Even though it can still be used for business purposes, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 is more consumer oriented than its ThinkPad counterparts. If you’re looking for a laptop that can be used for a variety of purposes, then the Y580 is an ideal choice. The appearance is certainly an improvement from its predecessor, the dull gray Y570.

The newer model’s exterior looks more like a stationary system than an actual notebook designed for portability. The sleek dark gray outer lid and black palm rests have a lustrous brushed metal appearance. The chassis utilizes polycarbonate and aluminum plastic.

It comes with a wide variety of ports. A 6-in-1 card reader is located at the front. One USB 2.0 port and USB 3.0 ports, along with headphone and microphone jacks are located on the right side of the system. You will also find an HDMI output, an Ethernet port, and a VGI port on the chassis. The built-in Intel Wireless Display (Wi-Di) makes it easy to beam the video and audio to a high definition television. All you’ll need is an aftermarket adapter.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 comes with a dual-stream (2x) Centrino Wireless-N card with support for Wi-Di and Bluetooth. A second PCIe MiniCard Slot with mSATA support is optional. It offers support for extra end-user expandability.

While you can’t expect it to run games with advanced graphics technology, you can still play some games with standard graphics, thanks to the discrete 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M. it can break 30 frames per second, which is good for medium quality settings. This is impressive for a netbook. The graphics support the latest DirectX 11 for gaming and high definition video editing.

The default operating system is Windows Home 7 Premium. The 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 processor allows for multitasking. If that isn’t enough, you can expect 8 GB system memory, which is impressive for a notebook. For the hard drive, you can choose 500 GB, 750 GB, or 1 TB. There is also an option for a 32 GB Solid State Drive.

Not only does the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 come with great hardware, it also comes pre-loaded with useful applications. While some users don’t like pre-loaded applications, the ones offered by Lenovo can be very helpful:

· Cyberlink YouCam

· Adobe Reader

· Energy Management

· Cyberlink PowerDVD

· OneKey Recovery

· Lenovo EE Boot Optimizer

· Veriface

Last but not least is the display. The options include 15.6 inch LED backlit HD or 15.6 inch LED backlit FHD.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y580, overall, is a great, affordable notebook. Whether you want to work, play games, or be productive, you will find that the Y580 will offer everything you need.