Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 Opinions?

Posted by Individualist_Conformity on November 20, 2012 03:10 pm 1

I was planning on replacing the defective hard drive on my Dell Studio 15, which I posted here, but it died today. The motherboard, which had to replaced 4+ times under the warranty presumably died last night, with the warranty no longer valid. Instead of pouring anymore time or money into the Studio 15, I'll have to buy a new one -- it's done it time and time again and I can't go without a computer for extended periods of time.

Anyways, sad stories aside, the brand I have my eye on is Lenovo. The Thinkpad series do nothing for me aesthetically but the rest of their IdeaPad and Essential Computing lines (meant for mainstream consumers) are quite nice. I was settled on the more budget, yet stacked spec-wise, G series (580 and 780) but the size/weight and design was a little lacking for me. I just stumbled on the IdeaPad Z500 -- at 15.6", my desired size. Below are the specs:

• Processor

  3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3520M Processor( 2.90GHz 1600MHz 4MB)

• Operating system

  Windows 8 64

• Graphics

  Intel HD Graphics 4000

• Memory

  8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz

• Display

  15.6" HD Glossy with integrated camera 1366x768

• Pointing device

  Industry Standard Multi-touch 2 button touchpad

• Hard Drive

  1TB 5400 rpm

Mainly in RAM and the 1 TB hard drive, these are the specs I was aiming for. The screen resolution isn't much of a factor since 1366x768 is what my other devices were and it's never really bothered me to where I want to put down an extra $1000+. The price is $729.00, down from $899 thanks to Black Friday sales, plus 10% off for joining the newsletter (in all $656.90).

If there's any glaring faults or better options, please let me know. One note: prior bad experiences with Dell, Sony, Toshiba, and Compaq has given me a visceral dislike of those brands so I avoid them. Lenovo's reputation for great build quality -- of Thinkpad and I presume it goes to IdeaPad -- is the main draw and naturally I'll pick up the 3yr additional warranty. I plan on this laptop lasting me at least 3 years, so hopefully I can avoid the frequency of defects and warranty claims the others mired me in.