Lenovo Y400 - Any thoughts? Issues I should be aware of?

About to pull the trigger on the Lenovo Y400 while the discount's still alive, wondering if any current/former Y400 users speak out on any issues or downsides that seem to commonly crop up with it? How's the touchpad? Does it do a good job of avoiding random palm swipes?

 

I just received my y400 on Monday, ironically the day you posted this, so my cureent experience with it is limited. However that being said, my time with it so far has been outstanding. The main concern everyone seems to have with the y400/500 is the touchpad, which in my case has not been a problem at all. It is as responive and accurate as any touchpad I've ever used (and that's been quite a few). The only downside is that it's one of those "single surface" touchpads, so the left and right clickers are integrated into the touchpad itself. If that doesn't bother you then you won't have any problems with it. I should also mention that the touchpad feels cheap, as in it's just plastic, but it doesn't have poor build quality so I expect it to last.

Speaking of build quality the laptop's casing is solid and the hinges are study with no flex. The keyboard (which looks awesome by the way) is also well built, with no flex, and comfortable to type on. Even with the stock 5400rpm HDD (I do plan on getting a mSATA SDD and recommend you do to) the system boots in under 20 seconds and is fast and responsive overall. The screen resolution of 1366x768 is not a problem whatsoever on a 14 inch screen, but the screen doesn't have the best color/contrast ratios. Even so it's lighting is fairly bright and it's pleasant to look at. Sound quality is on par with the rest of the laptops features. It is crisp and loud with minimal distortion and a wide range of tones. I have to say JBL/Lenovo did an excellent job on them.

The only downside I can think of at the moment is the fact that at 5.5lbs, it is a bit heavy compared to other laptops its size. However with this laptop that's an inconvenience I feel is worth dealing with.

Overall I highly recommend this laptop, even for non gamers. At only $750 it's a steal for the specs alone, but the excellent build quality, great looks and ultrabay really seal the deal. So yeah I recommend you pick one up

 

Read your other posts throughout, so it seems to me the touchpad and keyboard are up to snuff.

One last question. How is the screen? Youtube vids show it's a glossy type. Are the viewing angles decent, or does viewability get lost easily?

 

The screen is glossy, but if you're using it inside you should be fine. The only time the screen is unusable or uncomfortable to use is if you attempt to use it in direct, bright light. The viewing angles are fairly limited before color distortion kicks in, maybe 5-10 degrees, but I haven't had any issues with actually seeing whats on the screen. I have noticed however, that the colors are far more vibrant and accurate when the screen is tilted back to around 125-130 degrees. The hinges only open to 130 degrees so I pretty much keep it tilted as far back as it will go, which is a perfect angle on angled coolers (I recommend the NotePal U2 by the way). Again it'll reiterate, the screen is not the best as you're trading screen quality for performance at this price point, but it's definitely usable and I have no problems with it.

Since you meantioned them I'll give a final word on the touchpad and keyboard. The keyboard is up to snuff in my opinion, and you'll have no problems with it. As for the touchpad it functions perfectly, but it's made of a rather low quality plastic (compared to the rest of the laptops build) and just seems cheap. For the long term use I'd recommend an external mouse. The touchpad can get the job done, but it won't be the best experience.

 

One other thing. Are there a lot of fingerprints left behind? Guy in this youtube vid notes how they seem to get left everywhere., particularly on the touchpad, the palmrest, and the sides of the keyboard.

 

Hmm well yes and no. Finger/hand prints are visible on the casing, palm rests, touchpad and the side of the keyboard; however this laptop isn't the worse laptop I've had when it comes to collecting fingerprints. Also I wipe my laptop with a soft cloth at least once a day so perhaps that's why I don't see as many fingerprints as others do. Mileage many vary, but if you take care if it and keep it clean you'll be fine.

 

Thanks for all the prompt answers. I'd dare say what I've heard about Y400 from you and other recent notebooks has reassured me of Lenovo's quality quite a bit.

On a recommendation of a friend, I wound up sniping a refurb'd Y580 deal on eBay. Only problem is the seller just recently discovered that it's not a manufacturer refurb, but a return which was mislabeled, so I've offered to still take the notebook off his hands for a tiny discount.

 

From what I've heard the y480/580 is still a solid choice provided you have a fairly new one. The newer builds have a i7 3630QM and 660m, which is a slightly better combo than the base y400/500 with the 650m. Of course if you have an older build with i5 or a weaker i7 and a 640 or 650m GPU then they are either on par or weaker. Another issue is that the y580 has a less efficient cool system than the y400/500 (so I've heard) so perhaps you'll want a cooling pad. Regardless enjoy your new machine.

 

No optimus, if that matters.

 

I would like to know the technical limitations behind this choice... They would've had the perfect machine imo if they included Optimus.

 

I'm not an expert in the field but the general consensus is that the SLI prevents Optimus from functioning. So it seems to have been a choice between max battery life or max GPU power.

 

They could have done like the m18x does with its sli/optimus.. Or at least enabled Optimus while using a single 650m. Maybe the next round someone will figure out

 

Or maybe we'll get a software update?