Y500

I'm heavily considering getting the Y500 for college in the fall because it has good graphics performance since I will be majoring in engineering. The student discount on Lenovo's website shaves $480 off the retail price, so the discounted price sits at $820. It looks like a good deal. I've many reviews talking about how the touchpad was broken, but then I read other reviews saying how it was fixed.

Are there any noticeable problems with the computer?
I'd like input from owners of the Y500 to give their feedback on the laptop, and any quirks that might have come up.

 

It works perfectly, awesome laptop for school. I have the y400 for more portability, then use it with two monitors in my room/office.

 

The only "problems" with buying a Lenovo is their BIOS lock down. If you want both the 2.4/5.0 GHz band wireless card, make sure you order the Y500 with the ABGN card already installed. You can't buy one after market, with the Lenovo FRU stamped inside.

Also, you can't connect the Y500 to WiDi.

Oh, did I forget to mention Lenovo's on-again, off-again support? Maybe you should look at what other users have been experiencing:

IdeaPad Y, U, V, Z and P series Laptops - Lenovo Community

So if you don't care about these "quirks", have fun!

 

Touchpad isn't an issue for me. I actually just leave mine completely disabled (through Fn+F6 key). Remember, you are likely going to be using this laptop with a mouse most of the time anyway.

The only quirk I have with this laptop is:
* I don't use my desktop gaming rig anymore, because this Lenovo Y500 is so awesome.

 

You can easily unlock the bios. I haven't tried but I imagine you could flash your backup in case you needed warranty service.