Review: Lenovo Legion 5i Gaming Laptop

 I picked up a Legion 5i at Officeworks on special before the end of the financial year here in Australia, and now that I've messed around with it for three months, I wanted to write something nice. Yes, nice - it's been a really lovely laptop to use. First of all it looks like this:

And my model has the following specs:

• 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13650HX (2.60GHz) - 14 cores!
• 16GB of RAM
• 500GB SSD
• NVidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU

It cost me about $1300 AUD - it was marked down from $1800 and then had a further 5% reduction because it had been returned - the purchaser quote "didn't like the operating system", because there are a lot of preinstalled options to Windows 11 these days. At any rate, I picked it up for a song - potentially because it's a previous model - but who cares? It's got a 16" screen that supports 2560x1600 and it's really lovely to behold. The backlit keyboard with it's cascading light show is a nice touch too. 

From a use case perspective, I've been using this laptop for gaming, regular work stuff, a bit of Ollama AI work and movies. I've played Baldur's Gate 3 and Fortnite on it most extensively and mostly used the Mistral model when using local AI. The games have been snappy and great, with lots of effects on and no real slowness which has been nice, and the AI has worked fairly quickly. The limitations of what you can do on an RTX4050 with 6GB of RAM are well known. It's nice to have a machine that can actually drive the thing though and I've had some real fun. It's important to note that like most Lenovo laptops, the keyboard is great to use for extended typing - and with extra little bumps on important keys (not just your home keys, but also the home keys for gaming) it's been pleasant to use - far more so than the Dell I use for work, which has an overly soft key press and much poorer tactile response. 

The newer versions have i9 processors and a better GPU but appear to have much the same form and appearance. I'm very happy with it - the Windows 11 install doesn't have too much bloat so that's a good thing, and the Lenovo update system works pretty well as usual. Altogether I can recommend this laptop - it you want a nice mid-range gaming machine, or a big solid work laptop that can give you pretty much a desktop replacement with it's big monitor. Although I purchased it as a tax deduction and I've used it for a *lot* of work related activities (particularly stuffing around with locally hosted AI), I've been pleased with it's gaming capabilities too - perfect for the lad and I to get into a bit of FPS action. 

Lenovo T430 - a dynamite laptop with an attractive price tag

My go to laptop of the last 6 months has been this little beauty. I picked it up cheap and while she ain't much to look at:

The T430 - image from: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t430/

it's a ripper of a machine. Now I paid under $250AUD for this off a friend. The Windows install was stuffed and needed a full rebuild. Pretty easy right - 2 hours for install and then wait for patches - but she wasn't having a bar of it and bought a shiny, but shite new laptop. And I ended up with a terrific spare laptop that quickly became my number one machine.

The specs of this beast:

• 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3520M (2.90 GHz, 4MB L3, 1600MHz FSB)
• 256 GB OPAL SSD
• 8GB RAM
• 14.0” HD (1366 x 768) (200 NITS) - look at those NITS!
• 2.166kg

  I get about 6 hours out of the battery - and this is mostly running the machine flat out. It has a nice bright screen, isn't very heavy and is very robust. The shining feature of this laptop is the keyboard.

The keyboard in all it's awesomeness. Image from: https://kelsusit.com/lenovo-thinkpad-t430s-core-i7-refurbished-laptop/

Lenovo have really done a great job keeping such nice keyboards on their laptops. This one in particular is great to use - a joy in fact. I recently typed a 3000+ word essay on it for Uni and appreciated how good the keyboard was consistently during the process. Compared to the brand new Apple laptop I've written about previously - laptops that are now having huge complaints about the keyboards - this one is great. And Lenovo have kept this quality with other laptops of theirs I've had the opportunity to play with - for example, the E570 and the X1 Carbon. I've actually got a review on the brand new Gen6 X1 to write up - keep an eye out for it.

The reason I write this is to promote the idea that older technology need not be obsolescent. A machine like the T430 is honestly a powerhouse - it smashes desktop work, has a nice sit-in dock available for it, USB3 ports, SSD disk as a standard option and has a very readable and usable screen. I managed to watch 3 episodes of Altered Carbon on it without the battery dying on me. Even better it has an Ethernet port, DVD writer and a top lit keyboard - there is a little LED light in the top of the monitor. Very handy for night work, or working in a roof - which I have done. As a rugged laptop it's great - apparently it's been tested to Milspec, but has shown to me to be resistant to falls (oops!), dust, heat and cold - 40C to 0.5C.

These laptops are available on eBay in price ranges between $100 and $400. Keep an eye out and you might grab a bargain!

MacBook Pro (late 2016) first impressions

One of my clients who is a bit of an early adopter grabbed a new MacBook Pro (MBP) last week. It's the 15" i7 wizzbang bit of gear that looks really quite lovely. He asked me to migrate his data from his old MBP to the new one. I ran a full backup to external USB and it was all going swimmingly, and then I remembered - damn! The new MBP's don't have regular USB! They only have USB-C! Aaargh. Fortunately the Apple Migration tool is great and I was able to punch it all across via wireless (this is very slow - I recommend an alternative via ethernet)

After using the machine for an hour or so this morning, this is what I've come up with:

Pros:

• The screen is gorgeous - the Retina screen is just so lovely to look at and has such awesome colour depth. I really liked it. Flicking through some of the desktop images and pictures showed the resolution and colours beautifully. I reckon my next one has to have this
• the touch bar above the keyboard - I thought this would be gimmicky but after a bit of use I found it quite handy. I do miss my Function keys though.
• touchpad - this is responsive and super accurate. One of the biggest faults I have with a laptop is the poor accuracy and/or speed of the touchpad. This one was quite nice (although it has it's faults)
• physically a very easy laptop to move around - light but solid construction and good hinges on the screen

 The Expected

• great build quality (like other MBPs - even my 5 year old one)
• snappy - i7 processor (2.6Ghz Quad Core i7)
• lots of RAM (16GB)
• fast disk (256GB PCIe-Based SSD)

 In short - I expected high performance from this laptop and while it was crunching the iPhoto database from the old machine, I installed and ran Parallels, with a full Windows install running some fairly intensive image software and the thing didn't miss a beat. It really cracked along and I expected that to be the case.

 Cons:

• The Keyboard - is shite. I'm sorry but the keys have no feeling to them, bugger all travel and just have a weird texture that I didn't like. I was jumping between the client's mid 2012 MBP and this brand new one and the comparison was no favourable. Seriously - typing is a kinesthetic experience. How about a bit of nod in that direction?  Check out Lenovo's L series laptops for a great typing experience. I hated the keyboard
• The touchpad clicks - while the touchpad was accurate and fast, the clicking feeling again was sub-par for me. I like a bit of tactile response (as you've guessed) when I'm wailing away on the keyboard. I don't want to have it feel like a tablet (which I despise typing on) or a phone (also = despise)

That's really all. For me though that keyboard is almost a deal breaker. Perhaps I'd get used to it over time though (if someone wants to give me one of these toys to play more with). Would I buy one for? There's a very high probability of that. It really is a well constructed laptop.

Here is the link to the model closest to what I was playing with: http://www.apple.com/au/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch - for $3600 it's a big price tag for a pretty decent machine. Is it worth it though? Well I had a bit of a poke around and looked at Lenovo's site. For a similar machine (size, processor, RAM, disk etc) Lenovo have a nice little ThinkPad P50.

Specs are:

System component

• Intel Core i7-6700HQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.50GHz)
• Windows 10 Home 64
• 15.6" 4K (3840x2160), anti-glare, IPS
• 16GB DDR4-2133MHz SODIMM (8GBx2)
• NVIDIA Quadro M1000M 4GB
• With Color Sensor
• 720p HD Camera with Microphone
• Backlit Keyboard with Number Pad - English
• Integrated Fingerprint Reader
• 256GB SSD PCIe-NVMe OPAL2.0
• 170W AC Adapter - ANZ (3pin)
• 6 Cell Li-Polymer Battery, 90Wh
• Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC(2x2) 8260, Bluetooth Version 4.1 No vPro
• 1 Year Depot
• 
  

And this is $5050! See: http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/workstations/thinkpad-p-series/P50/p/20ENCTO1WWENAU0 

I've specced it up from the basics to get close to the MBP. Hopefully this provides you with a little bit of perspective when you look at the MacBook's price. The Lenovo is a well built bit of kit too - I've used one of these before. The build quality isn't up to the MacBook though. It doesn't have the clean lines and aesthetics of the Apple products either. Still, I'll take either one if someone wants to give it to me!

Lenovo E540 won't start or boot - solved

Recently a client called saying their fairly new E540 wouldn't turn on or respond at all. The red light that makes up the "i" in ThinkPad would light up but that was the extent of the functionality.

I tried removing the battery and booting off but no dice. The computer was totally unresponsive. It turns out there is an issue with Lenovo for Small Business software that causes this.

To fix it, remove the BIOS battery - this is located under the compartment to the left in this photo:

Stick the battery back in and give it the berries. The laptop should boot and complain about the time and date. Set those and start the laptop. Log in, go to Uninstall Programs and ditch the Lenovo for Small Business. Once that's done, it's probably a good idea to update the BIOS. Try not to screw that up by killing power or anything mid upgrade. The recovery process is incredibly annoying and not guaranteed to work.

A reboot and you should be right to go. Enjoy.

Lenovo L540 Review

The Lenovo L540 is a workhorse laptop for around the $1000 mark. These are i5 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" machines. I purchased 4 for a client (as you can see) and in the back right of the picture you can see one is experiencing sadness. These are quite nice notebooks for a no-nonsense work machine. The screen is clear and readable, and I especially like the keyboard - the keys have a wonderful return and solid feel to them - far better than my Dell notebook. I find the touchpad to be clunky though - the movement of the click isn't refined and the travel seems quite large.

Interestingly, these machines all came with Windows 7 Pro pre-installed - a preferred option for our business clients unwilling to make the jump to Windows 10. We are certainly not foisting Windows 8 off onto people we like - ti's an awful operating system that needs to die as quickly and quietly as Vista did. These run Windows 7 quite happily and once Symantec and a lot of the other Lenovo bloatware is removed the operating system is quite happy - except for the machine there at the back. Something went wrong when installing patches and I ended up having to restore it from scratch. It was a bit of a head scratcher, but the recovery process was surprisingly quick and painless. The tendency for Windows 7 to take ages to first do patches was fixed with a Microsoft Hot Fix - and I think this is what splattered it last time. It only takes something small and the day goes south quickly.

I also purchased docking stations for these laptops, proper drop in docking stations. The mechanisms are easy to use and lock in quite happily. The end users seem to really like them, and they are not technical at all, so I call them a winner. 

All other activities - installing of Office etc were handled quite promptly and it all worked well. These are a solid, unassuming notebook and I recommend them for end users who are looking for a machine with a simple basic function required. That being said, I'd happily use one of these in my day to day work. Lots of capabilities there indeed. It should be noted that while I sell Lenovo stuff, they (sadly) don't pay me to advertise their gear. I've been a fan for a while - the solid construction, great keyboards and relatively functional software (apart from that little issue with spyware a while ago) is really worth considering.

This is ripped from the Lenovo website: Lenovo L540 Tech Specs

ThinkPad L540 LaptopTech Specs

DESCRIPTION	THINKPAD L540 LAPTOP
Processor	Intel® Core™ i3-4000M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40 GHz)1 Intel Core i5-4210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) Intel Core i5-4300M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz) Intel Core i7-4600M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 7 Professional 64-bit preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Display	15.6" HD (1366x768), anti-glare, 220 nits, 500:1 contrast ratio 15.6" FHD (1920x1080), anti-glare, 300 nits, 500:1 contrast ratio
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4600 in processor, supports external analogue monitor via VGA and digital monitor via Mini DisplayPort; supports dual independent displays; max. resolution: 1920x1200@60Hz (VGA); 3840x2160@30Hz (DisplayPort via Mini DP cable)
Memory	16GB max (2 SO-DIMM slots), PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3, non-parity, dual-channel capable
Webcam	Integrated 720p HD Camera
Storage	500GB 7200 RPM 1TB 5400 RPM 128GB SSD SATA3
Optical Drive	DVD +/-RW MultiBurner
Dimensions (W X D X H)	HD: 377 x 247 x 28.8-34.05 mm  FHD: 377 x 247 x 31.0-36.25 mm
Weight	6-cell, HD: 2.54kg 6-cell, FHD: 2.60kg 9-cell, HD: 2.70kg 9-cell, FHD: 2.76kg
Battery	6-cell Li-Ion battery - 57+ (56Wh) 9-cell Li-Ion battery - 57++ (99.9Wh)
Battery life2	6-cell, Win7: up to 11 hours 6-cell, Win8: up to 7 hours 9-cell, Win7: up to 19 hours 9-cell, Win8: up to 12 hours
AC adaptor	65W
Keyboard	ThinkPad® Precision Keyboard with NumberPad
UltraNav™	TrackPoint® pointing device and 5-button Mylar surface touchpad
Fingerprint reader	Optional
Audio support	HD Audio, Realtek® ALC3232 codec, Dolby® Advanced Audio™ v2 / stereo speakers, 2W x 2 / dual array microphone, combo audio/mic jack
Wireless LAN	Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 (2x2, 802.11ac/a/b/g/n) with Bluetooth® 4.0
Wireless WAN (optional)	Wireless WAN upgradable Ericsson N5321 Mobile Broadband HSPA+1 Sierra Wireless EM7355 (4G LTE/HSPA+/EVDO/GSM/GPRS/EDGE, GPS)
Ports	1 x USB 3.0 (AlwaysOn) 3 x USB 2.0 ExpressCard Smart Card reader (optional) Combo audio/microphone jack Ethernet (RJ45) 4-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC) Dock Connector VGA Mini DisplayPort Security keyhole

Lenovo L430 Review

Recently to replace my HP6560b notebook, I purchased a Lenovo L430. It looks like this:

Lenovo L430 Notebook

and it's specifications are:

• 14" AntiGlare LCD monitor
• i5-2520M Processor,
• 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM (upgraded to 8GB),
• 320/7200 HDD,
• Multi-Burner,
• HD Graphics 3000,
• Bluetooth,
• Fingerprint reader,
• 720p Camera,
• ABGN Wireless,
• WWAN,
• Card Reader,
• Windows 7Professional 64,
• 6 Cell battery (max 7.5 hours run time),
• 1 Year return to depot warranty
• GPS 

It has the same sturdy feel and build that all Lenovo notebooks do, a legacy of the IBM heritage Lenovo has successfully perpetuated. I'm absolutely delighted by the keyboard on this device - it is the best notebook keyboard I have ever used. I'm comparing it to the following notebooks: HP 6560b, HP tc4400, Lenovo R500, MacBook Air, various ASUS laptops, various Toshiba laptops, Lenovo X1 and HP 6730b. Obviously I get around on the notebook scene :-)

The touchpad and other pointing device are efficient and work well. I was surprised and impressed also by the efficacy of the wireless - it has been more efficient and connects at higher speed than my other notebooks, including the HP6560b. The built in GPS is pretty neat too - although I'm not sure what the hell I'm going to do with it :-) Generally I remove a lot of the pre-installed software, but I have of course left the Lenovo software, which is gradually improving all the time and it's usefulness is improving as well. I installed 1.6GB of updates in the first two hours of having this laptop which is indicative of Windows 7 out of the box. I had a spare 4GB of RAM laying around so I installed that for fun.

Overall I've found this notebook to be quite fast in general usage, quick to boot and efficient in it's power usage. I've used this notebook all day, and by the time I left the office still had 20% of battery available. This is doing web browsing, Excel, file moves etc. The L430 also has USB3 and an always on USB port I used to good example as I travelled between client offices today to charge my HTC One X. I'm looking forward to my docking station arriving so I can plug it into my dual 22" LED monitors. For about $1200 for the laptop and the docking station together these laptops are great value. I'm not sure how long they'll be around for - pretty they'll be discontinued soon in this trend of everything going to Windows 8. Grab one if you can :-)