I have heard all these complaint about Lenovo. Superfish adware. Foreign company. Window 8.1. It goes on and on. I don't get it. This unit is excellent in terms of form/function and excellent in terms of value. My Norton quickly found the Superfish. Easily removed it. The unit reboots in less than 11 seconds. Beautiful screen. I am not a gamer. That's where my vote of confidence should be discounted, but for all others - This a steal. Oh, I read where people claim the touch pad is subpar. Again, I don't get it. I use the arrow keys to move the cursor up and down and can effortlessly use the trackpad to move the cursor around. WiFi connected immediately. Zero drop connections. Windows 8.1 is actually not bad at all. Simply click the square app in the lower left hand corner of the screen and you would think you were within the XP eco system. I am now starting to conclude that customers are becoming way to finicky. Unreasonably demanding when what they should want and what they should need is sitting right in front of them. This is a seriously excellent computer. Finally, it's actually pretty light based on its size. The one issue I do find with it is the unit is huge. It really is. This is a true top tier "budget" desktop PC replacement.
Update: May 16, 2015 - The unit itself is fine for my productivity needs. I am able to do any type of business productive, including excel, video conferencing, webbrowsing, etc. I have had zero drops with my Wifi (I use/connect w/ Comcast's modem).
Some quirks/comments/observations with Windows 8.1: It's actually extremely stabile. It seems the OP system itself as well as Lenovo a program provide within the "bloatware" that came with the unit does all the monitoring to keep the system running smoothly. Unlike others, found by going on line and reading instructive/informational commentary in regards to 8.1 was helpful. The first thing I did was ask: Why's my desktop when running 8.1. Now when my computer starts up it is a breeze to locate my Windows XP looking destop. I load a prgram titled "Classic Shell." There are others, yet this has worked perferctly. I have a start menu.
I notice the font of my folders located on my desktop are titled using black font. This is a quirk with 8.1. I have come to realize that when you adjust the color of your desktop the font changes from black to white depending on the color. With the navy blue I have come accustomed to the folder label font is black. With Windows XP it's white. I changed the color under Personlization under Control Panel to a deep dark maroon. The font labels to each destop folder is now white.
The Battery life on this unit is pretty weak. I knew this going in. I use this computer for business and I generally have access to power.
The lock screen. You must have a MSFT one drive account. When you sign on to the computer at start up/power up you are asked for your password. I found this aggravating because when I'm using the computer and I walk away from it and return 5 minutes later, I'm a dialog box appears requesting my password. I found a solution. Go to your Control Panel and tweek the Lock Screen settings. I choose a PIN code. I can use it when I'm working in a trusting environment. If out of town I am able to switch to full password access only. This again, is a quirk with 8.1. You apparently are unable to turn off the security completely.
As to the "crazy" looking desktop, which looks like a smart phone when you first start up the computer. Ignore it by using something like Classic Shell and with the click of one buttion on the the desktop you are at the XP original desktop.
I have read complaints about pop ups and excessive notifications from Lenovo itself in terms of their own OP within this unit. When you start-up the computer on the 8.1 desktop (before you click over to the XP looking desktop using something like Classic Shell) click the Pin Wheel icon. It's one of the squares on your desktop. Another screen immediately adajecent to that square is your "desktop" square which takes you to the XP looking desktop. Click the Pin Wheel. It's labeled Lenovo. It's all the settings for the computer as they pertain to Lenovo. Adjust how you want notification, etc. to function.
Finally, I uninstalled McAfee (part of the bloatware). You'll need to go online to McAfee and download their uninstaller. It's easy. Yes, I was agitated because I shouldn't have to load a program to uninstall a program, yet in this day and age, I've come accustomed to expecting such nonsense. Because I have Comcast, I receive Norton Untility Suite. Norton will easily remove the Superfish adware that came with the computer. Again, I expect pre-loaded adware. Others, get bent out of shape, yet realize all companies look for an edge. You just have to be diligent and remove various programs, adware, etc. from any computer you may purchase. It's the nature of these modern times.
As to the keys and the track/touch pad. I agree that the keys aren't the best. Yet, because the computer is so large and the fact that I am able to rest my palms on either side of the touch pad, I have had no issues. When working at home, I use an Logitech wireless ergonomic keyboard as well as a Anker wireless mouse. Hence, my actions exhibit that my preference is to use a real key board and track pad. Nevertheless, the track/touch pad and keyboard are what they are and inlight of the total package this computer brings, I am fine with it.
| Standing screen display size | 17.3 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1600 x 900 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.4 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3 |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB HDD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDA GeForce 840M |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2048 MB |
| Wireless Type | 801.11ac |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 4 Hours |
