Lenovo - IdeaPad Laptop / AMD Phenom™ II Processor / 15.6" Display / 3GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive - Black

Price:$379.99 Design: From a customer’s standpoint, the z565 is sleek and not lacking in any design area. The base of the laptop has a nice aluminum finish and the lid comes in a rubber matte looking material. The z565 contains a full size keyboard thanks to its 15.6” display; however I do think the laptop would benefit from a 1600 x 900 resolution. The screen is a LED-backlit HD display but playing HD movies or general use would make you think different. The screen has a contrast ratio of 500:1 and a 220 cd/m2, so dark images are washed out in direct light. The screen does produce clear whites and somewhat average blacks but can be better(noticeable while watching movies). The best thing about the design is how simple everything looks, not to many flashing lights or buttons. Mouse pad on the z565 is one of my favorites; it has a nice textured surface along with two soft click buttons that work very well with the keyboard buttons that aren’t hard. Features: The z565 has an optical drive tray that looks generic, easy to break, and very flimsy. However, I haven’t had any problems with is as yet, but I’m sure after some use I will see issues. The z565 has all essential ports: (3) usb 2.0 ports, hdmi port, vga port, esata port, express card slot, audio jacks and a 5 in 1 media card reader. The built-in Ethernet adapter however does not support gigabit connections which isn't really a con but some consumers see that as a requirement. Sound is an important feature of this laptop. The z565 comes with Dolby advanced audio that really stands out from other laptops I’ve used before. Another nice feature is the smart fan located on the touch control center, it allows for the user to control fans speed and activate a dust cleaning option. One feature that I really was disappointed in was the webcam, the laptop comes with a 0.3 megapixel camera but right out of the box it barely even showed anything. In a well-lighted area you could barely see your face and this was a big con, there is no reason for a camera to be this poorly made. After thinking about returning the laptop I decided to remove the drivers and replace it with the ones on Lenovo’s support page and that did the trick. I can actually have no light on now and see everything clear, well as clear as any other 0.3 megapixel camera. Performance: I usually never purchase AMD and ATI products, I’ve always been a fan of Intel and NVidia, but I have to say I am impressed with this current set up and how well they work together. The z565 uses an AMD Phenom II 3.0 Ghz dual-core N660 processor with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4270(shared memory) video card. First of all the processor runs very smooth and it hasn’t had any issues with anything that I’ve thrown its way. The N660 speeds past Intel’s T6670 and P6200 processors without breaking a sweat. I only bring up these models because they are in the same price range as the N660. I believe the 3.0 Ghz is what really separate’s this processor, it does fall short when compared to the Intel’s core i3-370m but wins overall in the price range. The z565 comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4270 video card that uses shared system memory and has a core speed of 590Mhz. This is what also sets it apart from the other Intel laptops in this price range because they either use UMA(unified memory architecture) or a GMA(graphics media accelerator) 4500MHD that don’t compare. HD playback is very smooth and with the configuration can handle up to 1080, I only use 720 but I’ve tested two HD videos simultaneously along with surfing the web. You still have to remember the configuration suffers only because its shared memory and the z565 comes with 3Gb of RAM limiting how much you can do. I will be upgrading it to its full potential which is 8Gb sometime in the future and I’m sure it will be able to handle a lot more. Battery Performance: The z565 has a 6-cell lithium-ion battery with a 65 watt slim adapter. I usually always have my laptop plugged in because I like to use it at full performance and surprisingly I get a full 2 hours of battery life if I don’t use the adapter. On balanced mode I get about 3 hours and 30 minutes with normal use. Not sure on how long it would last watching a movie but I’m sure on the go you will have enough to watch a full length movie and have some power to spare.

This laptop was bought primarily for my father who is in his late 60s. It's primary purpose is for business and general use. He is not a power user. We had a budget of about $500. Enter the Lenovo. At $450, there is nothing out there (right now) that can touch it's build quailty, feature set, and performance. As much as I love Toshiba and Asus laptops, you have to spend another $100 to get into anything worthwhile. The laptop performance is generally quite good, especially for menial tasks such as surfing the internet, MS office products, etc. However, be forewarned, this is not a power-user laptop. While it has a good Phenom II processor (over other brands that use a Pentium dual-core or Athlon II at same price point), it's not a gaming machine. The Radeon HD 4970 integrated solution is miles ahead of the Intel GMA for graphics, but it still doesn't take the place of a graphics card. Bottom line, if you're looking for a gaming machine (or something that can game decently on the road) keep moving. As a business laptop it rocks! The keyboard feel is stellar. The aluminum and rubber construction is rock solid and durable, and as a bonus, the laptop looks very expensive. Damaging the laptop while traveling will not be a major concern. The screen is sharp. Once you remove the "bloatware" it's generally very speedy. The touchpad mouse (and especially the buttons) is miles ahead of of anything from HP. 10-key keyboard is a bonus. There are a few notable flaws, some that have to do with Lenovo, some with AMD. -While the Phenom II is a pretty good performer (it's a dual 3.0Ghz processor), it can't hold a candle to any of the Corei3 and up processors. However, the Corei3 processors are a bit more expensive. Also, the Phenom's are not NEARLY as efficient as the Core processors so battery life isn't long. 2-3 hours is max if you have the screen fully bright. -3 GB of ram when most of the other laptops in the price range are at 4 GB. This won't be a concern for an average user, but power users might miss that extra 1GB, especially since the ram is shared for video. This can be upgraded pretty cheaply and easily to 8GB so not a huge concern. -320 gb hard drive is on the small side if you plan on filling this up with music and movies. This is also cheaply upgradeable down the road if you decide you need more. -at nearly 6 pounds, it is on the heavier side for a laptop that's not all that large. 6 pounds doesn't seem like a lot, but when you're traveling it will add up. -the mousepad doesn't allow for pinch zooming, or two-finger operation for scrolling like on Apple and HP laptops. You can scroll up-and-down on a webpage, but only on the dedicated spot on the mousepad. This is far less convenient than two-finger scrolling. -as stated before, decent-to-mediocre battery life. -built-in speakers are terrible. Seriously folks, this are some of the worse laptop speakers ever. Invest in headphones, you'll need them. Overall, the laptop is very well built and priced and is a good performer- even with the few warts. Honestly, it's enough laptop for about 80% of the general population. I know the list of the drawbacks seems long, but it's mostly nitpicking. There isn't a laptop in the world that's perfect. I wouldn't hesitate at all to recommend it, and in fact, may just buy a second one for my youngest brother who is starting college.

As a fairly demanding user, I was looking for a better-than-average computer with enough power to run some fairly memory-hungry programs - much more than just internet and word processing - for under $500. After weeks of careful research, I decided on this Lenovo, and got it when it hit $380 - less than half its starting price. Physically, this laptop is the best I've seen. The size and weight are less than ideal for the travel user, but for someone like me who just is going to take it around the house, it's perfect, and very sturdy. The black rubberized lid constantly gets smudges on it, but they can wiped off fairly easily. The interior is excellent. As a writer, the keyboard is a big deal to me - and this is not the clumsy keyboard that I've seen before. It is desktop-keyboard quality - the keys have a firm, satisfying feel; they're spaced slightly apart and have concave depressions in them for easy, error-free typing. The touchpad is just as good - the buttons are soft; the touchpad itself has a great texture - not too smooth, not too sticky. It also features a very useful scroll bar on the side, and can be used as a mouse button itself by tapping on it. The palm rests are smooth but not slippery. Overall, this laptop looks and feels terrific. Which is not to say that its performance is lacking. The processor (AMD Phenom II N660) is high-end, partly due to its very high clock speed of 3.0 GHz. Everything is fast; even the memory-hungry programs don't bog down everything else. Even with only 3 GB RAM, reasonable multi-tasking is not an issue. The total graphical memory is 1405 MB; 256 of which is dedicated. In addition to the basics such as internet, more demanding programs (Visual Studio, Pinnacle, Noteflight.com) run excellently. I don't play games, but World Golf Tour runs fine on here too. Overall, everything is fast - no glitches or hang-ups. For anyone less than the gamer or profesional user, the performance is excellent, and for the casual user, much more than enough. Of course, at $380, this laptop is hardly more expensive than other laptops with much less power. Also of importance, this laptop has an excellent cooling system. It doesn't get hot or even warm, and the fan is QUIET.

All right, so if you're looking for a laptop with great build quality, a stylish design, and strong everyday performance - at a great price - this is your last stop. I'm very hard to please when it comes to electronics, but this laptop stands out to me for the value it brings. I was going to go with the RV511-A01 for the i3 processor, bigger hard drive, and 4 GB memory but before I grabbed the box, I took one more look around and found the Z565 from Lenovo. Never having experience with Lenovo before, I read the reviews and saw nothing but good things. I was going to use this laptop for school as well as my business. I'm a district sales manager so I wanted something with the numeric pad, a nice display, solid performance and a professional build/look. I found the keyboard on the 565 to have a better layout and feel than the Samsung (or any HP for that matter). They are very responsive and give good feedback. The built in webcam is nice for video chat (Skype) and also has a built in mic, which works great. The touchpad is simple and precise, exactly what I need. It has the ability to scroll web pages vertical or horizontally which is nice for web browsing or even while in Excel. It also has HDMI, and a silent fan option key at the top right hand corner (along with 3 other shortcut keys including power management, mute and display mode). I've since upgraded the RAM to 8GB, and combined with the dual core AMD Phenom, I am very pleased with the performance. I can browse the web, have a media player playing in the background (MediaMonkey), use Excel and run my point of sale system all at the same time with no lag. 8GB is probably overkill, but I would recommend moving up to at least 4GB from the factory 3GB. Installation of the new RAM was simple, and it recognized it right away. The Lenovo stays cool and it runs very quiet. The speakers aren't for audiophiles, but they'll play music and video sounds very well. All ports work well and the CD/DVD tray has a groove by the button to help you find it without any problems (it's not flush like some where you have to look to find the button). Overall, this laptop isn't going to blow anybody away; however, it's black shell that covers the aluminum-type keyboard cover gives it some style that sets it apart and makes it look like a much more expensive machine. Battery life leaves something to be desired, but if you're always around power outlets, then you'll be okay. Lenovo has a new fan and I have no regrets of passing up on the Samsung for a much better deal. You won't be dissapointed by this Lenovo.

In November, I bought an ASUS i7 laptop, thinking that it was going to be FAST...however, I was WAY disappointed with its performance when I used CS4 and Premiere Elements. It was slow, but I put up with it...even took it to BB Geek Squad who confirmed that it was just slow. They said I should consider AMD processors over Intel. So, last week, when my husband's desktop crashed, I pawned off my ikky i7, went to Best Buy and picked up this little gem. It's like night and day!! I love this little thing! I ripped out the 8gig RAM I bought for the i7pos and transferred it to the Lenovo. It handles a multitude of open programs, all high-power CS4, Office, Outlook (which is a memory hog) and multiple browser tabs. The only downer I can see is the screen resolution...but I plug it into a 23" monitor w 1920 x 1080 resolution, and it looks fine. To a man, when I told the Best Buy reps I wanted this over a pentium, they were like "ooh - you sure about that?" DON'T PAY THE MONEY FOR THE INTEL PROCESSOR! My i7pos was twice what this cost, and this kicks it's butt!

Summary: Made an educated comparison to other brands in this price range both online and in person. The Lenovo brand is reliable, we use Lenovo business products at work, and I have used my Lenovo laptop for the past four years without any major issues which is why I was somewhat biased. Although I am not fond of Lenovo support, the build on these machines is fairly decent if you can take care of it with a little common sense. I compared this laptop to an HP, Toshiba, and a higher priced Samsung i3 with similar specs. At "other" stores they sell a version of this laptop with more RAM and a bigger hard drive, but when trying at the store I wasnt impressed at all. When I compared the specs closely I noticed the BestBuy (LU) model has a better processor and a noticeable improvement in the user experience (ie appeared to move faster). PROS: Bright Display, good all around performance for everyday tasks like Office and Expression. HDMI output to show projects, powerpoints, and graphics to potential clients CONS: Anyone can find an issue with anything so I'll just leave it at that. For machines with this many features in this price range it is far beyond what I expected. I use this primarily for business, with an occasional Skype with clients I was pleased with the non grainy quality of the built in webcam. On the side I'm an IT consultant and an amateur web designer, so this laptop runs everything fine, even Virtual PC's and MS Expression Ultimate.

I purchased this laptop to replace a very high priced Apple laptop after admitting to myself I simply did not need that much computer. I use my laptop for email, web surfing, documents, music and picture organizing, and other less demanding tasks. I have had this Lenovo, my first Lenovo, for about a week or more. I am very impressed. I have been very surprised at its performance and ease of use. The monitor is very clear and crisp. The keyboard is laid out for comfortable typing. It has eSata connection. A HDMI connection. Plenty of USB ports. I don't play games so I can't comment on that point, except to say that taking into account the processor, memory, and video I doubt its strong point would be gaming. For the rest of us who use our laptops to create documents, emails, etc it is quite adequate. I called the ever so iffy support expecting to get someone I couldn't understand. Lenovo's support is not iffy. Not only could I understand the lady I spoke to, she actually knew what she was talking about! I called to find out if the eSata port is powered - it is. The HDMI is both video and audio as well. They also offer a year of accident protection for fifty bucks. For the value you get at this price, you just can't beat it. It is well built and the case is sturdy. There are very clear instructions in the manual to upgrade the memory and hard drive if you so choose. It's a great laptop whether you upgrade or not. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

For the $399.99 i paid last week, Value for Price is 5 stars. For the $449 this is currently listed at it's still a very good deal considering that similar machines are up to $100 more. While AMD still lags behind in the mobile CPU wars, the Phenom II is able to compete with the i3 line falling somewhere between last year's models and the newest i3-2310m iteration. Which is to say this speedy dual core CPU is more than enough for email, internet, HD video and any application you can throw at it. Its integrated graphics may not play the latest FPS but it will have no issue with 2D and older 3D titles (NWN and KotoR II ran fine). Image quality is what you'd expect at this price. Colors look good, not great but for the most part, no complaints. Sound quality also as expected - but although the sound is tinny out of the box, there is a control that adjusts settings to a MOVIE preset which sounds noticeably better. The case and keyboard feel solid, touchpad is silky for the most part, and the matted silver casing is a great contrast to the shiny black bezel. The lid is a black rubberized material that resists finger prints and smudges and looks great. Overall a very well built machine, feeling better than anything else in it's price range.