It has a decent processor and plenty of RAM (4 gigs) to better realize the advantages of 64-bit Windows. I may consider doubling up to 8 gigs in the future.
In my mind, 4 gigs should be the minimum amount of RAM offered with machines using 64-bit OS.
I bought the Lenovo G560 when the price dropped around Presidents Day The Microsoft store briefly had it for a real steal, but sold out very quickly. Luckily, that price drop influenced other vendors such as Amazon. This review pertains to the G560 at the bargain price I paid. Had I been willing to spend more, I might've gone in a different direction.
I have had this for almost a week now and these are my initial thoughts and observations, in no particular order:
** It seems solidly built, as to be expected from Lenovo.
** The surface of the lid is designed as to not collect fingerprints.
** The display is nice not too much glare.
** Great to have a numeric keypad!
** I find that I miss the convenience of having a "mute" button for the speakers. No mute button to be found.
** The webcam and microphone performances are sub-par. Not a big deal for me, but for others it might be.
** The G560 runs very cool. I had it compress and process some video for well over an hour and there was little noticeable increase in heat/warmth. The Intel P6200 is going to run a bit slower, but much cooler than a Core i3 processor I consider that an advantage in an entry-level laptop. The P6200 is plenty fast paired with the ample RAM.
** There are a number of convenient power management options that influence performance and battery life. The battery charge still expires fairly quickly, though.
** Likewise, there is great attention paid to ease of backup and system restoration. The "One Key" backup options are excellent and should be taken advantage of immediately. I recommend making "system default" backup dvds that will restore the machine to its "right out of the box" condition and then, after configuring the software to your liking, backing up the system to the default Lenovo partition.
** There is no HDMI out That would have been nice to have.
** The optical drive tray feels a bit flimsy, but I guess that is to be expected these days they don't build them like they used to. Not a big worry for something that can be replaced easily and inexpensively.
** There is not a lot of bloatware to remove. I have found that I dislike Office Starter and will replace it with Open Office.
** Likewise, once the trial McAfee Security Suite expires, I plan to replace it with the free Comodo Suite.
Avira is an excellent and highly rated free AV option as well and can be used in conjunction with the Windows Firewall and Windows Defender to provide decent security.
** The VeriFace log in pops up all the time, whether you use it or choose to use only a password to log in. You cannot shut it off you must uninstall VeriFace or click through it every time you log in.
** The G560 also features AnchorFree's HotSpotShield. This seems like a useful app for unsecured hotspots, but it does foist 3rd party advertising upon you and may or may not contain mild spyware. I haven't studied this version and I don't remember being presented with an EULA to look at. Older versions admitted to collecting tracking data in their EULAs...
If this is a feature you really want, I would suggest an alternative with a better reputation. There are a number to choose from, but I recommend Comodo's TrustConnect. [No, I don't work for Comodo :)But I volunteer in a number of Security Forums and find Comodo's free products to be excellent. You'll pay $20.00 annually for TrustConnect, though....]
** This model does indeed have the 5 in 1 card reader, just as advertised. It also has a USB/eSATA combo port in order to accommodate eSATA.
** These are the "Windows Experience Index" scores right out of the box. You are able to tweak various settings to improve these scores, if you so desire. System components are rated on a scale of 1 7.9:
Processor: Calculations per second --> Score of 5.8
RAM: Memory operations per second -> Score of 5.9
Graphics: Desktop performance for Windows Aero --> Score of 4.4
Gaming Graphics: 3D business and gaming graphics --> Score of 4.9
Primary hard disc: Disk data transfer rate --> Score of 5.5
All told, this is a pretty good value for what I paid for it. It runs all the software I want it to run and it does so quickly and without error. Obviously a week's ownership is not enough to assess durability, but the G560 seems to be solidly built.
Two thumbs up!!
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Pros:1) Matte skin all around (except the screen), non of that glossy plastic nonsense. Gives it a very solid feel, not cheap (though remove the stickers around the trackpad, even the windows, intel and lenovo experience ones. I feel it looks much better without it and your wrists won't get slippery whilst typing)
2) Full keyboard in a 15.6" laptop (number pad much appreciated)
3) Futureproof amount of RAM.
4) Dual core processor + Intel HD makes multitasking (even Youtube at 720P viewing) a breeze (just be sure you have Chrome installed to reap the benefits)
5) Price.
Cons:
1) Glossy screen, which is unfortunate but expected nowadays
2) Function and ctrl keys are switched on these for some reason. It's a minor annoyance but worth mentioning. Also the number pad on the right is a TAD thin, but I got monster fingers and didn't have much trouble using it. A thin numberpad > no numberpad .
3) Bloatware, but this is only bothersome for the first hour. I recommend CCleaner for the uninstallations and replace McAfee with Microsoft Security Essentials.
4) No HDMI port, which was unfortunate but expected. You still get VGA though and most HDTVs today still support it.
5) Webcam is a lame 0.3 MP. Don't expect much with it and be in a well lit area otherwise you might as well have it off. (Also, the microphone is under the Function and Ctrl key, but it doesn't seem to hinder audio performance much) **UPDATE** The other end can really hear you typing, so unless you are simply looking at the screen and talking and nothing else, I recommend a headset.
Overall, it's very solid and I didn't experience any keyboard flex. Typing on this gives me nostalgic feelings of the Model M IBM Keybord.
Once you clean it up, this machine rips through the boot up. Waking up from sleep is instant.
I never thought 4 GB of RAM would be such a difference (I have worked with pentium + 2GB RAM + Windows 7 laptops) but it really does give it a boost.
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Few months ago, I received this laptop as a gift from my dear friend. And this is my first 64bit computer. I loved ThinkPad 570 when it came out and I used it well. I always loved IBM/Lenovo products because they make solid and reliable computers. And this is no exception.[UPDATE 8/29/2012: I have installed Windows 8 RP (Release Preview) and everything works out of the box, including WiFi, hot keys (volume, brightness), and touchpad. Dualbooting with Win 7. Win 8 is much faster and performs better in: productivity, multumedia, web, online movies, and general computing. So do not be afraid to upgrade, if you desire Windows 8]
1. OVERALL QUALITY. [BUILD] The first impression is that the notebook feels solid. It does not feel cheap. From the edges to the center of the notebook, it is built tight and solid. The black plastic does not have the "flex" issue. It is sturdy. [FAN] The fan noise is quiet; you could adjust it through BIOS setting. [PROCESSOR] Intel P6200 is plenty processing power for everyday computing. Sure i3 or i5 will be more powerful, but for an average user like me, P6200 (2 Cores, 2.11 Ghz) is more than enough processing power for MS Office, web browsing, watching online movies, etc.
2. SCREEN. The screen resolution is 1366 x 768, which is sharp and clear enough for this price range. The screen is bright enough (I use 70% of the brightness and it is perfectly fine). The screen however is glossy finish instead of matte. Personally I prefer matte finish over glossy, but nowadays, glossy seems to be the standard. Generally speaking, glossy is better for entertainment and games, because it captures the resolution and the color well. Matte on the other hand, is great for office work and non-entertainment areas, because it is easy on the eyes (non-glare).
3. KEYBOARD. This full-sized keyboard is great! Vintage IBM keyboard, it is large enough and solid enough to type fast. The keyboard does not flex compared to other comparable notebooks in this price range. I do not use numeric pad, but numeric pad keys are smaller than the alphabet keys. Also this is "traditional" pc keyboard and not "Chiclet" styled keyboard.
4. DVD/CD DRIVE. The DVD/CD drive works well. It writes both CD and DVDs. But when you play a DVD movie, the drive is somewhat noisy.
5. WEBCAM. The webcam is average. It has .3 mega pixel camera, which is low resolution than the netbook Asus 1000HA which is 1.3 mp. It is adequate for its purpose.
6. AUDIO. The sound quality is surprisingly good! The laptop speaker is loud and clear enough to listen to songs without the earphone. But with the earphone, the sound is much better because you could listen to the details of the sound in depths.
7. SOFTWARES. Yes there are bloatwares (3rd party softwares), but you could easily remove them. I removed VeriFace program that recognizes your face to log in. I found it annoying and slowing down the boot up process. I only kept Lenovo Energy Management program, Pwer2Go, and Cyberlink YouCam programs. I replaced McAfee with FREE MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials), and the computer is flying!
8. PERIPHERALS. It has 3 USB ports, but NO HDMI port. I do not use or need HDMI, so it is moot point for me, but I know others NEED it, so you might have to consider other notebooks.
FEW Notes:
[1]. Upgrade your BIOS. The new BIOS just came out this year. This will fix the fan noise and minor screen issue when the computer awakes from Sleep mode.
[2]. This laptop is not really for portability. Consider this as your desktop replacement.
FOR LINUX users:
[1] Ubuntu 11.04 works out of the box. I tried LIVE CD and WiFi, touchpad, volume, and most of the hotkeys work out of the box.
[2] If you do not like Ubuntu's Unity theme, you could try Kubuntu 11.04 (works out of the box) or my choice, Elementary Unleashed (Dorian 1.1) Linux.
[3] I am dualbooting with Elementary Unleashed (Dorian 1.1) with Windows 7. Since G560 comes with 4 primary partitions, you need to delete one of them. But before you delete one partition, make recovery disks by using OneKey Recovery program that has been installed. It will make 3 DVDs of factory settings. Then, just delete (D:) partition and install your Linux there.
Overall, I love this notebook. Not fancy, dependable, rock solid, and fast. For the entry level price, you cannot find a better laptop than this. Highly recommended!
Honest reviews on Lenovo G560 0679ALU 15.6-Inch Notebook
Pros: Beautiful screen, some nice features. Compact for its screen size. This is the fastest budget laptop I've used (after all the bloatware and start up apps are removed/disabled). Respectable battery for a budget machine, just over 3 hours. Cool face recognition software, decent web cam. The sound is heaps better than lot of low end budget machines. The textured chassis is not a fingerprint magnet. This machine is perfectly adequate for the high school or college student to get 2-3 yrs plus use out of.I am so thrilled with these machines I bought 2. For the money, they can't be beat. I chose these over the HP 4250 and 625 because they have 4GB of ram and 64 bit windows.
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I picked this up for less then $400 when I needed a very basic laptop for a couple of computer projects I was working on. My 2 year old laptop suddenly stopped working in the middle of my projects and I was out of town and didn't have the time or the tools with me to repair it. I only needed the computer for a couple of weeks so I didn't want to spend much on it. I bought this computer fired it up and installed my software and restored my files from backup and I was back in business within one hour.Ok so on to the pros, very economical. It is hard to go wrong with that price. The screen is decent quality and and the keyboard was easy to use. The whole unit is lightweight with a nice thin case. I am pretty happy with the way it looks. Performance is decent and battery life is good.
On the negitive side, the unit only has 2 USB ports. The case uses low grade plastic and the speaker is subpar. The build quality is so, so and the hard drive is small and slow. The unit is short on documentation and light on extra software. They had to cut costs somewhere and this is where they cut costs.
Overall you get what you pay for. For less then $400 I had pretty low expectations. The laptop generally exceeded all my expectations and works fine on a very basic level. If your needs are very modest then you will do fine with this.
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