Lenovo Ideapad Z580 Review

Lenovo Ideapad Z580

I got this new laptop for my work one week ago. So far - so good. I'd like to share some thoughts about it for anyone who is considering buying this model. 
Here are my specs:

CPU:                     Intel® Core™ i7-3612QM CPU @ 2.10GHz × 8
Memory:               8GB (2x4096MB) DDR3
Video:                  NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M 2GB DDR3
HDD:                    1 TB SATA 5400 rpm
Monitor:               15.6" HD (1366x768) gloss display
Optical:                DVD+RW
Network:              10/100Mbps Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Interfaces:
 - 2хUSB 2.0
 - 2хUSB 3.0
 - HD webcam
 - VGA (monitor or projector)
 - HDMI
 - speakers output/mic in
 - 5 in 1 memory reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS pro/XD)

Battery:                6-cell LI-ION that lasts 2 hours 45 minutes(tested by me, playing videos and multimedia with no display settings reduction)

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Ups: 

1. Fast! Definitely fast. The dual-quad core processor from the awesome Intel i7 family is fantastic. 8GB memory works awesome for my 64-bit Windows/Ubuntu Linux. 

2. Display. The display this laptop has is very good. For its 15.6" the HD gloss display gives you the comfort of colors and high contrast you would otherwise look for in the desktop PCs. I played some HD videos (no lag, no sound delay) and they look awesome. Of course it has all the dimm/display sleep power saving energy reducing stuff every modern laptop should have. 

3. Sound. Dudes... it's awesome! I don't know if it is any big-famous-mainstream thing, but "Dolby Home Theater" gives me loud, clear and bass-ish sound. It gets even better... I have those random "A4Tech" headphones which usually sound like someone is trying to put a screwdriver in your ear when I plug them in my desktop PC. I plug them into the laptop (nothing special just a single way in, no setting up, no software or effects) and i'm like "what sorcery is this?". The sound is freakin' awesome! Bass, treble, mid sound everything is awesome. I found some Metallica HD live concerts on youtube I've watched with my headphones and I can tell you I am using headphones at this moment (Marilyn Manson though).

4. Games. Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, World of Warcraft - No problem! I have Battlefield that i'm eager to try on, but this will happen next weekend. 

5. Work. 

• Windows 7, 64bit with MS Office 2010 - awesome. Adobe Photoshop CS5 - amazingly fast. 
• Ubuntu 64bit 12.04. This is the first time i DID NOT install or reconfigure or rebuild any drivers! As many of you use opensource OS and software i'm sure you hated the nvidia setting up or sound drivers? Alsa-config? OSS stuff no man! I installed latest Ubuntu 64bit downloaded on a normal cheap CD from their website and everything works. Bluetooth, sound, video, Wi-Fi, Lan, usb recognition, webcam, everything. Running large python code -  insane fast. Having multiple ssh connections doing stuff from lots of cronjobs - no problem. Everything from the office suite (LibreOffice) works like a charm (not crashed yet and I have some large sheets). Multimedia playback is great, no lagging HD videos, no crashing anymore. All the function buttons plus the hardware buttons for sound and video just bellow the display work and did not took any setting up. 

6. Silent. There is something called "Smart fan, noise control" and it actually works. The laptop doesn't make noise even when it's under pressure.

Downs:

By my experience so far with the Lenovo Ideapad Z580, I found one thing that is insanely annoying. That is the touchpad. Yes it has "Intelligent touchpad" and software that allows you to rotate, enlarge or zoom things, but seriously, the surface on the 2 buttons is actually moving your cursor when you try to press the damn button. One more problem I've encountered was that after multiple "sleep", "hibernate" modes - the touchpad gave an annoying bug. It was moving my mouse cursor from left to right like crazy! Both windows and linux. I've tried restarting - no good. The only way it was fixed was by shutting down the computer and then booting it up again. Very very annoying. 

Conclusion: 

This is an amazing laptop. Extremely fast, competing with most desktop PCs over performance. Absolutely awesome display, video capabilities and sound. One annoying thing is the touchpad but when you get used to it, it might actually turn out to be good. And most of all this laptop is not expensive at all! I got mine for something like 700$ with international warranty. 

Highly recommended if you are looking for extremely fast-performance, multimedia and good price!

Here you can find the drivers for Lenovo Z580 laptop

Please share your thoughts and experience with this model in the comments section.

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