We are testing one of the lowest priced members from Lenovo's IdeaPad N581 series with the IdeaPad N581-MBA4YGE. The laptop costs around EUR 400, sports a dual-core Pentium processor and relies on Window 7 as the operating system. Our test will show whether the device is worth its money.Asus A31-1015 Battery
Lenovo launches yet another series of all-round laptops with the IdeaPad N581 range. The line is comprised of innumerable models featuring various hardware configurations. Battery for Asus AL31-1015 More about that later. We tested one of the lowest-end members from the series. The test model harbors Intel's Pentium B970 dual core processor, which is supported by four gigabytes of working memory. Intel's HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) is responsible for video output. Data is stored on a 500 gigabyte hard disk and the laptop also harbors a DVD burner.Battery for Asus A32-1015
We use HP's Compaq Presario CQ58-148SG (Intel Pentium B950, Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)) and Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W (Intel Pentium B960, Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)) to classify the device.Battery for Asus PL32-1015
The IdeaPad N581 is made completely of plastic. The lid's rear is rubber-coated just like the wrist rest and keyboard bezel. Here, Lenovo makes reference to the ThinkPad series. The laptop does not feature many glossy parts due to the rubberized surfaces. The only exceptions are the screen and display bezel. The case's workmanship is acceptable, although there are a few flaws. For example, a few places with sharp edges on the base unit's sides.Asus Eee PC 1015PW Battery
The base unit basically conveys a solid impression. It hardly yields under pressure. Merely the bezel over the optical drive can be dented more intensely. The laptop only warps marginally when we pick it up at its opposite corners. The lid also can be twisted a bit. The hinges keep the display firmly in position. The lid rocks when we let go of it. It is possible to open the laptop with one hand if you lift the lid carefully.Battery for Asus UX31
Lenovo's N581 does not bear any surprises when it comes to connectivity and presents the expected interfaces. It is great to see that Lenovo has given the laptop two USB 3.0 ports. Neither HP's Compaq Presario CQ58-148SG nor Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W can serve with that.Battery for Asus ZenBook UX31
Communication
The test model we were supplied with is equipped with an undefined Wi-Fi module from Broadcom. Battery for Asus ZenBook UX31A The Wi-Fi module also harbors a Broadcom Bluetooth chip that supports version 4.0. Wired network connections are managed by Atheros' AR8161/8165 chip (Gigabit Ethernet). A webcam is installed in the display bezel.Battery for Asus ZenBook UX31E
Accessories
The usual accessories are included: a setup poster and two leaflets containing warranty information and safety instructions.Battery for Asus UX31 Ultrabook
Operating System and Recovery
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit is installed as the operating system in the IdeaPad N581's state of delivery.Battery for Asus UX31A Ultrabook A Windows 7 DVD is not included for the device. The system can be retrieved via a recovery partition. To initiate the recovery process, a small button beside the power button is pressed when the laptop is off. If you are planning to install a new hard disk, you will need to reinstall Windows 7 from a DVD. One of our news articles (German) reveals how the user can get a Windows 7 DVD free of charge.Battery for Asus UX31E Ultrabook
Software
Lenovo installs quite a bit of software on the hard disk: McAfee Antivirus Plus (60 day trial version), Adobe Reader X, Google Chrome, Power2Go (DVD/CD burning application), CyberLink's YouCam (webcam software), Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, Windows Live Essentials 2011.Battery for Asus C22-UX31
Beyond that, there are also a few tools from Lenovo. Two programs are particularly worth mentioning: Veriface and EE Boot Optimizer. Veriface is a face-recognition utility with which system access can be secured. EE Boot Optimizer is to optimize booting Windows 7. Charger for Toshiba PA5023U-1BRS
Maintenance
A big cover on the device's bottom enables accessing the hard disk, working memory and Wi-Fi module. Charger for Toshiba PA5024U-1BRS The user can access two memory banks. Our test laptop is equipped with a four gigabyte module. The laptop supports a maximum working memory of 8 GB. The hard disk can be replaced in a few steps. The fan is also behind the maintenance cover, but it is not possible to clean it. However Lenovo has not forgotten to include a cleaning possibility. Charger for Toshiba PA5026U-1BRS
Lenovo's energy management software includes a function called "Dust Cleaning". Charger for Toshiba PA5025U-1BRS It is supposed to blow out accumulated dust from the cooling system when enabled. Time will tell how effective this function is.
Warranty
Lenovo includes a 12 month bring-in warranty on the laptop. The customer sends the laptop directly to Lenovo in case of damage. The warranty can be upgraded to a period of 24 or 36 months. The price for this adds up to around EUR 30 or EUR 50 to EUR 60. Tip: All available warranty upgrades can be looked into on Lenovo's online shop via the laptops serial number. Charger for Toshiba PA5027U-1BRS
Keyboard
Lenovo installs its own, well-known AccuType keyboard into the IdeaPad N581 that is also built into many other Lenovo laptops. Charger for Toshiba PABAS259 PABAS260 The keys feature a clear pressure point and a sufficient drop. One feature of Lenovo’s keyboards is the rather small "enter", "backspace" and the right "shift" key. They are easily missed in the beginning and thus need a certain period of familiarization. Charger for Toshiba PABAS261
Touchpad
The laptop's touchpad features a generous size of 10.2 x 5.4 cm. It is slightly lowered in the wrist rest and rubber-coated, just like the wrist rest. Charger for Toshiba PABAS262 The finger should not be pressed too hard on the touchpad when gliding over its surface because the rubber coat slows down the finger and makes gliding difficult. The touchpad's right edge serves as the scroll bar. However, it is cannot be seen or felt since it is not marked. Charger for Toshiba PABAS263 The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures. Thus, functions like pinch-to-zoom are available. Both mouse keys are below the touchpad and feature a clear pressure point and short drop.
Lenovo's IdeaPad N581-MBA4GE is a classic Office laptop for price-conscious buyers. Routine computing tasks, such as Internet communication, Internet browsing, Office tasks or video rendering, are no problem for the device. The latter also applies to HD videos. Charger for Toshiba Portege Z830
We tested playback with a video in FullHD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and H.264 encoding. Charger for Toshiba Portege Z835 The processor's capacity was averagely 21 percent (measured using DXVA Checker). The video was rendered smoothly. The same is true for YouTube videos in every quality level. Thus, the laptop is qualified as a quiet video player for the living room. Charger for Toshiba Portege Z930
Should you need more power in the one or other point, you can turn to one of the other models from the IdeaPad N581 range. Charger for Toshiba Portege Z935 Online shops currently list roughly twenty IdeaPad N581 versions. The models differ in CPU, working memory size, hard disk capacity and operating system. There are even alternatives that feature a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 610M GPU in addition to Intel's integrated GPU. The prices range from EUR 350 to EUR 700. Charger for Toshiba PA5013U-1BRS
With 6:49 hours, the IdeaPad N581-MBY4YGE lasted the longest of the three comparison devices in idle mode. HP's Compaq Presario CQ58-148SG (6:01h) and Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W (6:12h) lag behind clearly. Idle mode is ascertained via BatteryEater's Reader's test. The screen is set to minimum brightness, the energy-savings profile is enabled and the wireless modules (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) are disabled. Samsung NP-R65 Charger
The IdeaPad N581 achieved a load runtime of 1:20h. Both other laptops lasted for six minutes longer. BatteryEater’s Classic test is used for the load test. For this, we set the screen to maximum brightness and enable the high-performance profile and wireless modules.Samsung NP-R70 Charger
One battery charge is enough to keep the Wi-Fi test running for 4:20h. There is not much of a time difference between the N581 and the CQ58-148SG (4:18h) or Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W (4:05h). Websites are automatically opened every 40 seconds in this test. The energy-savings profile is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to roughly 150 cd/m2. Samsung P60 Charger
The IdeaPad N581 accomplished a runtime of 3:37h in the DVD test (CQ58-148SG: 3:51h, Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W: 3:11h) The DVD test is performed with disabled wireless modules. The screen is set to maximum brightness and the energy-savings or higher profile is used should the DVD not be rendered smoothly.
The IdeaPad N581-MBA4YGE consumed between 7.6 to 11.8 watts while idling. Its consumption is slightly lower than that of Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W (8.6 to 12 watts) and HP's Compaq Presario CQ58-148SG (8.5 to 11.7 watts). Battery for Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3
This difference was even greater during full load (Prime95 and Furmark run simultaneously). Thus, the IdeaPad N581's power consumption of 44 watts is clearly lower than Sony's laptop (49.3 watts) and HP's device (48 watts). The same is seen in the medium load range (3DMark 06). Lenovo's IdeaPad N581 is satisfied with a power consumption of 30.2 watts while HP's Presario CQ58-148SG consumes 34.1 watts and Sony's Vaio VPC-EH3C0E/W drains 37.5 watts.Samsung NP-P50 Charger
The IdeaPad N581's surface temperatures were always within an acceptable range.Toshiba Qosmio X875 battery We measured temperatures between 24 and 32.6 degrees Celsius on both the top as well as the bottom during idle mode. The temperatures climbed to rates between 24 and 38.1 degrees Celsius during full load (Prime95 and Furmark run simultaneously). Overall, the temperatures do not thwart working with the laptop. It is even possible to place the device on the lap.Toshiba Satellite P800 battery
The CPU's and GPU's full clock was always available during our stress test performed in AC-mode (Prime95 and Furmark run simultaneously for at least one hour). Toshiba Satellite U845W battery The CPU also clocked at full speed on battery power. The GPU clocks with 1050 to 1150 MHz. The CPU's temperatures settled to 68 degrees Celsius here.
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As true for all laptops featuring a Pentium processor and the most basic Intel GPU - if you want to play up-to-date 3D games, you should steer clear of this device. Its power is only enough to render games in their lowest resolution and quality level. However, games like Fifa 11, 12 and 13 can be played in a higher resolution/quality.Toshiba Satellite P755 battery
The battery life of all three laptops is comparable as they use batteries with similar capacities (HP: 47 Wh, Lenovo: 48 Wh, Sony: 45 Wh).Toshiba Satellite L735 battery If you are looking for the cheapest laptop with the longest battery runtime, you might take a look at Lenovo's G585. This laptop accomplishes a runtime of 8:40h in idle mode. Toshiba tecra r940 battery
The device is equipped with AMD's E2-1800 APU. However, we have to point out that the CPU part of the AMD APU is much weaker than the CPU part of Intel's Pentium B970.Toshiba tecra r840 battery
With the IdeaPad N581, Lenovo again introduces an affordable laptop that excels with its good money for value performance.Toshiba tecra r950 battery The device provides enough power to satisfy the requirements of most users. However, you have to live with a contrast-poor screen like in almost every low-budget laptop. You can also opt for the IdeaPad N581-MBA4XGE, which is EUR 50 cheaper, if you do not need Windows 7.Toshiba tecra r850 battery The saved money could then be invested in a warranty upgrade. If you are looking for an even cheaper laptop, you should look closer at HP's Compaq Presario CQ58-148SG.
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