There are a few areas in which Lenovo
laptops have been typically strong over the years. Ergonomics is one, and it’s
good to see that the Z580 keeps up the tradition. Its shaped keys have a good
amount of travel, are well spaced, and Lenovo has also squeezed in a number
pad. Even the large trackpad isn’t too annoying in use, although the integrated
buttons are far from trouble-free.
There’s 1TB of storage, and although the
CPU isn’t the fastest in the group, in reality, the quad-core Core i7-3612QM
will be fast enough for most people.
There’s also a Blu-ray reader, and the
price is reasonable, but there are several reasons why this laptop doesn’t
trouble the leaders this month. The 15.6in screen isn’t the best, with a
maximum brightness of 232cd/m2 and contrast ratio of 272:1 (although
it’s a tad better than the Acer's display). We’d like a few more pixels to play
with than the 1,366 x 768 resolution offers too.
Battery life is mediocre, and if you’re
after a decent gaming machine, this isn’t the best choice. Spend an extra $150
or so, and you’ll get a far superior screen and better performance.
