A good entry level workhorse notebook. Review on Lenovo 3000 G430

Lenovo 3000G530 4151 57Q Cheapest Value for money notebook computer and an excellent office desktop replacement.

I bought the above laptop from an Authorised Lenovo Dealer at a Lowest price of Rs 27000/- with bill and one year warranty on the 11th of June 2009.

I had earlier decided to get the Compaq CQ 60 209TU model which was available for Rs 32, 300/-with 16” screen, all features packed preloaded with windows vista but later found out that this model had been retired by HP Compaq and all resellers were vague upon my asking if the drivers and operating system of the laptop came with the laptop or not. Also most of the users of Compaq machines were a Disgruntled Lot with poor After sales service issues and I myself till date have never used a HP product though most repairers at Nehru place swear by HP, & Compaq when it comes to Notebook computers as they have easy spares service and good resale value.

However all these points if repeatedly thought over would only lead one not buy the notebook as any electronic gadget is prone to malfunction at any time and it is sheer good fortune of a person if one is satisfied with a Gadget without any running around to the service centre. This type of thinking only made me avoid buying a laptop for the last three years and I somehow decided to take the plunge & got the above notebook even though I am an all out skeptic.

The main question one needs to ask is if the laptop can be run directly on the mains after removing the battery via the AC Adaptor as in future battery upgrades cost a bomb and for a person like me who is going to use the notebook primarily at home this was the most important point.

I being a simple person[ A Vedantin] and having still more simpler computing needs of MS office[Word, excel, Access] MS outlook express, MS money internet access and e-mail and occasional once a month movie & discourse of My guru ISKCON founder Acharya His divine grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada I decided to opt for this model as it came with 15.4” screen and 4 USB ports in order for me to connect a external keyboard and mouse and still 2 ports were left free for other connections. At the shop the sales executives allowed me to test if this model would run without battery and it did and this is the only model which can run both Windows XP and Vista . All Compaq models can only run Windows Vista. The dealer gave the Windows XP drivers as a goodwill gesture and Vista driver came bundled with the laptop from lenovo.

I bought a OEM Windows XP home disc for Rs 3800/- which is still available and installed the same myself as the PC came preloaded with only DOS 2000.

The Configuration is pretty decent for the price Pentium dual core cpu 2.16 ghz, 1 Gb DDR-2 Ram@667 Mhz, Motherboard Intel GL-40 new montevina Platform, graphics Intel GMA 4500, 160 gb hard disk drive, Web camera but no blue tooth and no card reader which anyway I did not want. Modem and LAN port are given and so is wireless internet access via 802.11 a/g adapter built inside. Speaker quality is ok not very high nor low at 2 watts per channel. Keyboard typing and feel very good and able to type this very fast even though I am using a laptop for the 1st time in my life. Track mouse and pointer very accurate so no problem on this account. Heating is well within control and no hanging problem found. DVD writer burns discs pretty fast but even though rated at 8X burns only at 4X.

So any one having basic computing needs and thinking of buying a desktop can opt for this as the price difference is not much and one would be saving a huge amount of desk Space and Aesthetics.

I shall keep posting further if any problems crop up in the future.

Added:19th February 2011.

Till Date the Lenovo Notebook has not given a single problem or even a Hang Even Though it is used for about 12 hours daily viewing TV, Recording TV, Internet Access & MS office Applications and Accounts Etc with External Keyboard, Mouse, Broad Band ADSL Router.

It is really very rugged, However I have been using the Laptop Only Indoors as a Desktop Replacement .The Only Draw  Back I Felt was a Little Low Audio Output from the in-built speakers for which I connected USB Powered Desktop Speakers of Edifier Make To the Head Phone Output Jack and this solved the low audio output problem.

Will Definitely Opt For A Lenovo In the Future. No Hassles Faced.