First of all let me say that I've only had this laptop for a few days of heavy use, so I'm sure my opinion of it will change over time. I will update this review if it does change.
First impressions:This laptop is very impressive, especially for the price.
Look and feel: this laptop is big and sexy. The brushed metal case, the red backlit keyboard, and the sleek angular profile of the back of the display and the speakers all contribute to a good looking piece of equipment. The brushed metal surface, however, is really a fingerprint magnet. No matter how many times you wash your hands, this laptop will still pick up fingerprints if you even touch the outer case. If you're one of those people who is obsessed with keeping your technology spotless, don't buy this laptop. Personally, the fingerprints don't really bother me, and the brushed metal looks great from a distance, fingerprints or not. The keyboard is very solid, and does not give, even if you're a hard typer like me. The keyboard feels very nice, with good tactility and key spacing. The backlight isn't blindingly bright, but provides plenty of light to type with no ambient light and with the screen brightness all the way down. It has 3 settings: off, low, and high, which can be changed using the function key and the space bar. It doesn't have an ambient light sensor, so you'll have to manually adjust the backlight. personally, I don't mind this at all.
Weight: this laptop is heavy, clocking in around 6.5 pounds. for a 15" form factor, this is significant, and if you're looking for ultra-portability, this laptop isn't the right choice for you. The fact that you're looking at a laptop with two graphics cards means mobility isn't your highest priority.
Battery life: as you can see from the specifications, the battery life on this thing is pretty bad. It has no integrated graphics cards, so it's always powering the two GT650M cards that it has. this obviously consumes quite a bit of battery. Early tests (3 full charges/discharges) have the battery giving about 3.5 hours on normal usage (low screen brightness, taking notes, nothing intensive) and about 2 while doing intensive browsing (youtube videos, streaming music, running a compiler, etc). Once again, this is a non issue for me, because I use this for mobile performance, not for mobility.
now, for the best part: the Graphics!
This laptop has AWESOME graphics capabilities. As of now, it is the only laptop available that has the GT650M SLI setup. With 4GB of dedicated video memory between the two cards, this thing can really churn out the FPS. So far, I've only tested two games: League of Legends and Trine 2. On maximum settings, during a normal match, I got a max of 190FPS on League of legends and averaged about 80-120 during fights. wow. League isn't the most graphics intensive game out there, but still, I think it's impressive. On trine 2, with the settings maxed out and with anti-aliasing on maximum (8x) It looked amazing and didn't lag.
As you may have read elsewhere, the SLI setup can cause micro-stutter if your FPS drop below 30. It isn't the end of the world, and is definitely still playable even with the stutter. obviously, you'd hope to be above 30fps for most games anyway.
note: there is a downside to this being the only device with a gt650m SLI as driver updates may be scarce. Nvidia (as of right now) does not provide the drivers on their website, and they must be obtained from lenovo. There is a built in update utility included. I have experienced some driver issues (display driver stopped responding and recovered). I'm not sure what caused these issues, and I'm hoping for an update (this setup is still very new) but even then it's not the end of the world. The graphics were fine during gaming, and they glitched out while I was installing software, so I may have caused the issue for all I know.
Trackpad: there have been a lot of complaints about this trackpad, I haven't experienced any of the issue mentioned. It seems fine to me, with the multi touch functions working correctly and the feel is fine. Trackpads are all slightly annoying, and this one isn't special. It's middle of the road. I like the texture (a matte feel), but its still a trackpad. I'll be using a mouse the majority of the time anyways.
Speakers: the included JBL audio is decently loud, and sounds a little muddled and missing treble. Obviously i'm not surprised, and these speakers are better than I expected for laptop audio. Again, nothing special, they're fine.
Processor: the 3rd gen i5 included is plenty at least for me, and is decently future proof.
Hard Drive: probably the weakest element of this laptop, it's a 5400rpm, which is going to be slow. If you want faster boot up times, just upgrade to a SSD. this laptop does have an mSATA port which would be used to add a system SSD.
Heat: this laptop does get warm, not hot. It has very effective cooling, and even while maxing out the GPUs it didn't get that toasty, nothing that was uncomfortable. better than I expected, but still pretty average. the bottom of it isn't awfully bad, so it would probably be fine sitting on your lap for a while.
Display: this is one of the only 15" laptops I could find that had a 1920x1080 native resolution. It looks fantastic! my only complaints here are that text and other elements can get a little small, and that the bezel of the screen is surprisingly large. Its not huge, but it's bigger than I expected, and there is a significant bezel. The colors are fantastic and the pixels are invisible.
Overall, This is an awesome laptop. It's very high end, and I still feel like I got a fantastic amount of hardware for the price I paid. Again, it is best equipped for gaming or other graphics intensive tasks, but It can definitely hold its own with much pricier options.
I know this is a wall of text, but thanks for reading it (if you got this far). I hope this helps you in your decision. Feel free to comment and ask me questions, I will try to answer them. I will provide updates as my opinion of this laptop changes over time.
Edit 1: Had a hard time disabling the automatic screen lock after 1 minute of inactivity. had to reset local security policies to fix. Annoying, but was able to solve with some googling. Still no video driver update that I have found. Everything else is still awesome!
Edit 2: DRIVERS! so it turns out, if you go to nvidia's geforce graphics driver site, and you turn off SLI in the control panel, it allows you to download and install the most recent package from nvidia. this is awesome! currently running on 314.21 (beta) and testing it out, it seems there was actually fewer SLI profiles supported on the previous version than 314.10.... the important part is... graphics update from nvidia, awesome.
I have had the Y500 for just over a week and overall I am very happy with my purchase. I opted for this i5 version since the i7 doesn't really add any value for gaming and I'd rather spend the money on other upgrades own the road when I need it. This model has the SLI dual graphics, and at the current price, this is a steal!
The laptop arrived safely no thanks to Amazon. I order a ton of stuff through Prime and even cheap kids toys have at least some bubble wrapping and are placed in a standard shipping box. This was shipped in the original (and small) laptop box from Lenovo and with no additional packaging materials. Why???
Now onto the hardware….
All of the built-in hardware seems great with the exception of the slow but ample 5400 RPM 1TB hard drive. It's by far the biggest bottleneck of the system, but it's not a deal breaker. Most people will appreciate the huge capacity for storing large game libraries. Apparently you can toss in a compatible mSATA SSD and boot from this or set it up as a cache. I would set it as boot drive and keep the 1TB drive for data if given the option.
The screen is VERY nice and clear. Colors look great and overall I can't find any flaws with the screen. This is true HD running at 1080p. Most other gaming notebooks in this price range only provide 720p (do not want). I updated the Nvidia drivers from Lenovo's site and they do seem to perform better than what was included. SLI is awesome to have in a notebook and I'm super impressed with how all of my games are performing so far. Steam Big Picture mode works well on this when connected via HDMI to my Panasonic plasma TV.
The case is very basic and to be honest, does have a somewhat cheap feel to it. However, I have no concerns of it breaking or coming loose. It's also a grease magnet, but I knew that before from other reviews. I'm surprised that the laptop feels so light for the size. The PSU is huge, but I've seen bigger. There is a minimal amount of external ports on this laptop, which is a bit of a surprise for a laptop of this size and intended use. There is nothing truly lacking for gaming, although, I would have loved to have an eSATA port included as well.
Opening the case for the first time was a bit scary. Some of the hinges come off easily and others do not. It took me around 10 minutes before I finally had carefully opened this up. Once opened up, it's easy to replace the internal components (RAM, HDD, mSATA, etc.,).
The keyboard is good. I'd give it a solid B. I would prefer a slightly stiffer response as I find the keys a bit spongy for my liking. Not a deal breaker by any means though. The backlit keys look cool and be turned down to a lower setting or turned off completely using the function keys.
I was very concerned about the track pad due to all of the noise online about this. Take a deep breath it is fine, but far from perfect. I'm not crazy about the texture and I would have preferred physical mouse buttons, but these are unfortunately getting harder to come by and only seem to be found on much more expensive gaming laptops and/or models geared for business use. The detection of the right and left mouse buttons is good and basic tracking is also fine. The gestures, however, don't always work but I hear that you can disable this.
The battery seems OK and matches the 3 hour advertised average when used for non-gaming use. I will keep it plugged in to AC power when gaming. Apparently the GPU's throttle down when not on AC power, but I can't imagine ever gaming without it since you would maybe get 1 hour tops of playing time before having to plug it in back to charge.
Onto the included OS and build from Lenovo…
Like all OEM consumer PC's, there is a fair amount of crapware/trailware included, which I immediately uninstalled before attempting to do anything else. McAfee was the first to go. Just use the included Microsoft Security Essentials and be done with it. All you need to keep on this system is the drivers and some of the Lenovo utilities. The rest can be removed.
For those who don't like the new Metro interface (and I assume this is the root cause for the hatred of Windows 8) should download and install Classic Shell for free. Windows 8 performs great and is a bit faster than Windows 7. This will give you the best of both worlds (a great interface and great performance). You can get this from ninite.com (an awesome site for downloading a bunch of apps at once).
Final Verdict: This system provides a lot of value for the money and you will not find a better gaming laptop for the price at the moment. If money is not a factor and/or if you don't want to upgrade any parts yourself down the road, you may instead want to check out an Asus ROG model. Of course, if you are not going to use this for gaming, there are better laptops to be found in the same price range.
Buy Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Now
Solidly built and hefty. Bought it as an occasional gaming laptop (WoW, BF3, SCII), and it plays the part well. i won't rehash what's already been covered, but will mention the trackpad issue. It was fixed in y500 built December 2012 onward (don't remember the date). i just received mine, and it was built late February 2013. The trackpad's fine. No random wandering or anything. that's it. enjoy.
Read Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Here
I am still tinkering with my laptop trying to change specs on the dual graphics so I can get the gaming experience I originally wanted out of it. At the moment I cannot for the life of me find out how to run Napoleon Total War smoothly on the laptop yet it runs smoothly on my desktop with noticeably worse specs (if you have any suggestions feel free to message/comment.)
Now for my only problem. I know this laptop came with dual graphics, and that is fine. However, I can not find a reliable site/store willing to sell me the removable ultrabay DVD burner/writer. I would gladly spend $70 for it but was forced to instead purchase a USB dvd writer because of the fact that the ones I do find hold low retailer ratings complaining about horrible customer service.
I basically wrote this review to point out a few flaws in this device but don't let that scare you away. I have come across WORSE laptops that are sold at twice or more than twice the amount this one is. 4/5 (for the graphics control and the dvd writer)
Want Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Discount?
First thing's first. After over a month with this laptop and doing what I assume everyone else has been doing to try to deal with the touchpad by lowering the sensitivity, I've finally discovered that the fix for the touchpad is to move the sensitivity all the way to the left. Sounds backwards to increase the sensitivity when it's jumpier than a cat using a jackhammer, but apparently the touchpad is not sensitive enough and loses track which causes it to jump. It's way better at the highest sensitivity (left side). In fact it only works at the highest sensitivity.
Oh by the way I'm talking about the "touch sensitivity" slider in the touchpad driver. Not your windows mouse sensitivity in the regular control panel. Now since this is supposed to be a review of a laptop. You'll also have a better experience with the touchpad if your palm isn't right next to it throwing off its readings.
Obviously the killer feature in this laptop is the SLI. It makes this laptop a better value than anything that has been on the market. Ever. Yeah the cooling, the specs, the build, the screen, the speakers, the camera, the mic, all great. You can read about them on the spec sheet and other reviews talk about them in detail. I bought this laptop because short of $2000, there is no better laptop. And I don't have $2000. Seriously. I don't even know why I spent all my money on a laptop.
But I'm not giving it 5 stars because Lenovo dropped the ball on the keyboard and touchpad. Yes I tried all the keyboards and touchpads in store and everyone has the same rubber keyboard and hinge touchpad. Even the boutiques. But if everyone jumped off a bridge, I'm still not giving you 5 stars for jumping off a bridge.
As said, I fixed the sensitivity problem with the touchpad. But that's not the only problem. The hinge is horrible. It drops the bottom of the pad into the laptop body. Which is absolutely the most loving way of pushing dust into your system since the sledgehammer. And only the bottom half goes down because it's on a hinge, so you can't click on the top half. A step backwards from having mouse buttons is an understatement. It's square wheels on a wheelbarrow bad. No, it's triangle wheels bad.
The keyboard is bad. You've heard the writers like this keyboard, you've read reviewers like this keyboard. You might have tried this keyboard and liked it. But it is bad. It's a piece of rubber with some Christmas lights except they are all the same color and don't do fancy patterns. Sorry I'm not a fan of typing on a piece of rubber. I could type on a washable keyboard if I wanted a piece of rubber but I don't. Because it sucks. Laptops used to come with scissor keyboards, in other words rubber membrane keyboards with a bit of plastic to hold it and control its movement. But oh what a world of difference a bit of plastic makes compared to this. No, you can't find a laptop with scissor keyboards anymore. But that doesn't excuse you from failing to do it. You can't rate a laptop 5 stars for failure. I'm not asking for capacitive here, just a bit of plastic. Yeah make the laptop a bit thicker so I can actually type on it! Oh the arrow and numpad keys are substandard size. I mean really now.
Oh yeah no matter what you do, don't use the recalibrate battery function. It will cause an unfixable problem with your battery management.
Since this is a laptop review I will update it as long as there is something worth updating. Especially the touchpad sensitivity.
This laptop is a good alternative to a netbook, if you were thinking about getting a netbook, get this one instead. It has a big screen to work with, and has a well-sized keyboard. The keyboard buttons are not crammed together since they forego the numeric keypad. I personally don't use Windows, and i took a chance and was able to easily install Debian Squeeze (6.0). The laptop comes with the latest chipset from Realtech (the RT8188) and if you use any type of Linux, you can compile the drivers easily from the source (provided by RealTech). If you use the preinstalled Windows 7, then don't worry about this, it'll work out of the box. The only complaint I have is that the trackpad buttons (left click, right click) have a cheap feel. This isn't a dealbreaker by any means.
