TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Great office performance
- +
Generous HDD
- +
Blu-ray drive
- +
Decent graphics performance
- +
Build quality
Cons
- -
Not Full HD screen
- -
Display does not tilt back very far
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Lenovo is probably best known for its ThinkPad business laptops, but the Chinese company produces some excellent consumer laptops too. The ThinkPad G570 is a great value entertainment machine with lots of strong points.
A plain black design has been used with a glossy finish to the lid and a brushed-metallic look inside. Every inch is firm, which is useful if you have heavy-handed family members.
This quality extends to the keyboard, which shows no flex when typing. It's a perfect size, despite cramming in a numeric keypad, and well laid out for touch-typists.
The touchpad is a little more compact, but supports multi-touch gesturing, and you can slide your finger up and down the right edge to quickly scroll through documents and websites.
The display may not tilt far back from vertical, but the 15.6-inch screen is colourful and pleasing to work on. Films and photos look good and this laptop also features a Blu-ray drive, so you can watch HD movies. It's just a shame the 1366 x 768-pixel resolution isn't sharp enough to make the most of the crisp images.
Like the MSI CX640-018UK, the built-in speakers produce an impressive top volume, a bonus for anyone who watches films or listens to music regularly.
A generous 750GB of storage is equalled by the Acer Aspire 5553G, and which most people will never fully fill with their software and media collections.
One of Intel's latest Core i5 2410M processors provides the power, using cutting-edge Sandy Bridge technology. The MSI CX640 uses the same processor, but the Lenovo packs in 6GB of memory, giving it the edge in raw performance terms. Not only can you effortlessly run all of your programs, you'll be able to do so for years to come.
Graphically, the Lenovo isn't quite as accomplished as some of the other laptops here. You can still edit your photographs and home videos, and even indulge in some light gaming, but if you want to play the latest games on high detail you'll be better off with the Sony VAIO VPC-EB4L9E/BQ.
Benchmarks
Battery life: 250 minutes
MobileMark 2007: 290
3DMark 2003: 8499
Good battery
With 250 minutes of life from a single charge, this is one of the better battery performances in the group. If you're taking this laptop on your daily commute you can leave the charger behind, and the 2.5kg chassis won't weigh you down too much.
The ThinkPad G570 has a great deal to offer and comes with very few flaws to speak of. If you enjoy watching movies, browsing or editing your photo collections, or simply want a laptop to work on each day, this is a great value solution and is easy to recommend.
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