I know, I know. It seems like all we do here is review smartphones and tablets here at TGSB. Believe me, I know how redundant it can get. Thanks to the great people at Lenovo, we can disrupt the monotony. Our subject for this review is the Lenovo IdeaPad Z580. A multimedia laptop with the power to do everything you need to do. I’ve been playing with one of their laptops for nearly a month and I am ready to tell you my findings on it. My complete analysis lies down below.
Design/Keyboard
When taking the Z580 out of its packaging you’ll notice the beautiful brushed aluminum finish with the Lenovo logo on top. The aluminum finish continues once you open it to reveal a very comfortable matte-finish touchpad that supports up to five-finger gestures. Not the lightest among mobile computers but not severely hefty either as it weighs in at around 5.2lbs. Equipped with a pair of both USB 2.0 & 3.0, a full HDMI out, Ethernet, VGA, 5-in-1 card reader, and a DVD/RW writer. A well-built piece of machine by the good folks at Lenovo.
The Z580 has an immaculate, 6-row keyboard at your disposal. An ideal amount of spacing between keys to make typing out a 10-page research paper with comfort and ease. Lenovo also made sure to put a full number pad for that full, desktop feel. Unfortunately, the keys aren’t backlit so no typing accurately in the dark for you and the right Shift key is kind of smaller than I’d like it to be.
“Great cinematic views can seen on a variety of angles that’s ideal for watching DVDs & HD YouTube videos on-the-go.”
Display
The Z580 has a 15.6inch LED display w/ 1366 x 768 resolution + 16:9 aspect ratio providing all of your visual needs. Great cinematic views can seen on a variety of angles that’s ideal for watching DVDs & HD YouTube videos on-the-go. And instead of keeping it basic, Lenovo added a OneKey Theater button that allows you to change audio + visual settings by the touch of one button. You get the options of Normal, Movie (adds more enhanced colors, sharper edges, & improved sound), or Intelligent (which automatically switches between Normal & Movie). Easily a welcome feature on a laptop.
“This allowed me to actively keep my typical, 20 Chrome tabs actively open along with watching several HD YouTube videos without a single, spinning hourglass icon.”
Performance/Battery Life
This IdeaPad is quite armed with some powerful goodies to the inside. Goodies like a 2.5GHz 3rd-gen Intel Core i5-3210 dual-core processor coupled with 6GB of RAM, 750GB HD w/ 679GB available, and a Intel HD graphics 4000 chipset. This allowed me to actively keep my typical, 20 Chrome tabs actively open along with watching several HD YouTube videos without a single, spinning hourglass icon. These specs combined make a for an extremely dynamic hardware to fit a wide variety of needs.
Inside of this IdeaPad lies a lithium battery w/ suggested 6-hour battery life. After some light photo-editing, watching Dark Knight Rises on DVD, and a few graphic-heavy games on Chrome gave me just a little over 5-hours of juice. So keep your charger handy as this won’t last all-day but can get enough done.
Software/Sound
Lenovo equipped this particular IdeaPad with Windows 7 Home Premium software along with other pre-installed apps within the suite. Apps like PowerDVD for your burning needs, CyberLink YouCam & ooVoo for your webcam/video chatting needs, Lenovo’s Energy Management system for some built-in power saving settings, and Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System for backup and virus recovery. So they didn’t bombard you with bloatware like other manufacturers would and I, for one, appreciate it.
Inside of this laptop are stereo speakers combined w/ Dolby Home Theater v4 technology. Many of you familiar with HP’s high-end laptops may be disappointed that there isn’t any Beats Audio software inside. You’ll be fine with the Dolby Home Theater software as it can easily fill up a large room with clear sound that will surprise you that it came out of a laptop. Providing the missing component many laptops lack, awesome audio quality fit for a multimedia laptop.
Heat
The IdeaPad Z580 comes equipped with a thermal management system that optimizes heat & noise control. You easily notice it after constant usage as the laptop doesn’t get extremely hot after a while. I mean it will get a little warm but not hot enough to cook your legs.
“For those of you only familiar with Dell & HP for Windows PC, forget about them and look into Lenovo.”
TG 2 Cents
In what seems to be a world of lightweight and super-thin ultrabooks, Lenovo still crafted a powerful laptop that can compete with the likes of its slim brethren. It has a good weight to it. A great keyboard, speed, and processing power to handle anything you can throw at it. Easily a good alternative to those seeking a Windows alternative to any Macs. For those of you only familiar with Dell & HP for Windows PC, forget about them and look into Lenovo. You will thank me for sure.
To Buy Or Not To Buy
Anyone in search of a powerful Windows laptop, look no further. Lenovo set out to craft a great laptop for all of your needs (entertainment, processing power, etc.) with the IdeaPad Z580. You can order yours online at Amazon or BestBuy for just over $650.
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