Lenovo Y560p Review
Lenovo Y series notebook are meant for the multimedia types, especially those who are on tight budget. With the Y560p, you get the fast Core i7-2630QM processor with 4GB / 6GB RAM (up to 8GB supported). Battery life is amazing as well. Is this the best Windows notebook there? Let’s find out in the review!
Design, Display, Ports
The Lenovo Y560p sports a high end design (not like Lenovo B560) and performance for a reasonable price but it don’t expect the amazing metal casing sported by the Lenovo U260. It comes with a 15.6-inch display that packs 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. This is average for the 15.6-inch notebooks, but I do wish Lenovo offered a higher resolution version of Y560p since the notebook is perfectly capable of dealing with the 1080p videos. Viewing angles are fine and your partner sitting on the side can watch a movie side by side.
There are 2x JBL speakers that are hidden under the black mesh grills. I found them to be loud enough and crisp. Audio output through its HDMI port sounded fine as well. On the unit, you will find 3x USB 2.0 ports (not 3.0), HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, ExpressCard 34 slot, multi card reader, headphone and microphone jack. There is no dedicated button to switch between dedicated and integrated graphics. Heck, no software is provided as well to do so.
Keyboard, TouchPad
The keyboard is made from glossy plastic that hearts fingerprints. For those who are in love with the chiclet keyboards, be prepared to get disappointed as Y560p is outfitted with a standard keyboard. However, I was able to achieve amazing speeds with the keyboard – 70WPM (I type at 50-60WPM). I do wish the keyboard was backlit though, just like the one I have on my Macbook Pro.
The touchpad also has a glossy feel to it (which I hate). However, since it is big enough and multi touch gestures work like a charm, I cannot complain much. The mouse buttons register click events without requiring too much pressure (which is a good thing).
Performance
The Lenovo Y560p comes with a fast Core i7-2630QM 2GHz processor and ATi Radeon HD 6570M graphics. The processor has 4 cores and 8 threads 64-bit architecture and supports Intel’s Turbo Boost technology as well. Virtualization VT-x is supported but not the latest VT-d directed I/O virtualization. While in Turbo boost mode, the processor can reach up to 2.9GHz which will make the gamers and video editors happy for sure. Windows Experience Index score is 6.7 with the graphics keeping it down. Everything else is between 7.4 and 7.7. Here is how it fares with the HP Envy 15 (Core i7-720QM, ATI Radeon HD 4830)
Talking about real world performance, the Y560p ran both 720p and 1080p YouTube videos with no problem. Same goes for the Hulu. I also tried games like Left 4 Dead 2 (1366 x 768) and Mass Effect 2 (1024 x 600) , both of which ran as smooth as baby’s bottom.
Despite the fast processor and dedicated graphics, the notebook did not run very hot, unless you are gaming. If you game, the fan will kick in almost immediately and the button temperature rise to ~90F.
Storage, Upgradability
Since I got the 1000 dollar version for review, the unit I received came with 500GB HDD (7200rpm) and 4GB RAM. Adding 100 dollars more will give you 750GB HDD (5400rpm) and 6GB RAM. Y560p has three doors at the bottom which make it super easy for the end user to swap the RAM, HDD and 2x Mini PCIe slots. Another reason to love Lenovo.
Battery Life
Lenovo Y560p comes equipped with a 6-cell battery and it game me a decent 4 hours and 15 minutes of runtime with Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off and Brightness set halfway.
Apps bundled
Useful apps include OneKey Rescue, SlideNav, OneKey Theater II and VeriFace and nonsense, garbage, must-uninstall apps include McAfee Virus Scan, MS Office 2010 Starter Edition, ooVoo, Windows Live Toolbar, Cyberlink YouCam, Power2Go, Media Show and Lenovo Direct Share. Remove them immediately and then start using the notebook.
Verdict – A very fast machine and powerful 6570M GPU means stellar gaming performance. It has good battery life and runs cool; has comfortable keyboard and decent selection of ports. Get it – you will love it!
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