Lenovo Ideapad Y560 - a new friend better than the old two? Good continuation. Lenovo IdeaPad Y560p laptop review and testing

Almost every year, Intel or AMD update their processor lines. With the same frequency there are updates in the camp of graphics accelerators. Notebook manufacturers are only happy about this, because nothing prevents installing new CPUs and GPUs in already “run-in” models, only slightly changing their appearance and adding new features. The solution of such a simple problem is not just profitable - it is super-profitable and profitable. There is no need to waste the energy and time of engineers on the development of new products, everything has already been done a long time ago, it remains only to “finish it”.

A “hamster” lives in the hearts of buyers, who constantly asks for something new, albeit not very necessary. When it turns out to be impossible to cope with this rodent, then the person begins to choose a new thing for his old (and sometimes new) “iron friend”. Intel Sandy Bridge, AMD Liano, GeForce GT 5xx, Radeon HD 6xx0M, SSD - doesn't it sound tempting?

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A few weeks ago, a laptop made according to the above principle got into the laboratory. The IdeaPad line is for sure one of the best-selling reliable multimedia laptops with an affordable price tag. And if it comes to models with the Y index, then everything becomes clear to many. Meet the new Lenovo IdeaPad Y560p with Intel Sandy Bridge processor and AMD Radeon discrete graphics…

Recently, the trend to replace desktop computers with mobile ones began to enter a new round, when, in addition to mobility and compactness, the list of requirements began to include a high level of performance of the central and graphic processors and, at the same time, a not very high price, in the region of a psychologically important level of 1000 conventional units (i.e. dollars).

This segment has the largest number of buyers, and almost every manufacturer has presented its own version of a home laptop aimed at a wide home audience. In conditions of strong competition, everyone has to save on filling and / or appearance, looking for the best price / quality ratio.

Lenovo, which is still largely seen around the world as the new owner of the IBM ThinkPad corporate line, introduced its self-developed, stylish, entertainment-focused multimedia line in 2008, the Ideapad.

The large Ideapad line is divided into several series: S, U, V, G, Z, Y, depending on size and performance. It includes a huge number of models, from baby netbooks to large game stations with stereo screens (interlaced polarization).

The company characterizes the most technically advanced Y series as follows: “Versatile widescreen laptops with powerful multimedia features. Perfect for gamers."

The updated Y line was presented in the summer, and it appeared on wide sale in the fall. This article will focus on the model Y560 (*) with 15.6 inch wide screen.

(* Models of the Y560 updated version are currently available in the MICS warehouse. All configurations are equipped with second generation Sandy Bridge processors up to the Intel Core i7-2630M processor. Notebooks are equipped with a hard drive up to 750 GB and a maximum of 8 GB of DDR3 1333 RAM, used powerful graphics card with 1GB VRAM. Also, the Y560p series features a more rigorous design. The external design of laptops is built on a combination of brushed texture and metallic color. A very nice feature is Lenovo's Windows 7 Enhanced Experience technology, which provides a 33% faster computer startup process and a 50% faster shutdown process. - MICS note)

Frame

In 2010, the design of the 15-inch model was seriously updated, and now it does not have any hints of the philosophy and style of the old IBM ThinkPad lines. The main color of the laptop is listed as "black" (black), but in reality both outside and inside it is chocolate or dark brown, depending on the lighting, except that the lower part of the body is made of classic black plastic.

The lid looks very original and interesting: a rough matte finish with the addition of shiny crumbs, on which a glossy intricate pattern of geometric polygons intertwined with hexagons is applied in some places. The lid features heavy-duty metal-look hinges for a secure feel and the Lenovo logo in chrome-plated metal.

The orange-bronze edging of the already not very thick cover, which migrated from last year's line, completes the look. The edging plays a purely aesthetic role. The first models of the Y series did not have it at all, although there were already many red icons and buttons that appeared on the keyboard, as if in defiance of the blue icons on the keyboards of classic Thinkpads.

The futuristic design of the lid resembles a plaque of honor with a complex chemical formula found and the name of its inventor. Perhaps the design concept was inspired by cutting-edge experiments with a two-dimensional allotropic modification of carbon - graphene, for which this year was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. I would like to believe.

The lid is held on by two moderately tight plastic hinges, painted metal-like on the outside, and flaunting an abundance of black gloss on the inside, which also borders the screen. There is no latch on the case, you can easily open the lid with one hand to a maximum angle of about 135 degrees.

I didn’t really like the fragility of the lid when opening “around the corner” and the glossy soiledness, which will still cause trouble.

In working order, the laptop is pleasing to the eye - everything is modest, smooth and tasteful, the main design solutions are similar to those that were used in the model range last year, although the location of the ports has been seriously changed.

The surface of the upper block of touch buttons, located between the JBL speakers, is made of black glossy plastic, like the screen frame. And the plastic area around the keyboard block is already stylized as a roughly polished metal, covered with a thick layer of glossy lacquer.

Fingerprints remain everywhere, especially they will accumulate on top, near the touch buttons. However, the functions of the touch buttons are duplicated, so you can not use them so as not to stain the surface. The exception is the SlideNav bar, which we'll cover later.

It is worth noting that the prints are visible only when looking directly at the panel, at an acute angle they are less noticeable. Definitely missing a real brushed metal insert like some of the competition's models.

Let's move on to the side faces and ports for connecting external devices.

When opened, the screen cover blocks access to the rear edge where the battery is located, so it makes no sense to place connectors here.

Let's see what connectors are on the front panel.

For convenience, here is a diagram of their location.

On the front side, compared to the previous Y550 model, the audio jacks and the IR receiver are gone. But left:

Slot for media memory cards - SD/MMC/MS/xD. The kit includes a plug. The SD memory card protrudes approximately 2 mm.
GPU (graphics processor) switch - activates the software procedure for changing the video card between Intel HD and ATI 5730.
Built-in switch of all wireless devices - Bluetooth/WiFi/WiMax. It has two positions - on and off, individual settings are carried out through the utility.

The switches are so small that you can only move them with a fingernail, and they are located very close, which can lead to confusion.

The panel also contains: a white indicator light for the active state of the laptop, duplicated on the power button (blinks in sleep mode), a battery status indicator (<30% горит рыжим, при зарядке гаснет каждые 5 секунд) и индикатор выбранного графического адаптера (когда включена карта ATI, он горит белым, при работе с Intel GMA — не горит).

The left side looks like this:

Now let's take a look at the diagram in order to more clearly assess which connectors are presented here.

The new year brought new changes - on the left side, the Kensington lock, the eSATA port and the ExpressCard slot disappeared, and connectors appeared that moved from other faces:

VGA analog video output.
HDMI digital video output - audio and video.
Ventilation holes.
RJ-45 Ethernet port up to 1000 Mbps.
Two USB 2.0 ports.
Headphone jack - Shared with 3.5mm optical Toslink.
Microphone jack.

The location of the connectors is very good, all ports are easy to use. I especially liked the location of the audio jacks close to the front of the laptop. The exhaust outlet of the ventilation system is very large, with diagonal cutouts for the protective grille.

And finally, the right side.

Connector layout:

So here are:

USB 2.0 port.
eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port.
ExpressCard 3/4 slot.
Optical drive DVD-RW.
TV antenna socket (on some models only).
Socket for power adapter.
Slot for Kensington lock.

It is not clear the manufacturer's desire to put permanently occupied ports on the near edge, where they can interfere with the hand with the mouse. It would be more logical to move them closer to the power socket. The power plug is L-shaped, so the wire will immediately go beyond the screen.

Finally, let's take a look at the bottom configuration...

and a convenient scheme where all the elements are indicated.

Although it’s not customary to look closely at the bottom, the changes compared to the Y550 are quite noticeable here - the platform has become more “licked” and pleasing to the eye, the corners have disappeared, the “nano-subwoofer” has disappeared, and large ornamental windows have appeared instead of boring and small air intake grilles. Four rubberized pyramid feet securely hold the laptop on the table and prevent it from slipping. For example, if the USB cable is pulled out sharply, the laptop will remain in place. The main nodes remain the same:

Spring loaded battery latch.
Battery pack (a little dangling, there is a feeling of insecurity).
Mechanical battery latch.
SIM card slot (select models only).
Mini PCI ExpressCard slot compartment.
Central processing unit (CPU) / memory compartment (RAM).
Hard disk drive (HDD) compartment.

To look inside or replace something, such as a memory bar or a Mini PCI-E card, you need to tighten a few screws. By the way, the screws are locked, i.e. a completely unscrewed screw remains in the cover and cannot fall out of it. Thanks to this, it is simply impossible to lose the fastening screws.

Photos with the cover removed:

Access is open to all important components.

The cooling of the processor and video card hangs on a common thermal channel, so under high load, warming up will occur together, and over time, temperature records of 90 ° C can become an unpleasant norm. And in the summer, overheating is completely possible up to freezing. You should be very careful about the operating conditions and from time to time clean the cooling system from dust!

The processor hatch has a metal insert and reflective foil under the hot spots.

Configuration

Lenovo offers a large number of different configurations of the Y560 model, some of them are presented in Russian, some on the English-language official website, and some are available from retailers. It is very difficult to navigate in a huge list of models built on a variety of combinations of components. Moreover, there is little information, but it is full of confusion and even errors.

In general, it can be argued that the system is built on the penultimate generation Intel platform and uses an ATI 5730 video card, other components may change. You can evaluate the various configurations, for example, in the Hardware Maintenance Manual.

Let's look at the specifications of the tested model Ideapad Y560A1-i383G500Bwi (59-054380).

Lenovo Ideapad Y560
CPU	DualCore Intel Core i3 380M, 2533 MHz (19×133)
Chipset	Intel Ibex Peak-M HM55
RAM	1GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533MHz) Samsung M471B2873FHS-CF8 2GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533MHz) Samsung M471B5673FH0-CF8
Video subsystem	ATI Mobility Radeon HD5730 1 GB and integrated video from Intel
Screen	15.6″, LED-backlit, glossy, 16:9, 1366×768 dots Matrix type: LG Philips LP156WH3-TLQ1 , 60% color Gamut, 8ms, 220nits, 400:1
Sound subsystem	2 JBL speakers, 1.5W Dolby Headphone certified Two audio controllers: ATI Redwood/Madison, Realtek ALC272 @ Intel Ibex Peak PCH
HDD	Models up to 500 GB (5400/7200) In the tested WDC configuration WD5000BEVT-24A0RT0 (500GB/5400)
optical drive	Optiarc DVD RW AD-7700H (DVD+R9:4x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:8x/8x, DVD-RW:8x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:8x, CD:24x /24x/24x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Network interfaces	wired network	10/100/1000 Mbps
	Wireless network	Intel WiFi / WiMAX Link 5150 (802.11b/g)
	Bluetooth	there is
	Additionally	No
card reader	5 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS pro/xD), type JMicron JMB386/387
Interfaces and ports	USB	4 (one shared with eSATA)
	VGA Out	there is
	HDMI	there is
	display port	No
	eSATA	yes (combined with USB)
	RJ45	there is
	expresscard	yes, 34 mm
	Headphone output	there is
	Microphone input	there is
	line out	No
	Additionally	optical output (combined with audio output)
Input Devices	Keyboard	standard
	touchpad	there is
	Additionally	additional touch keys
Battery	Sanyo L09S6D16 (60653 mWh), Battery life 3.5 hours
Power Supply	Power supply 90 W
IP telephony	Webcam	HD Webcam
IP telephony	Microphone	yes, with noise reduction system
Additionally	Optical S/PDIF, miniPCI-e slot
Operating system	From DOS to Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Dimensions	(L×W×H) 385×255×20-33mm
Weight	2.7 kg (weight varies by configuration)
Guarantee period	2 years

The configuration can vary over a very wide range, respectively, and the performance can be very different depending on the configuration. There is little information about the screen, but judging by the low resolution, inexpensive matrices are installed in laptops, you should not expect anything good from them.

A nice feature of this line is the two-year laptop warranty (except for the battery, it has a 1-year warranty), which is more than most competitors. However, on the official website for the Y560 models, it says "One year", a similar confusion arises on the websites of retailers.

To clarify the situation, we tried to use the Lenovo Ideapad Information Support phone found on the official website. It turned out that the specified number has been disconnected for a year now, another phone is currently being used. In order not to waste time talking with a soulless robot, if you have a serial number, you can use the system for checking the remaining warranty period. As a result of the check, we managed to find out that our laptop was released in September 2010, and the warranty for it is 24 months from the date of sale. By the way, in the absence of a receipt or other documents of purchase, the warranty period is calculated from the date of production.

Testing

Performance, test results

The test results will be interesting, as a powerful dual-core processor is adjacent to a moderately powerful graphics card.

Let's check the scores of synthetic system performance tests in PCMark Vantage, 3Dmark06 (in brackets the results of subtests SM2.0, HDR / SM3, CPU), 3Dmark Vantage and Cinebench R10 (performance test 1 core / 2 cores / work in OpenGL), R11.5 (CPU/GPU).

CPU data in CPU-Z:

Similar information in the AIDA64 program:

Automatic reduction of the multiplier in the absence of loading allows you to save battery power:

The results of measuring the memory bandwidth and processor cache:

For comparison, in test programs, let's take the Hewlett-Packard Envy 15, which, although it belongs to a different segment and costs more, is similar in configuration to our today's guest. The HP laptop has a more powerful quad-core i7-720 and an ATI Radeon HD 4830 1 GB graphics card.

In general, the performance is high, but not outstanding, the failure in the memory test is especially noticeable, this may be due to the fact that the bus is 133 MHz, and that the memory configuration is 2 + 1 GB. Although the end user is unlikely to notice the difference "by eye".

Let's take a look at the results of the PCMark Vantage test (for the Y560, the results are given for running the test in X64/X86 modes).

PC Mark Vantage	Lenovo Y560	HP Envy 15	ASUS N81Vg
PC Mark Score	5678/5326	5743	4093
Memories Score	4031/3891	4089	2681
TV and Movies Score	-/- *	4184	2711
Gaming Score	4912/4628	6305	3496
Music Score	5463/5396	4496	4118
Communications Score	4459/4318	3836	3720
Productivity Score	4733/4297	4773	2892
HDD Score	3311/3266	3914	2990

* Test fails because Home Basic does not have the required MPEG-2 decoders from Windows Media Center. VC-1 HD DVD result - 26.3 fps

The scores are quite predictable, the final score shows a small but advantage of the 64-bit platform over the 32-bit one. There is a noticeable lag behind the 5730 video card from the 4830 and the advantage of a hard drive with a rotation speed of 7200 rpm.

There is a noticeable superiority of the dual-core processor over the quad-core one in "Music Score" (hard disk operation and transcoding). This can be explained by a higher base frequency (2.5 vs 1.6 GHz) and the complexity of task parallelization. A similar situation with Communications Score, where in addition web page rendering is performed.

Video card data is provided by the GPU-Z program.

Results for ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730:

Results for Integrated Intel HD Graphics:

Let's see what the graphics tests show:

3D Mark Vantage 1280x1024	Lenovo Y 560 / Battery+PowerPlay !	Hewlett-Packard Envy 15
Score	PZ758 / P1396	4164
CPU	P7226 / P7230	9374
GPU	P3240 / P1100	3513 *

* A similar result can be obtained by slightly raising the GPU CORE / MEM frequencies through the AMD GPU Clock Tool, but no more, since the overclockability of the mobile platform is very low.

The results are logical and already more in line with reality. The advantage of four cores and auto overclocking is obvious, and the 4830 is more than 10% faster than the 5730, which in turn is a slightly overclocked 5650 and overtakes it by about the same 10-15%.

In order not to get low GPU results when running on battery power, you need to disable PowerPlay in the ATI drivers tab! or set up for maximum performance depending on the tasks.

In addition, a set of more classic tests:

Differences in the results are mostly repeated and correspond to the level of the GeForce GT 240M in terms of the video card. With Cinebench R10 test rendering, using all cores more than doubles the performance, and in this case, the gap between quad-core i7 processors and dual-core i3 is even more noticeable - about 20%.

Games:

Let's move on to the most demanded part of testing on the example of modern games.

STALKER COP benchmark 1366×768. DX10 - middle:

DX11-middle:

At medium settings, the fps level is often above the minimum playability threshold of 30 frames, but dips to 17-20 guarantee stuttering in the most inappropriate places.

DIRT2 benchmark 1366×768 4xMSAA:

At medium settings, the quality of the graphics does not suffer much, and the playability increases significantly.

FarCry2 1366×768 DX10 Ranch Medium:

As a table:

According to the test results, we can say that the minimum sufficient level of performance in the HIGH and ULTRA HIGH modes, however, the inclusion of anisotropic filtering significantly reduces the performance.

Unreal Tournament 3 HOC benchmark tool - 1366×768:

Preset/FPS	The average
Containment map, aniso8, motion blur	69
Serenity map, aniso4, motion blur	66

Definitely, the mobile version of the ATI 5730 graphics processor shows a good level of performance, and most modern games can be played at medium settings.

Finally, let's look at the performance of the hard drive according to AIDA:

And separately in the HDTune utility. General diagram of reading from the disk surface:

And the diagram of working with files:

Given the small measurement error under multitasking OS, the data of both programs are the same. The performance of this drive is at a normal level for modern models.

The notebook is not equipped with a hard drive shock protection system that would help prevent data loss in the event of an accidental drop. Manufacturers should pay more attention to the safety of data on any line of laptops, not just corporate ones.

Battery life

The battery before the tests was subjected to discharge and charge procedures for several days in order to reach its natural level of operation.

Lenovo Energy Manager offers two battery charging modes: longer battery life or longer battery life. Speaking of which, a new battery costs over $70.

Lithium batteries have a fairly high level of self-discharge, recharging turns on when the remaining charge drops below 98%. Even if the laptop is constantly plugged in, the battery will drain below this threshold in two to three days. Constant recharging leads to faster cell degradation and loss of capacity. However, if you often work with a laptop on batteries (even better if the discharge level is deep), then you should choose this option, because there will be no degradation (more precisely, it will not be higher than the usual level).

If the laptop is constantly running on mains, then you should select the optimal battery life. In this case, battery charging will not turn on until the charge falls below 80%. Less frequent charges help prolong battery life.

Testing for battery life is carried out in two modes: with an Intel HD video card in minimal load mode (reading text from the screen), with an ATI video card when watching a movie, and with an increased load on all laptop systems (stress test). Charging was carried out until reaching 100%.

Tests are carried out in a "balanced" diet. The monitor and hard drive timeout is set to "never". Other interventions in power management (switching graphics, disabling components, etc.) are not performed, they remain by default. The screen brightness is set to maximum, the ambient light sensor is turned off, and wireless interfaces are disabled. When testing, the laptop reboots, all utilities installed by the manufacturer are launched (except for the anti-virus program, it is uninstalled before the tests).

When discharging below 10%, the transition to economy mode is manually blocked to force the screen brightness to maximum.

Movie playback battery life was measured using x264 720p movie with AC3 audio track. The file was played from the hard disk, the ATI video card with the active PowerPlay mode was included! "energy saving", Media Player Classic 1.4 x64, built-in AVC decoder with hardware acceleration DXVA (CPU usage at 2.5 GHz was 3-6%; without DXVA approximately 14-20%; in "balanced" mode, the processor multiplier changes from x7-x14), EVR render.

* At 5% charge, the laptop went into sleep mode, external power was connected and the system started, but charging did not start for more than 50 minutes! With an ATI video card, battery life in this mode is 196 minutes.

** At 4% battery, the laptop went into sleep mode, but due to the high load, the hibernation mode was not completed and the “blue screen” STOP 0xA0 appeared. After the reboot, the data was lost. Charging started right away. To fix the error, you need to increase the size of the hibernation file from 75% by default to 100% using the "PowerCfg.exe /H /SIZE 100" command.

In the maximum power saving mode, the laptop works for about three and a half hours. For a home multimedia laptop, battery life is acceptable. If you watch a movie, the laptop will last exactly two hours. And in this mode, the battery life, let's say, is on the verge, this may not be enough to watch a long movie in its entirety. However, the test used a rather "heavy" version of the video file, if you take a simpler AVI, the battery life may be longer. Under load, the Y560 runs for less than an hour. When browsing the Internet, you should expect battery life to be in the region of 1 hour 35-40 minutes.

Compared with classmates, the results are not impressive, but not a failure either. Let's just say that for this class the level of autonomy is average.

The abundance of intersecting and additional power-saving settings from Win7, Lenovo, ATI and switchable graphics, of course, makes the life of the average user much more difficult, but with a successful setting, it can significantly increase battery life.

Heat and noise

The correct temperature regime is very important for mobile devices, often operating in adverse conditions. To determine the temperature limits using the built-in sensors, we used the AIDA utility (stress test mode) with LinX running in parallel, and FurMark for an ATI video card. However, in real life, the laptop is unlikely to face such a high load. Here, for example, is the AMD/ATI measurement data:

The results at an external temperature of 25 ° C were as follows:

	At rest	Under load
CPU	47—50	80—86
HDD	37—39	41—43
video card	48—52	80—82

If you run FurMark and LinX, then in less than five minutes the CPU temperature will reach 88-90 ° C and throttling will turn on, the GPU temperature will reach more than 82 ° C. With such high temperatures of internal components, there is already a real chance that the laptop will overheat to the point of freezing. The problem is that the legs are too low on the bottom, if you raise the laptop above the surface, the temperature will drop by more than 15 degrees.

During normal use, the left side of the bottom gets hotter than the right side, but it doesn't reach temperatures that would be unpleasant to work with. Even from the ventilation hole, warm and not at all burning air escapes, as one might expect from the temperature of the processor core and video card. It's perfectly possible to play modern games while holding the Ideapad Y560 on your lap. [I personally think that with the correctness of the data, we can conclude that the laptop is inefficient or of poor quality, defective cooling system. If the processor heats up to 90 degrees, and the air is just warm, then most likely the system for some reason cannot remove heat from the processor. With the normal organization of the cooling system, this should not be - approx. ed.]

At rest, the fan is almost silent. Under load, it works harder and, accordingly, makes louder noise. However, even in this case, the noise is pleasant, without high-frequency components, in terms of level - quieter than the built-in DVD-ROM.

In a quiet room, you can hear that without load, the laptop beeps very quietly at a high frequency, when the load appears, the extraneous sound disappears. The sound source is somewhere near the hard drive. Users with particularly sensitive hearing can be annoyed at this point.

Usage impressions

Unboxing

The laptop comes in a black cardboard box with an orange handle. Packing size — 450×132×330 mm. On one of the sides, all data on the delivery, including the serial number and production date, are applied. Box weight 4.36 kg. Inside is a packed laptop in foam molds and a white box with all the contents:

There is a separate laptop battery (Li-Ion 57 Wh), a thin and light 20V/4.5A power supply unit with the Lenovo logo, a power cord with grounding.

The package includes disks with the software necessary for system recovery. This is a disc with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic edition; a complete set of Y560 V1.0 drivers for Win7 32/64bit (in addition, there is a copy on disk D); CD with a set of pre-installed programs: Adobe Reader, Power2Go, CyberLink YouCam, Lenovo DirectShare, McAfee Virus Scan, PlusReadyComm, VeriFace; disk with WinDVD lenovo 1.2 player, which is also installed on the laptop. The list is completed by the user manual on 140 pages, a brief memo on initial setup.

The first impression of the work was unpleasant. The Win7 HB installed on the laptop slowed down a lot, hung up several times not only when performing tests, but also just out of the blue, the system repeatedly fell into a blue screen. In addition, there were problems with data transfer via Bluetooth and, what is most unpleasant, the touchpad with the multi-touch function of the well-known company Synaptics refused to work normally ... It behaved like an old optical mouse on a mirror surface - the cursor jumped around the screen or did not work at all ( the device was lost), instead of movement, buttons were pressed and vice versa! Most likely, these are the shortcomings of a particular model, but this characterizes the level of quality control at the factory. So the performance of your laptop is still worth checking when buying.

Let's look at the main elements of the functionality of the laptop in the working position.

The built-in camera is used for video conferencing, video recording and in the VeriFace face recognition system.
Built-in microphone with echo cancellation and noise reduction.
Antennas of the wireless network module.
Computer display with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Computer status indicators - HDD / Bluetooth / Wireless / Num Lock / Caps Lock / Touch Lock / GPU - are on when the device is active. However, if the Bluetooth adapter is turned off through Win7, and not the Lenovo utility (Fn + F5), then the icon will remain lit until all wireless devices are mechanically turned off.
Acoustic system JBL.
Illuminated power button.
Button to launch OneKey Rescue System - backup and restore data.
Ambient Light Sensor - Can automatically adjust screen brightness when ALS is enabled in Lenovo Energy Management Utility, Smart Management section.
Lenovo SlideNav bar - customizable hotkeys.
Capacitive touch buttons for launching the Lenovo Energy Management program, OneKey Theater II screen mode setting program, and side-mounted regular volume +/-/mute buttons.
Touchpad touchpad with buttons.

All indicators glow in a dull milky white color and are not very distracting at night.

Keyboard

The key block remains exactly the same as in the model of last year.

The keyboard is classic, the keys of the over-cursor block are located in a vertical line to the right of it. There is no digital block, although now it appears in 15-inch laptops more and more often. There are no other modern additional features, such as key illumination, no. On top of the large chocolate-colored buttons, symbols are applied with white “stickers” in a large and well-read font. The system functions that a particular key performs in combination with Fn are indicated by orange symbols on the bottom edges of the keys.

By the way, Fn is in the corner here, which is very bad for the convenience of work. If you use another keyboard in parallel, such as a desktop computer, then constantly switching from one to another is a torment. If you do not use other computers, then you can get used to such a relative arrangement of Ctrl and Fn, but working with the keyboard will still be less convenient.

The shape of the keys is traditional, with beveled edges. The dividing recess between the buttons is a bit lacking (the finger does not fall through) and therefore frequent misses are provided, for example, along the narrow Enter.

The auxiliary keys (Shift, Ctrl, etc) are large, which is good. Particularly pleasing are the large convex buttons of the arrow block. They, in combination with Fn, provide brightness and sound settings (there are separate +/- and mute buttons for sound, the latter glowing white when the mode is activated).

The keys of the over-cursor block, Home/End/PgUp/PgDown, as we have already noted, lined up in a vertical line on the right side of the keyboard. Above them is Delete of an unusual shape. Horizontally, this key is one and a half times longer than the rest. PrintScreen is in the form of a separate key, but there was not enough space for Ins, this key is made in the form of a combination of Fn + F12. In a vertical column, I would like to see a block division according to the type of row F1-F4 / F5-F8 / F9-F12.

The keystroke is soft and doesn't make much noise when typing, except for Enter and the spacebar, which are noticeably louder. When typing, the keyboard block noticeably bends, especially in the center. The case also bends and twists easily, like an eraser, and with especially careless handling, there is a possibility of damage to the internal parts of the motherboard, the appearance of microcracks, etc. Perhaps this is a struggle for weight, perhaps for the final cost. In any case, this is a disadvantage that must be taken into account. There is another problem with the Enter key - if you press its center, swiping from top to bottom, then the fingertip rests on the sharp upper right edge of the Shift key, delivering discomfort.

In general, the keyboard is not the worst. For the Internet and games with a WASD block, it is quite suitable.

It is worth adding that a similar keyboard is supplied for the English-speaking market, but with a shortened left Shift key, by adding the “L” button in its place, which in turn freed up space for a large “L-shaped” Enter.

Touchpad and positioning devices

The Y560 has a Synaptics (V7.4) touchpad with multi-touch functionality available in the Win7 environment by default. Multi-touch features make the touchpad more convenient, for example, it is easier to scroll through a document - just swipe the surface with two fingers. Here it is larger compared to the narrow touchpad on the previous series, the Y550. The physical dimensions are approximately 90×50 mm (16:9). To provide feedback, the surface of the touchpad is dotted with small bumps, i.e. you can clearly feel how your finger has moved. On the surface there is a dedicated vertical scrolling zone, there are no pimples in this place.

The movement on the surface is a little tighter than that of the "Teflon" brothers, but the positioning is clearer, without slipping. In general, the touchpad has a high sensitivity and the driver offers a huge amount of settings, but it is unlikely that you will need to change anything. To avoid false positives when working with the keyboard, the touch block can be disabled by pressing Fn + F6, the indicator between the buttons will turn bright white. In those rare moments when the touchpad worked, only good impressions remained from it.

There are still two buttons, but this time they are copper-gloss and will probably pick up fingerprints. In addition, they are soft, flimsy and dangle a little from side to side, and the lack of the usual hard click makes the work quite nervous.

Additional keys and indicators

The location of the main indicators and multimedia keys has been described in the Body section, and here we will take a closer look at their functionality.

OneKey Rescue System is an easy-to-use application for backing up system partition (C drive) data and easily restoring it when needed. OneKey Recovery can be used in Windows, and OneKey Rescue System can be used without starting the Windows operating system.
SlideNav Bar is a thin, ribbed touchpad with seven LEDs. Tapping launches a special Lenovo utility that allows you to open customizable quick launch items, swipe to change wallpaper, hide or reveal the screen (actually turn on the screensaver), change workspace by swiping the panel (however, this function is only available in software that does not come with a laptop ).

The most requested application launcher is implemented as follows: when you open the application list, slide your finger along it, when you reach the desired program, lift your finger, and the selected item will start. By default, the SlideNav Bar is highlighted. To remove annoying dots in the center of the panel, you need to check the “Turn off indicator blinking” checkbox in the settings, and turning off their sound effects also does not hurt. The rest of the features are more cosmetic decorations.

The battery icon is a touch button for quick access to power settings, and the movie camera launches OneKey Theater II, a utility for choosing the best screen settings from preset scenarios: normal mode, movie mode, and smart mode. By and large, useless utilities.

In the lower right corner is the final touch in the set of "white stars in the dark sky" - the ideapad logo illuminated in blue, surrounded by a round dance of seven stickers. Lights up when the laptop is running and in sleep mode. Absolutely superfluous way to remind yourself.

Indicators, except for the pulsing dots of the SideNav Bar, cannot be disabled programmatically.

The entire top row is dotted with Fn modifiers. Here is a complete list of them:

	Enable/disable the ability to activate the built-in camera. When the camera is activated, a white indicator next to it lights up.
fn+f1	Switching to sleep mode.
Fn+F2	Turn on/off the LCD backlight. At the same time, the matrix continues to work, you can even see contrasting objects.
Fn+F3	Switch to another connected display.
Fn+F4	Open the display resolution setting interface.
Fn+F5	Opens the wireless settings interface (enable/disable).
Fn+F6	Enable/disable the touchpad.
Fn+F7	Turn sound on/off
Fn+F8	Enable/disable the numeric keypad.
Fn+F9	Keyboard Pause key function
Fn+F10	Keyboard break key function
Fn+F11	Enable or disable the Scroll Lock feature.
Fn+F12	Enable/disable input-insert (Ins key function).
Fn + PrtSc	System request activation.
Fn + / ↓	Increase/decrease display brightness.
Fn + ← / →	Decrease/increase the sound volume.

Lenovo's network settings interface (Fn + F5) is not prioritized for activating wireless devices. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, it is better to use the Intel utility that hangs in the taskbar.

Switching displays caused the most criticism. When you press Fn + F3 (similar to Win + P), a menu of four items appears: LCD only, duplicate, expand, only external screen. However, the desired mode must be selected with the mouse (buttons do not switch modes cyclically). Therefore, if you have chosen the wrong mode, then the switch icon will have to be searched for by touch.

The keyboard backlight is missing, which would fit so well in the screen frame, next to the camera eye.

Screen

The screen is the most important component in terms of user interaction with a laptop. However, almost all manufacturers, when creating new models, follow the path of least resistance, trying to use inexpensive "mainstream" solutions. Only occasionally and in expensive models you can see really good matrices.

Home laptops are suffering the most from this trend. First, there was a transition from matte to glossy screens. Yes, with prolonged use, the glossy screen is worse, but in the store it looks brighter, and the colors are richer. Then, instead of the more convenient 4:3 format for working with text, laptops hastily began to switch to a 16:10 widescreen format, and when the transition took place, manufacturers quickly abandoned it and switched to a 16:9 format, previously used only in movies, but now bursting into and in TVs, and in computers, and has already displaced all other options from there.

Finally, the last step is the selection of permissions. In order to save money, most manufacturers use only low-resolution 1366×768 matrices, especially in low-cost models. This resolution complies with the HD Ready standard, a variant introduced for purely marketing purposes to get the coveted HD logo onto monitors and TVs that don't deserve it.

Moreover, if for 12-13 inches this resolution is quite justified, then for 15-inch screens it is already not enough, it would be possible to comfortably work in a higher resolution.

The disadvantages of using such matrices, moreover, made using TN-film technology, are known in advance - glare mirror gloss, low desktop height, noticeable pixelation, pronounced degradation and inversion of colors when deviated vertically, incorrect colors and incomplete color gamut, whitish " black". This means that “dark” games, and these are usually all shooters, will be unpleasant to play, and watch movies too. Sometimes even from surfing the net there will be increased fatigue. The only advantage can be considered the transition to LED backlighting, although for some reason the brightness of the screens is still insufficient for comfortable work on the street.

According to the technical specification, the following matrices can be installed on the Y560 model:

Each of which may have its own advantages or disadvantages, but, perhaps, N156B6 will be preferable, since, according to the manufacturer, it has a contrast ratio of 650:1 (the real one can be 5 times less).

Our sample from LG Philips has all the features and all the disadvantages typical for this class of matrices, and in addition, “dancing pixels” are noticeable on moving windows or objects; the screen attracts dust, which creates the effect of "dead pixels". But do not be afraid - this is the situation with all matrices on the market, you just need to be ready for it.

To top it off, there was information on the net that some AUO matrices have a noticeable ghosting (imaginary outline) on the fonts, as with a bad analog cable, which looks quite wild in the era of digital interfaces.

A feature of the laptop is the presence of a light sensor, which by default constantly strives to overestimate the brightness of the screen, even if the laptop is connected to a power outlet and the maximum brightness is set in the energy profile! It's all about the activated ALS smart mode of the Lenovo Energy Management utility, it is recommended to disable it.

Sound

Two full-range JBL speakers are mounted in the laptop case, there is no separate bass speaker, and therefore the sound has a ringing and squeaky tone. Compared to the Y550, the acoustic window has become longer and the pattern has changed to a more sound-permeable one. The intelligibility and volume are high, the acoustics are quite suitable for voices and films without an abundance of special sound effects. For homework, music and games, it is strongly recommended to buy external acoustics.

In headphones with default settings (without equalizers), there is a noticeable lack of detail - mumbling on the bass with a slight creak, the sky

Keyboard

Lenovo uses a classic button shape with beveled edges and little space between the keys on this laptop. The block of arrows is spatially separated from the main array of buttons for better blind access to them. The arrow block keys have a special plastic marking.

The Y560's keyboard dispenses with a separate numeric keypad, as in many 15.6-inch laptops, which may upset some office users. However, it allowed to keep standard key size. In general, compared to desktop keyboards, perhaps only the space between the keys is slightly less.

The keys have a very long travel and clear pressing regardless of which part of the button surface the finger hits. Thus, the keyboard pleases with excellent tactile feedback. Its only small minus, perhaps, is a loud clatter during operation.

touchpad

Touchpad by Synaptics (V7.4) is a modern touchpad with gesture support. It allows you to zoom in on images with two fingers and scroll without using scrollbars. However, vertical and horizontal (not marked visually) scrollbars are also present. By default, the horizontal scroll bar is disabled. The touchpad installed in the Y560 is very large in size, and retains sensitivity right up to its borders. Its surface is covered with small pimples, which makes slip enough lethargic.

Buttons The touchpads have a very long travel and are very comfortable. They pressed firmly and gently. Due to the fact that minimal effort is required to press, and there is practically no click, the buttons allow you to work quickly and with pleasure.

Capacitive keys and system recovery buttons

Touch buttons (they use capacitive sensor) above the keyboard combine status indicators (hard drive activity, Bluetooth, WLAN, power) and application call buttons. Battery symbol invokes the Lenovo Energy Management program. The camera next to him opens the OneKey Theater II. Nearby, according to the instructions, you can choose the optimal use case, but what it is is not clear. Maybe in the preconfigured Y560, power modes are somehow linked to usage scenarios. We couldn't verify this in our test system, since it came with FreeDOS and we installed Windows 7 ourselves.

Lenovo Panel SlideNav(it is located between two white dots) is something new. With your finger, you can quickly launch one of eight pre-selected programs. So it's just a normal panel. quick launch applications. To the right of the keyboard are buttons to control the sound volume.

Also, Lenovo has equipped the laptop with a special button One Key Rescue. This function in one form or another is present in all notebooks of the company. She activates System Restore from the section provided by the manufacturer, regardless of whether the device is currently turned on or not. The user is given the opportunity to burn a disk to restore the system or restore it to the factory state.

The next generation of Lenovo home multimedia notebooks

The company characterizes the most technically advanced Y series as follows: “Versatile widescreen laptops with powerful multimedia features. Perfect for gamers."

The updated Y line was presented in the summer, and it appeared on wide sale in the fall. This article will focus on the Y560 model with a 15.6-inch wide screen.

Frame

I didn’t really like the fragility of the lid when opening “around the corner” and the glossy soiledness, which will still cause trouble.

In working order, the laptop pleases the eye - everything is modest, smooth and tasteful, the main design solutions are similar to those that were used in the model range last year, although the port layout has been seriously changed.

Let's move on to the side faces and ports for connecting external devices.

When opened, the screen cover blocks access to the rear edge where the battery is located, so it makes no sense to place connectors here.

Let's see what connectors are on the front panel.

For convenience, here is a diagram of their location.

On the front side, compared to the previous Y550 model, the audio jacks and the IR receiver are gone. But left:

Slot for media memory cards - SD/MMC/MS/xD. The kit includes a plug. The SD memory card protrudes approximately 2 mm.
GPU (graphics processor) switch - activates the software procedure for changing the video card between Intel HD and ATI 5730.
Built-in switch of all wireless devices - Bluetooth/WiFi/WiMax. It has two positions - on and off, individual settings are carried out through the utility.

The switches are so small that you can only move them with a fingernail, and they are located very close, which can lead to confusion.

The panel also contains: a white indicator light for the active state of the laptop, duplicated on the power button (blinks in sleep mode), a battery status indicator (the left side looks like this:

Now let's take a look at the diagram in order to more clearly assess which connectors are presented here.

The new year brought new changes - on the left side, the Kensington lock, the eSATA port and the ExpressCard slot disappeared, and connectors appeared that moved from other faces:

VGA analog video output.
HDMI digital video output - audio and video.
Ventilation holes.
RJ-45 Ethernet port up to 1000 Mbps.
Two USB 2.0 ports.
Headphone jack - combined with optical Toslink 3.5 mm.
Microphone jack.

And finally, the right side.

Connector layout:

So here are:

USB 2.0 port.
eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port.
ExpressCard 3/4 slot.
Optical drive DVD-RW.
TV antenna socket (on some models only).
Socket for power adapter.
Slot for Kensington lock.

Finally, let's take a look at the bottom configuration...

and a convenient scheme where all the elements are indicated.

Although it’s not customary to look closely at the bottom, the changes compared to the Y550 are quite noticeable here - the site has become more “licked” and pleasing to the eye, the corners have disappeared, the “nano-subwoofer” has disappeared, and large ornamental windows have appeared instead of boring and small air intake grilles. Four rubberized pyramid feet securely hold the laptop on the table and prevent it from slipping. For example, if the USB cable is pulled out sharply, the laptop will remain in place. The main nodes remain the same:

Spring loaded battery latch.
Battery pack (a little dangling, there is a feeling of insecurity).
Mechanical battery latch.
SIM card slot (select models only).
Mini PCI ExpressCard slot compartment.
Central processing unit (CPU) / memory compartment (RAM).
Hard disk drive (HDD) compartment.

Photos with the cover removed:

Access is open to all important components.

The processor hatch has a metal insert and reflective foil under the hot spots.

Configuration

Lenovo offers a large number of different configurations of the Y560 model, some of them are presented on, some on the official website, some are available from retailers. It is very difficult to navigate in a huge list of models built on a variety of combinations of components. Moreover, there is little information, but it is full of confusion and even errors.

In general, it can be argued that the system is built on the penultimate generation Intel platform and uses an ATI 5730 video card, other components may change. You can evaluate different configurations, for example, in

Let's look at the specifications of the tested model Ideapad Y560A1-i383G500Bwi (59-054380).

Lenovo Ideapad Y560
CPU	DualCore Intel Core i3 380M, 2533 MHz (19×133)
Chipset	Intel Ibex Peak-M HM55
RAM	1GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533MHz) Samsung M471B2873FHS-CF8 2GB DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533MHz) Samsung M471B5673FH0-CF8
Video subsystem	ATI Mobility Radeon HD5730 1 GB and integrated video from Intel
Screen	15.6″, LED-backlit, glossy, 16:9, 1366×768 dots Matrix type: LG Philips LP156WH3-TLQ1 , 60% color Gamut, 8ms, 220nits, 400:1
Sound subsystem	2 JBL speakers, 1.5W Dolby Headphone certified Two audio controllers: ATI Redwood/Madison, Realtek ALC272 @ Intel Ibex Peak PCH
HDD	Models up to 500 GB (5400/7200) In the tested WDC configuration WD5000BEVT-24A0RT0 (500GB/5400)
optical drive	Optiarc DVD RW AD-7700H (DVD+R9:4x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:8x/8x, DVD-RW:8x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:8x, CD:24x /24x/24x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Network interfaces	wired network	10/100/1000 Mbps
	Wireless network	Intel WiFi / WiMAX Link 5150 (802.11b/g)
	Bluetooth	there is
	Additionally	No
card reader	5 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS pro/xD), type JMicron JMB386/387
Interfaces and ports	USB	4 (one shared with eSATA)
	VGA Out	there is
	HDMI	there is
	display port	No
	eSATA	yes (combined with USB)
	RJ45	there is
	expresscard	yes, 34 mm
	Headphone output	there is
	Microphone input	there is
	line out	No
	Additionally	optical output (combined with audio output)
Input Devices	Keyboard	standard
	touchpad	there is
	Additionally	additional touch keys
Battery	Sanyo L09S6D16 (60653 mWh), Battery life 3.5 hours
Power Supply	Power supply 90 W
IP telephony	Webcam	HD Webcam
IP telephony	Microphone	yes, with noise reduction system
Additionally	Optical S/PDIF, miniPCI-e slot
Operating system	From DOS to Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Dimensions	(L×W×H) 385×255×20–33 mm
Weight	2.7 kg (weight varies by configuration)
Guarantee period	2 years

To clarify the situation, we tried to use the Lenovo Ideapad Information Support phone found on the official website. It turned out that the specified number has been disconnected for a year now, another phone is currently being used. In order not to waste time talking with a soulless robot, you can, if you have a serial number, use the system. As a result of the check, we managed to find out that our laptop was released in September 2010, and the warranty for it is 24 months from the date of sale. By the way, in the absence of a receipt or other documents of purchase, the warranty period is calculated from the date of production.

Testing

Performance, test results

The test results will be interesting, as a powerful dual-core processor is adjacent to a moderately powerful graphics card.

CPU data in CPU-Z:

Similar information in the AIDA64 program:

Automatic reduction of the multiplier in the absence of loading allows you to save battery power:

The results of measuring the memory bandwidth and processor cache:

For comparison, in test programs, let's take Hewlett-Packard Envy 15, which, although it belongs to a different segment and costs more, is similar in configuration to our today's guest. The HP laptop has a more powerful quad-core i7-720 and an ATI Radeon HD 4830 1 GB graphics card.

Let's take a look at the results of the PCMark Vantage test (for the Y560, the results are given for running the test in X64/X86 modes).

PC Mark Vantage	Lenovo Y560	HP Envy 15	ASUS N81Vg
PC Mark Score	5678/5326	5743	4093
Memories Score	4031/3891	4089	2681
TV and Movies Score	-/- *	4184	2711
Gaming Score	4912/4628	6305	3496
Music Score	5463/5396	4496	4118
Communications Score	4459/4318	3836	3720
Productivity Score	4733/4297	4773	2892
HDD Score	3311/3266	3914	2990

* Test fails because Home Basic does not have the required MPEG-2 decoders from Windows Media Center. VC-1 HD DVD result - 26.3 fps

Video card data is provided by the GPU-Z program.

Results for ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730:

Results for Integrated Intel HD Graphics:

Let's see what the graphics tests show:

3D Mark Vantage 1280x1024	Lenovo Y 560 / Battery+PowerPlay !	Hewlett-Packard Envy 15
Score	PZ758 / P1396	4164
CPU	P7226 / P7230	9374
GPU	P3240 / P1100	3513 *

* A similar result can be obtained by slightly raising the GPU CORE / MEM frequencies through the AMD GPU Clock Tool, but no more, since the overclockability of the mobile platform is very low.

In order not to get low GPU results when running on battery power, you need to disable PowerPlay in the ATI drivers tab! or set up for maximum performance depending on the tasks.

In addition, a set of more classic tests:

Games:

Let's move on to the most demanded part of testing on the example of modern games.

STALKER COP benchmark 1366×768. DX10 - middle:

At medium settings, the fps level is often above the minimum playability threshold of 30 frames, but dips to 17-20 guarantee stuttering in the most inappropriate places.

DIRT2 benchmark 1366×768 4xMSAA:

At medium settings, the quality of the graphics does not suffer much, and the playability increases significantly.

FarCry2 1366×768 DX10 Ranch Medium:

As a table:

Unreal Tournament 3 HOC benchmark tool - 1366×768:

And separately in the HDTune utility. General diagram of reading from the disk surface:

And the diagram of working with files:

Given the small measurement error under multitasking OS, the data of both programs are the same. The performance of this drive is at a normal level for modern models.

Battery life

The battery before the tests was subjected to discharge and charge procedures for several days in order to reach its natural level of operation.

Lenovo Energy Manager offers two battery charging modes: longer battery life or longer battery life. Speaking of which, a new battery costs over $70.

When discharging below 10%, the transition to economy mode is manually blocked to force the screen brightness to maximum.

Compared with classmates, the results are not impressive, but not a failure either. Let's just say that for this class the level of autonomy is average.

Heat and noise

The correct temperature regime is very important for mobile devices, often operating in adverse conditions. To determine the temperature limits using the built-in sensors, the AIDA utility (stress test mode) was used with LinX running in parallel, for the ATI video card - FurMark. However, in real life, the laptop is unlikely to face such a high load. Here, for example, is the AMD/ATI measurement data:

The results at an external temperature of 25 ° C were as follows:

	At rest	Under load
CPU	47-50	80-86
HDD	37-39	41-43
video card	48-52	80-82

If you run FurMark and LinX, then in less than five minutes the CPU temperature will become 88-90 ° C and throttling will turn on, the GPU temperature will reach more than 82 ° C. With such high temperatures of internal components, there is already a real chance that the laptop will overheat to the point of freezing. The problem is that the legs are too low on the bottom, if you raise the laptop above the surface, the temperature will drop by more than 15 degrees.

During normal use, the left side of the bottom gets hotter than the right side, but it doesn't reach temperatures that would be unpleasant to work with. Even from the ventilation hole, warm and not at all burning air escapes, as one might expect from the temperature of the processor core and video card. It's perfectly possible to play modern games while holding the Ideapad Y560 on your lap. [I personally think that with the correctness of the data, we can conclude that the laptop is inefficient or of poor quality, defective cooling system. If the processor heats up to 90 degrees, and the air is only warm, then most likely the system for some reason cannot remove heat from the processor. With the normal organization of the cooling system, this should not be - approx. ed.]

Usage impressions

Unboxing

The laptop comes in a black cardboard box with an orange handle. Packing size - 450×132×330 mm. On one of the faces all the data on the delivery are applied, including the serial number and production date. Box weight 4.36 kg. Inside is a packed laptop in foam molds and a white box with all the contents:

There is a separate laptop battery (Li-Ion 57 Wh), a thin and light 20V/4.5A power supply unit with the Lenovo logo, a power cord with grounding.

The package includes disks with the software necessary for system recovery. This is a disc with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic edition; a complete set of Y560 V1.0 drivers for Win7 32/64bit (in addition, there is a copy on disk D); CD with a set of pre-installed programs: Adobe Reader, Power2Go, CyberLink YouCam, Lenovo DirectShare, McAfee Virus Scan, PlusReadyComm, VeriFace; disk with WinDVD lenovo 1.2 player, which is also installed on the laptop. Completes the list, a brief reminder of the initial setup.

The first impression of the work was unpleasant. The Win7 HB installed on the laptop slowed down a lot, hung up several times not only when performing tests, but also just out of the blue, the system repeatedly fell into a blue screen. In addition, there were problems with data transfer via Bluetooth and, what is most unpleasant, the touchpad with the multi-touch function of the well-known Synaptics company refused to work normally ... It behaved like an old optical mouse on a mirror surface - the cursor jumped around the screen or did not work at all ( the device was lost), instead of movement, buttons were pressed and vice versa! Most likely, these are the shortcomings of a particular model, but this characterizes the level of quality control at the factory. So the performance of your laptop is still worth checking when buying.

Let's look at the main elements of the functionality of the laptop in the working position.

The built-in camera is used for video conferencing, video recording and in the VeriFace face recognition system.
Built-in microphone with echo cancellation and noise reduction.
Antennas of the wireless network module.
Computer display with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Computer status indicators - HDD / Bluetooth / Wireless network / Num Lock / Caps Lock / Touch Lock / GPU - are on when the device is active. However, if the Bluetooth adapter is turned off through Win7, and not the Lenovo utility (Fn + F5), then the icon will remain lit until all wireless devices are mechanically turned off.
Acoustic system JBL.
Illuminated power button.
Button to launch OneKey Rescue System - backup and restore data.
Ambient light sensor - can automatically adjust the screen brightness when ALS is activated in the Lenovo Energy Management utility, Smart Management section.
Lenovo SlideNav bar - customizable "hot keys".
Capacitive touch buttons for launching the Lenovo Energy Management program, OneKey Theater II screen mode setting program, and side-mounted regular volume +/-/mute buttons.
Touchpad touchpad with buttons.

All indicators glow in a dull milky white color and are not very distracting at night.

Keyboard

The key block remains exactly the same as in the model of last year.

By the way, Fn is in the corner here, which is very bad for the convenience of work. If you use another keyboard in parallel, for example, a desktop computer, then constantly switching from one to another is a torment. If you do not use other computers, then you can get used to such a relative arrangement of Ctrl and Fn, but working with the keyboard will still be less convenient.

In general, the keyboard is not the worst. For the Internet and games with a WASD block, it is quite suitable.

It is worth adding that a similar keyboard is supplied for the English-speaking market, but with a shortened left Shift key, due to the addition of the “\” button in its place, which in turn freed up space for a large “L-shaped” Enter.

Touchpad and positioning devices

Additional keys and indicators

The location of the main indicators and multimedia keys has been described in the Body section, and here we will take a closer look at their functionality.

OneKey Rescue System is an easy-to-use application for backing up system partition (C drive) data and easily restoring it when needed. OneKey Recovery can be used in Windows, and OneKey Rescue System can be used without starting the Windows operating system.
SlideNav Bar is a thin, grooved touchpad with seven LEDs. Tapping launches a special Lenovo utility that allows you to open customizable quick launch items, swipe to change wallpaper, hide or reveal the screen (actually turn on the screensaver), change workspace by swiping the panel (however, this function is only available in software that does not come with a laptop ).

The most requested application launcher is implemented as follows: when you open the application list, slide your finger along it, when you reach the desired program, lift your finger, and the selected item will start. By default, the SlideNav Bar is highlighted. To remove annoying dots in the center of the panel, you need to check the “Disable indicator blinking” checkbox in the settings, and turning off their sound effects also does not hurt. The rest of the features are more cosmetic decorations.

The battery icon is a touch button for quick access to power settings, and the movie camera is the launch of OneKey Theater II, a utility for selecting the optimal screen settings from preset scenarios: normal mode, movie mode and smart mode. By and large, useless utilities.

In the lower right corner is the final touch in a set of "white stars in a dark sky" - the ideapad logo illuminated in blue, surrounded by a round dance of seven stickers. Lights up when the laptop is running and in sleep mode. Absolutely superfluous way to remind yourself.

Indicators, except for the pulsing dots of the SideNav Bar, cannot be disabled programmatically.

The entire top row is dotted with Fn modifiers. Here is a complete list of them:

	Enable/disable the ability to activate the built-in camera. When the camera is activated, a white indicator next to it lights up.
fn+f1	Switching to sleep mode.
Fn+F2	Turn on/off the LCD backlight. At the same time, the matrix continues to work, you can even see contrasting objects.
Fn+F3	Switch to another connected display.
Fn+F4	Open the display resolution setting interface.
Fn+F5	Opens the wireless settings interface (enable/disable).
Fn+F6	Enable/disable the touchpad.
Fn+F7	Turn sound on/off
Fn+F8	Enable/disable the numeric keypad.
Fn+F9	Keyboard Pause key function
Fn+F10	Keyboard break key function
Fn+F11	Enable or disable the Scroll Lock feature.
Fn+F12	Enable/disable input-insert (Ins key function).
Fn + PrtSc	System request activation.
Fn + / ↓	Increase/decrease display brightness.
Fn + ← / →	Decrease/increase the sound volume.

The keyboard backlight is missing, which would fit so well in the screen frame, next to the camera eye.

Screen

Home laptops are suffering the most from this trend. First, there was a transition from matte to glossy screens. Yes, the glossy screen is worse with prolonged use, but in the store it looks brighter, and the colors are richer. Then, instead of the more convenient 4:3 format for working with text, laptops hastily began to transfer to a 16:10 widescreen format, and when the transition took place, manufacturers quickly abandoned it and switched to a 16:9 format, previously used only in movies, but now bursting into and in TVs, and in computers, and has already displaced all other options from there.

Moreover, if for 12-13 inches this resolution is quite justified, then for 15-inch screens it is already not enough, it would be possible to comfortably work in a higher resolution.

The disadvantages of using such matrices, which are also made using TN-film technology, are known in advance - glare mirror gloss, low desktop height, noticeable pixelation, pronounced degradation and inversion of colors when deviated vertically, incorrect colors and incomplete color gamut, whitish " black". This means that “dark” games, and these are usually all shooters, will be unpleasant to play, and watch movies too. Sometimes even from surfing the net there will be increased fatigue. The only advantage can be considered the transition to LED backlighting, although for some reason the brightness of the screens is still insufficient for comfortable work on the street.

According to the technical specification for the Y560 model, there can be:

Sound

An unpleasant feature was loud clicks in the speakers before playing Windows sounds!

The Dolby Home Theater v3 logo flaunts in a corner of honor, but there is no information about this technology in the instructions! On the official website of Dolby, you can understand that this is a “natural-identical sound pickup with a taste of surround”, but again - there is no such bookmark in the drivers! An introductory video is available.

It turns out that the OneKey Theater II button not only changes the gamma of the image, but also changes the properties of the sound on the analog outputs! One can feel the effect of expanding the stereo base and non-localization of sound sources. However, the add-on only affects analog outputs, the sound on digital remains unchanged.

Hopefully, in future drivers it will be possible to adjust the effects manually, as, for example, you can select the reference frequency separately for analog and digital (spdif) outputs.

A 44.1 kHz 16-bit signal passes through an optical cable with slight distortion, so DTS-AudioCD cannot be listened to on an external receiver yet (no noise, no synchronization), perhaps this will be fixed in future drivers. 96 kHz 24 bit tracks are played without problems, the main thing is to turn on the desired setting. However, for other audio formats, it is also desirable to leave the 24-bit mode, which potentially will slightly reduce the total amount of noise. AC3/DTS streaming mode works without problems.

The Dolby Digital Live button (sound encoding in AC3) is there, but does not activate in any way.

Recording from the built-in microphone is legible, but booming, more like talking with a gramophone in a wooden box. However, for web conferencing, you can always buy an external microphone.

In general, the work with sound in this model is not bad, and for more demanding users there are good sound cards for ExpressCard/34 or USB.

Additionally

The virtual Wi-Fi hotspot mode in Win7 was successfully created, but the Android smartphone did not find the hotspot.

The webcam is of good quality for a built-in camera, but the colors are a bit washed out. The claimed resolution of 1.3 megapixels (1280×1024) is a fiction and in fact does not differ much from 640×480. Through the pre-installed CyberLink YouCam, you can record videos or take pictures with various effects, including tracking the position of the face (hats, masks, stars around the head, etc.).

Problems arose when connecting a VGA display with FullHD resolution. The bundled driver for the ATI 8.752 video card stubbornly refused to use full resolution in the automatic mode (EDID), only manual settings allowed to correct the situation. However, in this mode, the video card allows you to select any resolution, including those not supported by the screen. Perhaps installing more recent drivers can fix the situation, but there are no updates on the site yet.

Well, there is a traditional problem: the HDMI connection works only when using powerful graphics from ATI, however, this is a technological limitation.

The problem also arose with the SideNav bar - several times when exiting the standby mode, the internal handler "hung", after which the touch panel did not respond to touches.

Reboot did not solve the problem, all the touch buttons still refused to work, and only after the computer was completely turned off, the functionality was restored. I am sure this shortcoming will be corrected in future versions of the software.

The blinking of the paws is called “heartbeating” by the Chinese.

And finally - the on-screen menu. When you change the screen brightness or sound volume, the corresponding indicators appear on the screen, by which you can determine the current volume level.

This is what the brightness adjustment indicator looks like:

Here's how to adjust the sound:

And about this menu, another impressive stone should be thrown into the garden of Lenovo software developers. Because these on-screen indicators, when you change the volume or screen brightness (using the keyboard), switch focus and some games crash out of full screen mode. There are no settings that allow you to turn off this “bug feature”, you have to manually kill the Utility.exe application (Battery Management Software Ver3.0) in the task list.

Positioning and Conclusions

Lenovo Ideapad Y560 belongs to the most common class of home laptops. Such laptops are focused on the widest possible user audience and are designed to please, as they say, everyone. This, by the way, explains such a wide choice of configurations: so that the buyer can choose the configuration for himself and not refuse to buy the Y560 because he did not find a suitable one.

The laptop has everything that a mid-range home computer should have - modern hardware, a large and fast hard drive, wireless interfaces, an eSATA port, an HDMI multimedia interface and optical S/PDIF. Power packed into a compact package with an attractive design. Great set for a multimedia center.

However, it's hard to say yes, but it's hard to do. In this case, the disadvantages can override all the advantages - the body is flimsy and soiled, the glossy screen with average performance, as well as potential problems with overheating can overshadow the euphoria from contemplating the results of the video card and processor benchmarks.

Perhaps the main thing in this model is a balanced combination of characteristics, when there are no frankly weak points.

MAIN SPECIFICATIONS

Additionally

Weight: Weight: 2.7 kg Additional information: Additional information: there is a modification with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 Remote control: Remote control: no TV tuner: TV tuner: no Waterproof case: Waterproof case: no Width: Width: 255 mm Length : Length: 385 mm GPS: GPS: no Thickness: Thickness: 33 mm GLONASS: GLONASS: no Webcam: Webcam: yes Number of webcam pixels: Number of webcam pixels: 1.3 million pixels. Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader: No Kensington Lock: Kensington Lock: Yes Metal Case: Metal Case: No Shockproof Case: Shockproof Case: No Stylus: Stylus: No

Connection

Microphone in: Microphone in: yes Built-in network card: Built-in network card: yes Built-in fax modem: Built-in fax modem: no Number of USB 2.0 interfaces: Number of USB 2.0 interfaces: 4 FireWire interface: FireWire interface: no FireWire 800 interface: Interface FireWire 800: No eSATA interface: eSATA interface: Yes Infrared port (IRDA): Infrared port (IRDA): No LPT interface: LPT interface: No COM port: COM port: No PS/2 interface: PS/2 interface: no VGA out (D-Sub): VGA out (D-Sub): yes mini VGA out: mini VGA out: no DVI out: DVI out: no HDMI out: HDMI out: yes micro HDMI out: micro HDMI out: no DisplayPort Out: DisplayPort Out: No Mini DisplayPort Out: Mini DisplayPort Out: No TV-in In: TV-in In: No TV-out Out: TV-out Out: No Dock Connection: Dock Connection: No Audio In: Audio In: No Audio Out/Headphones: Audio Out/Headphones: Yes Mic In/Headphone Out Combo: Mic In Phone/Headphone Out Combo: No Audio Digital Output (S/PDIF): Audio Digital Output (S/PDIF): Yes Max. LAN adapter speed: Max. LAN adapter speed: 1000 Mbps USB 3.1 (USB-C) interface: USB 3.1 (USB-C) interface: No USB 3.1 Type-C interface: USB 3.1 Type-C interface: No USB 3.0 Type-C interface: Interface USB 3.0 Type-C: no

Nutrition

Battery type: Battery type: Li-Ion Operating time: Operating time: 3.5 h Number of battery cells: Number of battery cells: 6

Video

Video processor: Video processor: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 Video memory type: Video memory type: / GDDR3 Two video adapters: Two video adapters: no Video memory size: Video memory size: 1024 MB Video adapter type: Video adapter type: / discrete / discrete and integrated Video adapter interface: Video adapter interface: PCI Express

Memory

Memory type: Memory type: DDR3 Number of memory slots: Number of memory slots: 2 RAM size: RAM size: 2...4 GB Memory frequency: Memory frequency: 1066 MHz Maximum memory size: Maximum memory size: 8 GB

Screen

Screen Type: Screen Type: Glossy 3D Support: 3D Support: No Screen Resolution: Screen Resolution: 1366x768 Touch Screen: Touch Screen: No Screen Size: Screen Size: 15.6" Wide Screen: Wide Screen: Yes Multi-Touch Screen: Multi-Touch Screen : no LED screen light: LED screen light: yes

CPU

Number of processor cores: Number of processor cores: 2 / 4 Processor frequency: Processor frequency: 1600...2660 MHz L2 cache size: L2 cache size: / 1 MB / 2 MB / 512 KB L3 cache size: L3 cache size: 3 MB / 6MB Chipset: Chipset: Intel HM55 Processor type: Processor type: Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 / Pentium Processor code: Processor code: 330M / 350M / 370M / 380M / 430M / 450M / 460M / 480M / 720QM / 740QM / P6000 / P6100 / P6200 System bus frequency: System bus frequency: / 1066 MHz

Expansion slots

ExpressCard Slot: ExpressCard Slot: Yes ExpressCard Standard: ExpressCard Standard: ExpressCard/34

Sound

Presence of speakers: Presence of speakers: yes Presence of a subwoofer: Presence of a subwoofer: no Presence of a microphone: Presence of a microphone: yes

A type

Type: Type: Notebook Operating System: Operating System: DOS / Win 7 Home Basic / Win 7 Home Premium

Storage devices

Optical drive: Optical drive: DVD-RW Rotation speed: Rotation speed: 5400 rpm Optical drive location: Optical drive location: internal Storage capacity: Storage capacity: 250...750 GB Hard disk type: Hard disk type: HDD Interface hard drive: Hard drive interface: Serial ATA

Memory cards

Flash card reader: Flash card reader: yes Compact Flash support: Compact Flash support: no Memory Stick support: Memory Stick support: yes miniSD support: miniSD support: no microSD support: microSD support: no microSDHC support: microSDHC support: no SmartMedia support: SmartMedia support: no xD-Picture Card support: xD-Picture Card support: yes SD support: SD support: yes SDHC support: SDHC support: no SDXC support: SDXC support: no microSDXC support: microSDXC support : No

Wireless connection

Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth Version: / 2.0 EDR Bluetooth: Bluetooth: Yes Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi: Yes 3G: 3G: No Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11g / 802.11n WiDi Support: WiDi Support: No LTE: LTE: no WiMAX: WiMAX: optional GSM/GPRS support: GSM/GPRS support: no 3G (UMTS) support: 3G (UMTS) support: no EDGE support: EDGE support: no HSDPA support: HSDPA support: no 4G LTE : 4G LTE: no

Input Devices

Positioning devices: Positioning devices: Touchpad Keyboard backlight: Keyboard backlight: no