Multimedia laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Z510. Keyboard and positioning devices
Understanding the positioning of Lenovo laptop series is not an easy task. For example, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y series models are positioned by the company as premium multimedia laptops. These are “high-performance gaming laptops with rich multimedia capabilities,” it notes. The Lenovo IdeaPad Z series is positioned by the company as “gaming laptops with rich multimedia capabilities.” That is, the positioning of these two series is almost the same. Actually, the actual difference between the Lenovo IdeaPad Y series and Z series laptops is only that they have a different design, and the Y series laptops come with a slightly more powerful discrete graphics card.
In this article we will look at the new 15-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop, which replaces the . The differences between them are in the configuration and screen. The new model has a fourth-generation Intel processor (Haswell) and Nvidia GeForce GT 740M graphics, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 laptops used third-generation Intel processors (Ivy Bridge) and Nvidia GeForce GT 640M graphics. In addition, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 uses a screen with a resolution of 1920x1080, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 has a resolution of 1366x768.
So, let us repeat that the 15-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 is positioned by the company as a gaming laptop with extensive multimedia capabilities. Well, let's see how true this positioning is.
Options and packaging
The laptop comes in a simple cardboard box with a handle. In addition to the laptop itself, the package includes only a power adapter, a warranty card and a quick user guide. That is, the delivery set is minimal.
Laptop configuration
In addition to the Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics core integrated into the processor, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop also has a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 740M video card with 2 GB of DDR3 memory. This is a budget video card with rather weak performance. And if for a multimedia laptop the presence of such a video card can still be justified, then for a gaming laptop its performance is clearly not enough. However, we will tell you about the results of testing this laptop in games a little later.
The laptop is equipped with 6 GB of DDR3L-1600 memory, and two different memory modules are used: Ramaxel RMT3170ED58F8W1600 with a capacity of 2 GB and Samsung M471B5173QH0-YK0 with a capacity of 4 GB. Accordingly, the memory operates in dual-channel mode. Also note that the laptop has a total of two SO-DIMM slots for installing memory modules.
The storage subsystem in the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 is one Seagate ST1000LM014-1EJ164 HDD with a capacity of 1 TB.
The communication capabilities of the laptop are determined by the presence of the Intel Wireless-N 7260 (802.11b/g/n) wireless network adapter. In addition, there is a wired network interface based on the Realtek controller. Moreover, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the laptop does not have a gigabit network controller, but a Fast Ethernet controller (100 Mbit/s).
The audio subsystem of the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 is based on the Realtek ALC282 HDA codec. The laptop itself has two JBL speakers. In addition, there is a combined audio minijack (for microphone and headphones).
It remains to add that the laptop is equipped with a built-in HD webcam (720p) located above the screen, as well as a non-removable battery with a capacity of 48 Wh.
Appearance and ergonomics of the case
The design of the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop is quite simple. The laptop lid and bottom panel are made of material painted matte white. We were unable to identify what specific material - metal or plastic - the case was made of. Today's technologies for finishing plastic do not allow us to visually distinguish it from metal, and without the laptop losing its presentation, such an examination is simply impossible.
In one corner of the lid there is the traditional silver Lenovo logo. It should be noted that the laptop lid is not very hard, and when you press it, characteristic spots and waves appear on the screen.
On the bottom panel there are four rubber feet that prevent the laptop from sliding on the table. In addition, there are also several metal ventilation grilles.
The surface framing the touchpad and keyboard has a metallized coating (there is no doubt about this), finished in a light gray brushed metal look. Above the keyboard in the left corner there is a single power button for the laptop.
The matte screen on this laptop has a matte gray plastic frame. The width of the frame at the top is 23 mm, and at the sides - 17 mm. On the top of the frame there is a webcam and holes for two microphones.
All the side edges of the laptop are made of plastic, which has the same color as the working surface itself.
LED status indicators (there are two in total) are located here on the front edge of the case.
The system for attaching the laptop screen to the body consists of two hinges located at the bottom of the screen. This mounting system allows you to tilt the screen itself relative to the plane of the keyboard at an angle of approximately 130 degrees. This, of course, is not very much, but for normal work with a laptop it is quite enough.
The keys on the keyboard in this laptop are black, but we will tell you in detail about the keyboard, as well as the touchpad, a little later.
On the left side of the case there are two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI connector, a VGA connector, an RJ-45 network connector and a power connector. Note that since the laptop body is quite thin, the RJ-45 network connector is made with a hinged cover. The power connector in this laptop has a rectangular shape (this connector is used in many Lenovo laptops), so you won’t be able to use a universal power adapter in this case. There is also a small Nova button next to the power socket. When the laptop is turned off or in sleep mode, pressing this button launches a built-in utility that allows you to start the system recovery process (Lenovo OneKey Recovery), enter the boot menu or enter the BIOS setup mode.
On the right side there is a USB 2.0 port, a combined mini-jack audio jack, a card reader slot, an optical drive tray and a hole for a Kensington lock.
When closed, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 case is somewhat reminiscent of a book. This association arises because, firstly, the side edges of the laptop differ in color from the lid and bottom panel, and secondly, the side edges are slightly recessed relative to the edges of the lid and bottom panel and look like the pages of a book with a cover.
Among the shortcomings of the case design, one can note the sharp edge formed by the working surface and the front edge. This edge does not have any rounding or even a chamfer, which creates inconvenience when working with a laptop, since the sharp edge rubs the palms of the wrist. Note that this design is used quite often in Lenovo laptops.
Input Devices
Keyboard
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop uses a proprietary island-type AccuType keyboard with increased distance between the keys and a separate NumPad. Its peculiarity is that the keys are slightly rounded at the bottom. The keys themselves are black and have a white backlight (this is an optional feature that is not implemented in all models).
The surface under the keyboard is slightly recessed relative to the working surface and is made of plastic in exactly the same color as the working surface.
It should be noted that the base under the keyboard is not very rigid, and it flexes when typing. The deflection is not too significant, but it is still present.
The travel of the keys is quite small (about 1 mm), they are spring-loaded rather weakly, and the press is almost not felt. In general, we can say that the keyboard in this laptop model is not of very high quality.
Touchpad
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop uses a clickpad-type touchpad. The dimensions of its working area are 105×70 mm, which is quite enough for comfortable work. Note that this clickpad supports the multi-touch function.
The touch surface of the clickpad is smooth to the touch (without a rough coating) and slightly recessed.
It should be noted that, in contrast to the keyboard, the clickpad in the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop is very comfortable and of high quality. The sensitivity is excellent, there are no false alarms, and when you press the buttons, the cursor does not move (this is the problem with many clickpads).
Sound path
As already noted, the audio subsystem of the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop is based on the Realtek ALC282 HDA codec, and the laptop case has two built-in speakers. According to subjective feelings, the acoustics in this laptop are acceptable. The volume level is quite sufficient, and the sound quality will satisfy most users.
To evaluate the output audio path intended for connecting headphones or external speakers, we resorted to instrumental testing using an external Creative E-MU 0204 USB sound card and the RightMark Audio Analyzer 6.3.0 utility. Testing was carried out in stereo mode, 24-bit/44.1 kHz. According to test results, the audio path in the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop was found to be very good. The full report with testing results in the RMAA 6.3.0 program is posted on a separate page, followed by a short report.
| Frequency response unevenness (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB | 0,00, −0,08 | |
| Noise level, dB (A) | ||
| Dynamic range, dB (A) | ||
| Harmonic distortion, % | Very good |
|
| Harmonic distortion + noise, dB (A) | Mediocre |
|
| Intermodulation distortion + noise, % | Very good |
|
| Interpenetration of channels, dB | Very good |
|
| Intermodulation at 10 kHz, % | Very good |
|
| Overall rating | Very good |
|
Screen
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop uses an Innolux N156HGE-EA1 TN matrix with LED backlighting based on white LEDs. The diagonal screen size is 15.6 inches and the resolution is 1920x1080 pixels. The screen has a matte finish and is not touch sensitive.
The test results in the iXBT Notebook Benchmark v.1.0 are shown in the table.
| Logical test group | Reference system | Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 |
| Video conversion, points | 100 | 139,1 |
| MediaCoder x64 0.8.25.5560, seconds | 408,1 | 293,3 |
| Video content creation, points | 100 | 129,9 |
| Adobe Premiere Pro CC, seconds | 1115,7 | 839,7 |
| Adobe After Effects CC, seconds | 1975,4 | 1514,0 |
| Photodex ProShow Gold 5.0.3276, seconds | 913,6 | 722,1 |
| Digital photo processing, points | 100 | 132,4 |
| Adobe Photoshop CC, seconds | 1834,0 | 1385,3 |
| Audio processing, points | 100 | 122,4 |
| Adobe Audition CC, seconds | 880 | 719,0 |
| Text recognition, points | 100 | 105,4 |
| Abbyy FineReader 11, seconds | 115,3 | 109,4 |
| Archiving and unarchiving data, points | 100 | 105,1 |
| WinRAR 5.0 archiving, seconds | 313,8 | 273,2 |
| WinRAR 5.0 unzipping, seconds | 12,6 | 13,1 |
| Application and content loading speed, points | 100 | 42,1 |
| Application and content loading speed, seconds | 157,4 | 373,6 |
| Integral performance result, points | 100 | 104,6 |
In short, the results are as follows. In terms of integrated performance, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop is equivalent to our reference system based on the Intel Core i5-3317U processor. But we are talking specifically about integral productivity. Overall, the Intel Core i5-4200M processor is more powerful than the Core i5-3317U processor, and in tests where the result is mainly determined by processor performance (video conversion, video content creation, digital photo processing, audio processing), the advantage is on the side of the Lenovo laptop IdeaPad Z510. But in terms of performance of the storage subsystem, the tested laptop cannot compete with our reference system, which has an SSD drive installed. Accordingly, in tests whose results depend on the performance of the data storage subsystem (the speed of loading applications and content), the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop loses to the reference system.
Now let's look at the results of testing the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop in games. Testing was carried out at a screen resolution of 1920x1080.
| Game test | Maximum quality | Minimum quality | ||
| Average FPS | Minimum FPS value | Average FPS | Minimum FPS value | |
| Aliens vs Predator D3D11 Benchmark | 6,4 | - | 18,9 | - |
| Grid 2 | 12,5 | 12,5 | 38,6 | 33,2 |
| Bioshock Infinite | 9,1 | 6,7 | 36,3 | 23,5 |
| World of Tanks | 10,8 | 5,5 | 35,7 | 20,3 |
| Metro:LL | 3,8 | 12,5 | 38,6 | 33,2 |
| Hitman: Absolution | 3,3 | 1,1 | 21,4 | 15,7 |
As you can see, with settings at maximum quality, all games slow down, and playing in this mode is problematic. But in the minimum quality setting mode, you can comfortably play not all games, but most games. According to our calculation methodology, in the maximum quality setting mode, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop receives 0 points (out of 11 possible), and in the minimum quality setting mode - 8 points.
This result means that the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop can be considered not only as a multimedia laptop, but also as an entry-level gaming solution.
conclusions
So, after testing the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 laptop, we can draw the following conclusions. This is a fairly inexpensive model (the cost of a laptop in the configuration we described is approximately 30 thousand rubles), quiet, and quite suitable for the role of a multimedia laptop. But for games, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 can be used, but not for everyone, and only when set to the minimum quality (or at a significantly reduced resolution). The performance level of the model with an Intel Core i5-4200M processor is average; the weakest point in the laptop configuration is the slow HDD.
As disadvantages, we once again note a very mediocre screen, a not very high-quality keyboard, a short battery life and a sharp edge formed by the front edge of the case and the working surface, which creates inconvenience when working on a laptop.
It is worth noting that in terms of its configuration, positioning and cost, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 is in many ways similar to the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P (which we will publish a review of soon). The Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P costs 3 thousand more, but it has an Nvidia GeForce GT 755M video card, it has a better keyboard (though the touchpad is worse), a better screen, longer battery life, and, importantly, it is easy to disassemble, which cannot be said about Lenovo IdeaPad Z510. In a word, in many respects the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P is superior to the Lenovo IdeaPad Z510, and if you are interested in Lenovo laptops in this segment, then it is better to pay a little extra and get the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P.
2 years ago 0
Price, screen, keyboard
2 years ago 0
1) Price/hardware 2) Housing. Convenient bottom cover for access to the hardware and cooling system, easy to clean 3) Static resistant. Several times it was punched by hand into the USB and HDMI area. didn't even freeze!
2 years ago 0
Keyboard, no unnecessary software, three USBs with bad location
2 years ago 0
Fast, comfortable, full keyboard.
2 years ago 0
Powerful, fast and quiet laptop. It is quite suitable for serious programming and office work.
2 years ago 0
Didn't find it.
2 years ago 0
I bought an i7 amd video card for 29900, installed Vach Dogs... it runs without Prada lags on low settings, or rather custom ones, something average... Word of Tanks on medium runs great fps 30 bnz lags... on automatic, that is, low 110 fps... more haven't tried it..
2 years ago 0
The main advantages on paper about the characteristics of this model
2 years ago 0
2 years ago 0
Performance, design, keyboard
2 years ago 0
Built-in conexant audio via headphones, metal edges near the keyboard
2 years ago 0
1) There is a “white sheet” of hardware in the BIOS. See paragraph 2 Comment
2) The microphone is located under the left hand at the bottom of the body next to
with a cooling system -->> cooler noise, during games and communication, the hand blocks the microphone.
2 years ago 0
The short charging cord may seem thick and is not portable.
2 years ago 0
2 years ago 0
Sleep mode does not work correctly under Ubuntu. The laptop can “wake up” in the bag and overheat. I observed the same thing with Lenovo thinkpad 500 and 530.
The touchpad is much less comfortable compared to the thinkpad. On the right side of the keyboard, numpad buttons have been added, which still do not fit in and only interfere with the work.
2 years ago 0
The flimsy drive needs to be handled more carefully...
2 years ago 0
1. The very first drawback that I discovered was that it was a crap opening disk drive that was simply held on by snot!!! Who installed it like that, who knows, but it’s almost impossible to press with your fingers and open it without having nails! Mom could do it, I couldn’t :)
2. I bought it from a large cyber-market with a well-known name, there was only one left in stock, I decided to take a chance and it didn’t work out, the laptop had small abrasions at the bottom, as if some kind of sticker had been peeled off unsuccessfully from the bottom, and 1 rubber support was frayed.. ..I don’t know why, but I suspect that the laptop was opened and poorly disguised, in addition, the amd and intel stickers that were pasted on were very crooked, as if they were glued by a blind person (maybe not a drawback, but unpleasant)
There was also some small smeared imprint on the charging block, I noticed immediately
It just so happened that my four-year-old ASUS N55S fell ill with old age. First the battery died, then the power supply. Recently it began to freeze and overheat. Disassembling, cleaning and replacing thermal paste on all chips helped a little. But still, video and sound glitches, freezes and blue screens indicated that it was time to send him to his well-deserved rest.
Analysis of prices in our stores made me despondent - my needs clearly exceeded my capabilities.
What if..? buy abroad. So far, the exchange rate was not the worst in recent times, until the limits on duty-free purchases were lowered.
I remembered a good German store COMPUTERUNIVERSE, where I was (by the way, I still can’t get enough of it).
The prices from the Germans pleased me. The choice fell on LENOVO Ideapad 510.
Company information
A small company in Beijing in 2004 became one of the leaders in the market for desktop and mobile computers, and later telephones. It was then that this company acquired IBM Personal Systems Group for 1.25 billion. dollars, and three American investment companies became shareholders of Lenovo. Until 2010, according to the deal, Lenovo used the IBM brand in its products, but even after that the company occupies a confident position in the PC and laptop market next to DELL and Hewlett Packard, and is also developing the market of mobile phones and servers.
Laptop Specifications
Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB.Model: 80SV00S8GE (for German market)
Processor: Core i5-7200U, 2 cores 2.5GHz (max 3.1GHz)
8GB DDR4 RAM (expandable up to 12GB)
Disk subsystem: SSD 128GB + HDD 1.0TB
Screen 15.6 1980x1050 with IPS matrix
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce® 940MX with 2GB memory
Without CDROM/DVDROM
Camera 1.0MP, Ethernet 1Gb/s, WLAN b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1
Ports: 2xUSB3.0 + 1xUSB2.0, VGA, HDMI, card reader
The battery is non-removable, lithium-polymer, 39Wh. Operating time up to 5 hours (oh, these manufacturers with their calculations)
Weight: 2.4Kg with power supply
Operating system: DOS
After reading the reviews (as usual, anything cheaper than a Macbook Air sucks) and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to buy it.
After all, we had something similar that cost more than 50,000.
As the Japanese proverb says: “When you think, decide, but when you decide, don’t think!”
I paid via stick, carefully monitoring that the ruble conversion was done through the bank and not through PayPal. Of course, Sberbank's exchange rate is extortionate, but compared to a stick, they are lambs.
The price was 37,500 of our wooden ones.
And although this model was not in stock at COMPUTERUNIVERSE, it was sent within a day. In 4 days the goods arrived in Moscow by DHL and another 8 days traveled to Perm by Russian Post. Total 14 days from the date of payment.
The large box the parcel was in was thrown away along the way. It had a small signature. And there was another big bag at the post office. Just like the death of Koshcheev. 
Inside is the laptop itself, a power supply and several pieces of paper. 
The case is matte plastic. 
The power supply is small (I remember how at one time I was surprised by the 120W brick from ASUS) 
And here is the laptop itself 
Comparison with my well-deserved ASUS on which so many reviews have been written! 
Lenovo wins in terms of thickness and weight. ASUS cannot open the screen like that either 
The 510's battery is not removable. On the back there are two caps 
Under one of them is memory and network interfaces 
4GB soldered on board 
Another 4GB is in the slot and can later be replaced with 8GB 
Next to it is a WiFi and Bluettoth module in one bottle 
In place of the hard drive is an SSD from Samsung. The hard drive itself is apparently in the CDROM bay. 
Instead of CDROM there is a stub 
There's not much else to see from below. Now about the keyboard
The keyboard is the first (and perhaps the only) problem
The layout is called QWERTZ 
Well, it’s not difficult to figure out Russian letters. Although the technopoint stickers are clearly too small 
You can see how Q and E have old letters sticking out 
But letters are a small thing.
What to do with Strg (Control), Druck (PrnScrn), Eintf (Insert), Entf (Delete) and other functionalities.
1. Study the blind method (in principle, the keys are in their places)
2. Learn German
3. Look for a complete set of stickers.
The third option would be ideal, but I don’t come across such stickers. 13x13 with a full set of function keys, and some with a reduced height. The stickers come as close as possible to the Macbook Air, but not quite there.
If anyone knows where they get these stickers, I would be very grateful./
Until then we will live like this 
The second problem was resolved quickly. The function keys had controls for brightness, volume, etc., and F1-F12 themselves were pressed together with Fn. I’m almost used to my ASUS, where Insert = Fn + Delete (I wish I could look into the eyes of the genius who thought of this!) and I would probably get used to the new Fn + F1. The problem was quickly resolved by disabling the corresponding item in the BIOS
and everything fell into place 
By the way, the previous Lenovo 500 series model did not have this.
The BIOS itself struck me with the paucity of its capabilities. There's not much else to do there.
Drivers for this laptop are only available for Windows 10. People tried installing Windows 7 and looking for drivers for each device separately - apparently not this time.
The Windows 10 trial installation went smoothly. After installation, only a few devices were not detected, but the drivers from the Lenovo website worked immediately. 
Full system loading is less than 10 seconds. Booting from sleep mode - 2. SSD fully justifies itself
I ran some tests 
What's interesting is the Intel HD Graphics 620 video adapter,
and the 3D accelerator is Nvidia Gforse 940MX
Windows 10 with DirectX 12 can use both adapters! 
The laptop's consumption was a pleasant surprise - if the laptop does not perform any tasks and the screen brightness is at maximum - the consumption is only 10W! 
The maximum power that could be obtained under heavy load on some benchmark is 34W 
In this mode, my old ASUS with I7 consumed about 100W. Now it’s clear how the 510 can work for 5 hours with such a small battery, especially if the screen is dimmed.
In fact, the laptop works in Internet surfing mode for about 3.5-4 hours.
When watching videos, battery life is unlikely to be more than 2 hours.
Another weakness of this model is the low screen brightness. The contrast and viewing angles of the IPS matrix are quite decent, but in bright sunlight it will not be entirely comfortable to work on it.
Good tests of all characteristics are possible.
Weight without power supply 2.1kg 
Some thermal photos
The screen backlight and the processor stand out noticeably under the keyboard 
There is no particular heating on the reverse side either. 
And ASUS exhaust from the fan grille reached 50C. Here the fan practically does not work. Even at maximum load there is no noise. The energy-efficient low-voltage processor makes itself felt (15V thermal power maximum)
A little about the guarantee
Having looked up the warranty of this laptop on the website, I saw a limited local warranty of 1 year
The booklet with guarantee centers states Moscow. Thanks to the user serg_mur for explaining that Russia is included in the European region, therefore a laptop purchased in Germany should not have warranty problems
Let's sum it up
A good work laptop with very decent performance. Lightweight and economical. With fast loading and operation.Almost completely meets my requirements.
It is not possible to buy something similar in configuration here in the Russian Federation. Similar models cost from 50,000.
The disadvantage of this acquisition method is the problem of bringing the keyboard to its usual form.
The technical weaknesses of this model are a weak battery and not the brightest screen.
Personally, I am very pleased with my new acquisition.
Previously, when buying a budget laptop, no one expected high performance. Now everything is different, because a relatively inexpensive laptop can be equipped with modern hardware, which means it can provide optimal power, thanks to which entertainment will become a favorite pastime, not to mention daily work. In all likelihood, the Lenovo G510, which we will get acquainted with in the review, is just from that category, especially since its price, not exceeding $680, corresponds to the quality. By the way, this laptop, which belongs to the middle price range, has everything you need to solve most modern tasks.
Specifications
| CPU: | Intel Core i5-4200M 2500 MHz |
| RAM: | 6 GB DDR3 1600 MHz |
| Data storage: | 1000 GB HDD 5400 rpm |
| Display: | 15.6" 1366x768 WXGA LED glossy |
| Video card: | Intel HD Graphics 4600 |
| Drive unit: | DVD±RW Super Multi |
| Wireless connection: | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Audio: | Dolby Advanced Audio, 2 speakers |
| Interfaces: | USB 2.0, 2xUSB 3.0, HDMI, VGA, RJ-45, SD/MMC card reader, combined audio jack, |
| Additionally: | 1 MP webcam |
| Battery: | 6-cell Li-ion 4400 mAh |
| Dimensions, weight: | 377x250x34 mm, 2.6 kg |
| Operating system: | Windows 8 64-bit |
| Equipment: | Lenovo G510 (59-409057) |
Design
The laptop body is, so to speak, average. It has dimensions of 377x250x34 mm and weight of 2.6 kg. The Lenovo G510 is made without pretentious, uncomplicated details, with a certain rigor and efficiency, which, of course, does not distract from work. On the one hand, the matte cover of the laptop is decorated with the Lenovo logo, on the other hand, there is a texture, thanks to which the appearance does not seem too simple.The body is made of fairly durable plastic. On the working surface it has a brushed metal look, which makes the laptop look less budget than it actually is. By the way, the build quality here is quite serious; during operation you will not notice sagging panels or poorly fitting parts.
Display, sound, webcam
The laptop is equipped with a 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. For a budget option, this is quite enough, because such a display will not be used for professional video processing or photo editing. But for office tasks, web surfing, printing and watching movies, it will be enough. By the way, the display brightness is not too high, but quite acceptable for comfortable working indoors. But on the street, its level may no longer be enough, so you will have to look closely at the image, especially since at the same time the glossy surface will glare and reflect objects. At the same time, the display reproduces colors well, although they are not ideal.
The laptop sounds the same as most similar devices: high and mid frequencies predominate, and low frequencies are clearly audible only through headphones. The volume of the Lenovo G510 is normal; after all, the speakers are located above the keyboard, so nothing blocks the sound output. Settings in Dolby Advanced Audio allow you to make the sound more spacious and natural.
Above the display there is a built-in front camera. Its small resolution of 1 megapixel does not allow you to achieve average or higher image quality, but it will not let you down during video conferencing on Skype.
Keyboard and touchpad
For typing texts, manufacturers have installed the most comfortable AccuType island keyboard. Traditionally, it has relatively large concave keys, rounded at the bottom and clearly marked, optimal spacing between the buttons and springy feedback. With such a keyboard, the number of erroneous keystrokes will be an order of magnitude less, although at first you will have to get used to the smaller function keys. For greater convenience, the main block of buttons is supplemented with a numpad; it will certainly be appreciated by those who often have to enter numbers.
Above the keyboard area there are only two buttons: turning on the laptop and Lenovo One Recovery. There is no backlighting of the keys, which is understandable for this class of devices.
The laptop's touchpad is made in a recognizable style - a regular touch pad, with two physical keys located under it. The manipulator allows you to quickly and accurately control the cursor; in addition, it supports various multi-touch gestures, helps in Windows 8 to display the Charms panel or switch between running programs.
Performance
Lenovo G510 (59-409057) works with a pre-installed 64-bit Windows 8 operating system. The main component of the filling is a dual-core Intel Core i5-4200M processor with a clock frequency of 2.5 GHz and a third-level cache of 3 MB. This CPU supports Turbo Boost technology, which increases the frequency to 3.1 GHz. Overall, the Core i5-4200M is powerful enough to handle many modern tasks.The processor is complemented by a built-in Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics card. It is a fairly productive solution, if you do not take into account too complex computational operations. By the way, it is also perfect for games, one might even say that it is not particularly inferior to the AMD Radeon HD 8570M graphics, also found in this laptop. It is worth adding that the discrete video accelerator with 2 GB of its own DDR3 memory, like the HD 4600, supports DirectX 11. Meanwhile, the Radeon HD 8570M has 384 shader units at its disposal, and the operating frequency of the video card is 650 MHz. The latest games with such graphics are unlikely to run without a hitch, however, you can always play StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm or F1 2013 on medium settings with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and a frequency of over 30 frames per second.
The laptop has 6 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz RAM. The planks come in two slots, one with 4 GB and the other with 2 GB. This RAM capacity is quite enough to work with many applications without delays. In addition, the Lenovo G510 has a 1 TB hard drive and a spindle speed of 5400 rpm. So much space is enough for a lot of files, especially if you plan to add to your multimedia collection from time to time.
Ports and communications
What about interfaces? The left side of the device is decently filled. Here you can see two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, a Kensington lock slot, a network connector and a headphone output with a microphone.
Compared to the left side, the right side is practically empty. It contains only USB 2.0 and a charging socket. The rest of the space is taken up by the built-in DVD±RW Super Multi optical drive, which supports single-layer and dual-layer discs. But in the front part of the case there is a 2-in-1 card reader that reads SD/MMC formats.
To exchange data, you can use Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless modules.
Battery
The laptop is equipped with a 6-segment lithium-ion battery. Its capacity is 4400 mAh (48 Wh). In balanced mode, Lenovo G510 can work for about 5 hours. Most likely, in “Read’s” mode the autonomy will be even greater, which will undoubtedly please everyone who takes such a laptop on a business trip.Widget from SocialMart
Conclusion
The Lenovo G510 will be of interest to many, especially those for whom the price-quality ratio is important. And for good reason, because its body contains high-performance components, the necessary connectors, an optical drive, and a very comfortable AccuType chiclet keyboard. Of course, this is far from a flagship option, or a device that claims to be original, however, its capabilities will not remain unnoticed by the watchful eyes of users who are not used to overpaying.Not long ago we wrote about, and among them were two Lenovo products. Now we offer you a review of another interesting inexpensive laptop from this manufacturer. Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB is a budget-mid category device designed to solve a wide range of tasks. The 80SV00BJRA modification, which we reviewed, is now on sale for less than 40 thousand rubles. Is this laptop worth the money, what strengths it will please you with and what it might disappoint you with – now we’ll find out.
Construction, materials, design
Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB belongs to the category of inexpensive laptops, so its body is made of plastic. Despite this, the device looks good, is assembled normally, and has moderate weight and thickness: 2.2 kg, 23 mm. The thickness, however, also causes one drawback: the thin lid with the screen, although it fits normally in the hinges, does not look reliable. Of course, it does not bend in your hands, but it is extremely undesirable to subject the laptop to strength tests.
The top surface is made of smooth, slightly matte plastic and contains nothing but the logo. This material can be called moderately stylish and practical: it does not get very dirty, can be maintained and from a distance looks like aluminum.
The lower part of the body is made of matte plastic, textured to resemble rough fabric. The bottom is not solid, which should please those who like to upgrade equipment over time. After all, at the bottom there are separate access hatches to the drive and RAM. So to replace them, you only need to unscrew one screw at a time. There are also ventilation grilles at the bottom for better cooling of memory and chips.
Interfaces and communications
The laptop is equipped with a completely modern communication suite. On the right side there is a DVD drive, a pair of USB ports (2.0 and 3.0) and a recess for an anti-theft lock. Why there is a DVD in a modern mass-produced laptop is no longer entirely clear, so it would be better if the manufacturer instead spent money on additional RAM memory (but more on that below).
I'm not happy with the location of the USB connectors. Those who only use a mouse probably curse the engineers who decided to move not just one slot forward, but two. After all, if you connect a flash drive or cable there, they will interfere with the right hand with the manipulator.
The left side is also quite loaded with connectors. It contains a power socket, VGA for image output, a Lan port with a spring plug, HDMI, and a card reader. There is also one USB 3.0 port and a memory card slot. Why was it not possible to swap the card reader and at least one USB - a question the answer to which is known only to Chinese engineers.
The 3.5 mm jack is also located on the left. It is combined, that is, it has a TRRS configuration and is designed for headsets with one connector. To connect headphones to dual-jack microphones, you will need a Y-splitter.
The wireless set is quite typical: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. WLAN networks are supported at frequencies of 2.4 and 5 GHz, and there is compatibility with the 802.11ac protocol. Bluetooth is already a standard for budget 4.1 technology.
Input tools
The laptop is equipped with a completely ordinary island-type keyboard. It is full-size, but a “compromise”: without a context menu button near the right Alt and with other simplifications. This causes the arrow block to move one column to the left, so at first some users may press “up” instead of Shift.
Otherwise, this is a typical keyboard for a 15-inch laptop, except for the short (single) Shift button, which is unremarkable. The deflection is small, the pressing is distinct. I'm glad that Ctrl is located in the corner, and not Fn, as in the Thinkpad line.
Below the keyboard is a touchpad located offset to the left, directly opposite the space bar. It has two buttons, supports cursor movement, understands clicks and supports gestures (scrolling, etc.).
Personally, as a person not accustomed to this type of manipulator, I can’t say anything special: the touchpad is just like a touchpad.
Display
Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB is equipped with a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, built on an IPS matrix. Be that as it may, this is clearly a plus of the laptop, since many devices in this price category have a TN matrix. The contrast is not high, but it is decent and allows you to view the picture normally from different angles. The brightness is also average, 260 cd/m2.
A special feature of the laptop is the ability to tilt the display back almost 180 degrees. And if in the case of the reviewed modification 80SV00BJRA such a possibility may be relevant, then the presence of such opening angles in younger versions with TN is questionable. After all, even with IPS, the contrast decreases at an angle, and there it will be completely problematic to see at an angle.
Hardware and software
The Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB is based on an Intel Core i3-7100U processor. This is a dual-core chip that supports HyperThreading to operate in 4 threads. The maximum frequency is 2.4 GHz. There is a dynamic frequency control mode, but there is no turbo. The chip was created using the 14 nm process technology.
The processor has an Intel HD 620 graphics core that works in non-resource-intensive tasks. For demanding software, there is a discrete Nvidia GeForce 940 MX GPU with 2 GB of internal memory. This is not the most modern video card, created using the 28 nm process technology, but it can still handle heavy games at low and medium settings.
There is 4 GB of DDR4 RAM on board; according to available data (there was no way to disassemble the laptop), it is soldered to the motherboard. There is also a free slot for a memory module. Considering that SO-DIMM DDR4 strips up to 16 GB are now on sale, the total amount of RAM can be expanded up to 20 GB.
4 GB is still enough for web surfing (without opening dozens of tabs at the same time), gaming at low or medium settings, office work, etc. However, this is the minimum acceptable amount, so you will soon have to think about an upgrade.
The drive of the laptop under review is a 500 GB hard drive operating at a speed of 5400 rpm. Apparently, there is no slot for an m.2 drive, so you can only install an SSD instead of an HDD or DVD drive. Of course, it is good that a versatile laptop has enough memory, but the disadvantage of a hard drive is its low speed, which can negatively affect the overall performance of the computer.
Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB version 80SV00BJRA comes without Windows on board. Depending on the region, the preinstalled system is either DOS or one of the Linux forks. There are no problems installing Windows 10 and its drivers.
Performance
The performance of the Intel Core i3-7100U is noticeably inferior to i3 models for desktop PCs, but it is enough for the picky user. Web surfing, working with documents, watching high-resolution videos are quite tough for the processor. At the same time, it is characterized by low heat generation, so problems with sudden drops in performance during operation of the laptop should not arise. In the GeekBench 4 test, the processor scores 2800 points under the load of one core, 4800 - two.
The built-in graphics can even handle video in 4K resolution, and it’s quite possible to play something old like Stalker or Fallout 3. For newer games, a discrete GeForce 940MX is provided. The same Fallout 4 will run without any problems; in GTA V at a reduced graphics there are no brakes either. Noticeable drops in FPS below 30 will only occur in heavy projects like Battlefield 1.
In games, the processor and video card do not heat up even under prolonged load above 75 degrees. This indicates normal cooling organization. Of course, over time it will get a little worse, you should wait for about 80 degrees (and in the summer even 90), but there shouldn’t be excessive temperatures and aggressive throttling, even when the cooler gets a little clogged with dust and the thermal paste dries out.
Power and autonomy
Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB is equipped with a removable 39 Wh battery. The compartment for it is located at the back, between the screen hinges. When open, it stands out as a kind of pedestal, which is quite logical: 18 mm in diameter of the 18650 cells, plus the plastic of the case - this is more than 20 mm, and otherwise the battery cannot be placed. A 65 W power supply is included for charging.
The manufacturer promises up to 5 hours of battery life, which is not bad for an inexpensive classic-format laptop. If you discharge the battery by playing games, the charge lasts for about an hour. Tests in web surfing mode, with the screen brightness reduced, show just over 4 hours. It was not possible to achieve the promised 5 hours, but the available figures are also not bad.
Pros of Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB
- Good screen;
- ease of upgrade;
- good autonomy;
- optimal cooling;
- discrete graphics.
Cons of Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB
- Slow drive;
- not very convenient Shift on the right;
- The USB ports on the right are poorly placed.
Conclusion
As the review showed, the Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB is a good laptop, located on the border of the budget and mid-price categories. It copes with web surfing, office work, many toys, and multimedia tasks. This can be bought as a home laptop, and it is also suitable for a student. The Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB will cope well with the role of a company car in the office if the employee’s work responsibilities do not include resource-intensive operations, such as compiling large amounts of code, video editing, developing complex mechanisms and systems in 3D CAD, etc.
The main complaints about the laptop concern its ergonomics. Firstly, the smaller Shift button will take some getting used to, and secondly, the USB ports on the right will get in the way in tight spaces if you connect something to them. Well, as for the drive, here, alas, in this price niche, compromises still reign: either the memory is fast, but there will be little of it, or vice versa.
Would you buy a Lenovo Ideapad 510-15IKB? If yes, for what purposes?
