When my husband's 6 year old Dell Inspiron laptop died, I knew I wanted one of two brands as a replacement: HP or Lenovo. I wanted to spend the least amount of money possible, and that ultimately was the reason for this Lenovo purchase.
Within the last month I found my daughter a laptop that truly surpised me in terms of its quality and speed: HP 2000-2b24NR 15.6" Notebook PC, and wanted to get that one for him, but the price on that model had increased so I went with my second choice this Lenovo G580.
First Glance:
The Lenovo I purchased was built in China for Lenovo on 1/13/13, with a Intel Core i3 (3rd generation) processor. The build quality of the Lenovo is actually a hair better than the HP with essentially the same specs at the same list price. The laptop feels sturdy. Around the keyboard is metal, not plastic, which definitely gives it a higher-end feel.
The finish on this laptop is more matte than glossy, however it does pick up fingerprints just as easily. In a brown color, which for me verges on eggplant (purplish-brown), with striations or faint streaking, it's not like every other 15.6" laptop PC you've seen. I like the look, but some will not.
Two USB 3.0 ports and one HDMI, as well as one USB 2.0 and a VGA port were all selling points, and are easily accessible on the left side of the laptop.
I'm not really happy that the AC port is on the right side of the laptop, but that has to do with the fact that where it's used in my home, the outlet plug-in is to the left and the cord has to run along the back of the machine if used while tethered.
Firing It Up:
The Windows 8 set-up went quickly. Having recently done it I knew I didn't want to get a Microsoft email and set-up a password for my husband (a relative novice 'old dog'), who I didn't want to feel as though he was struggling to get signed-in. For most this would be adviseable, but by simply saying 'no' to setting up an email and not entering a password while setting up the PC, that was bypassed.
The keyboard is not backlit, which would have been nice. The full-sized keyboard includes a numeric keypad to the right, which isn't standard on all laptops anymore.
The 15.6" display sits slightly lower than most laptops as the hinges on the laptop are flush with the bottom of the PC and not set-up like most laptops I've used.
The power settings out of the box are not set on 'performance', which dims the monitor and gives somewhat sluggish performance to the PC. I did the Windows Updates -the PC will do this for you after 2 days of operation, but why wait? I then went into Settings and changed the PC power management from 'Balanced' to 'Performance'. It gave the Lenovo a pick-me-up in speed and brightened up the display.
I also added some free programs: Glary Utilities, CCleaner, Malwarebytes, and VLC (a multi-platform media player) that works very well on all my PCs. After running these programs to optimize the system, I tested out the DVD drive.
The DVD-RW drive in the Lenovo was a bit noisy, and the integrated sound is not great. While I could view movies on the laptop, it wasn't enjoyable. It would be OK for occasional viewing of DVDs, but if you were looking for an entertainment PC, this wouldn't be it.
You can use the HDMI port to share online streaming from Netflix and HuluPlus with a bigger screen not having to worry about the whiring of the DVD drive. Viewing streaming content would also be OK on your PC, as the display is not excellent, but it's certainly OK for the size of the screen with integrated Intel HD graphics and 1366 x 768 pixels max resolution.
A cool feature that I discovered while in Settings and tweaking the power management settings, is that this laptop has a fan that blows dust out of the housing! A great idea, as dust and heat are the two biggest killers of laptops next to dropping them. Anytime you want to do it, it's as close as a click.
Speaking of 1-click convenience, Lenovo also put in a one click restore function part of Windows 8 on the desktop. So if this laptop starts acting fussy, you can have it go through a repair very easily. After you've set-up your PC, be sure to do the back-up (putting it to an external drive like: Seagate Backup Plus 3 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (STCA3000101) is ideal, but you can also put it on the recovery side of the hard drive. You'll be given options, and it's very easy to do.
Because my husband has never played with Windows 8 and because I knew he'd be frustrated with something new, I set up this PC with a program called Start8. It makes it possible to have any Windows 8 PC start up and look like a Windows 7 one, complete with a Windows 7 start menu that you can customize to your needs. Users of Windows 7 who miss this, can easily install this program and try it out for free for 30 days. If you like it, it's only $5 to purchase the license for it. There are other methods to do this, but none quite as easy.
I suggest doing a search for the LifeHacker article: How to Fix Windows 8's Biggest Annoyances to learn more.
Once I'd done the Windows Update, cleaned things out with Glary Utilites, Malwarebytes and CCleaner, and installed Start8, I ran a scan using McAfee Antivirus which came preinstalled with a 30 day license.
I also removed all software that had 'buy' attached to it (including Microsoft Office 2010). Programs that were put on for users to acquire apps or games again, for a fee, were also removed. NOTE: Install Google Chrome (free) and then pick and choose their free apps and extensions for these goodies.
This bloatware was annoying, and more than I found on the HP or any other PCs in recent memory. NOTE: Any easy way to find these programs is to click around, make a list and then open CCleaner's 'Tools' to see a list of programs and uninstall as needed.
Final Thoughts:
The Lenovo G580 is a solid machine for students and home users who are not looking for an entertainment center, but rather an everyday workhorse for email, Internet, occasional streaming video via Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and HuluPlus. At 5.7 pounds, it's manageable for students to carry around in a Targus Groove BTS Backpack Case Designed for 15.6-Inch Laptops TSB152US (Black with Grey Accents).
If you want to add to this PC's performance, you can boost it to 8GB of total memory an easy DIY upgrade that's fairly cheap and easy to do. Not necessary with this PC, but always a good idea in my opinion, for getting the most out of your investment.
Kingston ValueRam 4GB PC3-10600 CL9 204-Pin SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR1333D3S9/4G is a good product, but check to see what's installed in your machine prior to purchase as if yours has two 2GB if you buy one 4GB you'll have 6GB total memory versus the 8GB max. It may be necessary to remove existing memory completely and install new to max out this system.
It's build quality is excellent, and my husband is thrilled with this laptop. Those two things make this PC's bloatware, less than stellar sound and video performance, and a noisy DVD-RW drive, bearable at this low price point.
If you're looking for a gaming or entertainment PC, keep looking. However, if you have lower expectations and want a sturdy laptop for basic tasks like email and Internet surfing on a daily basis, you will be happy with this Lenovo.
UPDATE: 8/5/13
PC is still going strong. I installed a free program: Obit Advanced Systemcare 6, which cleans and maximizes performance. I still use CCleaner and Glary Utilities too, but find that Systemcare is a nice addition to keep this system running smoothly.
UPDATE: 9/9/13
I'm not sure whether it was 'user error' or the PC's OS (Windows 8, 64-bit) is to blame, but all of a sudden it would boot, but nothing would open. I couldn't get to system restore, and unfortunately I'd not taken the proper steps to create a Windows 8 bootable USB drive. (I know... I know... make sure you do it though!) I had to resort to 'OneKey' restoration to 'out of the box'. Not a big deal since my husband had 6 favorites and little else on his PC, but still irksome.
There's a small button directly to the right of the power button, this is the OneKey Recovery button. If you press it directly after the power button and while the Lenovo screen is up, you get the option to restore your system. This makes it like out of the box from the factory, so it's a last resort if you want to save your stuff. OneKey is very easy to use and worked like a charm. I followed the recovery by doing a Windows Update to get all the current Windows updates. The whole process took about 1 hour.
I recommend making a bootable USB drive and a back-up before you need to use OneKey Recovery, but it's definitely nice to have if you can't seem to make anything else work.
I think Windows 8 must have been corrupted. (I'm not a Windows 8 fan, but as of April 2014, Microsoft will stop issuing updates for Windows 7, thus not supporting it. Looks like we're stuck with Windows 8 unless we switch to Macs!) My daughter's HP running essentially the same set-up hasn't had the issues the Lenovo has had, but she's a more savvy PC user than my husband, so again, not sure if this is the PC or the user. I still like the build quality of this PC and can't justify lowering the star rating for it based upon the belief that this is an OS issue more than a PC issue.
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Bought it to be used as a workhorse in molecular cell bio lab. Works reliably interfaced to all kinds of lab equipment. The large screen is a must in such a situation and does not take up bench space like a desktop would. Keyboard is good quality with good audible bounce. Lenovo is industrial strength and reliable. Great price for Windows 8.
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Sent this to Lenovo:
Here is my tirade. From my amazon purchase. As a small business we just don't do business like you guys Lenovo. We would be done. Out of business.
From my Amazon review:
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Great computer,maybe hardware issue oops... Not a fan of Lenovo any more!, December 10, 2012
By Leigh
This review is from: Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Glossy Brown IMR) (Personal Computers)
Got the computer in a timely mannor, thanks Amazon. Got it up and running, I was excited to try Windows 8. I was taking the leap. I like Windows 8 and after 5 minutes of getting used to the new interface it was working fine for me. We did buy this computer for our 14yr son and so it was his turn to have some fun. It worked well, very fast. Then day 2. He was playing his favorite game, and called me over because the computer was frozen. Could not do anything with it. Hard boot. No good. Used the "one key recovery" feature, to roll back to original settings. Came back up for a bit then, would not load Windows any more at all. Talked to the nice lady at Lenovo and she offered to send factory recovery disks at no charge. I will update this when we try to recover. Great computer, no so sure about the software, may need a few updates before Win 8 is perfect.
Update Dec 20th : Lenovo sent recovery disks. Attempted recovery with Lenovo on the phone to guide me. Did not work, the computer is going back to be repaired. Not too happy now, but cannot complain about the service, it was fine. I hope the machine works properly when it gets back, will update.
Update Jan 17th : Still waiting. They are replaceing the motherboard and do not have the correct one in stock at the repair center it is at, so they say, must come from China or something, not a very happy customer at this point.
Update Jan 29th : Lenovo is now not the company I would recomend
Update Feb 16th : Finally have the computer back. It is running well. Lennovo support was terrible giving mis-information and outright lies were told to us. According to the "Lenovo Depot Repair Center Repair Action Report" that came back with the machine, the repair was replace hard drive. The telephone support told us that the motherboard needed to be replaced and it was not available and that is why the repair was taking over 5 weeks. If it was jus t a HDD replacement it should have taken no time at all. There is no problem finding a HDD at a repair depot I would hope. I am a very unhappy customer Lenovo. I hope that some people will think twice about buying any product from you. As a small business owner, if something this bad happened, I would bend over backward to make sure my customer was happy in the end. No such thing with Lenovo. I asked maybe if they could put in an extra 4GB of ram to help make up for my inconvience, no reply. The only thing that really surprised me was that we actually got our computer back. Lenovo you need to seriously look at how you treat your customers.
Really, how could you let this type of thing happen? I'm pretty sure out of the "12 people found this helpful" you probably lost a sale, maybe more than one. Bad business Lenovo.
Honest reviews on Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)
I purchased this exact model of the Lenovo G580 for $360 on Office Max (Limited time offer) and it came to $390 shipped. I have NOTHING bad to say about this laptop. Many say that "Windows 8 Sucks" but I LOVE it, especially when you apply the "classic shell" it operates just as Windows 7 with the benefit of all the apps of Windows 8. The ram is sufficient but since upgrading is possible, I will do it just for S&G's, probably to 8GB or so. The Core i3 3120M is AMAZING and better than most computers I have used in the past is baseline Pentium's and Core 2 Duo's. It hasn't skipped a beat and is LIGHTNING fast. Plays Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)on full settings flawlessly with the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics which also are surprisingly superb for medium gaming and HD video. The feel is great, the keyboard is comfortable and around the keyboard seems to be aluminum. Very sturdy and looks amazing. I have not used the 3.0 ports but it is great that they are available for future use. The laptop is surprisingly light compared to my girlfriends 2008 HP Dv5 and is easy on the shoulder. The fan is ULTRA quiet and you have to hold it to your ear to hear if it is even running, it also has a cool "auto" fan cleaning feature under "Lenovo Power Management". Startup is QUICK.
An absolute beauty for ANYONE, for school, for work, and for entertainment. Who would want anything more? Completely impressed with Lenovo and their craftsmanship. I spent SO long to find an Acer but their pricepoints with comparable hardware just dont compare at all.
BUY THIS IMMEDIATELY, do not look any further.
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I needed a cheap, inexpensive laptop that was powerful enough to handle Visual Studio and Database development tools. I found that this machine is well up to the task of a hardcore developer. What is great is that you can expand the RAM to 8 GB (4 GB from the manufacturer). Another good aspect is that the keys of the keyboard aren't easy for kids to try to pull off :)
