IdeaPad Y series


The IdeaPad Y series is a consumer range of laptops produced by Lenovo, first announced in 2008. They are marketed as premium high performance laptops for multimedia and gaming, as part of the IdeaPad line. The most significant differences from Lenovo's traditional ThinkPad business laptops were a more consumer-oriented appearance and performance-oriented components. IdeaPads feature a chiclet keyboard with rounded keys, similar to the latest ThinkPads. The first of the Y series were the IdeaPad Y710 and the IdeaPad Y510 notebooks, with screen sizes of 17 inches and 15 inches respectively. Not all features were entirely new, however. Notebook Review reported that the Y710 and Y510 notebooks had a keyboard that felt similar to the ThinkPad when used, despite the absence of the TrackPoint. The Y50 and Y40, released in 2014, featured a gaming-oriented design shift and slimming down. The latest release was the Y700 in late 2015.
The IdeaPad Y series has since been replaced by the Legion Y series.

2016

Y900

Lenovo announced the IdeaPad Y900 in January 2016. It uses Intel Core i7 processors that can be overclocked. Lenovo has included utility software to make this easier for users. The chassis is black aluminum with color accents. The keyboard is mechanical. Customizable color LEDs help the trackpad and various parts of the keyboard stand out more clearly in dark environments. The display is 17.3inches, uses an IPS panel with an anti-glare coating, and resolution is pixels. Up to 64GB of RAM is supported. Bays are included for two SSDs or hard drives, RAID 0 is supported. An Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M comes standard with options for either 4GB or 8GB of VRAM.

2015

Y70

The Y70 is a gaming laptop with a 17-inch multitouch screen. As of February 2015, the Y70 base model had a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD/HDD hybrid, and a 2GB Nvidia GTX 860M GPU. The display has 1080p resolution and LED backlighting. The Y70 scored 4.5 hours of battery life on MobileMark's Office Productivity Test but is only able to achieve a battery life of about 2.5 hours for gaming.
A review from Notebook Review said, "We’re happy to recognize the Lenovo IdeaPad Y70 Touch with our Editor’s Choice award for being a great large screen entertainment notebook."

2014

There were two flagship laptops released in 2014 Lenovo Ideapad Y40, Y50 and Y70 Touch.

Y40 and Y50

The Y40 and Y50 are respectively 14-inch and 15-inch laptops designed specifically for gaming. 1080p displays come standard on both models, but the Y50 has an option for a 4K display with a resolution of. Both come with options for multi-touch displays. Both have Intel Core i7 processors. The Y40 uses an AMD Radeon R9 M270 video card with 2 GB of VRAM; The Y50 uses an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M video card with options for 2 GB and 4 GB of VRAM. Later models now use the Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M video card. They come standard with 8 GB of RAM. The Y40 comes standard with a 256 GB SSD and the Y50 comes standard with a 1 TB hybrid drive. Both are only thick. They respectively weigh and. Neither has an optical drive. The Y40 and Y50 were announced at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas and went on sale in the United States in May of the same year.
In a review for PC World, Hayden Dingman wrote, "In terms of gaming performance, Lenovo’s Y50 is one of the best laptops in its class. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a portable gaming rig on a budget. Unfortunately, Lenovo compromised several key components—the keyboard, trackpad, and the display—in order to offer the Y50 at a mid-range price. Hook up a mouse, keyboard, and external display and you’ll have a solid gaming machine. If you can’t tolerate those compromises, you might have to bite the bullet and spend more money for a competitor’s offering."
In a review for LAPTOP, Sherri L. Smith wrote, "Lenovo continues to impress me with its ability to offer gaming laptops at affordable prices. For $949, shoppers get a sleek-looking 14-inch notebook with solid overall performance and long battery life. However, while the AMD Radeon R9 M275 GPU isn't a lightweight, you won't be fragging or questing at the maximum settings. I also wish the notebook featured a better display and keyboard."

Y40

Lenovo Ideapad Y40 was announced in the US on January 5, 2014. There are currently three Y40 models available with varying storage sizes.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50 was released in the second quarter of 2014.
In 2015, some components were updated with more recent or parts of higher quality:

Y400

Y410p

The IdeaPad Y410p was released around June 2013. This laptop also features a fourth generation Haswell Intel Core i7 processor. The Y410p is comparable to higher end laptops such as the Alienware M14x, but this series starts at a comparatively lower price of $799. The Y410p also comes with an UltraBay, which can house a second dedicated graphics card, a hard drive or an exhaust fan; and uses the secure boot UEFI protocol.
Specifications:
The IdeaPad Y500 was released in the first week of January 2013, after Lenovo announced it in late 2012. The Y500 is a Modular laptop, where the BD/DVD drive could be switched out for adding another Graphics card, another Hard Drive, or another exhaust fan with new feature called Always-On USB,a port which will ensure that even when your system is switched off and unplugged from the mains, you will be able to charge your mobile phone or any other compatible USB device.
Y500 Specifications:
A new version of the Y500 with upgraded features was released in June along with the Lenovo Y410p. The upgraded version has following features compare to older version
The IdeaPad Y510p was released around June 2013. This laptop features a fourth generation Haswell Intel Core i7 processor. The Y510p also comes with an ultrabay, which can house a second dedicated graphics card, a hard drive or an exhaust fan; and uses the secure boot UEFI protocol.
Specifications:
The IdeaPad Y-series laptops released by Lenovo in mid-2012 were the Y480 and Y580. Lenovo followed them up towards the end of the year with the Y400 and the Y500 which had almost similar specifications. The main difference is that the Y400 and Y500 have an ultrabay slot which can be swapped for another hard drive, another fan or another GPU which will work in SLI with the already integrated one to increase performance drastically.

Y480

The Y480 was released in 2012 with the following specifications:
The Y580 was released in late 2012 with the following specifications:
The IdeaPad Y-series laptops released by Lenovo in 2011 were the Y470 and Y570.

Y470

The Y470 was released in 2011 with the following specifications:
The Y570 was released in 2011 with the following specifications:
The IdeaPad Y-series laptops released in 2010 by Lenovo were the Y460, Y460p, Y730, Y560p, and Y560d.

Y460 and Y460p

Notebook Review noted that the Y460 offered "great gaming performance", although the system heated up considerably while gaming. The battery life and design were also praised, with the reviewer stating that there was a "huge improvement in the looks department". LAPTOP Magazine offered a similar opinion, stating that, "Lenovo delivers multimedia and gaming power in a portable design, complete with a one-of-a-kind navigation control".

Y560d, Y560 and Y560p

Y730

The Y730 laptop was released as an update to the Y710 laptop, with the most significant differences being a chipset update to Intel PM45 and the ability to use DDR3 memory. The laptop offered:
Processor: Intel Core 2 X9100 processors,
RAM: 3GB DDR3
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3650 XT
Display: TN LCD
Storage: Up to 500GB HDD
Reviewers disagreed on its capacity for gaming. About.com indicated that it was not very fast for high resolution PC gaming, suggesting that it was better suited for casual gamers and viewing HD videos. The screen was also indicated as being a lower resolution than industry standard. On the other hand, the reviewer at GADGETBASE was extremely enthusiastic about the laptop, calling it "the ultimate notebook" with "stellar performance" for "a die-hard gamer".

2009

The Y-series laptops launched in 2009 by Lenovo were the Y450 and Y550.

Y450

The successor to the Y430, the Y450 laptop offered the following specifications:
PC World gave the laptop a rating of 2.5 of 5 stars, praising the keyboard, design, and overall value. The negative points were indicated as being an uneven vertical viewing angle.

Y550

Released in 2009, the IdeaPad Y550 laptop offered the following specifications:
Notebook Review called the IdeaPad Y550 laptop well-built, with a wide array of options. The design was also appreciated and as with previous IdeaPad Y Series laptops, both the keyboard and touchpad were positively received.

2008

The Y Series laptops launched in 2008 by Lenovo were the Y710, Y510, Y530, and Y430.

Y430

The IdeaPad Y430 featured a 14.1 inch screen, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, and weighed. PC World was enthusiastic in its review of the Y430 notebook, calling it "among the best midsized laptops available" and "a joy to use". Summing up the notebook's capabilities, PC World said, "This is a solidly built unit that's a joy to use and has plenty of grunt for most applications. It also has versatile networking options, including the ability to connect to 5GHz IEEE 802.11n WiFi routers."

Y510

The Y510 notebook offered the following specifications:
The Y530 notebook was the successor to the Y510, with the same chassis but with an upgrade to the Intel Centrino 2 processor. While the notebook was slightly thicker than other, similar laptops, it was still portable and easy to carry around. The notebook weighed and had a form factor of.
Notebook Review stated that the positive points of the Y530 notebook were the build quality, the speaker system, and the comfortable keyboard and touchpad. The negative points were the NVIDIA 9300M graphics card, and the highly reflective display.

Y710

The first type of Y-series laptops was the Y7xx models, including the Y710 and Y730. The Y710 laptop offered the following specifications:
+ optional "Lenovo Game Zone" module.