Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 user reviews (Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.40GHz)

Pros - Beautiful 1080p screen with great angles
- Easily upgradable
- Supports SSD cache drive (MSATA format) that you can install yourself of get pre-configured with a 16 gb version
- Well above average touch pad.
- Runs almost cool gaming! It's not hot.

Cons - Keyboard is great to type on but I find myself losing the home key positions too easily. I think it's the offset due to the keypad that throws me off.

Summary I bought the Y500 16gb Ram, 16gb SSD version at Frys. They matched the best price I could find, which was at Best Buy online for $1164. It's unbelievable that you can buy a 1080p dual GPU laptop that is fully loaded for this price.

To the most important point to most who would consider this, it actually runs warm, not hot, when playing 3D games. At no point does the palm or keyboard area get hot. I was simply amazed. The airflow goes out both sides of the case and seems to work really well.

This is running dual Nvidia 650Ms based on the most current kepler architecture. They can easily be overclocked to perform at or above the level of the 660s. And did I mention there are two of them!?

My only real complaints are the power plug and Windows 8. I wish other PC vendors would adopt magnetic power adapters like Apple and MS (they use one on the Surface). They works great and help prevent yanking your perfectly good laptop off the table when you hit the cord.

Windows 8 is a story of duality. Incredibly fast and yet inconsistent. Sometimes you can use the clean new Surface like UI and other times it shunts you off to the old desktop. It's jarring. They need to clean that up.

If you game on the go or simply want a wicked fast laptop at an amazing price then look no further.

Pros Mid-range core i7 available under $1k
15" screen is 1080p.
Large hard drive(1 TB)
Fast boot-up (16 GB SSD).
Duel GPUs!
16 GB of 1.6 ghz RAM
JBL sound!
Doesn't look overdone, despite glow.
LOW price of $1103.20 ("Web Price" of 1379.00) as configured.

Cons Arrow keys extend far to the right, the right arrow is below the numeric keypad.
Touch-pad takes getting used to, accidental gestures or mouse movement may occur.
1 TB HDD is slower than ideal.
NOT an Ultrabook: 5.95 lbs, 1.5" thick.

Summary This is a truly remarkable machine in that it manages to pack all of this performance into a 15" frame with relatively normal size and price.

A comparable XPS does not exist.
An Alienware M17x would cost over $1850 to have the same specs, but 40% the GPU power.
Or $2050 for a comparable GPU.

How-about a Cyber-Power? well, even getting SLI or a comparably powerful individual GPU in one will set you back $1840, at least.

HP? well... a comparably priced Envy dv6-quad can get the same specs... minus the GPU... which is 35% as powerful with only half the GDDR5. Actually, you could get it, if their website wasn't bugged requiring you to buy it with only 8 GB of RAM.

Simply put, there is no other laptop that offers >1.4 Teraflops Graphics performance, with at least 12 GB RAM, a 3.4 GHZ i7, and a 1080p display for anywhere near that low a price.



My rating: (0 = worthless, 5 = typical 10 = the best in the world) comparison vs. all modern laptops.

Performance: 8/10, not the best in the world, but a year or two ago, such graphics performance was nearly unheard of in mainstream laptops. price adjusted: 10.
Portability: 5/10, run-of-the-mill 15" form-factor with average battery and slightly above average weight. price adjusted: 5.
Pricing: 4/10, higher than average, but still relatively affordable.
Style: 8/10, doesn't look out of the ordinary from the sides, but it is stunning but elegant everywhere else. price adjusted: 9.
Features: 6/10, Webcam and mic, Bluetooth, 2x USB 3.0, Charging USB, no touch screen. Numeric Keypad. price adjusted: 6.
Usability: 7/10, 1080p helps a lot! Numeric pad helps as well, caching SSD is nice as well. price adjusted: 6.
Overall, an amazing combination of performance and affordability.

Pros Slick design with red, multi-level backlighting
Full sized, easy to use keyboard
Internal speed and power to spare
Full 1080p resolution screen
Excellent for gaming at high detail settings
Boots and wakes from sleep quickly

Cons Trackpad slightly hard to use with no separate buttons, but most will likely use external mouse
Windows 8 can be jarring at first, but downloading Classic shell can fix this

Summary So I've had my Y500 for close to a week now (purchased a $999 model from Amazon quite similar to the reviewed model) and I have to say, I'm very impressed with its performance. The keyboard is quite comfortable and easy to type on, it wakes up from sleep in a snap and so far screams through games like Team Fortress 2 and Super Monday Night Combat with high detail settings on. Even Windows 8 hasn't been a problem, though I did download Classic Shell for it to make it a bit more like normal. I also highly appreciate the one always-on USB port for charging my smartphone while I sleep. As noted before and elsewhere, the trackpad on the computer itself isn't the bast, but most people, myself included will likely use an external mouse for those aspects.

Overall, if you demand or desire a bit more power under the hood of your laptop and aren't on the ultrabook bandwagon, the Lenovo Y500 is definitely one to consider. Definitely remember to check Lenovo's website directly if you're interested, they just updated this line with brand new graphics cards, albeit a single one, and start in the mid $800 range. Any model with the dual graphics configuration, you'll have to obtain through a retail store like Best Buy or Amazon.