Lenovo Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop

I did research before choosing a laptop, and this one seemed to have the features I was looking for: 15" or larger screen, good processor and plenty of RAM, and a brand that consistently gets good customer reviews.

Positives first: The LED screen is very vibrant. It is not one of the top-of-the-line screens that is equally vibrant from any angle, but this is an excellent screen for the price range. The laptop itself is sharp-looking and light-weight.

Negatives: The touchpad is infuriating. I appreciate that it is set up like a Mac so you can use two fingers to scroll or zoom in or out, but it is very spotty in its sensitivity. I found that I have to click two or three times before it recognizes what I'm doing as a click. This in spite of the fact that the pad actually moves and makes an audible clicking noise when you click. I have read some other online reviews that mention the touchpad specifically, and it seems that this is just the way this model works. A driver can be downloaded to improve the touchpad function, but even after that I still had problems.

The shift and arrows keys also have an untraditional placement on the keyboard. The shift key is significantly smaller than normal, and the up arrow is to the right, leading me to occasionally hit the up arrow instead of the shift key.

I am typing this review on a different Lonovo laptop, a ThinkPad Edge, and the touchpad on it is great. The primary physical difference is that the ThinkPad has two distinct bars for left and right clicking, where on the Z580 it is one large pad.

I am returning the Z580 for a different laptop, because even after updating the driver for the touchpad, I find it less frustrating to use an older computer with a lower grade processor than to put up with a zig-zagging cursor that rarely detects when I'm clicking.

I have only recently received this laptop. I am intermediate when it comes to being tech savvy. I have been building my own for a few years now and bought this for the capabilities that I saw it would have. I ran several stress test and it did wonderful. I would highly suggest this laptop for those who don't just want a middle of the run computers. It will do what I want and not really stress.

Buy Lenovo Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop Now

I have been shopping around for a new laptop for a while, and based upon reviews across the web I decided to buy this product. I must say I am most impressed with the performance capability and sleek design of the Lenovo series of laptops.

Overall I have encountered no issues with regard to general performance and usability of the device, Windows 8 takes some getting used to though. Most of the software apps that came with Lenovo's install were not considered useful though so I uninstalled them.

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The best surprise came after receiving it and discovering it is fully equipped for BlueTooth using the very capable Broadcom software. Rest assured, this Z580 has all the basics.

This Z580 offers some high end components in this low budget introductory unit that allows all the abilities that people love about traversing the web, and there is no lag or interruption while streaming video or music. Doubling the RAM memory is possible but not really beneficial since a step upward to a Y Series Lenovo will net better results for the gamers. I'm gaining a real appreciation for the sturdiness built into Lenovo products and for the wide availability of Lenovo product data sheets. This Z-PC is ready for just about everything from the get-go, and it has an attractive platinum plum tint on its outer shell that shows an amazing resemblance to brushed aluminum.

One cautionary note is that after purchasing your new Lenovo, create all the factory backups before making any adjustments to the hard drive. If just getting familiar with Lenovo products, one discovers quickly there is a new level of intricacy sitting in front of them, and a step taken too far may have no return path. Possibly more sophisticated than most people care to delve into, Lenovo is loaded with innovation, and a wide assortment of possibilities are readily available.

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I need to dual boot my laptop and I've never had issues doing so before. Then Windows 8 comes along with UEFI and screws things up royally. Installing ubuntu on this machine took me back to the 90s when installing linux used to feel like touch and go. This laptop in particular has a BIOS that doesn't allow it to boot anything but Windows and RHEL in UEFI mode. I tried legacy booting, but the install got so royally screwed up that I had to factory reset everything. I lost a couple of days worth of work done to install the software I needed. I'm considering using my old laptop which has issues but still lets me work.

Aside from the UEFI, the trackpad is very annoying and the keyboard key placement is off. I haven't used a unified trackpad before, but this must definitely be one of the worse off executions out there. Like another reviewer noted, the sensitivity is wrong. The pointer stops dead in it's tracks when I'm trying to get across the screen. Right/Left clicking while moving the cursor is very clumsy and difficult. I have an old T61 that's a joy to use because of it's excellent keyboard , trackpad and physical buttons. I wish Lenovo didn't try to change what's not broken.