Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 Review w/Pictures

Hi!
NOTE: Before you read this review: There are no benchmarks in this review; this is not a professional review either. It is just a review by an average user.

So I was contemplating buying a new laptop, as my early 2007 Acer Aspire 3690 was starting to get old. I am a student who needs a computer that can handle basic word processing, Movies and Music, and Light-to-somewhat Intensive Gaming. I like to travel, but I also like large screens. So 15’ was the only choice for me.
At the beginning of January 09’ I bought a Dell Studio 15. Within one week I returned it because of a huge defect with the “Touch Panel” on the laptop.
So I looked at my second choice, a Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 series laptop. The rebates that were going on at the time really drew me in. So I bought the Y530 model… And I am extremely satisfied with it!

In The Box:
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y530
• Battery
• Charger
• Screen Cleaner
• Manuals (System and Backup)

Shipping Times and Cost:
I ordered the Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 “High Performance Media” on February 2nd, and it arrived on the 10th. Shipping was free for “UPS Three Day”. After hearing horror stories about Lenovo and shipping times, some people’s times being delayed up to a month, I was a bit apprehensive about buying Lenovo. It came one day earlier that it was supposed to, so I am both happy and surprised with their shipping times.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 Specifications:
• Intel Centrino 2 [Intel Core 2 Duo P7450/2.1 GHz]
• 3GB RAM, DDR3 1066 MHz
• 320 GB HDD, 5400RPM
• Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS [256MB]
• Intel Wi-Fi 5100 [ABGN]
• DVD RW Dual-Layer[Tray Load]
• Bluetooth 2.0 w/EDR
• 15.4’ “Glass” Screen, 1280-800 AntiGlare



Outside Chassis:
This laptop seems to be extremely durable. When the laptop’s lid is closed, it has no lock to hold the screen in place. Instead there is a magnet of some sort, which is better because that means less breaking components. The backside of the screen is a crosshatch pattern that looks good while offering extra grip and no fingerprints. It feels like the outside of a hard briefcase, which is a good thing.
(You can see the little lines going through and across the back of the laptop)
Overall, I loved the feel and the durability. Lenovo took the best part of their ThinkPad line (the durability) and put it into this computer.

Inside Chassis and Screen:

The inside of the computer looks just as good as the outside, if not better: (On the front of the laptop, next to the blue lights, where that little green spot is, there is supposed to be a placeholder for the SD Slot, but it is out at the moment.)

The Laptop has a nice businesslike look to it, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have style! The black and orange colors are very appealing. The entire laptop is made of a VERY strong plastic, which means no flex anywhere, as well as no fingerprints.

The screen is one of my top things in this laptop:
In this image, the screen is only at 50% brightness, so imagine how much brighter it can get! I have really enjoyed the screen so far. Whether I am watching the beautifully crafted “WALL-E” or turning the brightness to its fullest to see what is around the corner in the “F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Demo”, this screen is the bomb! Plus, near the bottom left hinge of the screen there is a battery indicator with 5 lights to show how much battery you have left. This is good for when you are playing a game and you need to see how much battery you have remaining.

The screen on this computer is a "Glass" screen, which means that it is frameless (think Aluminum MacBook/Pro). This is very pretty and easier to clean than regular notebook screens

The hinge on this laptop is similar to Dell’s XPS and Studio line, but it is smaller and more stylish. There is no creaking when I close the laptop, and there is no screen wobble.

I would also like to note for all of you energy savers: The LED backlights can be completely turned off, I am not sure if this is a feature in all laptops, but my old Acer sure doesn’t do this!

Keyboard, Touchpad, and Media Buttons:

Another one of my favorite things about this laptop:

The keyboard feels like a ThinkPad keyboard. It has no flex within the keyboard area, and I really like this. You could type on this for hours, and not feel uncomfortable (ok, maybe not for hours… . But where the arrow keys are there is quite a bit of flex. This is not something that affects me very much, as the arrow keys are something I don’t mess with very much. But this may affect you.

The touchpad is large, and it is very responsive. The keys are very comfortable to press, and they are very quiet

On the top left hand corner is the power button and the "Quick Recovery" key, which will boot your computer into a recovery mode.

The touch-buttons are very quick and responsive. The first three are, in order from left to right, Mute/User Definable/Dolby Control Center. Then there are the Blue hard drive and Caps/Number lock lights (you can see the blue HD light in the picture).

And finally there are the Switchable touch buttons. On the top left corner next to the volume rocker is a small round button. Press it, and the buttons turn from Media Control to Equalizer presets. The Equalizer presets, put together with the excellent speakers (below), make for an excellent theater or music experience.

The Media Controls(above) and the Equalizer Presets (below).


Sound Quality and Speakers:
The speakers on this laptop are excellent for watching movies, listening to music, and playing games. There are 2 speakers on either side of the keyboard, and there are 2 below the screen. Plus there is a small square subwoofer underneath the laptop. I would also like to say that when I was testing the F.E.A.R 2 Demo, I set the volume to 80% and the bass to 100%. I have never jumped out of my seat that high in my life(if you know what F.E.A.R is you will understand)! This was one of the reasons that I bought this laptop, as my old Acer had horrible sound quality.

First Boot and Programs Included:

You were probably wondering when I was going to make a bad comment on this laptop. Well, here it is! The first boot was OK. I set up my username, password, etc. But once I got to the desktop, I was very disappointed. About 5 menus came up prompting me to register different programs. The problem is that certain programs, like the 90-day Norton Internet Security or 60-day Microsoft Office 07’, are helpful. But others, like Lenovo’s ReadyComm software, are horrendous! The ReadyComm software, which is a internet connection application, actually slows down both your computer, and your internet connection. I deleted it on the second day, and it sped up performance by about 15%. I am very disappointed in Lenovo in this area.

Performance:

After deleting the ReadyComm software, the performance on this laptop is superb. Here is the Windows Experience Index Score:


I am happy with what I see here, this is pretty average with a computer of this class. I can be running multiple applications at once, and the computer will switch between them seamlessly. Movies and Music play with no skips at all. And games run well, with no out-of-the-blue freezes.

Gaming and Graphics Card:

I have read a lot of reviews that state that the “Nvidia GeForce 9300m GS” really limits this computer. And to tell the truth, I don’t see how! This is an excellent multimedia and gaming card, and it can even play one of the newest games of this year! It may not play them at high settings, but it can still play them well
I have four ratings: Playable at High Settings, Playable at Medium settings, Playable at low settings, and Unplayable. Here are the 5 games that I tested.

1. Crysis: Well, I bought this game because I had a funny feeling that it would run, and it definitely does! I can play it at 1280x800, with all settings at “Low” (except Model Details and Sound, which were set to High). I was very surprised at how well it actually ran, it is playable in even the most open areas and the intensive firefights.
I then decided to turn all of the settings to “Medium” (except Model Details and Sound which were still at high) at 1024x768. The game was still playable, but there was a bit of blocky-ness during firefights and in large areas. I wouldn’t call it lag, but it may annoy some people.
Overall Rating: Playable At Medium Settings.

2. Left 4 Dead & Half Life 2- Both play at 1280x800 at Highest Settings. On L4D, I have to turn Shaders down to Medium, and the game plays at a smooth frame rate. Half Life 2 runs at full settings with no issues. Overall: Playable at Highest Settings

3. Spore (and Creepy &Cute Parts Pack): This game ran on my old Acer with the GMA 950, so I was positive that it would run on this laptop. And it does, but only at medium settings at 1280x800. The game runs excellent at this setting with no lag, and you can even switch some things to high (like character model and detail levels) and it will still run considerably well. Overall: Playable at Medium Settings

4. Fallout 3: This game runs at low settings, 1024x768 (that is the minimum resolution). It plays excellent, even in the open world areas, which is practically everywhere! Overall: Playable at low settings

5. Resident Evil 4: What?!?! There's a version of Resident Evil 4 for the PC? Yes, there is, and I was lucky enough to find it at a used book store for $10! I can play this game at 1280x800, full settings with no lag or issues. Overall: Playable at High Settings

This laptop is definitely not a hardcore gaming laptop, but it will play some of the newer games at low settings, and older ones at high settings.

Webcam, Microphone, and Ports:

The 1.3MP webcam on this laptop is OK, it is great in high light areas, but when I turn the lights on at night, the webcam lags a lot. The software included is nice and you can manipulate your images with cool effects.

There are 2 microphones on the front of the laptop, and they work well. There are no fuzzy sounds when you are talking.

There are a plethora of ports on this laptop:


Left Side: Power, LAN, Fan, VGA-Out, 2 USB, HDMI, ExpressCard slot.


Right Side Headphone/Microphone ports, 1 USB, 1394 port, Optical Drive, Modem, Security Lock Slot.


Front: Indicator Lights (Power, Charge, Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Switch, MMC/SD/MS/XD/SD pro/MS Pro Card slot, Infrared port, 2 Microphones (not shown in this image, as they are on the left and right side of the front of the laptop).

There are no ports on the back.

Battery:
It gives me 3 hours when I am doing work (word processing and web surfing). When playing games or watching a movie, it gives me about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I am very satisfied with the battery, as a 6-cell with a discreet graphics card shouldn’t last this long.

Conclusion:
I have ZERO regrets in buying this laptop. Lenovo is known for their durability and quality, and it really shows in this laptop. Compared to the $850 Dell Studio 15 I had bought, this $900 Lenovo IdeaPad had much more bang-for-the-buck. Everything about this laptop seems to have been personally inspected by Lenovo’s workers. The graphics card is good for the gamer and multimedia enthusiast too (plus it can play some of the newest games). The only bad thing about this laptop is the included crapware that slows down your computer, but you can easily delete this. And the area near the arrow keys has a bit of flex, but that is quite minor.
Overall, I recommend this computer to anyone looking for a powerful, relatively inexpensive, durable laptop.

Thanks For Reading!
EnergyXP

 

Thanks for posting the review. Glad it worked out. There's been some Y530 chatter on the board. I'm sure this will help interested buyers. If you got time, some pictures would be great.

 

Umm... There are pictures in the review. I am not sure what you mean.

 

Yeah, my internet is a little goofy today. None showed the first time. Time to reboot the router me thinks.

 

EnergyXP, Thank you for this amazing review.

I'm glad you enjoy your new lappy, as ZaZ stated, there's been plenty of members asking for the Y530, now they can get a better idea of what this system has to offer.

Great pics btw! +

 

Nice review man,

Enjoyed all of it!

Makes me want an ideapad - they sound well built and good value. Ill wait till the 50's come in to make a decision

 

hi, thanks for the review! i was just wondering if you could comment about heat/noise/fan placement. does the dedicated GPU make it loud? those are my main concerns...although i will probably get the 430, which no one really knows if has an LED screen or not.

 

Congrats on the system, it looks awesome.

 

This is a terrific review!

I've been thinking about one of these for a while, but it makes me uneasy that it's next to impossible to find a place to see one in person.

I'd heard a few (vague) comments about the screen being poor on the Y530 (vertical lines showing up, it being extremely reflective), but it looks like this is not the case. May I ask if you got the screen with the LED backlight? I'm a little disappointed in the screen brightness of my current machine, an HP. Screen quality is one of the most important things, to me, in a notebook... so it sounds like you are really satisfied?

Mikhail

 

No, it is very quiet and handles heat well. Also, the fan is on the left hand side, and underneath the laptop. Look in the review.

The Dedicated GPU is the reason that I bought this laptop, as I have really never seen a discreet GPU in a laptop that is under $900

Yep, it is LED. The screen is excellent. There are lines in the picture that I took, but cameras tend to mess up pictures of screens.


And also to say, my model is in the "High Performance Media" section.
ALSO, I am going to try Fallout 3 again, as there is a patch on Bethesda's website that might fix the issue that I was having. Besides the LAG, once I quit the game it wouldn't open again.
I am glad that everyone likes the review!

 

Great review man, the pictures you included were perfect. I'm surprised you got that kind of battery life to begin with. I bet if you had the wireless turned off and the screen on low you could push 4 hours. I cant wait to see the Y450

 

Micro Center stores have display units that you can test drive.

This is a great machine for graphics and sound, especially the built-in subwoofer!

 

I'd been thinking about getting one, but I was worried after reading http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4494630 and seeing that he had seen the same problem on more than one notebook. So, assuming that those vertical lines were a camera issue, it looks like it was just bad luck on his part.

This looks like a great deal... with that 15% off coupon, it actually comes out to about $100 less than the other notebook that I was considering.

Thanks!

Mikhail

 

Ok, so UPDATE:

I installed Fallout 3 with the patch and it runs excellent! From the moment I left my Vault, the open wasteland greeted me with minimal lag.

But after playing for a while (inside the town of Megaton), the game froze up on me and I had to hold the power button down for 4 seconds to turn off my laptop.

So I guess that it is playable, if the game doesn't mess with your computer too much

 

thanks for the info about the heat/noise...hopefully its the same for the 14 inch.

 

It was me who made the post about those vertical lines. Well, i gave Lenovo another shot and ordered a new one. Should arrive tomorrow, although i'm not expecting the new one to have a better screen, since another similar model i saw at Circuit City, had the same lines. I guess that's just the way these screens are, and i'm gonna have to get used to it, cause i really like the laptop otherwise.

But to those that are also contemplating getting an Ideapad, i suggest you get Y430, cause the ones i've seen didn't have those lines.

 

I can attest to that. Y530 runs very quietly - even under load, and with very low temps.

 

Really? Let us know how it turns out tomorrow! I'm interested in hearing... I mean, it is possible that they're going with a different type of screen, now, right?

Hey, EnergyXP... did you notice anything on your screen like what was described here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=350727 ?

I'm kind of curious about whether this is an issue affecting all of them, or not...

Thanks.

Mikhail

 

amazing pictures!! Looks so cool!!
I will recommend all my family and friends buy Ideapads.

 

Well, i got the new one today, and the screen on it is WAY better. Can't practically see anything vertical on it.
It is still LED, but could be from a different manufacturer, or just better made.

 

Really? Yeah, maybe that was a bad batch of screens! I'm having some trouble with the HP I bought (sometimes the keyboard stops responding), and tomorrow's the last day that I can return it... so I'm thinking about getting the Y530.

Estlander, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think of the screen? And of the computer itself?

Mikhail

 

Yeah, definitely return the HP, and get Y530. And should you get a a bad screen, just return it and order a new one - hopefully these screens with noticeable vertical lines are not too prevalent.

The screen on my new one is great. Can't say it's any better then most laptops out there, but it most certainly is not any worse either.

And as far as the rest of the laptop is concerned, i absolutely LOVE it. I love everything about it - the looks and the technical side.
The one i got doesn't have that brushed metal palm rest, but that's okay, i like all black more anyway.

And another HUGE plus is how cool and quiet it runs. Right now while writing this, my HDD is at 35 C
CPU Cores run at 31 & 35
THRM (i guess it's the motherboard's temp) - 36

I observed similar temps on the one i sent back, as well.

 

Could you guys comment on the size/weight of this laptop? I've heard it's pretty heavy...is it usable as a laptop?

 

Sounds pretty great! So you think that the screen is about average, then? The topic creator seemed to think really highly of it. The screen is super important to me. I've heard that LEDs tend to make for a nicer display... what did you think of this?

Mikhail

 

I had HP DV6000 before, which is a very popular laptop, and i would say it's about the same weight. Y530 may seem to be bigger or bulkier, cause it has flat sides, and not roundish, as do many other laptops.
As to whether it is usable as a laptop probably varies from person to person.
If you're coming from a 14.1 or smaller laptop, then it can seem big, but to me it's perfect.

When talking about portability, then Y530 may be too big for some, but the high quality hard plastic that it's made of makes it enjoyable to handle. There is no flex and doesn't feel like it's gonna fall apart in your hands.

 

Hard to say whether it's about average, bad or good, cause i am not very demanding in that respect, but those lines on my old one were too much even for me.
Viewing angles on from the sides are very good on Y530. Vertical viewing angles are like any other laptop that i've seen with some color distortion.

I had a Compaq R3000 a few years ago, and that thing had the best screen i had ever seen. The viewing angles on that thing were like an old tube TV. Watching a movie from any angle was distortion free. Haven't seen a screen this good ever since.

 

Ah. Sounds pretty nice, though. I've heard that LEDs tend to improve the richness of colors, but I guess that that isn't always the case. How is the brightness of the screen?

Mikhail

 

Thank you for a well written and most human of reviews.
Renee

 

Great looking laptop

 

Brightness of the screen? Well, let's say that indoors and at full brightness this screen is too much for my eyes, it's like looking at a lightbulb, so i have it turned down about 35%.
I'd guess max. brightness would be pretty sweet outside though.

 

Enjoyed your review.

I've been intrested in the Y530 and Y 430 for a few weeks now. Currently alot of good deals on them.


I've read you can put a P9600 in them and DDR3 RAM.

 

This is probably one of the best reviews out there for the Y530 laptop. I really appreciated reading this thank you.

 

Wow, I didn't think that people would like the review this much!

Look back at the review, I added a few games to the list.

 

Hey XP,

Thanks for taking the time for great review. There is not much out there on the Ideapad series....but it is starting to get some great press.

Because of your review...I ordered a Y530 today. Nice sale, can't wait to get it.

Drake

 

Because of my review... Now I feel special .
Well, I hope that you enjoy it!

Also, I edited the Crysis section in my review too.

 

Thanks for this great review. I ordered the version right beneath yours with the T6400 and I was VERY impressed with the stats in Vista's "PC Stats" section or w/e they'd like to call it. I managed to get it for a steal at just $630. I'm glad I decided to go with this instead of the HP I was considering. The only issue I had when I ordered it was whether or not it would play some games decently enough. My biggest is Call of Duty 4, but considering that it can run F.E.A.R. 2, Fallout 3, and Crysis, I see no reason why it shouldn't be able to run CoD4. I hate reviews where people are like, I couldn't get it to run! When all they do is try to play on the highest settings. A lot of these games nowadays run on even the shoddiest hardware if you play around with the settings a little.

 

Also, try the auto-detect which will get you 27fps min.

 

Great piece of review, absolutely love it!!
thanks

 

very nice and comprehensive review for the avcerage user. They will be pleased with the overall quality of this laptop.

 

So Nvdia GEforce 9300M is standard on these laptops?

I am looking at a used laptop and it shows all the specs you have here except the graphics card.

 

I think it says GMA 4500MHD [built in graphics card using memory?] so it must be bad?

 

Is the Y530 compatible with Windows 7?

 

When I got my laptop, the Y550 had not been announced yet, so mine has the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS.
The 4500MHD sucks, in the nicest term. I made sure not to get that model

Yes, it is. I have it running in a VM, and I read this:
http://hothardware.com/Articles/Windows-7-Up-Close-and-Personal/?page=3


EnergyXP

 

Nice review - thanks.

I'll buy one when it comes out with WXGA+ or better WSXGA+ display.

 

Does anybody know where i can find this laptop for a good price???

 

Does anyone know if the y550 comes with a g 130M graphics card? because on the lenovo website it says g105M.

 

^
the Y550 comes with GT130M card.
the G105M comes with the Y450 (but I found that many Y450,comes with GT110M )

@EnergyXP
nice review u have there bro.
love the 1st pic u shot....the Y530 with the office desk theme

 

I would check here:
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/LenovoOutlet/Notebook/Refurbished/IdeaPad Y Series/

The Lenovo Outlet store has cheaper clearance and refurbished Y530s.

I didn't even intend to do that... But thanks!

 

I updated the laptop with the update from Microsoft Update about infrared port but what is the infrared port used for?

In HP, there is one where you could use a remote (supplied) to watch a movie on their player but what is the use of this port here?


THanks

 

bumpity bump