Got this to replace my problematic Alienware M15x. It had the best specs for the price and I'm extremely satisfied by it. I don't feel like a bought a cheap product. The style of it is decent enough not really fancy or cheap though pretty much all plastic. Performance matches what it should and runs any current game perfectly fine (BF3, Guild wars 2, Skyrim, Call of duty)Speakers seem to be very loud, probably louder than my alienware was.
Keyboard is a hit or miss, It is smaller because of the added number pad which some people might love and some might not like. I get mixed up hitting things by the number pad on accident but I have to say overall after getting used to it the number pad is great to have. Trackpad seems to work fine, I don't use it much though
Screen is the 1366x768 res which I was fine with, I mean I would prefer the higher resolution but I haven't come accross any time where I miss the pixels really, I would rather use the money towards something else like an SSD.
Software wise there really wasn't much crapware at all thankfully, most of lenovo's software seems to be useful and not interfering.
Battery life seems like to be around 3 hours which isn't to off for a gaming laptop, optimus helps keep it cool too. Weighs a bit over 5lbs and its really not that bad, its comfortable on my lap during normal surfing.
The device never really seems to feel to hot, the vent area is right above the WASD keys which you can feel a bit but not much. According to HWmonitor my temps have reached 90C though when I was playing guild wars 2, though I didn't notice and it didn't slow though it does seem a bit hot, it idles in the high 40's though which is cool enough.
Don't regret getting it one bit though, i've had no real issues at all.
Windows 8: Was my biggest concern because of the new interface
A really neat guide to Windows 8 --->
Actually really cool. Main thing most people worry about is the new interface and no desktop menu. But I found out that it does indeed have a desktop menu that looks just like Windows Vista/XP/7. It's actually an "app?" on the start menu that opens up a desktop that resembles the interface we all know and love. The taskbar is there, you can still create app shortcuts, there's a recycling bin, everything except the start menu, which you switch to by moving the mouse into the lower left corner and clicking. So, basically, it's still the same desktop from Vista/XP/7 with a start menu that has its own page. And if you put the mouse into the upper or lower right hand corner, it has your system settings, system search bar (formerly the "Run as" search box), devices, etc. Everything is nice and smooth. Actually really good, better than I expected.
Normal Day use: Great all around, could be a replacement desktop
Not much to say, it delivers what you need and more. You'll be set for a while.
Battery: Not great
It is a gaming laptop after all, so battery isn't so reliable. Great if it's gonna be used around your house. Don't expect it to be too portable.
Exterior: Good
Like how it looks and feels. Touchpad is nice and responsive. Not really any complaints.
Gaming: The fun yet tragic part of this laptop
Ok, read the WHOLE thing. There's a good and bad part. So the bad part of this laptop is the super spectacular GeForce GTX 660M graphics card. Well, it's a hit or miss really. Some people have had it work out really well, can run ALL the new games too. Unfortunately, many people like me have a glitch in the Nvidia card where it causes artifacts or distortion of the games, ANY game, lags them up, freezes them, crashes them, etc. It's a hardware problem, so there's no current fix for it. Just about everyone is getting a replacement, and most replacements work the first time. Now the good part! It comes with a Intel HD 4000 graphics card as well, which is supposed to be for the regular use stuff, BUT it's actually really good, at least for me. I can play Borderlands 2 with textures and graphics on high and everything else turned down PERFECTLY! No lag, freezes, etc whatsoever. And even better, I can play Far Cry 3 with all setting turned down except for water reflection PERFECTLY! I emphasize PERFECTLY because its delivering far better than it's supposed to, since it's considered crap, at least by Nvidia. So, even the lowly Intel graphics card can pack a punch in this machine. No doubt the turbo boosted quad-core CPU and 6 GB RAM help tremendously. I did order a replacement to see if I can get it fixed, but, to be honest, I don't really need it. I got this to play current and old games I couldn't before, so I'm set. I'm willing to bet the Intel can go a little farther too before becoming obsolete. So, if you're only expecting to play a few current generation games, you can't go wrong.
Verdict: 4/5
This is one super charged beast that can put some desktops to shame! It's gaming abilities is second to none (if you can get it to work, that is) and completely destroys the restrictions put in place by it being a laptop. It's quad cores and turbo boosted GPU will no doubt deliver years of powerful performance, and it's RAM (boostable to 16, not 8) will make sure that you are able to play any game you want, no matter how much of a RAM hog it is (*ahem Minecraft). But the hit or miss performance of the Nvidia card has you basically flipping a coin on if it is a lemon or a rocket. Even still though, I am thoroughly impressed with it's performance!
Edit 1/11/13
Alright, so I managed to fix the graphical problem with the Nvidia crad by underclocking it's memory clock. Everything runs great now, and I'm proud to say gaming doubts aren't a problem anymore. But, it runs hot. REALLY hot. After playing Far Cry 3 for about 25 minutes, the game started to lag a little and I noticed that the heat coming from the exhaust thing was hotter than I ever felt while using the Intel card. So, a cooling pad is a must if you plan on gaming. It's weird though, because it wasn't that hot after I played Battlefield Bad Company 2 for about an hour. So, bewarned about its heat.
Buy Lenovo Y580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dawn Grey) Now
Overall, the inclusion of the 2012 gaming competent GeForce gtX-660M makes this one of the cheapest laptops ever that can actually play current games, I'm pretty sure. For that reason it seems a very competitive product and an actual move FORWARD in an industry that seems to largely want to stay stagnant (in terms of function at price). Progress here is defined by superior build quality over prior generation, a few extras, and blazing fast internals at a great price.For reference, I owned the previous generation y570, and let me assure you that was not such a great deal. While mostly competent and just a little more money, the build was plastic, a bit flimsy on the center of the lid, a bit flimsy on the center of the hand-rests, the keyboard which SEEMED great (well laid out and very good feel) turned ridiculous hijack failure device in fairly short order, and the mouse also was fairly wonky. Nothing like typing or navigating a mouse and having something completely distorted appear onscreen. Next, the LCD went bad and was replaced. This kept the system running wonkily for a few more months. Then the whole thing died completely flatline with a motherboard power issue within 18mos of MANUFACTURE, and less from my purchase.
So why would I get another Lenovo Ideapad? Well for starters lets say so far I'm tentatively glad I did. But short answer, I bought the extended protection (drops in the toilet included) on sale. So I hedged my bet. But the 580 has delivered with a stiffer metal lid (unlike a previous reviewer), a like metal handrest, and a BACKLIT keyboard, which I like in style somewhat less than y570 but in typing seems comparable. I would take the backlit model over prior just for backlit function. It also offers faster USB and the sweet intel chip which is equivalent to a i7-2920XM of prev gen.
The graphics have proven excellent in my limited use so far in Street Fighter. I definitely feel like I have a gaming laptop after scoring 130+FPS in benchmark of SFxT. Also, this PC has Optimus switchable graphics feature. I can't TELL it has optimus too easily but apparently it works. From NVidia control panel I changed SFxT to use integrated, and low and behold the framerate dropped 75%. However, it did NOT work just right clicking the .exe and selecting "use integrated graphics" as I would ideally prefer.. why the F is it an option then?? I mean right there I thought optiumus had failed as usual. But it can be accurately accessed with patience and massively reduced framerates show that the grass is in fact greener on the other easily accessed side :D
So why just a 4 star? Welll I feel like my prior horrible experience and now fundamental doubt are a factor. Other points are a bad touchpad. A significant downgrade to the prev gen (when it worked right): it had excellent tactility, nice texture, and BUTTONS. Not everything has to be an Apple clone. I also don't like the tuning of the touchpad especially for pinch to zoom, and it is just not great for text selection and scrolling. Like a wild stallion. Try to highlight by left-clicking, all the sudden after dragging, you've only just right clicked and NOT highlighted. It's like bad voice-recognition: you really have to try. Also, during an install of SFxT, I suffered a horrible "fatal error" crash which made me un-install and re-install Windows Live Gaming. Ridiculous, and had me quite convinced I had another lemon, plus wasted hours diagnosing it. I fear some software related issues for sure. Finally, the battery is just small in size, and isn't extremely impressive in duration (but fine). Finally, the WiFi seems very slow to detect. Not unbearable, but definitely 30 seconds or so at times (and other times instant). So just another thing for me to watch.
A few questionable aspects and general uncertainty lingering from previous woes keep this from 5 star, but the 4 stars are most important: The fact that I can't find more to bring it to the 1 star level where the bar is from the previous attempt is a start. The excellent GPU is a major defining asset. The core i7 is a monster, the speakers/keyboard/build quality are good, and the few bad points still would cause me to make the same decision when mixed with the positives.
Lenovo, throw in your ThinkPad mouse and up the price $15. No one will lose on that deal. The laptop unbranded looks like a Samsung. Lenovo shouldn't be scared of their more industrial design.
If I can tune the mouse or they release update, if the wifi sorts itself out, and if the gaming remains strong I will change to 5* in a few months.
Read Best Reviews of Lenovo Y580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dawn Grey) Here
It's the best for that price, great performance , great display, keyboard, it's too good for gaming, every game on ultra graphics with good fps, except Max Payne) no problem is heating while gaming, but not in winter, without cooler it will be 'k, but in summer u should buy good cooling pad. In one word, amazing laptop.oh, yeah, one problem for me windows 8, it's amazingly bad , I hate it) and I installed windows 7
Want Lenovo Y580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dawn Grey) Discount?
I sold my desktop because i moved to a apartment that had little to no room for a desktop so i needed to get myself a laptop. I wanted to get a laptop with enough power to play games and to make games for the iphone and andriod phones. Did lots of research and this was in my price range. Other laptops with this specs where easily 1300 plus in price. I have not had any issues yet (had the laptop for two months now.) play WOW Planetside 2 and a few other games and it works flawlessly. i would recommend this laptop to anyone that needs a laptop for games in this price range
