# Lenovo Z500 with GT 740M review



## thinkdigit123 (Jul 8, 2013)

*Lenovo Z500 59-380463 review
*
PART I
-------------------------------------------------------------------5th July, 2013

Prologue
~~~~~
My search for a laptop began around 5 to 6 months back. I was in no hurry bcz my  desktop was still going strong (P4) and there were enough laptops in my hostel to get  jobs done.
I kept researching online...Samsung np370r5e-s05in and dell inspiron 15r turbo lost  the race to the new Lenovo Z500 with gt 740m.
 So, finally after months of tormentation about buying my first laptop (Second PC), i  landed upon the *Lenovo Z500*. A lot of  thanks to SunE, that i found this magnificent laptop. Afterall,  you dont find your dream gadgets, the  dream gadgets find you. 

For the specs of this laptop, please see the first post of this thread. BTW, my  laptop's part number is 59-380463 (6gb ram, 2gb ddr3 gt 740m)

First pics...    
*s21.postimg.org/bwvzumpyf/box.jpg
*s21.postimg.org/lrwbsc8o7/lappy4.jpg


The first look
~~~~~~~~
Gentlemen, there can be only word to describe the looks of this laptop:  *SEXY*. The exterior looks of the  Z500 redefines beauty. Its sleek and can easily challenge the slimness of some  ultrabooks out there. Its really surprising that Lenovo designed such a beauty after  so many years of being in the market. What were u doing Lenny??
*s21.postimg.org/3snvpw3jb/front.jpg...the front
*s21.postimg.org/v8cy7hdrb/back.jpg...the back
*s21.postimg.org/ar5s125t3/side1.jpg...side 1
*s21.postimg.org/oamm6rjs7/side3.jpg...side 3

The Dark Chocolate colour is just brilliant. BUT BUT BUT, the much advertised  "_soft tactile touch_" lid is *a bad finger-print and dust magnet*.  From the moment the laptop was taken out of its box, it started collecting dust &  fingerprints. A daily grooming of the lid is needed.
*s21.postimg.org/l9rzl04br/dust_magnet.jpg here, the dust & finger  prints are clearly visible! 

The next big thing that struck me was... there is no harddisk/processor activity  indicator! Come on Lenny, its there on all PCs/Lappys. It wouldnt have hurt to  provide an extra LED. However, there is a battery indicator which practically has  no use!
*s21.postimg.org/nojv5fkkn/indicators.jpg...only 2 LED indicators:  on/off (blinks when in Sleep) and a battery indicator!

Next, the speakers... its at the bottom of the laptop. Many might say that crazy  designing but I have heard the sound from the z500 (friend's lappy) and it was like  any other laptop. I found it a little above average infact.
*s21.postimg.org/4eqmr82qv/speaker_grill.jpg...the left speaker  grill underneath the laptop.

The new Z500 has a combo headphone/microphone port. So it uses a 3.5mm phone  headset. So guys with their generic separate headphone & mic ports need an  adapter/converter. (will buy it shortly)
*s21.postimg.org/e06f2aprb/combo_port.jpg...a combo port: boon  for some, bane for others.

Its not self-serviceable. U need a laptop service personnel to open it up. Here's the  lappy's underside... *s21.postimg.org/3s0wt6kmf/underside.jpg

There is a hoard of unwanted softwares included. Office 365, McAfee 1 month,  Power DVD etc etc.  For the list u can check the Lenovo Official website.  *s21.postimg.org/e6opj4o9z/bloatware.jpg...There are loads and loads of  bloatware

*s21.postimg.org/ik5mkiqjr/the_keyboard.jpg...the touchpad is too  smooth. Its a bliss to use. The Apple-ish outlook of the touchpad is awesome.  However, as of now, the touchpad gestures are not working. Gotta update Elan  drivers, i guess.

*s21.postimg.org/drmmhlh47/stickers1.jpg... HD webcam, Premium  Speakers, AccuType keyboard, One touch recovery! The stickers are simply kewl!!!

*s21.postimg.org/hazdfx52f/keyboard1.jpg...now to the keyboard...  as everyone knows, Lenny keyboards are legendary! The AccuType keyboard is just  too good. Personally, no complaints as of now. (just typed a few lines in notepad.   )

*s21.postimg.org/4ip1l7xlz/the_power_up_key.jpg...The power up  key looks beautiful

Now, this unseen feature seems great for me: the 3 new function buttons... F8 which  does the job of tab switching (same as Alt+tab), F9 which does the job of switching  off the screen lights (very useful!), F10 changes display monitor options, F4 closes  the current app. Pic...*s21.postimg.org/48hj1vizr/new_additions.jpg

*s21.postimg.org/6gr45h0pz/power_management.jpg... the Energy  Management app does the long battery life trick!

OMG! The OneTouch Recovery Key is awesome! When the PC is off, then pressing  that button gives u 4 options: 1. Normal Startup, 2. BIOS Setup, 3. Boot Options, 4.  Recovery

When on 50% brightness and listening to songs, the battery app shows 8hrs  remaining on 80% charge! Oh my god. Am i seeing ghosts?   

The sound quality was ok and then when i switched ON dolby theatre, i was blown  off! Man, the sound really becomes great when u switch ON that app! There are 3  modes: Movie, Music, Gaming

The Z500 sleeps & wakes up really quick. ITS FAST. From playing a game (quit it  with alt+F4) to putting it to sleep mode (pressing the power key puts it to sleep)  takes less than 5 seconds!

OK...one really annoying thing: the F buttons needs the Fn button to be pressed with  it...meaning, example: the F7 button has Airplane mode special function. But when u  need to use the F7 inside an app for the app's functionality, then u need to press Fn +F7 buttons. Pressing the F7 alone will activate Airplane mode! Lenny, thats stupid! 

I badly miss the processor/harddisk activity indicator. 

Very surprisingly, the viewing angles are great...i can see the LCD almost  tangentially! The colour reproduction is pretty satisfactory. No complaints with the  LCD.
The Build Quality : the Z500 is solid! It feels a true premiuim quality laptop. The finish is absolutely top class. Way to go Lenny! The shaded metal finish of palm rest is great BUT it tends warms up on heavy gaming; not a problem though. The exterior soft touch, as said earlier is extravagant BUT is unfortunately a dust & fingerprint magnet. Sweaty fingers leave ugly finger marks on the lid, so might wanna wall rub your hands dry before touching the Z500. 
PART II
------------------------------------------------------------------------6th July 2013, Day 2

It's Game Time
~~~~~~~~~
At this current point of time, i have only 2 recent games: GRID 2 and Call of Juarez  Gunslinger (both BlackBox editions & have audio bugs). I have used CPUID CPU- Z, CPUID HWMonitor, Fraps for the monitoring. <<<the JPEG names are self  explanatory>>>

*Room temperature*: *a sweltering summer afternoon in  Kolkata. Humidity close to 87% as its monsoons! Temps somewhere around 35  degrees celsius as shown online.*

But first, here goes the *idle* pics:
CPUID Hardware Monitor...*s20.postimg.org/j50ty7rbx/idle.png
HWiNFO HD4000...*s20.postimg.org/7hbu0s8il/hwinfo1.jpg
HWiNFO GT740m...*s20.postimg.org/9aeqp3tp9/hwinfo2.jpg
CPUID CPU-Z sheets... *s20.postimg.org/kvowwtf6l/idle_tile.jpg(link pasted here to avoid large image size)

GRID2... on high & ultra and then on battery(batt) and on power (charge):
*s21.postimg.org/g7xmmxdyf/grid2_ultra.jpg
*s21.postimg.org/9qeq3f3l3/grid2_high.jpg

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger...on ultra
*s20.postimg.org/sut9rvual/Co_JGunslinger_2013_07_09_05_13_58_60.jpg

CAll of Duty 4: Modern Warfare...on Ultra & high
*s20.postimg.org/4lyqtx4il/cod4.jpg
*s20.postimg.org/d2t77q2vx/cod4_high.jpg

GPU-Z screenshots------------------------------------------------------------
*s20.postimg.org/lprpdreot/hd4000.gif...HD 4000
*s20.postimg.org/dvr3sd6vx/gt740m.gif...GT 740m
As it is clearly seen, the GT 740m is based on the older GK208 architecture, thats,  64-bit memory bus width. Now thats a big let down. Nevertheless, its a great GPU  and there is boost enabled too, upto 1033Mhz! Now that's cool.

Unigine Heaven Benchmarks----------------------------------------------
*s20.postimg.org/awywd7zfh/ghkpp.jpg
*s20.postimg.org/udjlzqujh/ghkpp2.jpg

Speccy-----------------------------------------------------------
*s20.postimg.org/cvam8by8t/speccy.jpg
The speccy info sheet for GT740m shows that it has 3 LEVELS of operation! Namely.... Level 1: 2D desktop, Level 2 : Default, Level 3 : 3D apps. And do note from GPU-Z sheet that GT740m boosts upto 1033Mhz.


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## SunE (Jul 8, 2013)

Hey I'll be getting mine anytime today. Mind if I post another review?


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## rohitshubham (Jul 8, 2013)

SunE said:


> Hey I'll be getting mine anytime today. Mind if I post another review?


of course post as soon as posssible(with games benchmark)... the more the merrier


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## vinyasmusic (Jul 11, 2013)

are there any colour options ?


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## rohitshubham (Jul 12, 2013)

^^^no, i don't think so
@thinkdigit123 hey how would you update your drivers?


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## vinyasmusic (Jul 12, 2013)

Hey does it have BACKLIT keyboard ??


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## SunE (Jul 13, 2013)

No backlit keyboard


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## rohitshubham (Jul 13, 2013)

hey, looks like the 1gb variant has 10% higher bandwidth than the 2gb varient.


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## geekydas (Jul 14, 2013)

@thinkdigit123

8 hours battery backup!?  How many cells does the battery have?


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## geekydas (Jul 14, 2013)

@thinkdigit123

8 hrs battery backup?!  How many cells does the battery have?


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## rohitshubham (Jul 18, 2013)

its 8 hrs if you do nothing with zero screen brightness... but due to better GPU architecture, it does provide 6hrs of backup whle browsing net and 50% brightness and approx 5hrs if you watch HD movies . the battery is 4 cell


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## rohitshubham (Jul 19, 2013)

hey guys ,
I did the 3D marks test on my lappy.
and here are the results. How are these???
*View attachment 11396
*it looks nice enough... not much less than the 128 bit version. 5-10% lower approx. coz you see the values posted on notebook check are mainly of i7 processors so, they will definitely be higher.


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## blackbirdsbunty (Jul 29, 2013)

where did u buy it from......I'm also from kolkata and will buy a new laptop shortly...cost???


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## rohitshubham (Jul 30, 2013)

I brought it from Patna's local shop


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## thinkdigit123 (Jul 4, 2015)

Lenovo service center screwed my laptop. :'(

They damaged the hinge and its beyond repair. I spent 4k at the service center and when the device was within warranty but no avail. Actually, things became worse. They destroyed my awesome Z500. :'(

Hell with you, Lenovo customer care...


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## ashs1 (Jul 4, 2015)

aw man..sorry to hear about that..did u have the adp warranty ?


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