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Was Fallout 4 the game that BSOD't? The proof is in the pudding when you try that out....:).
I had initially thought that, because the game crashed along with incurring BSODs. Then got a couple of BSODs when I hadn't played the game in a few days.

Yes, if I suddenly incur BSODs, we'll know for sure. :)

I love that game though, its my absolute favorite game to play
 
Things seem pretty good for my thinkpad since reinstalling windows.

I will say (and I've seen this before) that reinstalling windows always produces some minor differences that can be annoying. For instance, I don't use cortana and I disable that, yet when I've done that in the past the circle cortana turns into a magnifying glass icon. Not so this go around, I had to go into the registry to add a key. Conversely, the default weather app showed me Washington DC in the live tile on my original build, but its now working fine on the reinstall - ahh windows

I may be overly sensitive but my fans seem a tad more aggressive then before. To that end, I did install the Thermal solutions from the vantage app.
 
For instance, I don't use cortana and I disable that, yet when I've done that in the past the circle cortana turns into a magnifying glass icon. Not so this go around, I had to go into the registry to add a key.
I disable the search box (hide it), takes space and is an unnecessary duplicate. When you open start menu and just start typing (blindly) the start menu will switch to search window.
 
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Things seem pretty good for my thinkpad since reinstalling windows.

I will say (and I've seen this before) that reinstalling windows always produces some minor differences that can be annoying. For instance, I don't use cortana and I disable that, yet when I've done that in the past the circle cortana turns into a magnifying glass icon. Not so this go around, I had to go into the registry to add a key. Conversely, the default weather app showed me Washington DC in the live tile on my original build, but its now working fine on the reinstall - ahh windows

I may be overly sensitive but my fans seem a tad more aggressive then before. To that end, I did install the Thermal solutions from the vantage app.

I have had HP, Dell and Lenovo and I always started with their pre-installed software (assuming that would be the best since they are the OEM). I always ended up with re-installing Windows fresh (with a copy from the MS site) due to some problems with the pre-installed software.

In your case that seems the best solution too. Afterwards selectively installing some Lenovo utilities (for the thermal solutions for instance) seems the way to go.

Luckily I don't have to deal with Cortana, since Cortana can't understand and speak Dutch :p.

How is Fallout going?
 
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I have had HP, Dell and Lenovo and I always started with their pre-installed software (assuming that would be the best since they are the OEM). I always ended up with re-installing Windows fresh (with a copy from the MS site) due to some problems with the pre-installed software.

In your case that seems the best solution too. Afterwards selectively installing some Lenovo utilities (for the thermal solutions for instance) seems the way to go.

Luckily I don't have to deal with Cortana, since Cortana can't understand and speak Dutch :p.

How is Fallout going?

I only perform a clean install if issue arises, that I suspect are related to the SW image.

Q-6
 
I think I made a mistake. After downloading gears of war 4, I noticed that it took up well over 100 GB of storage and I only got 256 GB installed. Question, if I put in a 512 GB SSD later, how do I install windows without a product ID? Do I just insert it, then use the thumb drive back up that I made and nothing else.? And which Samsung SSD card should I get if anybody’s in the know that is fast ?
 
I think I made a mistake. After downloading gears of war 4, I noticed that it took up well over 100 GB of storage and I only got 256 GB installed. Question, if I put in a 512 GB SSD later, how do I install windows without a product ID? Do I just insert it, then use the thumb drive back up that I made and nothing else.? And which Samsung SSD card should I get if anybody’s in the know that is fast ?
The Samsung evo ones.
 
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I think I made a mistake. After downloading gears of war 4, I noticed that it took up well over 100 GB of storage and I only got 256 GB installed. Question, if I put in a 512 GB SSD later, how do I install windows without a product ID? Do I just insert it, then use the thumb drive back up that I made and nothing else.? And which Samsung SSD card should I get if anybody’s in the know that is fast ?

I installed a 1TB Samsung PM981 for my #2 SSD and I'm using it as storage. I got it new on eBay for $200 here.

You can see a benchmark for the drive here and here. (On an unrelated note, can someone tell me why my benchmarks always tell me I have memory latency issues?)

When I shipped my X1E to Lenovo for repair last week, I wanted to reset Windows, so I cloned my main 512 drive to the 1TB SSD using EaseUS Disk Copy. Before removing the cloned drive (and crucial RAM stick I'd installed) and shipping it off, I changed the Boot order in the BIOS to make sure the cloning process worked. When I got the laptop back I put the drive back in, changed the boot order again and re-cloned to the 512 SSD. The Windows key stayed intact throughout this whole process.
 
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Question, if I put in a 512 GB SSD later, how do I install windows without a product ID? Do I just insert it, then use the thumb drive back up that I made and nothing else.?

The license key is written in the laptop BIOS, no need to type it, it will activate on its own when you reinstall Windows. But if you only want to expand the drive cloning is faster, get m.2 nvme USB-c enclosure with the new drive (yes Samsung evo 970 is the best, they just released also 970 Evo Plus version - a little more power efficient), and some cloning software (I use Acronis True Image - don't pay the full price, they often do 50% off sales), clone existing drive and swap them.

Edit: Saw the post above, I forgot you’ve got two m2 ports, you can just buy a new one and add it to the existing one and just install games or whatever to it.
 
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I may be overly sensitive but my fans seem a tad more aggressive then before. To that end, I did install the Thermal solutions from the vantage app.

I suggest you check out TPFanControl :)
But be careful what you install, because original version only supports one fan. There is modified version out there, I have it installed. Just googled up a bit, and I think I got it from this reddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/9u51l8/making_the_x1e_quiet_thread/

I did everything I possibly can to regulate temperatures and fan control. I've undervolted, used tpfancontrol, and lastly, I repasted my cpu and gpu. My X1E had a terrible paste, there was almost none of it at all.

Now everything is working like a charm. It's almost as a mac, fans rarely kick in.
But me being me, I will repaste again in a few months. This time I want to use liquid metal. Never used it before, but I plan on being extra careful! :D
 
Thanks everybody. Will look at the Samsung SSD. Thinking 512 version below.

Samsung 970 PRO 512GB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD (MZ-V7P512BW)
 
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This time I want to use liquid metal. Never used it before, but I plan on being extra careful! :D
That scares me, is there any risk of it leaking out due to usage, i.e., moving the laptop around and travelling?
 
Now everything is working like a charm. It's almost as a mac, fans rarely kick in.
I'm trying it now. it doesn't look like the app is being actively developed or maintained.

https://thinkwiki.de/TPFanControl
Please note: TPFanControl has been withdrawn in year 2015, there are no activities anymore

I downloaded the compiled code here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/tp4xfancontrol/ IT was last updated in 2015

This video also mentions all development ceased on this in 2015

With that said, I'm seeing improvements as I don't have the spinning up and down of the fans.
 
That scares me, is there any risk of it leaking out due to usage, i.e., moving the laptop around and travelling?

The risk is only when you are putting it on for the first time. If even a drop spills, there is a high chance of motherboard failure. But once it's on, there is no risk at all after that. To put things into perspective, I haven't even seen liquid metal in person yet. But my plan is to use it when I do my next repaste.

With that said, I'm seeing improvements as I don't have the spinning up and down of the fans.

App isn't maintained at all, but works till this day with any 1 fan thinkpad. Someone made a few tweaks so that it can work with dual fan thinkpads as well, and it does work like a charm. Without that small modification, my X1E isn't as good as with it. Not hearing fans for no reason at all is worth it. At least for me :)
 
The risk is only when you are putting it on for the first time. If even a drop spills, there is a high chance of motherboard failure. But once it's on, there is no risk at all after that. To put things into perspective, I haven't even seen liquid metal in person yet. But my plan is to use it when I do my next repaste.



App isn't maintained at all, but works till this day with any 1 fan thinkpad. Someone made a few tweaks so that it can work with dual fan thinkpads as well, and it does work like a charm. Without that small modification, my X1E isn't as good as with it. Not hearing fans for no reason at all is worth it. At least for me :)
Got a link to the tweek?
 
The risk is only when you are putting it on for the first time. If even a drop spills, there is a high chance of motherboard failure. But once it's on, there is no risk at all after that. To put things into perspective, I haven't even seen liquid metal in person yet. But my plan is to use it when I do my next repaste.

You are far braver than when it comes to my business machines :)
 
You are far braver than when it comes to my business machines :)
I've applied thermal paste on machines before, even my laptops. Not only am I unwilling to do that with liquid metal, I'm unwilling to do that with normal thermal compound. I'm happy with the thermals for the most part. Playing some games, I'm seeing the temps float in the 70c to 80c range. I can live with that

I'll probably see how tpfancontrol works while playing a game. The temps of course rise pretty much so I'll see if things run hotter
 
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