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Review Lenovo G585-M8325GE Notebook

Lenovo launches the G585 as a successor for the Lenovo G575 on the market. As with the G575 already, Lenovo is applying again the AMD fusion technology with the G585. The AMD Brazos 2.0 platform is used, to be precise. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580 battery The Lenovo G575 still uses the first Brazos generation. The Brazos platforms were originally designed for netbooks, and Lenovo is simply packing this netbook technology into a notebook casing now.

There is an interesting idea behind: It combines the advantages of a netbook (low energy consumption) with the much larger and more comfortable screen (there is a 15.6 inch display used) of a conventional notebook. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580A battery This should result in a quiet, low-consuming office notebook, to be settled at the bottom of the performance scale with a supposed long lifespan. This combination did not work out so well with the G575. On the one hand, we recommend the battery life and low power consumption, on the other hand, we complain about the volume of the notebook and the bad display. Whether Lenovo does a better job with the G585, our test will show. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580M battery

Our test model contains a dual-core processor (AMD Vision E2-1800), a graphics chip from AMD (AMD Radeon HD 7430), two GB RAM, a DVD burner and a hard drive with a storage capacity of 320 GB.

Competitors of the Lenovo G585 are, in addition to the previous model, Lenovo G575, the HP 635 LH416EA, the Acer Aspire 5253 and Acer TravelMate 5744Z-P624G50Mikk. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580N battery
Case

Lenovo puts all the technology into a black, shiny plastic casing. The notebook is predominantly designed in piano black finish. Only the lower part of the notebook is made of matt plastic. Lenovo G575 still has an entirely matt casing (only the display frame is shiny). The shiny surface appears quite valuable and spares the usual cheap charm. In an office device, however, one rather desires a matt appearance. LENOVO IdeaPad Y580P battery The shiny finish is definitely an eye-catcher here. The design of the casing is simple. The surfaces are completely smooth and without decorations or the like.

The casing makes a sturdy impression, basically. Under pressure, it is bending slightly only. The area below the optical drive makes a good impression too. The casing of the G585 is stiffer than that of the G575. It can be twisted only a little bit when lifting up. Lenovo IdeaPad U260 battery This is an improvement compared to the G575. The clearances are not always completely tight. The hinges hold the screen stable in position. The lid bounces when the notebook is being shaken - for example, on the train or in the car. Altogether it can be said that the buyer does gets a satisfying casing, which is not always the case at a price of 339.

Battery Life

Energy Intake

LENOVO IdeaPad U300s battery In terms of power consumption, Lenovo has done a great job. The level of its predecessor has basically been kept. The maximum power input of the G575 under full load is 28.8 watts; the G585 reaches figures of 29 watts. The situation is different in idle mode: Lenovo managed to undercut the good values of the G575 (7.9 - 11 Watt) with the G585 (5.7 - 10.5 watts). The tiny power supply (8.8 cm x 3.5 cm x 2.6 cm) provides 40 watts maximum. This is more than adequate for the notebook. The battery has a capacity of 48 Wh. LENOVO IdeaPad U310 battery
Battery Life
In idle mode, the computer stops after 8:40 h. The Lenovo G575 has a battery life of 6:52 h. We are testing the idle mode with the Battery Eater Reader test. Here, the screen operates at minimum brightness, the energy saver profile is activated and the wireless modules (WLAN, Bluetooth) are deactivated. Lenovo u410 battery

Under load, the Lenovo G575 lasts for 2:19 h minutes, which is slightly better than the G585 with a duration of 2:02 h. In the load test, the notebook completed the Battery Eater Classic test. Here, the screen is running at full brightness and the high performance profile and the wireless modules are activated.

LENOVO IdeaPad Z480AX battery A single battery charge held the practically relevant WLAN test running for 5:00 h. The Lenovo G575 yet squeezes another 13 minutes of running time out of a single battery charge and therefore reaches a total of 5:13 h. In this test, websites are automatically opened in 40-second intervals by a script. The energy-saver profile is activated and the display brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². LENOVO IdeaPad Z380 battery

In the DVD test, the notebook reaches a running time of 4:01 h. That is enough to watch two long movies. In this test, the G585 again beats the G575, which offers a running time of 3:31 h. For the DVD test, the wireless modules are switched off and the screen is set to maximum brightness. The energy-saver profile or a higher profile (if the DVD does not play smoothly) is used. LENOVO IdeaPad Z480 battery

For a computer in this price range, the battery life is excellent. Even many much more expensive laptops do not reach this battery life. Here, the low energy consumption of the components becomes noticeable.
Connectivity

LENOVO IdeaPad Z580 battery In terms of connectivity, Lenovo surprised with two USB 3.0 ports. Two connections of this type are currently rare in such low priced devices. The two connections are on the left-hand side. Those who want to use the device as a DVD player for the domestic flat-screen television will be delighted by the HDMI port. Besides the mentioned ports, a VGA slot and an Ethernet port are located on the left-hand site. On the right-hand side of the device is a third USB port, which only supports the USB 2.0 standard. Lenovo 0A36281 In addition, there is a combo port for headphones and a microphone available. The memory card reader is located at the front of the notebook. This computer allows the use of SD and MMC cards.

Communication

Our test model comes with the expected range of communication devices. This means we find a WLAN module from "Atheros" ("AR9285") in the notebook. The module supports 802.11 b/g/n.Lenovo 0A36282 In terms of Ethernet, the unit disappoints a bit. Lenovo merely installed a Fast-Ethernet chip. A Gigabit-Ethernet chip should really be standard these days - even in notebooks from the low-price area. A Bluetooth module also found its way into the machine. However, our test model - contrary to what some online stores list - contains a Bluetooth 3.0 module, not a Bluetooth 4.0. For followers of video calls á la Skype, Lenovo packs a webcam (0.3 megapixels) into the frame of the screen case.

Accessories

Lenovo 0A36283 The low price of 339 euros must demand its toll at some point. This happens in the range of accessories. Lenovo saves money on the operating system. Our tester comes without a Windows 7 operating system. Merely a DOS operating system is installed. To carry out our various tests, we installed Windows 7. If you want to use Windows 7, you will have to buy it yourself. The version "Windows 7 Home Premium" is currently available for about 60 to 80 euros. Lenovo 42T4863 The necessary drivers are included to the notebook on an additional DVD. Alternatively, the drivers can be downloaded from the Lenovo website. Of course, other operating systems can be used as well. Here, however, it should be checked before whether drivers are available for the operating system. We tried the OS Windows 8 (Preview Release, 32bit version) and Ubuntu Linux 12.04 (64bit). Both operating systems work fine. Lenovo 42Y4864

Windows 8 does not come with drivers for the Bluetooth module and the memory card reader. A driver for the Bluetooth module could be installed from the Windows update later on. To activate the memory card reader, we used the corresponding Windows 7 drivers from the Lenovo website.

Lenovo 42T4867 Ubuntu Linux 12.04 was running without any difficulties as well. WLAN module, webcam, memory card reader and Bluetooth worked immediately. The video acceleration could be activated by subsequent installation of AMD drivers. It was possible to play our test video (FullHD, H.264) without any difficulties. Youtube videos in full HD resolution played smoothly after the additional installation of Adobe Flash Player as well.

Maintenance

Lenovo 42Y4868 The maintenance of the notebook is not a problem. There is a large service door at the bottom, which provides access to most components. It was possible to easily replace the integrated hard drive by a different model. The hard-drive cage is held by two screws only. Upgrading the RAM is a piece of cake. Only one of the two available memory banks is used. The notebook can use up to 16 GB of memory. Lenovo 42T4873 Anyone who wants to double the existing two GB to four GB must invest about 15 euros at the moment. There is access to the wireless modules as well. Access to the fan is limited.

Warranty

The notebook comes with a 12-month carry-in warranty. The customer sends the notebook directly to Lenovo in case of technical difficulties. Lenovo offers to extend the warranty period to 24 months for about 30 euros.Lenovo 42Y4874 In the case of our test model, however, this would not be necessary. Hidden between the manuals of the notebook was a little note giving the buyer an extended warranty of altogether two years. That is a really nice gesture. Usually, so cheap laptops get a twelve-month warranty only. We do not know whether this extended warranty is included in every Lenovo G585. There is the possibility that the extension is reserved to particular merchants. Only for the battery the buyer still gets the usual one-year warranty. Lenovo 42T4901
Performance

The Lenovo G585 is playing in the office equipment league. It is supposed to manage everyday tasks such as chatting, surfing in the Internet, playing YouTube videos, DVDs and word processing. It's also good as a video player station in the living room, because it works quietly and has an HDMI port. Lenovo 42T4902

Currently Lenovo offers another variant of the G585 (AMD Vision C-60, AMD Radeon HD6290). This is based on the first AMD Brazos platform and has a weaker processor. The device, however, comes with Windows 7. The price is currently at around 370 euros.

Note: A screenshot of GPU-Z cannot be provided at this point. The tool could not read all the data to the GPU and got stuck during every attempt.
Processor
Lenovo 42Y4940 Lenovo designed the Lenovo G585 with an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit - a combination of CPU and GPU) from the company AMD. This is called "AMD Vision E2-1800". The CPU part of the APU consists of a dual-core processor that operates at a speed of 1.7 GHz. The full power of the processor is available even in battery mode. The operating speed of the GPU, however, reduces from 523.1 MHz down to 283.3 MHz.

Lenovo 45N1024 AMD has designed the APU for usage in netbooks or subnotebooks. Therefore, the TDP of the APU is correspondingly low with 17 Watts. This is on par with ULV processors from Intel. The competitors of the E2-1800 are not Intel's core processors, but Intel's Atom processor and eventually slow Celeron processors, too. In the Cinebench test, the E2-1800 is positioned on the same level as other netbook processors like the Intel Atom or the AMD E-450.
Processor
Lenovo 45N1025 Lenovo designed the Lenovo G585 with an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit - a combination of CPU and GPU) from the company AMD. This is called "AMD Vision E2-1800". The CPU part of the APU consists of a dual-core processor that operates at a speed of 1.7 GHz. The full power of the processor is available even in battery mode. The operating speed of the GPU, however, reduces from 523.1 MHz down to 283.3 MHz.

Lenovo S200 AMD has designed the APU for usage in netbooks or subnotebooks. Therefore, the TDP of the APU is correspondingly low with 17 Watts. This is on par with ULV processors from Intel. The competitors of the E2-1800 are not Intel's core processors, but Intel's Atom processor and eventually slow Celeron processors, too. In the Cinebench test, the E2-1800 is positioned on the same level as other netbook processors like the Intel Atom or the AMD E-450.
Lenovo 121001071 Graphics Card

The GPU part of AMD Vision E2-1800 APU is labelled "AMD Radeon HD7340". It is a graphics chip from the beginner's class. It supports DirectX 11 and Shader Model 5.0. The chip operates with a speed of 283.3 MHz in idle mode, which is about 40 percent faster than the AMD Radeon HD6310 graphics chip, which is in the APU of the Lenovo G575. The base rate of the Radeon HD7340 is 523.1 MHz and can be accelerated up to 680 MHz per Turbo. This happens automatically. In battery mode, the GPU runs at a constant speed of 283.3 MHz. Lenovo 121001091

The test results of the various 3DMark versions are on the level of Intel's HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) chip. The previous model Lenovo G575 is doubtlessly beaten in every 3DMark benchmarks. The Lenovo G585 even outperforms the competitors HP 635 LH416EA, Acer Aspire 5253 and Acer TravelMate 5744Z-P624G50Mikk. Lenovo 121001094

For a device like the G585, the 3D performance is absolutely second-class. Therefore the 3DMark results do not matter too much. The GPU is much more useful for another reason: It comes with an integrated video decoder (AMD UVD3 decoder). This takes over most of the work of the video playback. And this task it performs well. We played a test video (FullHD resolution, H.264) on the G585 and observed the CPU load. Lenovo 121001096 This was predominantly (significantly) less than 25 percent. Short-term peaks of up to 50 percent were also observed. It was a similar situation when playing YouTube videos of the same quality.
Gaming Performance
The Lenovo G585 is not a computer for those gamers playing high-elaborate computer games. It was never designed to. Even in the lowest quality level, the frame rate does not suffice to provide a smooth gaming experience. However, this is perfectly fine and also expected. Lenovo 57Y6454 One should always keep in mind that this computer is powered by netbook components. The strengths of the G585 are clearly in other areas.
Temperature

We praised the low operating temperatures of the Lenovo G575. Even under full load, the 30 degrees Celsius mark was reached at only one measuring point. The Lenovo G585 cannot completely catch up with this. It is warmer while idle as well as under full load. However, the temperatures of the G585 are still perfectly fine. Under full load, the notebook achieved a maximum temperature of 34°C at two measuring points.Lenovo 57Y6455 In idle mode, we were able to measure temperatures exceeding the 30 degrees Celsius mark at two measurement points. All in all, one can work comfortably well with the device, even under full load. Even if the device is balanced on legs. The palm rest stays cool all the time.
Verdict

Lenovo L08S6Y21 The question from the introduction can be easily answered at this point: with the G585, Lenovo offers a persisting office notebook. The term "netbook in XL" hits the bull's eye. The buyer gets a cheap notebook, which has a long battery life, is quiet and cool, and also consumes very little energy. For such features, one usually has to spend way more money. The good keyboard should be highlighted once more as well, something that should not betaken for granted in such a cheap Notebook. Lenovo L09C6Y02

The G585 easily masters daily computing tasks like word processing, reading/ writing e-mails, chatting, skyping or watching DVDs and YouTube videos. But nothing more. The performance of the netbook APU is limited. Even the slowest Intel Celeron processor provides more computing power than the CPU part of AMD Vision E2-1800. Those, who want to play demanding computer games or do intensive photo editing or video editing, should not even think about buying the G585. Lenovo L09L6Y02

If someone is looking for a cheap typewriter, which handles all types of inter-communication and can play videos of all kinds in addition, he is making a good choice with the G585. Users of conventional netbooks should take a look at the Lenovo G585 too. If you are tired of staring at a small netbook screen, you might do better with the G585. For a price of 339 euros, the buyer gets a sound offer.