Lenovo Y480 Review

[LenovoOrBust]

Hopefully we'll see the 650M on Monday, yay!

For those that own the current version - how's the heat with everything running at full blast?

[gadgetrants]

A few more options added to the Y480 lineup last night, including a 500GB 7200RPM drive, a 750GB drive, and the 32GB SSD on its own, as well as more definite shipping dates: 

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.det...

But I'm a little confused:

- 209388U and 20934ZU appear to be the same machine (at two prices)

- all list the same 640m 2GB graphics card

- the CPU descriptions differ slightly, but all are the same Core I7-3610QM

It seems like the new info got slapped up quickly and the "typos" will probably get updated soon.  But it's too bad that most of what's new is minimal.  Maybe more on Monday?  

-Matt

[appster]

Hi all,

New member here.  At work I sometimes get to use a company-owned T420 and I'm now very interested in getting a Y480 (ivy bridge) for personal use.  I can't seem to find one in local stores to checkout, so can anyone comment on the differences between the two laptops in terms of:

1. Build-quality
2. Keyboard & touchpad
3. Display

Also, I'm very confused by the Y480's HDD offerings.  What the heck is that 32GB 5400 SSD on the 209387U. ???

Thanks,

appster

[gadgetrants]

Howdy appster, I'm confused too!  Either that unusual 5400 SSD spins really slow (actually, it shouldn't be spinning at all!), or it's some kind of vestige of the listing for the dual 1TB/32GB combo option.  It's kind of a wild guess, but at this point my suspicion is that some of the units that we're looking at may come with a Bluray drive (I saw this on the Y570s, I think) but the descriptions haven't been updated yet.  Another possibility is that some may come with a better graphics card, but that's wishful thinking.  I guess we'll know soon.

Sorry I can't comment on the T420 -- all the Thinkpad people I know are too snobby to consider owning an Ideapad!

-Matt

[appster]

Hi Matt,

Yeah, I tried finding out what gives with that (typo?) using the online chat, but those agents don't know anything!

As mentioned, I've used a company T420 on a few occaisions and if the Y480 is anywhere near as good, I'd be very happy!

I'm also 'eyeballing' the HP dv6t Quad Edition (Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM) deals... http://dealzon.com/deals/hp-dv6-laptop

[gadgetrants]

That's a fantastic deal on the dv6t -- I'm particularly impressed to see it shipping with the 650m at that price!  I have a hunch that the Y580 won't be able to match those specs/price. 

-Matt

[LenovoOrBust]

Id be happy to see  the 650M on the Y480 come Monday. Hope the changes arent the ones just implemented

[appster]

We shall see what (if any) changes appear on Monday.  As of now the following HP dv6t configuration can be had for $1060 (after applying the $400 coupon):

HP dv6t Quad Edition Notebook - A3F49AV

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
• FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
• FREE Upgrade to Norton Internet Security(TM) 2012 - 15 Months Subscription (activation required)
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
• Backlit Keyboard
• + Free Shipping

Beat that Lenovo!!!

[gadgetrants]

Looks gorgeous, but IF ONLY someone would build a 15" with all the bells and whistles under 5lbs. 

...yikes, just noticed the dual hard drives...1080p display...6 hours estimated battery...

You're a very bad influence.

-Matt

[appster]

".... IF ONLY someone would build a 15" with all the bells and whistles under 5lbs"

I think Samsung does (Series 7)  ....but that doesn't matter all that much to me as 90% of the time I'm using it at home. 

Btw, that 1080p 'anti-glare' display is totally awesome!!!