LENOVO IdeaPad Y570D charger
And the Samsung 550P7C is not the kind of notebook you can sling in a bag and cart around without risking the need to trouble your chiropractor before long. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580 charger
As a desktop replacement, however, it boasts some impressive credentials, including an Ivy Bridge Core i7 CPU rated at 2.3GHz (Turbo Boost 3.3GHz). That all-important screen is LED backlit, measures 17.3in, and crams in 1600 x 900 pixels. It's driven by an nVidia GeForce GT 650M with 2GB of VRAM, which is very capable graphics processor. LENOVO IdeaPad Y570P charger
The display has a matt finish so while not optimal for watching movies, it will please those troubled by glare in a well-lit rooms and offices.
In terms of connecting to the outside world, the Samsung 550P7C has gigabit ethernet, dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
There are two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, a three-in-one card reader, and both VGA and HDMI. There's also a Blu-ray/DVD-RW drive. Oh and a pair of JBL-branded speakers with extra bass speaker. LENOVO IdeaPad Y570NT charger
In addition to the huge 1TB hard disk, Samsung has also reserved space inside for a second 2.5in drive, including the required proprietary SATA cable in the packing box.
Given the Samsung 550P7C's core specs and its price, you'd be forgiven for thinking that something has to give somewhere. And you'd be right. That something is build quality. It's not that its flimsy, far from it. But the plastic chassis is very, well, plastic. LENOVO IdeaPad Y570N charger
And while it won't slide easily off your desk, thanks to its 3kg heft and rubber feet, we'd hate to imagine the consequences if it did. We'd expect better of a high-spec laptop.
The keyboard, on the other hand, is lovely. Keys are well-spaced and have enough travel to make typing on it very satisfying. The trackpad is responsive and supports multi-touch gestures such as pinch to zoom – you'll have minutes of fun re-arranging the icons on your desktop with that.
Samsung 550P7C: Performance LENOVO IdeaPad Y570M charger
In our tests the Samsung 550 did rather well. A WorldBench score of 136 points is good for a machine without solid-state storage and at this price is very respectable.
And the MobileMark 2007 Productivity score of over 440 minutes charger life is excellent. LENOVO IdeaPad Y570D charger
In our games tests, the 550 notched up a decent 122fps in FEAR with detail set to Maximum.
In the more challenging Crysis test we recorded rates of 65fps (DirectX 9, 1024 x 768, Low detail) and 39fps (DirectX 10, 1280 x 720, Medium). That puts the 550 some way behind the likes of games-tuned Toshiba's Qosmio X870-11Q and the Alienware M14x – but for a laptop which can be bought for less than £800, it's very respectable.
Audio from the speakers over-emphasised the bass a little too much for our liking, but was an improvement on most laptop speakers, and Blu-ray movies looked great on the large display. LENOVO IdeaPad Y570A charger
This review was revised on 11th Oct 2012 with a more accurate WorldBench figure of 136 points, rather than 121 points, and including details of the storage options.
The Dell Inspiron 17R is a budget desktop replacement laptop, which sounds like it might be an oxymoron. After all, how can a laptop that's meant to replace a desktop be, well, a cheap laptop (listed at £559, to be exact)? LENOVO IdeaPad Y570 charger
Our review model sports an Intel Core i5-3210M processor - a dual-core CPU running at 2.5GHz (3.1GHz in turbo mode) - and a rather small 3MB shared L3 cache. It's also equipped with 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD-RW optical drive, and built-in Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. The 17.3-inch LCD panel offers 1600 by 900 native resolution, and has discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics. OS chores are handled by the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. See also Group test: what's the best budget laptop? LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Hybrid charger
Dell Inspiron 17R: Performance
In our WorldBench 7 benchmark tests, the Inspiron 17R scored a below-average 86 out of 100. This means the Inspiron 17R is 14 percent slower than our baseline model, which sports a second-generation Intel i5 desktop processor and 8GB of RAM. This score is particularly low for the desktop replacement category. In fact, it's safe to say that while the Inspiron 17R may look the part of a desktop replacement, given its hulking, 17.3-inch size, it's nowhere near the league of most desktop replacements we've reviewed recently. See also: Laptop Advisor. LENOVO ThinkPad X1 charger
For example, the Alienware M17x R4 scored 146 on WorldBench 7, while the Samsung Series 7 Gamer scored 123. Sure, the Asus G75VW scored just 97, but remember that all three of these laptops are much more impressive than the Dell in ways other than WorldBench 7 performance score. In other tests the Inspiron 17R really showed its weaknesses - it scored 1627 in our office productivity tests, which is nowhere near the 6045 that the category leader, the Origin EON17-S, scored. In our Web performance tests, it managed 13.5 frames per second (the Origin managed 21.3). LENOVO ThinkPad X220i Tablet charger
While the Dell Inspiron 17R's general performance is a little low, graphics performance is decent. The Inspiron 17R has a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card, so expect decent gaming performance. LENOVO ThinkPad X220 Tablet charger
On another positive note, the Inspiron 17R does have slightly better charger life than do most of its competitors. In our charger life tests it managed to eke out 3 hours, 42 minutes, which isn't great, but isn't awful for the desktop replacement category. The last three laptops we tested in the category averaged 3 hours, 39 minutes, and the category leader (the Origin EON17-S) achieved only 2 hours, 33 minutes. LENOVO ThinkPad X220T charger
Dell Inspiron 17R design: chassis, keyboard, trackpad
The Dell Inspiron 17R isn't super-stylish, but it's also not bad-looking for a cheap desktop-replacement-size laptop. Our review model features rounded corners, plastic accents, and a switchable lid, like some other Dell laptops we've recently looked at. The lid features a silver brushed aluminum plate with a shiny finish, but if you flick a switch at the back of the computer the plate snaps out. You can then replace the plate with one of a different color or texture. This is a nice touch if you like to change up your laptop style every once in a while. Lenovo ThinkPad E530 charger
The interior sports a similarly luxe-looking brushed aluminum wrist rest (which is not switchable), as well as a black plastic bezel surrounding the glossy screen. Dell is clearly trying with the fancy aluminum plates, but the rounded corners and plastic edges just make the computer look a little cheap. And, well...it is. Lenovo ThinkPad 570E charger
The Inspiron 17R also has a full-sized keyboard with matte black island-style keys against a shiny black plastic base, as well as a 10-key numeric keypad. The keys are a little small, but are slightly indented to allow for more accurate typing. I found this keyboard one of the more comfortable I've used recently, as the keys are nicely spaced and offer good tactile feedback. They are initially a little stiff, which takes some getting used to, but typing quickly and accurately is easy. Lenovo ThinkPad 570 charger
Above the keyboard are three buttons: a settings button, which opens the Windows Mobility Center; a Waves MAXXAudio button, which lets you toggle through sound presets such as "movie" and "voice"; and a configurable "Instant Launch" button, to which you can assign your desired function. LENOVO ThinkPad Edge E430c charger
A large trackpad with discrete mouse buttons is located below the keyboard, slightly offset to the left. The trackpad is actually a continuation of the brushed-aluminum wrist rest, though it has a slightly rougher texture. The trackpad is large and sensitive, and performs multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling smoothly. The buttons are large, but a little difficult to press as they don't have much tactile feedback. They are pretty, though, and they look like they've been neatly cut out of the aluminum background. The trackpad can be turned off using the Fn F3 key, and a small orange light turns on when the trackpad is disabled. LENOVO ThinkPad Edge E430 charger
Port-wise, the Inspiron 17R is acceptable: four USB 3.0 ports (two on each side), HDMI- and VGA-out ports, and microphone and headphone jacks, plus gigabit ethernet, a lock slot, and a multicard reader. This isn't the greatest port selection I've seen on a desktop replacement, but the USB 3.0 ports on either side of the machine are a nice touch.
Dell Inspiron 17R: Screen and speakers Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E325 charger
The Dell Inspiron 17R sports a 17.3-inch glossy display with a native resolution of 1600 by 900 pixels. While this isn't the best resolution for a 17.3-inch screen, it's not truly awful, either. Other desktop replacements typically have 1920 by 1080 pixel resolutions, but other desktop replacements also cost a lot more than the Inspiron 17R. So you get what you pay for. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E320 charger
Apart from resolution, the Inspiron 17R's screen looks pretty good. It's very bright (almost overwhelmingly so at its brightest setting), so it's good for use outside or in brightly lit areas. Colors look good, if sometimes a little washed out. Images and text look crisp, and off-axis viewing angles are acceptable. The screen isn't too reflective, despite its glossy finish. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E125 charger
Video looks and sounds good on the Inspiron 17R. Integrated graphics issues (such as choppiness and artifacting) aside, HD video runs fairly smoothly. The speakers, which are on the bottom of the computer, near the front, produce loud, full sound. Sound is enhanced with Waves MAXXAudio software, which helps create much louder, deeper audio. The speakers can be a little harsh and tinny at the highest volume setting. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E120 charger
The Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 delivers serious power at a price that won't break the bank. On the other hand, it might break your back, weighing a hefty 6.2 pounds (not including accessories). But for comfort-be-damned power users, the Y580 will be well worth its £849 price. See Group test: what's the best laptop? LENOVO ThinkPad T430si charger
While it is heavy, it somehow manages to be not too bulky. The dimensions are 15.2 inches wide by 10 inches deep by 1.5 inches high. Its size and weight can be easily forgiven when you learn how well equipped it is. See all mid-range laptop reviews.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580: Performance LENOVO ThinkPad T430s charger
Its speedy Intel Core i7-3610QM processor runs at a standard 2.3GHz, but Intel's Max Turbo Frequency technology kicks it up to 3.3GHz when put under strain. The Y580 scored a 108 on our rigorous Worldbench 7 benchmark suite. This makes it about 8 percent faster than our fully equipped desktop baseline system. Lenovo also provides 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM. This machine has plenty of speed and power for any application. Take a look at the Toshiba Satellite Z930 Ultrabook review too. LENOVO ThinkPad T530 charger
The Y580 also delivered a strong performance in our graphics/gaming benchmarks, thanks to the presence of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M GPU.To push the system to the brink, we ran DiRT 3 and Crysis 2 at the display's maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, with the games' graphics set on Ultra. Read our Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon review also. LENOVO ThinkPad T430 charger
The Y580 pulled 29.2 frames per second on DiRT 3 and 20.5 fps on Crysis 2. While that is barely playable, LENOVO IdeaPad V370G charger those are respectable numbers at the Ultra settings. When we dropped the settings down to High, DiRT 3 hit the coveted 60 fps mark (reaching an average of 61.1). Crysis 2 didn't become playable at that setting until we dropped the game's resolution to 800 by 600 pixels (at which point it averaged 80.1 fps). When we set the graphics quality to Low, the Y580 was able to hit 75.5 frames per second with 1366-by-768 resolution. LENOVO IdeaPad V370P charger
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580: Display and design
It's rare to see a lower-priced laptop sporting such a high-definition display. The 15.6-inch LED-backlit screen is pretty and not overly glossy, but it does throw a mean reflection at certain angles. LENOVO IdeaPad V370A charger
Lenovo pulled out all the stops with this machine, and the company made great strides turning it into a decent hybrid of gaming laptop and media machine. While so many laptops are foregoing optical drives to save space, weight, and money, LENOVO IdeaPad V370 charger Lenovo threw in a Blu-ray drive to render the Y580 capable of showing high-definition movies. The Y580's design is sleek but simple: It looks like a true power machine, but one that's free of flashy lights and garish decals. The wide, backlit keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is smooth and easy to use. I rarely have nice things to say about touchpads, since any plug-in mouse will be vastly superior, but this one's size and smooth, glass-like texture obviate any hassle in use. LENOVO V370P charger
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580: Ports aplenty
The Y580 also has plenty of speedy ports and features. On the left side are ports for VGA, HDMI, and gigabit ethernet, plus a pair of USB 3.0 ports. On the right is a third USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0, the usual headphone and microphone ports, and the aforementioned Blu-ray drive. Wireless connectivity comes in the form of 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Intel's WiDi technology (for wireless audio and video streaming to a compatible monitor or HDTV). LENOVO V370G charger
Making use of Intel's Smart Response Technology, Lenovo configured a 64GB SSD to operate as cache for a higher-capacity (but much slower) 1TB, 5400-rpm mechanical drive. This configuration allows the system both to start up faster (boot time is just 21.7 seconds) and to run storage-intensive tasks much faster. A high-definition (720p), 1.0-megapixel webcam is built into the Y580's display bezel, and Lenovo bundles some fun recording software, as well. LENOVO V370A charger
With all its powerful components, it's no wonder that the Y580 falls short on our charger test: It delivered a little less than 4.5 hours of use, a significantly shorter life than what other notebooks we've tested recently have delivered. That might be enough juice to get light users through the day, but you won't want to travel far without a heavy power adapter nearby; there's a good chance you'll need it. LENOVO V370 charger
If you're looking for an even better deal, Lenovo's IdeaPad U410 scored a whopping 117 on our Worldbench 7 benchmark, and it's pretty cheap. True, the processor and graphics card powering the U410 are a little weaker than what you'll find in the Y580, LENOVO IdeaPad B570G charger and you'll give up the Blu-ray drive and the beautiful 1920-by-1080 display (the U410's maximum resolution is 1366 by 768 pixels). The flip side of these compromises is that the U410 outlasted the Y580's charger by an hour, and it consumed far less power while plugged in, too. If you're looking for a mean green machine, and you don't plan on playing hard-core games, the U410 would be a great choice—and it costs about £200 less than the Y580. LENOVO IdeaPad B570A charger
With a maximum thickness that barely approaches 17mm and a weight that's only just over 1.1kg, the 13.3in Toshiba Satellite Z930 is clearly one of the shining examples of what conventional Ultrabooks can and should be. It also packs a great amount of power within its thin chassis, thanks to a third generation Intel Core i5 CPU and a fast solid state drive, and it doesn't sacrifice much when it comes to connectivity. See: more ultraportable reviews. LENOVO IdeaPad B570 charger
Physically, the Satellite Z930 is similar to the Portege Z930 that we have already reviewed, with the main difference being the screen on the Satellite, which is glossy rather than matte, and also the lack of a SIM card slot on the side. The Portege is a business model equipped with a vPro chip that allows it to be more easily managed when rolled out in a corporate setting, and it also features biometric security and TPM. The Satellite is a consumer model and lacks those management and security features, but for anyone who doesn't need those features and who values great portability, it represents great value. See also Group test: what's the best ultrabook laptop? LENOVO B570G charger
We spent a lot of time with the Satellite Z930 during our test period and used it extensively on a day-to-day basis. It's the type of Ultrabook which, at first, can feel a little bit uncomfortable due to its shallow keyboard (the chassis is only 10mm thick on it's own after all), but the more we used it, the more we comfortable we got with it. In fact, we found it a rather pleasant Ultrabook to use for prolonged periods of typing, whether on a sturdy desk on our lap. Visit Asus Zenbook UX21E-DH52. LENOVO B570A charger
The keyboard has a chiclet style layout with keys that are 15mm wide and very soft to hit. As mentioned, they don't have much travel, but after a while you get used to them and they start to feel quite comfortable. We like the fact that it's a backlit keyboard, which can be always-on or controlled by a timer. It's great for typing in any sorts of dark environments. See also Lenovo IdeaPad U300s-1080. LENOVO B570 charger
Furthermore, the light weight of the Satellite Z930 allows you to use it on your lap with ease — and it's so light you can easily lift it and hold it up with one hand while you fiddle with your belongings or change position in your seat (if taking notes during a presentation, for example). The fan in the chassis doesn't make any noticeable noise when the Ultrabook is used for document creation, basic Web browsing and photo viewing. It does spin very quickly and makes a noticeable rushing sound when the CPU or graphics processors need to work at their maximum load for a while. LENOVO IdeaPad G470G charger
We don't think that the screen on the Satellite Z930 is great, primarily because it has a glossy finish that can reflect light sources behind you, and also because it has vertical angles that are narrow. However, once we found the sweet spot viewing angle, it was a fine screen on which to consume photos, LENOVO IdeaPad G470AH charger videos and documents. It's a bright screen that can be seen relatively easily in all sorts of well-lit environments; at the same time it's brightness can be manually turned down to a comfortably low viewing level in dark environments. However, a low brightness level combined with an illuminated keyboard backlight means you can sometimes see key reflections in the screen while using the notebook at night. LENOVO IdeaPad G470A charger
The touchpad is 85x50mm in size and has separate left- and right-click buttons rather than featuring a clickpad style with the buttons housed underneath the pad itself. It's a touchpad that was mostly responsive during our test period, and it performed multi-finger gestures such as two-finger scrolling and three-finger flicks without us having to repeat ourselves. The texture of the pad is a little too resistive for out liking — we would prefer a much smoother finish, and the left- and right-click keys are not the easiest to use because of the way they are set in the chassis; for example, they can be quite difficult to press with your thumb while trying to perform one-handed right-click-and-drag operations. LENOVO IdeaPad G470 charger
Even though it's such a thin and light Ultrabook, it doesn't feel compromised when it comes to build quality. The chassis is sturdily constructed and doesn't bend when you handle the Ultrabook with one hand from either corner; the screen itself is only about 4mm thick, designed to flex a little, and is held by hinges that are smooth and not overly stiff. In fact, the screen does sometimes have a tendency to lean forward on its own if you move the chassis up and down with reasonable force — for example, when picking up the unit after using it in your lap. LENOVO G470G charger
It's worth noting that because the screen is so thin and flexible, you shouldn't place any pressure on top of the notebook while the lid is closed — you could end up with an ever-so-slight keyboard outline on the screen's glossy finish if you do. Furthermore, the finish on the lid and chassis can be tarnished if you regularly carry around the Satellite in a backpack in between books, for example, without placing in a protective sleeve. LENOVO G470AH charger
Toshiba Satellite Z930: Features
The majority of the Satellite's ports are located along the spine of the chassis. LENOVO G470A charger These include Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, a full-sized HDMI port, a VGA port and the power port. We like the location of these ports, which are convenient when using the laptop on a desk setting to access a wired network and a bigger display. However, we would have liked the USB 2.0 ports to be USB 3.0 ports instead. The sole USB 3.0 port on the Satellite is located on the right side just next to the cable lock facility. The left side has separate headphone and microphone ports, as well as an SD card slot. LENOVO G470 charger
On the inside, you get a webcam, Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi is an Atheros AR9485WB-EG module, which only supports single-band operation. We would have preferred an Intel Centrino chip with dual-band radios and WiDi support, but if you don't have requirements for dual-band or WiDi, then the Atheros chip will be just fine. LENOVO s270 charger
Toshiba Satellite Z930: Performance
When it comes to performance, the Satellite Z930 won't be a disappointment. LENOVO s230 charger It features an Intel Core i5-3317U processor that includes Intel HD 4000 graphics, and you get a generous 6GB of RAM to go along with it. Additionally, storage is provided by a 128GB solid state drive that proved to be very fast in our tests. It's safe to say that for typical office work (think word processing, presentation creation, spreadsheets and Web browsing), as well as photo editing, multimedia viewing and chatting, the Satellite won't let you down. It will even be able to perform tougher tasks such as video encoding and a limited amount of editing if you let it — even though it's not really designed to work hard for long periods of time. LENOVO s220 charger
In our Blender 3D and iTunes MP3 encoding tests, respective times of 49sec and 57sec were recorded. These times compare favourably against other Core i5-3317U Ultrabooks, such as Toshiba's own U840W and also HP's Envy Spectre XT. In our AutoGordianKnot test, where we convert a DVD file into an Xvid file, the Satellite's time of 56min shows how capable it is of performing tougher tasks — anything under one hour in this test is a very good result. LENOVO S280 charger
The integrated graphics of the Satellite Z930 performed well in 3DMark06, where a score of 5207 was recorded. It will be able to supply more than adequate power for presentation software, image editing and even a little bit of gaming, depending on the games you play (you won't be able to run the latest first-person shooters, for example). The graphics drive the screen's native 1366x768-pixel resolution, but can also be used to output Full HD video through the HDMI port. There is also an analogue video output if you only have older monitors or projectors to hand. LENOVO S260 charger
A 128GB solid state drive takes care of the storage needs for the Satellite Z930, and it's very fast. In CrystalDiskMark, it recorded a read rate of 474 megabytes per second (MBps) and a write rate of 236MBps. These results are just shy of the performance shown by the Portege Z930's solid state drive; however, in our own file duplication tests, the Satellite averaged much faster performance than the Portege, recording a rate of 174.5MBps compared to 137MBps. This is even faster than the previous fastest laptop in this test, the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook. LENOVO S200 charger
During everyday workloads, the Satellite Z930 felt very responsive, whether we were opening applications, LENOVO ThinkPad X230 Tablet charger multitasking or copying files. Its resume time from sleep was just shy of 3sec and it was immediately connected to our wireless network by the time we got to the Desktop. Cold boot time was a mere 16sec. The only thing that diminished the overall user experience was the amount of third-party software that was preinstalled on our test model, including Clickfree Backup, Norton Internet Security and Splashtop Streamer, all of which, at one time or another, required user intervention to get rid of pop-ups and registration notices.
Toshiba Satellite Z930: charger life LENOVO ThinkPad X230Tablet charger
We tested the charger life of the Satellite Z930 using our standard rundown test, in which we disable power management, maximise screen brightness, enable Wi-Fi and loop an Xvid-encoded video until the unit can run no longer. The Z930 lasted 3hr 13min in this test, which is a result that's lower than the average for Ultrabooks, and even non-Ultrabooks with 13-inch screens. The Portege Z930, for example, lasted 4hr in this test. LENOVO ThinkPad X230T charger
When using the Z930 during a typical work day, with Wi-Fi enabled, the screen brightness at medium and running word processing and Web browsing tasks, we got over 4hr 30min out of it before having to reach for a power point. How long you get out of it will depend on your workload and configuration settings. LENOVO ThinkPad X230T charger
Toshiba Satellite Z930: Conclusion
Despite the lower than average charger life, the Satellite Z930 proved itself to be one of the best Ultrabooks on the market, mainly due to its light weight, slim design and great overall performance. We found it to be comfortable to use once we got accustomed to its keyboard and screen viewing angles and think it's a great model to consider if you want something highly portable to carry with you on a daily basis. With a street price that is sometimes lower than £799, it's also a great deal. LENOVO ThinkPad X230 Hybrid charger
One of the advantages of the dizzying progress of computer technology is that a good deal of power can be bought for very little. The Toshiba Satellite Pro L850-11U might lack the all-round showmanship of Acer's budget fare, but it's still a solid laptop. ThinkPad X230i charger
