Lenovo Ideapad Z510 - a 15-inch laptop from the middle price segment, which is positioned by the manufacturer as a model "for daily leisure", "mobile entertainment center." The price of the device really causes pleasant feelings and averages 30,000 rubles (from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles, depending on configuration). Let's see if the model is really so good in business, as marketers promise.
Appearance: ultrabook disguise
Ultrabooks have successfully won positions from other types of laptops since 2011. Light and thin, stylish - users like them at first sight. Of course, you can’t fit a powerful 1.1-1.8 kg game station, but the designers tried to preserve the general direction in the design of Lenovo Ideapad Z510. And they succeeded.
Yes, the model does not differ in “harmony”: the thickness of the case reaches 27 mm without taking into account the legs, but it looks quite elegant at the same time, somewhat reminiscent of a book in a closed state due to the design features of the edge. The weight of the “booklet” is 2.2 kg - not so much, but it will definitely be felt in the bag and backpack, and it can be difficult for a fragile girl at all.
The design can be called practical: the matte surface of the case does not collect fingerprints and other contaminants, although it does not strike the imagination with spectacular details - in general it leaves a pleasant impression of a solid device.
A few words about the assembly: there are no creaks and backlash, but in the screen area the case bends a little and when pressed causes distortions in the image, which some owners did not like and caused negative reviews. Lenovo Ideapad Z510 has earned a solid “four” for design and quality workmanship.
Are we playing Screen and sound performance
The model is found in different versions, there are more budget options with a resolution of 1366 × 768, there are more expensive ones with Full HD, 1920 × 1080. TN-matrix slightly distorts the color reproduction and is not very high contrast. The matte finish allows you to comfortably work on a laptop on a sunny day.
But the sound of the Lenovo Ideapad Z510 turned out to be really good: the acoustics from JBL in quality are quite comparable with inexpensive speakers costing up to 2000 rubles. This is nice: you can save on additional equipment.
Now let's move on to the most interesting - filling. This Lenovo laptop is equipped with Intel's fourth-generation Haswell processors, made according to the 22 HM process technology - Core i3, i5 or i7, which provides sufficient performance for most tasks. The amount of RAM will be 4, 6 or 8 GB; the volume of the hard drive is 500 GB or 1 TB, in some configurations there are models with an SSD cache. But the most important thing for the “gaming” model is the availability of a discrete graphics card NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M (2 GB): its performance is enough to run the latest games at medium settings.
Well, everything is in order with the entertainment functions of the laptop: to watch a movie, to listen to music with comfort, and to play a novelty - a laptop can cope with all tasks without any problems.
Ease of use: interfaces, keyboard, touchpad
The laptop is equipped with three USB connectors: 2 ports version 3.0 and 1 port version 2.0 - a reasonable compromise that allows you to provide the user with comfortable operation without overpaying for unnecessary functions. Let me remind you that USB 3.0 is 10 times faster than 2.0, and, in addition, devices can be powered from such ports due to the increased current strength (900 mA compared to 500 mA), so that when working with external drives the difference will be very noticeable, and the possibility recharge, say, a smartphone when connected to a laptop, too, will not be superfluous. At the same time, USB 2.0 is enough for an old flash drive or a bluetooth mouse with a receiver.
There are two video outputs: already standard and ubiquitous HDMI and outdated VGA. And yet, such a bundle can hardly be called redundant, because the laptop is rarely used exclusively for games, and for work or training tasks, a VGA output is occasionally needed - for example, for conducting a presentation.
The RJ-45 network connector provides 100 Mbps information transfer. Its presence almost does not raise questions ... Well, perhaps one: why not gigabit?
The built-in card reader does not shine with versatility and is able to read two formats of memory cards: SD and MMC. However, for most digital cameras this will be enough, but for microSD there are adapters.
A DVD drive is available, it reads BluRay disks, there is a recording function - everything, as expected, there are no complaints.
Audio output combined for headphones and microphone.
The touchpad is standard, it can often be found on modern laptop models: pleasant to the touch, supports gestures and multi-touch.
The island-type keyboard is quite convenient: a small key stroke allows you to comfortably type large amounts of texts, and a separate digital unit will delight people who often work with numbers. The presence of backlighting depends on the specific model, it is determined using the icon on the space bar.
Mobile entertainment center? Work autonomy
Yes, the Lenovo Ideapad Z510 definitely fits the definition of “entertainment center,” but it hasn’t worked out well with mobility: about 4 hours at a light load (reading books, surfing the Internet) and 1-1.5 hours at maximum (in modern games) imagination cannot be called a result.
Well, to paraphrase a well-known principle, we can say this: "Productivity, autonomy, price - choose 2 out of 3." Sufficient performance + low price = modest autonomy.
conclusions
| The pros | CONS: CONS |
+ discrete graphics card + nice design + great sound + VGA port | - modest autonomy - no gigabit ethernet support |
Lenovo's model turned out to be quite interesting and balanced, the Ideapad Z510 will definitely occupy its niche in the market, and, perhaps, it can even squeeze other Lenovo laptops, prices for which are in the same range.
As you can see, there are still more pros than cons. Decide to the consumer.