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    Lenovo G550 Review Discussion

    Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by dietcokefiend, Aug 17, 2009.

  1. dietcokefiend

    dietcokefiend DietGreenTeaFiend

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    by Kevin O'Brien

    The new Lenovo G550 is an update to the Value Line G530 with the primary difference being the shift from a 16:10 to a 16:9 screen. This is becoming a common trend for most manufacturers, as they shift to the now more standardized 16:9 screens. The biggest question on our minds is how well this updated budget notebook performs; considering the previous revision earned our Editor's Choice award.



    Read the full content of this Article: Lenovo G550 Review

    Related Articles:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 7, 2015
    dietcokefiend, Aug 17, 2009
    #1
  2. joseluis

    joseluis Notebook Guru

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    Aaaaaargh!

    I hate it that they keep eating vertical viewing space.

    Seems like an awesome laptop. Great review.
     
    joseluis, Aug 17, 2009
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  3. boypogi

    boypogi Man Beast

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    why 16:9? why oh why?
     
    boypogi, Aug 17, 2009
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  4. Jerry Jackson

    Jerry Jackson Administrator NBR Reviewer

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    LCD fabricators switching to 100 percent 16:9 ratio panel production ... no other reason.
     
    Jerry Jackson, Aug 17, 2009
    #4
  5. dietcokefiend

    dietcokefiend DietGreenTeaFiend

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    Cheaper to make, allow manufacturers to have wider keyboards, naming looks fancy, etc.
     
    dietcokefiend, Aug 17, 2009
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  6. Huskerz85

    Huskerz85 Notebook Evangelist

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    Nice looking budget machine. Considering the price, the cons don't seem too unreasonable. Should do well I'd think vs. the HP G60t and low-line Dell Inspirons.
     
    Huskerz85, Aug 17, 2009
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  7. martynas

    martynas Notebook Evangelist NBR Reviewer

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    +number pad
    -sd card reader

    overall not bad notebook for not demanding college student.

    P.S. and plastics a bit missaligned (visible in this photo)
     
    martynas, Aug 17, 2009
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  8. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    This is a typo? Should not the pointer lag behind the finger instead of all the other way around?

    DDR3 at 800MHz? First time I hear about this. I thought DDR3 was running at 1066MHz...but ok.

    Good to hear a better battery life, but wow, cutting down on features but not price is not cool! Greed...lol
     
    Serg, Aug 17, 2009
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  9. akh1989

    akh1989 Notebook Consultant

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    akh1989, Aug 17, 2009
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  10. dietcokefiend

    dietcokefiend DietGreenTeaFiend

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    The RAM was capable of that speed, but didn't appear to be fully utilized in this notebook. It was actually an odd upgrade since there are still a lot of machines using DDR2 memory, and its not like the old motherboard couldnt fit into the newer chassis with some helpful modifications :D
     
    dietcokefiend, Aug 17, 2009
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  11. jaakobi

    jaakobi Notebook Evangelist

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    what's the FN+F2 button do?
     
    jaakobi, Aug 17, 2009
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  12. dpmb

    dpmb Notebook Enthusiast

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    Fn + F2: Turn on/off the backlight of the LCD screen.

    I purchased this laptop about 2 weeks ago. Mine's as reviewed, with the exception of only having 2gb of RAM. My state had a tax free weekend and Lenovo had 10% off and free shipping, so I paid $449.

    Outside of the touchpad issue described in the review, I think this unit will serve just fine as an all-around home computer.

    Thanks for another good review.
     
    dpmb, Aug 17, 2009
    #12
  13. boomboomboom

    boomboomboom Newbie

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    How does this compared to HP's 4510s?
     
    boomboomboom, Aug 18, 2009
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  14. Andrew Baxter

    Andrew Baxter -

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    Kind of a strange location for the indicator lights being right below the touchpad, so long as you're typing and not using the touchpad you can still see them I guess.
     
    Andrew Baxter, Aug 18, 2009
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  15. skywalker

    skywalker Business Notebook FTW!!

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    Oh no ExpressCard...Lenovo must be kidding. I think they could move VGA port to the back next to battery compartment.
     
    skywalker, Aug 18, 2009
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  16. Ahbeyvuhgehduh

    Ahbeyvuhgehduh Lost in contemplation....

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    A decent low budget machine imo. :)

    Particularly impressed by the battery life....
     
    Ahbeyvuhgehduh, Aug 18, 2009
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  17. bluesboy

    bluesboy Notebook Consultant

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    Your review states that it comes with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD. According to the Lenovo site, it comes with the X4500M. I thought the 4500MHD had integrated HD decoding features. Is the laptop you reviewed capable of smooth playback of both 720p and 1080p HD videos? (Yes I know the screen resolution is not 1080p but I was wondering if it had the horses to playback 1080p videos such as the ones on Apple's website)
     
    bluesboy, Aug 18, 2009
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  18. satellite779

    satellite779 Notebook Enthusiast

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    How noisy is Lenovo G550 and how often does a fan kick in? I'm considering returning my Dell Studio 1555 and getting a G550 as a replacement. I hate Dell because of too much heat and fan is working 50% of the time while under light load.
     
    satellite779, Dec 7, 2009
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  19. puter1

    puter1 Notebook Deity

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    Lenovo rips you off. I still don't understand why people get fooled just because they use the Thinkpad name.

    Lack of ports even though the room is there and then they still overpice their products.
     
    puter1, Jan 5, 2010
    #19
  20. KSSR1211

    KSSR1211 Notebook Evangelist

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    Am wondering why this computer is at the top of the list? There seems to be nothing special about this machine compared to others in the same 500.00 price range even the review notes the features that have been delted from the previous model so why has this one had so many views?
     
    KSSR1211, Apr 25, 2010
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  21. sweeteldora

    sweeteldora Newbie

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    Those are good reviews...Thanks..

    Anyone who has already bought it.....
    How good are the speakers?
     
    sweeteldora, Apr 29, 2010
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  22. GoHack

    GoHack Notebook Consultant

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    I just picked up a G550 for $329.00.

    It comes w/a Single Core Celeron 900, 3gb DDR3, 250gb SATA HD, and Windows 7 Home Premium (x32).

    The bad, the Single Core Celeron cpu, no SD card reader, no Windows 7 CD or access to it on the HD to burn a CD, Windows 7 x32 instead of x64.

    The good, memory expandable up to 8gb DDR3, which can only be used w/the 64 bit version of Windows 7, easy access to the cpu, memory, and HD, and of course, the price.

    It's really not that bad a laptop for the price.

    I've seen the G550 listed w/the Intel T4400, T4500, and T6600. I plan to install an inexpensive Duo Core like the 2.2 GHz, 800 MHz FSB T6600/T6670 (2Mb L2), or a 2.4 GHz, 800 MHz FSB T8300 (3Mb L2).

    Anyone know if the G550 would support a 1066 FSB cpu?

    I bought the G550 for my nephew, who's off to college come this Fall.


    .
     
    GoHack, Jul 5, 2010
    #22
  23. roninmagik1

    roninmagik1 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm wondering too...i've seen the laptop in person at office depot or office max, i forget which one, but i wasn't too impressed, what is the magic secret for the laptop??
     
    roninmagik1, Oct 4, 2010
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  24. GoHack

    GoHack Notebook Consultant

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    It's extremely easy to upgrade the cpu for one. Just remove the back cover, and the cpu is right there, where w/other laptops, you have to virtually disassemble them in order to get to the cpu.

    .
     
    GoHack, Oct 4, 2010
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  25. Phrozt

    Phrozt Notebook Geek

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    Just a note here on the "durability" mentioned in the review....

    My gf picked up her laptop from sitting by the couch and the screen was cracked. Internally. She didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Now we're freaking out trying to figure out how to fix/replace it, and I'm seeing a plethora of horror stories on the net about this issue.

    Apparently it's REALLY easy to crack the screen, and when you do, Lenovo drops you like a rock. After reading up on trying to get this fixed, I'd be scared to ever own one.
     
    Phrozt, Apr 4, 2011
    #25