Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 Review

Hello,

Sorry for posting on a older thread, not sure if that is taboo.

I purchased a Lenovo Y510 in October of 2008 and have been using it as my work Laptop since. Some things I have noticed over my uage.

As mentioned in this article the display is very glossy, expect to see a lot of reflection. Even though I'm just using this laptop with Open Office, Firefox and and IM program, ie. nothing to intense, it gets hot where you place your left palm while typing. I'm using a Antec laptop cooler which brings the temp down some but it is still noticeably hot and gets uncomfortable after a normal work day. (I did try gaming on this laptop, World of Warcraft, not only did it become very hot, the screen should start flickering and I would only get about 12FPS. but then, this isn't a gaming laptop).

The display is flat, meaning that when you close it, it is touching right against the keyboard, chassis, and if anything is out of place it could get scratched. Unfortunately mine has a little scratch on the upper right hand side, still not sure what it scratched against as I keep my laptop very clean. There is basically no protection unlike my HP DV9700 where the display is a bit 'back' into the lid of the cover.

I've been using Windows Vista on that came preinstalled, no problems with it our any of the features. Takes a bit to get use to the typing as I use not hit keys hard enough but now I have no problems and it feels really nice. The keys feel sturdy, where on my HP they feel kinda cheap.

 

SASPR is dead on when talking about the keys.
At first I had too soft of a touch, but now I type with ease.

The keyboard has little to no flex, only noticed when searching for it at the far right. (Backspace / Pause|Break buttons)

As far as the screen laying flat, you can buy small, rubber stops which go on the corners of your display to give it about 3/16'' buffer between the keyboard and the display. Lenovo sent me said stops with the shipping box. They work fine and with a taught hinge, they are unnoticeable.

If not already noted, the Y510 has a serious design flaw. That same kinked hinge many of us Y series owners love --setting us apart from the rest, also potentially sets us up with a broken screen.

The hinge mechanic is weak and cannot take repetitive stress. i.e., opening and closing, many, many times. Of course, with some silver tongued persuasion, they will replace it regardless of warranty status.

It is unbeknown to me if they replaced the hinge with something more stable or just the same hardware from day one. If the latter, it only secures that eventually...it will break again.

A tell of this is where the screen is now loose, when opened it will lean back slightly on a flat surface, and will wobble should you tilt it forward. Mine did it at roughly a 10 degree difference (from leaning back, to falling forward)

Should the problem be ignored the screen frame (usually the right side) will snap open, consequently exposing sensitive components to the elements. The repetition can snag a wire in the now broken hinge and will either prevent the screen from functioning, or destroy the frame assembly entirely.

The webcam is subpar, as well as the software which ships with it. It is slow, and very poor in low light. I find this unacceptable since HP provides marvelous webcams that work in many ambient settings.

The built in microphone is also rather poor, it picks up sounds haphazardly, if at that. Even when increasing the dB level to 20x voice is low. The allegation of this being a media orientated machine does not fulfill all standards.

The glossy screen is easy to get by, though many of you in office settings may be turned off by this. The borderless display gives an elegant appearance that is very tasteful, giving the computing experience less of a constrained feel.

The DVD drive is fine, nothing spectacular. I am a bit disappointed with the fact that the Asian models were shipped with Slot loading drives, as opposed to tray loading drives that most of us are accustomed to. Also the drive is rather noisy.

Softkeys work great and fulfill their intended purpose. Granted I rarely use the media keys (Play/Stop/RW/FF) or the music presets (Pop/Dance/Jazz/Classic/Normal) but the Dolby Key, and Mute come in handy.

The Custom key is fine, but like the presets and media, are used infrequently.

Volume control works fine, 10% intervals make adjusting noise relatively easy. The volume Hardkey can over time degrade, as mine did, and not have the same spring that it does out of box. Another issue I had fixed under warranty. If the sound is too quiet just launch the Dolby/Realtek software to enhance audio tenfold. There are literally hundreds of audio combinations through use of the presets, and ambient settings. Absolutely stunning sound. Best in any notebook I have ever seen. Harmon Kardon / Altec Lansing have nothing on these.

The audio software does have a hitch, when running Flash / and kind of Audio, at times the machine will lag for a brief moment to process that sound. It will make a click, and the sound will render. This is software, not hardware.

When I installed Windows 7 I had no such issue, when the software was installed afterwards the issue returned. I don't watch / play much flash that has sound, so I rarely come into this issue. A perfect example is the game Kitten Cannon (sp?) - Things like flash movies are unaffected.

Resolution is fine, I am overall placated by the GMA X3100 integrated card, it leaves something to be desired but it does get the job done in most cases. WoW runs fine at mid-range settings, games like Counter Strike 1.6, Source and Half Life 2 all play well in low.

Portal has significant difficulties, turn the portal feature off and the problem is solved. But what's the point after that? (I forgot the technical term for what the GPU is rendering when making the portal)

Going back to design, I had received one of the models with the black finish and I prefer it over the Magnesium that some Y series owners have. It's much more clean cut, makes the laptop look like one piece, and is more professional in appearance.

One of the most noted physical aspects is the crosshatched back. All units are unique since no Y510 matches the other. Albeit this being a marginal difference, it's still nice to have you be you.

(As I write this the HP "Computer is Personal Again" ad is to the left, I find this funny since all of them have the same identical fruity bubble designs and 'custom' artist renderings)

Performance is adequate. At 2.0GHz / 2MB L2 (T5750) my Y510 has little to no hiccups when running programs. Even with my 800MHz DDR2 4GB RAM being downclocked to 667MHz I have a pretty fluid experience.

Battery is subpar, and perhaps the most disappointing feature out of all. I am really upset by the fact that Lenovo offers no extended life options, at just about 2 Hours running full blast and a little under 3 with 25% processor speed, 10% brightness, and no Wifi / CD/DVD usage.

I would purchase a new battery, be it $100 - under 3 hours does not get me through the school day. I have the option of using it in class, or out of, but not both. If I wanted to work in between classes I'd have to bring my power adapter...which is only added space / weight to the mass of books I have.

This leads me to my next point, this laptop is heavy. It's more cumbersome than a majority of laptops out in the market, both today and when it was released almost 2 years ago. I can live with it, but you do notice the added weight.

My unit shipped with Vista, again - no issues with software. People who have software problems usually are (themselves) the CAUSE of the problem.

I installed Windows 7 fine, and for anyone who has driver issues...I have managed to make Power2Go / Easy Cam / Energy Management software (all what shipped with it) work 100%

If you need them, just IM me on AIM or send me an email and I can send you the folder I made with all the drivers to make Windows 7 run flawlessly.

The NOVO button even works for the power options!

I've covered most the topics which come to mind, I'm sure some will turn up later on but these are the big ones.

All n' All I give this notebook a 7.5 out of 10.
It exceeds my expectations in many areas, but also disappoints in others. Like the original review of this, my configuration is not nearly the capacity of which they have manufactured this machine - so I speak out of theoretical performance and personal use. Which is why I came to the conclusion of 7.5 out of 10.

In a real world situation, this laptop would probably rate about a 6 out of 10, but for anyone who can get their hands on a Y510/530 series notebook, you're sure to be impressed by what is has to offer.

 

NECROphiliac.

 

So the anti glare is a coating which can come off if you use like a glass cleaner?

I think I used it once or twice on my laptop. Does the coating make your finger glide through the screen if you touch it? I just wanted to see if there is a way to check if the coating is still there.

 

All features are good except the space given in C drive.that is fine we can re format it.The biggest problem is poor plastic.I lost my Hinge after 1 year warrenty and lenevo knows they had hinge problem for so many laptops .I called customer support they said $50 for diagnosis and $200+ for repair.
I will never buy lenovo in future.

 

So the anti glare is a coating which can come off if you use like a glass cleaner?

I think I used it once or twice on my laptop. Does the coating make your finger glide through the screen if you touch it? I just wanted to see if there is a way to check if the coating is still there.

 

Not really, but it is harmless. It's a clear, acrylic wash you get from most art supply shops. Just brush on a thin coating, and let completely dry before closing your laptop, or touching the screen. This will also protect the screen.

It won't come off like a glass cleaner...you don't want it to do that, do you?

 

I am asking if i had a coating and then used something like windex?

 

You should not use something like windex on most laptop screens, coated or not. The chemicals are liable to damage the plastic. A cleansing liquid designed for LCDs would probably be alright and not affect the coating, however.

 

I don't think I have damaged the screen. Now, I use the anti-static eyeglass general wear cleaning solution and it got rid of the the thumb marks that would not come off.

I believe the solution for cleaning eyeglasses is basically just purified water with some additives.

 

Eyeglass cleaning solution should be alright, as it is designed for cleaning plastics. Windex and other window cleaning solutions, however, are generally designed to clean glass, and thus often use much harsher chemicals, as glass is much more resilient to such things than plastic is.