Cooling, Portability, Software
Cooling
The Z580 is the coolest laptop I’ve ever tested. At idle its bottom temperatures were not above 77 degrees Fahrenheit – at load, these temperatures did not exceed 85 degrees. The right-hand portion of the laptop never warmed noticeably, even after fifteen minutes of 7-Zip in conjunction with Furmark, which is what I usually use for a stress test.
Fan noise is the payment for these low readings. This laptop never shuts up, even at idle. Noise at load is not greater than with many other laptops of similar size but takes on a whiney character that I found annoying. Still, users who are turned off by hot laptops will find this one to be an excellent choice.
Portability
The Z580’s weight of 5.84 pounds is typical for a laptop of this size, but its thickness of 1.4 inches is a bit husky. Carrying this laptop around requires a backpack or a large messenger bag and most owners will notice the extra weight when the Z580 is being hauled around.
Battery life is a more serious issue. My testing quickly drained the laptop in all workloads. Even the more powerful ASUS N56VM fared a bit better. These results are likely skewed by the fact we often receive more expensive laptops for review here at PC Perspective, but I do think the Z580 is below average for the segment. This is a trend among Lenovo IdeaPads. Many of them seem to come with small-ish laptop batteries.
Software
The Z580 review unit arrived light on the bloatware. It does have a small number of shortcuts, but most are to useful software such as Google Chrome, Cyberlink Power2Go and Adobe Reader. Some, such as Lenovo Webcam, are not my favorite apps – but shortcuts don’t bother the user unless they’re opened.
One piece of software I continue to find annoying is Lenovo’s custom Energy Management gadget. It’s designed to look like a speedometer and has three logos – a bicycle, a car, and a convertible sports car. The interface tries too hard to be cute and approachable. Why can’t users have something reminiscent of the excellent Power Manager found on ThinkPad laptops?
Finally, there is the anti-virus. It’s McAfee this time around. It will grate on the user’s nerves until it is uninstalled and replaced with something else. This is on par with other consumer laptops.
How fast for the ethernet,
How fast for the ethernet, Gigabit or slower! no Gigabit no buy! Laptop reviews are like a box of chocolates you never know if it is crappy chocolates ’till you eat (buy) one, laptop purcahses are like this beacuse laptop reviews never tell the complete story! Most laptop reviews are just thinly
vailed ads! Buying a laptop is pretty much a craps shoot, beacuse laptop OEMs and the “friendly” press keep the buyer fixated on theoretical maximum and not the true performence!
true performence that is never put to the test! I have never read a laptop review where the driver software is tested, I have for $$$ gaming rigs! Please tell the reader if the HD graphics drivers are OEM customized or genaric drivers! Please tell The reader more motherboard and chipset info, USB controllers, etc. Hell, Run CPUz on the laptop and print that info!
I agree, the review is not
I agree, the review is not detailed enough. This is just a glossed overview. Details, details, details!
price of lenovo z580 today
price of lenovo z580 today 9-2012 ?
please tell me soon
this was the time i bought
this was the time i bought mine, sept 2012. it was on sale at office depot for $450.
Although computers may have
Although computers may have enhanced our ability to “do business,” they have played hell with the American people’s ability to spell or put together a cogent set of thoughts. Maybe we’d be better off if someone invented a “think-check” that irons out what we want to say before it’s sent.