Laptops with screen sizes of 15.6 inches are still the most popular models, as they can provide the user with the most attractive combination of functionality, ergonomics, and often cost. Today we introduce you to the medium format laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Z510, which is offered in two color options, has an optical disc drive and the optimal hardware platform of a bunch of Intel processors and discrete graphics NVIDIA.

Design Lenovo IdeaPad Z510

Middle-sized laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 has a rather attractive design. White version is completely silver, and on the operation panel is not plastic, and metal, and Dark Chocolate version built on a contrast scheme – dark exterior of the device, and the “core” light. Note also narrowed to the front face of the body silhouette and profile sidewalls in the form of a shallow trough.

Cover which we received copies trimmed dark brown plastic with a matte surface, which hue varies considerably depending on the lighting. Mirrored metallic Lenovo logo rendered in the upper corner of the cover.

The lower housing part is made of the same plastic as the dark brown color of the cover, but its surface has practically no haze pleasant touch. Above the CPU fan can find a small rectangle of perforation in the middle of the bottom placed over a large grid where the cooling system. At the bend panels in the vicinity of the front edge of the loudspeaker acoustics. Despite the fact that the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 – a classic laptop, and not a super-slim ultrabook, its creators decided to make a non-removable battery.

The rear face of the body is a sandwich from the corresponding curves tops and bottoms. When the lid is open the lower part of the display unit is completely covered by this line, so that the connectors and other structural elements here. The remaining three faces are U-shaped element of silver plastic “under the metal.”

Narrow front face contains only a couple of activity indicators Power and Battery. Most of the right sidewall Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 takes the optical drive tray. Taken by him under the Kensington lock hole, and in the near zone to the user submitted a combined audio port, card reader port and USB 2.0. On the opposite side wall are two ports USB 3.0, video output HDMI, foldout network RJ45, analog D-sub, as well as radiator cooling systems, miniature recovery button OneKey Recovery system and power supply socket. 

Ergonomics Lenovo IdeaPad Z510

As we already mentioned, in contrast to the dark outer panels Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 both internal surfaces as possible, made lighter. Matte screen bezel is made of frosted same light gray plastic that looks at least strange. The quality of the image there is a serious claim, TN-matrix with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels can not boast of any special richness image nor wide viewing angles. The measured brightness of the screen ranged from 2 to 200 cd/m2.

Operating panel is finished in anodized aluminum sheet with a vertically oriented texture. In the lower right corner you can find relief logo line IdeaPad, taken out to the opposite corner with a cute button on the spot illuminated power button. Right under the display unit is a long ledge with the lid closed notebook he enters the corresponding niche in the bottom of the display unit.

Lenovo AccuType island keyboard with plastic gray substrate placed in a small recess. On the positive side keyboard Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 include well-chosen character stroke keys, key characteristic shape with a curved bottom edge, the presence of a dedicated numeric keypad layout and return a number of office keys. Not too liked the layout block arrows, wedged between the right part of the performance of buttons and “calculator” so finding them is simply impossible to touch. Also have a claim to excessive flexibility plastic substrate keyboard if you are used to work actively with the keys, the compliance of this may well be uncomfortable.

Close touchpad without separate buttons shifted to the left from the center topkeysa, but in terms of character keyboard unit it is exactly in the middle. In addition to its direct functions touchpad allows us to estimate the thickness of the sheet metal working panel, the edges of which are treated as a bevel.

Functionality Lenovo IdeaPad Z510

In terms of functionality Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 is a classic medium-format 15.6-inch laptop with optical drive, based on a bunch of Intel processors and discrete graphics NVIDIA. Note that in power saving mode the user can also use the built-in graphics core processor Intel HD Graphics 4600.

According Hotline.ua number of configurations of the model exceeds a dozen, while in all cases the models are equipped with TN-matrix with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels (CMN N156BGE-EA1), hard drive capacity of 1 TB (Seagate Momentus 5400 ST1000LM024/HN-M101MBB ) caches with 8GB SSD and discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M with 2GB of VRAM. For network connectivity modules meet Intel Wireless N7260 (Wi-Fi 802.11bgn), Realtek RTL8139/810x (Fast Ethernet) and Bluetooth 4.0.

Vary the type of processor (Intel Core i3/i5/i7), RAM (4/6/8 GB), and the availability of pre-installed operating system (DOS / Windows 8), resulting in the cheapest configuration costs around Rs 7,500, and for the most expensive asking about Rs 11,000.

We tested came modification Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 type Intel Core i5-4200M, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M (2GB), 1TB HDD, which showed the following results during testing performance. From a non-removable battery capacity 48 Wh laptop could hold nearly two hours at maximum load and 3 hours and 40 minutes in the emulation mode of reading.

Results Lenovo IdeaPad Z510

As a result, Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 – this middle-sized notebook with interesting discreet design that would be appropriate to look both at home and in the office. The disadvantages are quite flexible keyboard and poor quality of the screen, but other parameters did not disappoint. A full set of connectors, including two video immediately, as well as optical drive will allow use of any popular peripherals. And finally, just a half dozen hardware configurations, even the weakest of which is equipped with discrete graphics and terabytes of data storage greatly facilitate the selection of a particular model thin, corresponding to your wishes for functionality and financial capabilities.

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Today we introduce you to a 15.6-inch gaming laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Y500, which is characterized by the presence of the universal slots for plug-in modules in the form of a fan, hard drive, optical drive and discrete graphics card. In the latter case, the user is able to harness the power of two-card SLI-configuration of video graphics for games in the most modern designs.

Options

The gaming laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 comes in everyday pack of undyed cardboard. No spaceships, monsters, heroes with guns blazing or other characters of computer games on the box you will not see, so to determine the positioning of the model on the package will not work.

In the box you will find just the device itself, documentation, and a massive “brick” 170-watt power supply. The only noteworthy piece of packaging is to transform polypropylene latches in … stand for your laptop. This DIY version is hardly a particularly useful or practical, but at first it may well help to avoid overheating of the system.

Design

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 model is no different to the typical gaming solutions aggressive design, but a solid body thickness implies a powerful hardware stuffing, and black and red buttons hint at the fact that this is not a regular “office plankton”.

Laptop lid is finished in black sheet metal with a horizontally-oriented texture. Close lid side edges is slightly curved to facilitate visually body silhouette. The manufacturer’s logo is made with black, so it does not stand out too much against the dark cover. 

The base case is made of black plastic with interesting texture and two air grilles, and its shape is characterized by the same curves as the cover. The left side plate is decorated symmetrically on the right, although the second slot for plug-in modules are not there.

Front and two side faces Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 body made ​​in a single piece of plastic rough practical in turn is composed of a rear outer face of the battery, the two hinge loops and two curved elements of the bottom. Accordingly, connectors, and controls back there, and on the front face of decisions did not go only five status indicators, but also a full-sized card reader. 

On the left side wall taken out a pair of audio ports, “always-on” port USB 2.0, Kensington lock hole and the aforementioned slot Ultrabay. The right side panel contains two ports USB 3.0, connectors HDMI, RJ45, D-sub, as well as radiator cooling system, the charger and the button recovery utility company OneKey Recovery.

UltraBay slot

With further study, the notebook was found that the most interesting part of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is a base case, since this is where the main elements of the Ultrabay. In order to take advantage of its capabilities need to start to remove the removable battery, and then move the extra clip in the battery compartment, and then with one hand to pull down the slider in the center of the bottom, and the second – remove the optional plug-in module. 

In our case, it was an additional discrete card, but depending on the chosen configuration in its place could be: optical drive, second hard drive, an additional cooling fan or a regular plug.

Installing a removable module in reverse order. Thus, the owners of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 can independently choose which features they want to improve the laptop.

Ergonomics

Interior panels Lenovo IdeaPad Y500, as well as external, are decorated in a rather simple way. The display unit is adapted to the classical scheme it uses two thin and rather broad loop (especially in the upper part) of the screen border impractical glossy plastic. 

The operating panel is a sheet of metal with holes for the touchpad, keyboard, and a pair of multimedia speakers from JBL. Solid square touchpad makes it easy to handle the interface of the operating system, but during the game it’s worth to prefer an external mouse. The only thing that may not like it when you look at the laptop in the open state, so it’s glossy design elements – screen bezel and speakers, as well as backing keyboard.

Thanks to the red sidewalls of each key island keyboard looks great during the day, but it looks even better at night with the backlight on, the level of which can be adjusted in the range of two grades. The concave surface of the keys made for greater user comfort, and should be commended, and tactile characteristics of the keyboard. At the same time talk about any particular game optimization keyboard is not necessary, since it is not marked even the standard cross control, not to mention the more subtle improvements.

Functionality

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 notebook is available with a glossy 15.6-inch matrix TN + film with a standard resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels or optional Full HD screen with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. We were ranked second screen option, its viewing angles are traditionally for the technology are small, so care should be taken to choose the optimum angle display unit. The brightness of the display backlight is adjustable from 10 to 250 cd/m2 in the range of 10 shades, which is enough for most models use.

Model Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is equipped with processors Intel Core “Ivy Bridge”, RAM 6 GB and above, as well as one or two discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M or 750M. A more recent modification processor-based Intel Haswell received index Y510, but it is just beginning to appear on the market. An interesting feature of the system is to lock the integrated graphics core into the processor, the laptop uses a discrete video, even when running on batteries.

As a result of testing in the configuration of the laptop Intel Core i5-3230M, 6GB RAM and two video cards NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, running in SLI-mode, the following results were shown in actual benchmarks. The battery life on a removable 6-cell battery capacity of 72 Wh (6700 mAh, 10.8 V) was 1 hour 50 minutes at maximum load, and three and a half hours in the emulation mode of reading.

The highest results in the graphical benchmark were obtained as expected in SLI-configuration, however, and not without a little surprise. As it turned out later, the easiest test SLI-configuration was even worse than odnokartochnaya.

The fall of 3D-performance in the transition to a single graphics card increases with the complexity of the benchmarks. If Ice Storm was performed better than in the case of SLI-configuration, then, for each subsequent test results falling in an arithmetic progression from 5% to 45%.

Finally, the third mode, we have shown how strongly reduced graphics performance when running on battery power, even if you use two graphics cards simultaneously. In the simplest test (Ice Storm) results were down “only” 3.5 times in the benchmark average complexity (Cloud Gate) values ​​dropped 5 times already, but the most revealing look at the comparison of the results of game test Fire Strike, where we got results in a drop 20 (!) times.

So the question is truly mobile gaming, as it is depicted by some marketers (on a bench in the park without a diesel generator in the bush), even for the most powerful in the inpatient gaming notebook is closed.

Operation

During the test operation of mission-critical claims to the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 has not arisen. Not too liked the gloss on the screen bezel and keyboard backing, as well as the release of hot air from a second graphics card for the right hand, in which the player usually holds the arm. I liked the metal insert in the right places, stylish keyboard, both in daylight and at night (backlit) version and of course the modular Ultrabay. 

The results

As a result, Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 – a productive gaming laptop made ​​in a stylish metal body that can boast of a universal slot UltraBay, allowing the simultaneous use of two discrete graphics card NVIDIA. If you like this model, but you want to get more actual hardware platform, the wait is definitely worth visiting selling an updated version of Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 on chips Intel Haswell. 

Liked

+ Modular system upgrade functionality UltraBay
+ The ability to use two graphics cards in SLI-mode
+ Stylish body semimetallic
+ Keyboard with adjustable red backlighting

Do not like it

– Hot air distribution under the right arm using a second graphics card
– Insertion of glossy plastic
– The lack of game optimization keyboard

The post Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 Review appeared first on Raqwe.

Today’s most trendy option notebook-transformer is the format of “tablet plus dock”, but this does not mean that evolution is “one-piece” Transformers stopped. Manufacturers continue to work to improve the classic design, offering all the more unusual and original versions, which including applies Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13.

The family of the Transformers Lenovo Ideapad Yoga was announced back at CES 2012 , but the actual sales of these devices began much later, because the manufacturer was planning to bring them to market with a new generation of operating systems from Microsoft, which at that time was not yet ready. We are not talking about accidentally Lenovo Ideapad Yoga in the plural, because initially within the family were two models – the 11.6-inch and 13.3 Yoga 11 Yoga 13-inch, which differed not only in size and weight, but also the version of the OS . 

If the high-Yoga 13 ultrabook was typical for energy-efficient platform from Intel, then Yoga 11 from a hardware point of view, was more of a smartbook, because it was based on ARM-processor NVIDIA Tegra 3. Such a course was well justified, because the output of models Yoga was timed for the announcement of two versions of Windows, so Windows 8 has got older and younger – Windows RT. Interestingly, exactly a year later, at CES 2013, Lenovo unveiled the Yoga 11S on energy-efficient platform from Intel, and in July of this year, withdrew from the production of the original version of the ARM-Yoga 11 as not live up to expectations (which is not surprising, since no one of the Windows RT devices, including the reference Microsoft Surface, never became popular.)

Options
Ultrabook Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13 comes standard vertical packaging made ​​from recycled cardboard, but inside you will find not the usual plastic bag, and another type of gift box. Modern minimalist black box contains the ultrabook, a charger and a set of documents, neatly placed in the cells of the pan. 

As you can see, the standard package is quite austere, but if you wish you can add brand cover, external drive, optional power adapter, etc. Note that the device is available in two color options – Silver Gray quiet and bright Clementine Orange.

Design, materials
Two major exterior panels Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 – the cover and bottom are made ​​of colored plastic with a metal pleasant to the touch softtach coating. The cover contains only the manufacturer’s logo, on the basis of the body you can find service information and a series of holes for the intake and exhaust air cooling system.

The internal surface of the ultrabook, including the sidewalls foundation hull and the display unit is completely black. The touch screen ultrabook covered glossy protective glass, but with a tight curved panel Windows hardware button is made of practical softtach plastic. The upper part of the border has a webcam with an activity indicator.

Sides housing ducked slightly compared with the edges of the lid and the bottom. The back edge is empty, unless you consider a fragment of the lattice cooling system. On the front you can find a miniature restore button OneKey Recovery, power key with integrated LED power indicator and activity. 

Left side panel Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 includes a volume rocker, a microphone, combined audio port connector, USB 3.0, video output HDMI. Finally, on the right side plate taken out the lock button accelerometer, full-sized card reader, USB 2.0 port and a flat charger socket. As you can see, the choice of connectors at the Lenovo Yoga 13 is not too large, only two USB, one video output and the lack of a network RJ45. 

Black plastic panel working Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 different original texture “under the skin”, the keyboard and touchpad are located in small depressions. The keyboard layout is quite good, it is possible to note the characteristic shape of the keys with a rounded bottom portion and the “backward” scheme of a series of functions that allows you to control the relevant parameters ultrabook without modifier keys Fn. Large touchpad without dedicated keys and with a slightly rough touch panel copes with its responsibilities.

Functionality
In Ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 uses high-quality 13.3-inch IPS-matrix with increased to 1600 by 900 pixels resolution. Wide viewing angles allow you to work comfortably with any usage. The brightness can be manually adjusted in the range of 5 to 260 cd/m2 or rely on the automatic settings based on the light sensor. Capacitive type touch panel supports recognition up to 10 simultaneous touches and greatly simplifies the use of the touch interface Modern UI. 

Ultrabook Lenovo Yoga 13 can be equipped with one of the class of energy-efficient processors Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors with integrated graphics Intel HD Graphics 4000. RAM can be equal to 4 or 8 GB for data storage SSD stands for 128 or 256 GB, and the capacity of non-removable lithium-polymer battery is 54 Wh. 

We tested configuration came Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 based on Intel Core i5-3317U with 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD, which scored 3570 points in the PCmark7, 2570 points in PCmark8 Home, 580 points in 3Dmark11, 3200 points in 3Dmark Cloud Gate 4.7 points and performance index Windows. 

The battery life was 2 hours and 20 minutes at maximum load, and 5 and a half hours in the emulation mode of reading.

Battery Eater, Classic Preset (maximum load)

Battery Eater, Reader Preset (emulation reading)

Operation
The main advantage of the transforming mechanism of Yoga is that it looks and feels like a regular notebook hinge. No awkwardness or sverhoriginalnyh design – just two metal hinges that hold the display.

In the laptop screen hinge allows you to reject all the way to the table, but where a conventional laptop limiter is activated, the display can be tilted Yoga another 90 degrees, and then is folded into tablet mode, pressing the outer surface of the lid to the bottom of the laptop. Thus, Lenovo Yoga can be used in the same four basic modes as any other transformer: a notebook, multimedia stand mode, Presentation mode, and of course, the tablet mode. 

Naturally, there were at Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13 and without flaw, which manifests itself in the tablet mode – in this case, still more accustomed to feel under the hands of a solid rear panel, not an array of key-activated.

Note that in both end positions of the main transformer units (base and display) are locked by the magnets at the top edge of the display and a front portion of the base body, and after crossing mark 180 degrees and automatically turns off the keyboard encoder.

The results
The original transformer ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 with touch IPS-screen is a great alternative to bulky Transformers classic design, so will certainly appeal to lovers of fine minimalist solutions. 

Liked
+ Original design of the transformation,
+ IPS-matrix with a resolution of 1600 by 900 pixels
+ Design, quality materials
+ Magnetic lock display in the boundary positions
+ Dedicated volume keys and lock the position sensor

Do not like it
– The keys to hand in tablet mode
– The minimum number of connectors
– No keyboard backlight
– Not the high autonomy

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