Lenovo Z575 - Is this an okay laptop or crap?

I am looking to replace my son's V570 which died after a month of use and have been shopping for something within my budget of $600 delivered. The v570 we returned cost $625 delivered, so there is a little wiggle room on the budget but not much.

Before the V570 died, he loved his laptop and really wants me to find something as close as possible to that laptop without the defective parts.

I found a new Z575 which appears to be almost identical externally to the v570 but has different specs internally. The price is WELL within my budget of $600 but I know nothing about this laptop and the search function here turned up no results.

Anyone have any experience or knowledge on the Z575 especially with regard to reliability?

 

Why would you insist on getting AMD processor? The only benefit it has over Intel is the better integrated graphics for gaming but slower processing power. However, if you want some casual gaming power, you should really get Y series with a discrete card, it outperforms the other options by at least 3 times. It's a much better multimedia machine. If you want a sturdy laptop with extra reliability but without high graphics you should get Thinkpad Edge or T420/T520 series. Give it a few days, check outlet regularly and you are bound to run into a good deal for those under $650 with tax.

I fail to see a real benefit for V and Z machines apart from them being a bit cheaper than Y Series at the Lenovo Store. If you can get either for the same money, I would pick Y series regardless of your needs. Why should anyone give up a lot of performance even if they don't play games for the same price. It can still come in handy for video processing or some other tasks. There is a good reason for the 250 page http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...-lenovo-y470-y570-official-owners-thread.html and no comparable owner's lounge thread for V and Z versions.

 

+1 Ellatan's comments. Y470/Y570 is a better multimedia machine. T420/E420/T520/E520 sturdier business grade machines without the high performance graphics. If don't need the graphics then also consider the 12.5-15" Dell E6220/E6320/E6420/E6520. DellOutletTwitter have recently been giving 25% off coupons so could get these great systems for the low $500s.

 

Money... is the primary answer to all the questions - I have very little these days. If you remember I couldn't even afford to spend the $50 to ship the defective V570 back to Lenovo for repair...

Additionally, this laptop is for my 17 year old son and it replaces the V570 which was his only Christmas present this year. I showed him the Y570 and he hated the orange stripe and the external looks of that unit.

I can buy a brand new lenovo IdeaPad Z575 (12992AU) Notebook AMD A-Series A8-3500M(1.5GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW AMD Radeon HD 6620G for $520 delivered from a NBR recommended online seller. At that price I can afford the one way shipping cost if something breaks, and if it doesn't break, I can come close to buying that SSD I've wanted for my own laptop.

Regardless, I really DO appreciate your advice and feedback and agree with everything you said BUT, my lack of money and his preferences for his laptop is getting in the way of my following it so far.

 

For $471 ($589 - 20% off coupon TTKQFT3HFZRL20) you can get from the Dell Outet:

It has an expresscard slot so you can add a DIY eGPU to do great gaming on it, eg: GTX460-768MB for ~$200. Hard to beat for value.

 

Thanks Nando but your links don't work for me. Getting 404 error codes.

 

Find the $589 i5-2540M Dell E5420 with the 1600x900 LCD by browsing the list here. Appears can't link directly to it.

See also http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6381 for pics and other pricing options.

 

Yeah, in terms of sturdiness or reliability Latitude models are superior Ideapads. Plus they get higher resolution screens, I was looking into them not so long ago. My only pet peeve was their extra weight due to the high quality build, but other than that they are amazing laptops.

 

Thanks everyone for all the help! I really appreciated it.

In the end, I put together the advice you folks gave me(go Intel) together with what my son was saying with regard to the defunct Lenovo V570 being enough laptop for him, and ended up looking for an inexpensive, brand new i5.

Almost got another cheap Lenovo (Z570), but then saw a few posts from owners who are seeing the same issue I saw with the V570, and thought about the $50 shipping cost if I had the same problem with another Lenovo.

Ended up finding a BNIB HP DV6-6163CL for $465 and couldn't help but pull the trigger. I've had nothing but good experiences so far with my old and now new other HP and if something goes bad it doesn't cost me a penny to get it fixed.

Anyway, need to buy another new laptop come summer for my daughter and her's will need a good CPU and well performing GPU so the Y series Lenovo and Dell Latitude will be in the mix at that time.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with my V570 fiasco and with my search for a better replacement.