Jun 06, 2013 02:38 PM
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I being a Mechanical Engineering student wanted a laptop easy on the pocket, decent specifications and high quality build along with great looks and a good badge value.
In March, I decided that I need a laptop as the desktop could not suffice my mobile requirements and the hunt began with a budget that gives me a good spec laptop which is somewhat future proof.
The whole march was spent on researching nearly a dozen laptops, from Dells, Acer, Samsung, Phases …etc.
I finally narrowed down to 5 models
(I have also listed their pros and cons)
HP Pavilion G6
Pros: Understated Smart Looks, Ideal Configuration
Cons: Bulky, too simple, the graphic card was ATI Radeon which is incompatible with various drafting software shaders and is a little less powerful than NVidia 640M, horror stories of poor build.
Dell Inspiron 15R
Pros: Looks and badge value holds good.
Cons: Bulky, Graphics card, after sales service not available locally.
Samsung NP550
Pros: Sleek Looks, Strong graphic performer(NVidia 650M), Good Screen and build.
Cons: Not easily available, tends to overheat, badge value
Lenovo Y500
Pros: Excellent performance, ability to add another graphics card(SLI), gamer look(red backlighting)
Cons: Very bulky, expensive, deplorable battery life, unswitchable graphics.
Lenovo Z500
Pros: Good price performance ratio, aluminium body feels premium, ultra sleek – almost like an ultra-book, great graphic performance by NVidia 645M.
Cons: Low availability due to demand, chicklet keyboard feels a little soft at some parts.
So I finally decided on the Dell Inspiron 15R, just as I was about to buy, a girl was browsing the store with her dad, she pointed to the Inspiron and said “It’s so bulky, why would anyone buy this instead of a desktop?”
And right she was! I imagined how painful it will be to lug around such a heavy piece of equipment.
So I tended towards Lenovo’s new entrant, the Z500. It was exactly what I wanted; MacBook looks(aluminium), soft touch non glossy exterior and great hardware.
I was sold on it!, sad it took the shop around 10 days to source the laptop for me, though the wait was worth it, the laptop feels solid, runs great, battery can squeeze two movies, graphics card is very capable, Dolby sound is out of this world and one key recovery system. Best of all it comes with a 2 year warranty and an accidental damage policy!
The weak points of this laptop are
Inverted function keys(as found on IBM laptops)
Chicklet keyboard depresses on pressure.
Non backlit keyboard and non-removable battery!
Screen could have been matt and have deeper blacks and HD.
In conclusion,
I will suggest the z500 to occasional gamers and someone who wants a good sleek and powerful laptop.
Excellent for entertainment. And for business use, I’ll suggest you to look elsewhere(IBM/Asus)
Technically, this laptop has 3rd Gen Core i5 processor, NVidia 645M(Overclocked version of the 640M), 15.6” screen(1366x768), USB 3.0, DVD-RW 24x 6GB Ram and 1TB HDD
Dell - If you can live with a little more bulk and a weaker graphics card, the dell has a HD screen.
Lenovo Y500 – If you are serious about gaming and want capability to upgrade.
Asus / IBM – More rugged, and better for business use.
Samsung NP550 – If you can live with the badge.
