Looking at this product for what it is, a low / mid end gaming laptop, I think it's a good product and well priced. What this product is not is a Think Pad. This is from Lenovo's consumer line, not their business line. The Think Pads are really nice, but they cost almost 2x as much feature per feature. This is also not a gaming powerhouse. My wife's 17" Sager gaming machine out performs this in every respect, but it also cost nearly 3 x times much.
The reason I give this computer 5 stars is price verse features. Most machines specked out the same way cost 10 to 20% more. It's also from Lenovo who seems to have decent customer support even for their consumer equipment. For me, it's a good travel laptop with enough video and processing power to play most modern games and run Creative Studio when I'm away from my desk.
I have been using this laptop for 15 days and until now I have no cons about the hardware. It's very fast, you can play several games (tested: Starcraft 2, Counter Strike Source, Call of Duty MW2, Far Cry 2) and the sound is amazing. Before it I had a Sony Vaio C2D T6600, and the only thing i'm missing is the keyboard and the keyboard skin to protect it.
Now, lets talk about the software: it comes with a lot of bloatware from Lenovo. The hard disk comes with 4 partitions so you can't create a new one. You i'll have to delete one, shrink the "c:"(that comes with more then 400gb) and then create a new partition with the size you choose. BUT BE CAREFUL: before you do this, you have to create the restore DVDs because if you change the partitions the lenovo software to create the restore DVDs will not work anymore.
Another issue is the fingerprint magnetic case.
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I've been using this laptop for about 2 months, and i can say that is the perfect desktop replacement. i'll give 4 stars and a half to this machine
Pros:
1.the core i5 processor is really fast and can handle every program that you need to run, and with the added of the turbo boost is even more faster when the aplication that you're running needs it.
2.the graphics are AWESOME. I've been playing dirt 3, fifa 11, assasins creed brotherhood, grid, mafia II, and all this games run really smooth and great, using high details in 1366x768(that is a maximun resolution of the display) that is a little less display that someone can expect, but is enough for all multimedia aplications. the ati 5730 card gives amazing graphics and turn this laptop into a really capable gamers machine, and even better than some asus or alienware games laptops, that can surpase the 1000$, and the switchable graphics system work wonders in this machine. This thing flyes baby.
3.the 4 gb of ram memory are more than enough to run everything that you throw to this laptop. and if 4 gb is not enough, you always can upgrade to 8 gb!.
4.the hard disk, is not 500GB HDD. it has about 470gb at 5200 rpm, but its all right. i recomend that in the future replace the storage unit, but for 748$ its a true bargain.
5.the desing of the laptop its really atractive and modern. looks like a intelectual gamers laptop. ha ha ha
Cons:
1.the build quality can be better. this is a really delicate laptop, (thats why i say this is a desktop replacement). its all plastic everywhere, and the structure, keyboard and display area bends, at a point, that you could be worry, and because of the size (15,6")for some people it can be dificult to transport.
2.-no blue ray burner optical unit.
3.it gets a little hot under intense gaming, so i recomend to buy a laptop cooler.
4.just about 2 hours of battery use, not that good in a laptop of its price (most of the time, i use it in home plugged to the wall, as a desktop replacement)
in conclusion, i highly recomend it as a desktop replacement or as a gaming laptop because its really fast, the core i5 processor that comes whit this machine, is nearly as fast as an i7 processor, and the ati 5730 with switchable video card is really powerfull, and for the price its the real deal, the best bang for the buck.
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First Lenovo machine that I've ever purchased. The product was defected right from the start. When I turned on the first time I got Operating System Not found error. Lenovo wanted me to send the machine back to replace the damaged hard drive under the warranty. I chose to return it back to Amazon and will stick with HP that I've used before.
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Pros:
1. Looks nice.
2. Speakers sound great too.
3. No problems dual booting this machine with Ubuntu 10.04 brightness control works fine under Ubuntu which was a severe problem with Gateway laptops.
3. Recovery discs that you create from inside pre-installed Windows 7 works like a charm.
4. Four 2.66 GHz i5 cores are good enough for heavy duty scientific computing as well as gaming.
5. The display is glossy and crisp but the colors aren't that "deep". (Gamma and saturation values need to changed?).
6. The wrist pads and the keyboard don't get heated up as do similar configuration Gateway models.
7. The keypad is a joy to type on.
8. The webcam is pretty good too.
Cons:
1. i5's generates a lot more heat than Core Duo's. The air coming out of side vents do get really hot.
2. The construction of the chassis underneath is not as tough. Not as comfy as a Mac.
3. Like most laptops, the hinges of the display are not rigid.
Look for competing prices from other online stores.
I'm not a big computer guy...just give me a good screen and reasonbly fast execution and I'm happy
