finally had time to get back to this, and I figured out using third party tools and with some help from the guys at mydigitallifeDOTcom the whitelist on all edge models can now be removed for WWAN and WLAN. I am happy to now be able to use my Atheros 300n with ultra range as opposed to the crappy wifi1000 card bundled which sucks so bad. To get full speed it forces you to use specific AES encrytpion, otherwise you peak at 150n and even then its never at full, it fluctuates as per TCP/IP spec.