Lenovo Yoga 730 won't run heavy games... why?

[Ariel LA]

Hello everyone
A little disclaimer: I feel like I really don't understand much about laptops, their potential bottlenecks and just specs in general... so please go easy on me here.
I have a Lenovo Yoga 730 laptop for about 2 years now, and as it turns out - most AAA games run horribly on it and I can't figure out why.
My latest try was with Cyberpunk 2077, and although I am aware of its major launch issues, similar games act exactly the same - SUPER low FPS.
I couldn't help but wonder why that happens to my specific model, that on paper its specs seem just fine (...then again, I don't understand much about specs).
I often use canurunit.com io to check my laptop's ability to run a specific game but am always surprised how inaccurate it turns out to be.
For example, see the following with Cyberpunk 2077:



I got excited thinking I could run it, only to find out it runs at 7 FPS !
The same happened with a variety of other games (such as, for example, DOOM Eternal).
I just genuinely wonder: what could possibly be that bad about these specs\ what is my bottleneck here causing the game to become unplayable?
Is there anything I could do manually to enhance my laptop's capability? (I mean, I run all my games as administrator... other than that I'm clueless as to what could improve the experience)
Thank a lot ! 

[WhitetailAni]

Cyberpunk 2077 runs horrible on older hardware, and not great even on the best hardware.

But a Core i7-8550U and a GTX 1050 isn't that great, especially considering your Core i7-8550U runs at 1.8 GHz.

[Silentprototipe]

The thing about your laptop is the mobile 15-25W CPU and mobile 1050. These parts run at much lower TDP's than anything comparible on desktop. Especially the 8550U which bursts heavily but in all core sustained will clock super low (Like my old 2500U) making it really undesirable for games. As for the 1050 its lower TDP and clockspeeds combined with the fact that its a 1050 will mean heavy games wont run well 

[AndreiArgeanu]

4 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

especially considering your Core i7-8550U runs at 1.8 GHz.

Unless it's passively cooled, or has a horrible cooling solution, the 8550U will boost far beyond 1.8ghz..

[AndreiArgeanu]

The GTX 1050 mobile isn't that powerful of a gpu, it's performance is comparable to a desktop GTX 750 ti/GTX 760. It's fair to assume that it won't run modern titles.

[Ariel LA]

3 minutes ago, Silentprototipe said:

The thing about your laptop is the mobile 15-25W CPU and mobile 1050. These parts run at much lower TDP's than anything comparible on desktop. Especially the 8550U which bursts heavily but in all core sustained will clock super low (Like my old 2500U) making it really undesirable for games. As for the 1050 its lower TDP and clockspeeds combined with the fact that its a 1050 will mean heavy games wont run well 

So both my cpu and gpu are the bottlenecks here?
Is there any recommended way around it? (like overclocking the cpu.. idk)

[Silentprototipe]

2 minutes ago, Ariel LA said:

So both my cpu and gpu are the bottlenecks here?
Is there any recommended way around it? (like overclocking the cpu.. idk)

Yes actually, There are some things you can do to improve performance if you dont mind the heat that comes along with it. If your CPU runs in the low 70C's at stock speeds then id recommend getting XTU and raising your power limits. If you have a 15W TDP you can go as high as 30W which will give you a decent boost. As for the GPU I dont believe you can modify anything there and you are boned. You really want a bigger laptop with a 35-45W CPU and 50W GPU

[Ariel LA]

4 minutes ago, Silentprototipe said:

Yes actually, There are some things you can do to improve performance if you dont mind the heat that comes along with it. If your CPU runs in the low 70's at stock speeds then id recommend getting XTU and raising your power limits. If you have a 15W TDP you can go as high as 30W which will give you a decent boost. As for the GPU I dont believe you can modify anything there and you are boned. You really want a bigger laptop with a 35-45W CPU and 50W GPU

Thanks !
Although I wanna give it a shot, it's a risk I won't take. I'm stuck with the meh gpu anyways, so it's better off to call it quits.
Thank you also for letting me know what specs I should be looking for the next time I buy a laptop

[Silentprototipe]

4 minutes ago, Ariel LA said:

Thanks !
Although I wanna give it a shot, it's a risk I won't take. I'm stuck with the meh gpu anyways, so it's better off to call it quits.
Thank you also for letting me know what specs I should be looking for the next time I buy a laptop

Understandable but its mostly idiot proof. Dont touch any voltages and just raise the wattage. The CPU will automatically prevent itself from going higher if it doesnt have the voltage to do it which if you dont touch it means you can toy with it till you find a sweetspot 

[Lord Vile]

6 hours ago, Ariel LA said:

Hello everyone
A little disclaimer: I feel like I really don't understand much about laptops, their potential bottlenecks and just specs in general... so please go easy on me here.
I have a Lenovo Yoga 730 laptop for about 2 years now, and as it turns out - most AAA games run horribly on it and I can't figure out why.
My latest try was with Cyberpunk 2077, and although I am aware of its major launch issues, similar games act exactly the same - SUPER low FPS.
I couldn't help but wonder why that happens to my specific model, that on paper its specs seem just fine (...then again, I don't understand much about specs).
I often use canurunit.com io to check my laptop's ability to run a specific game but am always surprised how inaccurate it turns out to be.
For example, see the following with Cyberpunk 2077:



I got excited thinking I could run it, only to find out it runs at 7 FPS !
The same happened with a variety of other games (such as, for example, DOOM Eternal).
I just genuinely wonder: what could possibly be that bad about these specs\ what is my bottleneck here causing the game to become unplayable?
Is there anything I could do manually to enhance my laptop's capability? (I mean, I run all my games as administrator... other than that I'm clueless as to what could improve the experience)
Thank a lot ! 

Cyberpunk 2077 System Requirements — Cyberpunk 2077 | Technical Support — CD PROJEKT RED

 

Your system is far below the minimum spec for that game, The regular 1050 is a couple of tiers down from a RX 470 and the CPU is a mobile part. 

[Fonmc]

Try cleaning and dusting the device . They might get very toasty . And do you run with dgpu? Check setting in windows to be sure