Lenovo G505s Review

Why is the Lenovo a good cheap gaming laptop for $600?

The Lenovo G505s comes in various forms. This specific one, the 59373006, is excellent athlete to compete for the best gaming laptop under 600 dollars. It combines the best AMD parts to offer both a competitive price and performance, while wrapping itself in a good looking sleep package. 

The technology in the Lenovo covers all the bases very well. Its AMD 2.5 GHz Quad Core processor is one of the best CPUs in this midrange class. The 6GB DDR3 in RAM offers enough calculation power to handle any game or task you can give it. The 1000GB of hard drive space should give you sufficient room to play with. And the ATI Radeon HD 8650G is the best GPU in this price class. 

Don’t let yourself get confused with the naming of the graphics or video card, the ATI Radeon HD 8650G. AMD bought ATI in recent years and has been slowly rebranding its graphics cards to the AMD brand. In the mean time, you will find some graphics cards that are still branded ATI. The quality remains the same though. 

The processor in the Lenovo is considered on par with the i5 dual core by Intel. Overall, the lower power consumption tips the performance ratio in favour of Intel. However as one would expect the affordability price goes to AMD. This is also partly the reason why the best gaming laptops under 600 dollars are available in this price range. 

As mention in the Acer Aspire V5-552P-X617 review, the graphics card which the Lenovo shares with the number 1 in our comparison, is an integrated GPU. Integrated GPUs are usually at disadvantage in comparison to dedicated GPUs as the latter cary their own video memory. The integrated GPUs have to use the main RAM of the system. This could lead, and has led, to journalists confusing the ATI Radeon HD 8650G in the Lenovo as sub-ideal for gaming purposes. Interestingly though, our test as well as the tests at NetbookCheck have shown that the integrated GPU is capable of the same frame rates as the dedicated GPU 8570M (the premium brother). In regular English this means that the GPU in the Lenovo and the number 1 in our comparison is able to perform on par with its premium brother while coming in at a significantly lower price. 

What games will you be able to play?

• On Minimum Settings: Battlefield 3, Need for Speed: The Run, Max Payne 3, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Serious Sam 3Red Faction: Armageddon, DiRT Showdow.
• On Recommended Settings: Fable 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Medal of Honor, Diablo 3, Battlefield 1943, F.E.A.R 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

To Conclude

The Lenovo is a very good cheap gaming laptop under 600 dollars. Having an excellent setup of a the 2.5 GHz Quad Core in combination with the ATI Radeon HD 8650G  graphics card, makes it a great budget option for gamers. Being slightly more expensive than our number 1 while not offering a touch screen has made it second in our comparison of the best gaming laptops under 600 dollars.

The Key Facts:

• Processor / CPU: 2.5 GHz AMD A10 Quad Core
• Graphics Card / GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8650G
• RAM: 6 GB DDR3
• Hard Drive / HD: 1000 GB
• Screen Size: 15.6 Inches
• Screen Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels
• Operating System: Windows 8
• Weight: 5.3 Pounds
• Number of USB 2.0 Ports: 1
• Number of USD 3.0 Ports: 2
• Battery Life: Lithium-Ion with up to 5 hours
• Dimensions: 10.20 x 15.00 x 1.00 inches