Lenovo 3000 N200 mini-review

zfind · 19th February 2008, 1:31 PM

Having seen the flurry of interest regarding this bargain laptop and having also recently purchased one myself I though a small review based on my personal experience would be useful to those considering buying one.

Specs:

Intel Pentium Dual Core 1.46ghz
1gb DDR2 667mhz RAM
120gb HDD
Wireless
Gigabit LAN
Memory card reader
14.1" screen
Firewire
PC Express slot
Windows Vist Basic

Background
A few months ago Big W offered the Lenovo 3000 in two variants - the N200 (Pentium Dual Core) and C200 (Celeron). Originally priced at $798 and $598 respectively they were already a bargain, especially the dual core. However, about a week ago, word startedd to go round that the price for the N200 had been dropped by $200, making it one of the best bargain laptops on the market.

Build
A solid unit, the casing is hard plastic. Silver on the outside and black within, it has a very industrial feel to it, which is amplified by the stocky build of the unit. It feels sturdy and doesn't creak or squeak. The keys are responsive with a nice click.

Hardware
At the price of $598, this configuration is almost unbeatable. With a clean windows install (I'm using Vista Home Premium) getting rid of alot of bloatware, the computer is fast and responsive. It can benefit from another gigabyte ram on top of the pre-installed 1gb but can survive without if necessary. It has a nice feature set including the usual wireless, lan, DVD burner and memory card reader. Audio is not a strong point on this laptop with the speakers located at the very front of the case below the keyboard. The sound is easily muffled by hands resting on the palmpad and the speakers sound tinny and lifeless. Some EQ tweaking went some way to remedy this. The integrated GMA965 (or X3100 by some reports) isn't much chop but can run Aero without problems. The screen is bright and clear but seems to have some sort of graininess akin to a plastic protective film being applied to the screen. It is not too noticeable. For some reason, the CPU fan runs almost non-stop which can be quite tiring to listen to over time.

Usage
Overall, the unit is familiar and easy to use. However, the key layout is strange in some ways - the page down and up keys are combined with home and end which I find counter-intuitive. The delete key is also strangely placed but can be gotten used to. Some of the port locations are not ideal, for example the right-side USB ports being quite close to the front of the laptop. The shortcut keys at the top of the keyboard are mildly useful but an e-mail or internet launch key would have helped. Coming with Vista Basic pre-installed makes this unit ideal for basic home use.

Overall
It's all about price v performance here. Simply put, the N200 is unbeatable even with another gig of RAM installed. It's fast and efficient and can handle surprisingly strenuous applications quite well. It suffers some flaws but these can be overlooked given the price.

+
- Excellent price
- Dual core
- Nice feature set
- Solidly built

-
- Sometimes awkward keyboard layout
- Slightly grainy screen
- Questionable port placement
- CPU fan runs too much

Overall, probably the one to buy in the current bargain laptop market.

drunkntigr · 19th February 2008, 4:53 PM

Any pictures?

Is this still available now in Melbourne and in plentiful stock?

DavoRulz · 19th February 2008, 5:05 PM

It seems that stock levels vary store to store. My local store was out and "not getting any more in at that price", so I went to the next town over where they had plenty.

The screen is fairly clear on my unit and not grainy at all. Touchpad on it feels fairly solid too. I've uninstalled the bloatware and put another gig of ram into mine.

Another plus: Quality hardware was used. Mine has Hynix ram, a Seagate Momentus hard drive, and an LG optical drive. I'm very happy with my unit

And on another note: From what I can tell from my research, the X3100 = the graphics in the GM965 chipset. So 965 = X3100

elementalelf · 19th February 2008, 5:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavoRulz

It seems that stock levels vary store to store. My local store was out and "not getting any more in at that price", so I went to the next town over where they had plenty.

The screen is fairly clear on my unit and not grainy at all. Touchpad on it feels fairly solid too. I've uninstalled the bloatware and put another gig of ram into mine.

Another plus: Quality hardware was used. Mine has Hynix ram, a Seagate Momentus hard drive, and an LG optical drive. I'm very happy with my unit

And on another note: From what I can tell from my research, the X3100 = the graphics in the GM965 chipset. So 965 = X3100

whats the performance like on the VGA?

carny · 19th February 2008, 6:25 PM

You migh want to try and turn down the screen brightness to have less grain. The macbook pro matte screens do the same thing with white. The sound card is bloody terrible even with headphones in lol.

DavoRulz · 19th February 2008, 6:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elementalelf

whats the performance like on the VGA?

Marginal but good enough. It runs WoW (just), just lags like a shitter in shat. Outside town I'm getting ~25fps on lowest settings, which is fine.

elementalelf · 19th February 2008, 7:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavoRulz

Marginal but good enough. It runs WoW (just), just lags like a shitter in shat. Outside town I'm getting ~25fps on lowest settings, which is fine.

so grinding but no instance/raiding.... tis a pity, im sure i could get some more juice out of it with tweaking.

f1re · 21st February 2008, 8:02 PM

how heavy is it?

can you post pics (and next to objects so we can get a feel for size)

is it widescreen?

cheers

Quelch · 23rd February 2008, 11:56 AM

The N200 can have the memory upgraded, the CPU and the hard drive

How big a hard drive could be used and how would you transfer all the Lenovo information needed to run the computer ?

Sorry f1re I meant to attempt an answer to your questions then I forgot !

Self, Self, Self - as my mother used to say !

Display

TFT technology LCD
Size 14.1 inch
Resolution 1280 by 800

N200 Laptop Size
Width: 335mm
Depth: 246mm
Height: 30mm to 36mm

I could not find reference to the weight anywhere in the manuals
The kitchen scale didn't go high enough and the bathroom scale were much too erratic

I guess about 3 kilogram

mhef · 23rd February 2008, 2:08 PM

I came just came across this. I haven't really got much idea with laptops, is this a good deal?

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/leno...n200-notebook/

Specifications:

Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2330 (1.6GHz)
Genuine Windows Vista Business (XP Pro down gradable)
Chipset: Mobile Intel® GM965 Express chipset
Intel Graphics media accelerator X3100
Optical drives: DVD recordable
Integrated fingerprint reader
Omni directional internal microphone
EXPRESS display: 39cm (15.4") TFT WXGA(1280 x 800)
Nvidia 128mb Graphics (Dedicated)
Memory: 1GB DDR II 667 (PC2-5300), DRAM
HDD: 120GB
Wireless technology: 802.11b/g, Dual band
LAN/Modem: Gigabit Ethernet / 56kbps
4USB, VGA, S-Video, IEEE1394 (4p), MIC, RJ11/45, stereo headphone port, RJ11 telephone connector, RJ45 Ethernet connector
Express card slot: Express card
Five-in-one multi-card reader (SD card, MMC, memory stick, XD-picture card, memory stick pro)
Battery: Six-cell li-ion battery
Keyboard: Lenovo full-sized keyboard (six rows) with power button and Lenovo care button
Two-button touch pad
Full wireless capability (802.11abg)
Wireless on/off switch
Wireless technology: Lenovo 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless
Notebook dimensions (closed): (W) 36cm X (L) 26cm X (H) 3cm
12 month manufacturer's product warranty

Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Price*: $1899.00.
DealsDirect Price: Only $869.00 + $9.95 Shipping (Australia-wide flat rate).
At this price, you'd better hurry! They're sure to sell out fast!

I'm guessing that bigw is better value?

Tony · 23rd February 2008, 2:22 PM

why did they delete the nipple point?

and does that deals direct one have an x3100 or an nvidia geforce?

McbLt · 23rd February 2008, 5:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhef

I'm guessing that bigw is better value?

Main differences from a quick glance is the svery slight CPU bump and a 15.4" screen.

I'd get the Big W one and upgrade the CPU for $400 or so for a T9300 or $300 for a T7500 over the Dealsdirect one. From what I can see, it's $250+ for a nominal CPU bump, and 14.1" lappies tend to be more than 15.4" too.

Quelch · 24th February 2008, 6:08 AM

I'm new to laptops and Vista

How much of the bloat ware can be removed from the Lenovo N200 without doing any damage

I'm happy to stick with Vista

Most of the other stuff that is on there I don't want !

What is the best way to remove it ?

How are you setting yours up ?

I've just been touring the Lenovo site, lots of interesting stuff, I downloaded the manual and got answers to a lot of my questions

These machines are 300 N200 0687 A31 if you're interested in having a look
Just Google Lenovo and choose the Australian site

_the_duke_ · 24th February 2008, 10:00 AM

I just looked on PricePoint Computers site and a complete PC with similar specs will set you back >$650, so I can't believe how good value this notebook is!

elementalelf · 24th February 2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhef

I came just came across this. I haven't really got much idea with laptops, is this a good deal?

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/leno...n200-notebook/

Specifications:

Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2330 (1.6GHz)
Genuine Windows Vista Business (XP Pro down gradable)
Chipset: Mobile Intel® GM965 Express chipset
Intel Graphics media accelerator X3100
Optical drives: DVD recordable
Integrated fingerprint reader
Omni directional internal microphone
EXPRESS display: 39cm (15.4") TFT WXGA(1280 x 800)
Nvidia 128mb Graphics (Dedicated)
Memory: 1GB DDR II 667 (PC2-5300), DRAM
HDD: 120GB
Wireless technology: 802.11b/g, Dual band
LAN/Modem: Gigabit Ethernet / 56kbps
4USB, VGA, S-Video, IEEE1394 (4p), MIC, RJ11/45, stereo headphone port, RJ11 telephone connector, RJ45 Ethernet connector
Express card slot: Express card
Five-in-one multi-card reader (SD card, MMC, memory stick, XD-picture card, memory stick pro)
Battery: Six-cell li-ion battery
Keyboard: Lenovo full-sized keyboard (six rows) with power button and Lenovo care button
Two-button touch pad
Full wireless capability (802.11abg)
Wireless on/off switch
Wireless technology: Lenovo 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless
Notebook dimensions (closed): (W) 36cm X (L) 26cm X (H) 3cm
12 month manufacturer's product warranty

Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Price*: $1899.00.
DealsDirect Price: Only $869.00 + $9.95 Shipping (Australia-wide flat rate).
At this price, you'd better hurry! They're sure to sell out fast!

so which one is it?

19th February 2008, 1:31 PM	#1
zfind Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Helsinki / Perth Posts: 1,603	Lenovo 3000 N200 mini-review Having seen the flurry of interest regarding this bargain laptop and having also recently purchased one myself I though a small review based on my personal experience would be useful to those considering buying one. Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core 1.46ghz 1gb DDR2 667mhz RAM 120gb HDD Wireless Gigabit LAN Memory card reader 14.1" screen Firewire PC Express slot Windows Vist Basic Background A few months ago Big W offered the Lenovo 3000 in two variants - the N200 (Pentium Dual Core) and C200 (Celeron). Originally priced at $798 and $598 respectively they were already a bargain, especially the dual core. However, about a week ago, word startedd to go round that the price for the N200 had been dropped by $200, making it one of the best bargain laptops on the market. Build A solid unit, the casing is hard plastic. Silver on the outside and black within, it has a very industrial feel to it, which is amplified by the stocky build of the unit. It feels sturdy and doesn't creak or squeak. The keys are responsive with a nice click. Hardware At the price of $598, this configuration is almost unbeatable. With a clean windows install (I'm using Vista Home Premium) getting rid of alot of bloatware, the computer is fast and responsive. It can benefit from another gigabyte ram on top of the pre-installed 1gb but can survive without if necessary. It has a nice feature set including the usual wireless, lan, DVD burner and memory card reader. Audio is not a strong point on this laptop with the speakers located at the very front of the case below the keyboard. The sound is easily muffled by hands resting on the palmpad and the speakers sound tinny and lifeless. Some EQ tweaking went some way to remedy this. The integrated GMA965 (or X3100 by some reports) isn't much chop but can run Aero without problems. The screen is bright and clear but seems to have some sort of graininess akin to a plastic protective film being applied to the screen. It is not too noticeable. For some reason, the CPU fan runs almost non-stop which can be quite tiring to listen to over time. Usage Overall, the unit is familiar and easy to use. However, the key layout is strange in some ways - the page down and up keys are combined with home and end which I find counter-intuitive. The delete key is also strangely placed but can be gotten used to. Some of the port locations are not ideal, for example the right-side USB ports being quite close to the front of the laptop. The shortcut keys at the top of the keyboard are mildly useful but an e-mail or internet launch key would have helped. Coming with Vista Basic pre-installed makes this unit ideal for basic home use. Overall It's all about price v performance here. Simply put, the N200 is unbeatable even with another gig of RAM installed. It's fast and efficient and can handle surprisingly strenuous applications quite well. It suffers some flaws but these can be overlooked given the price. + - Excellent price - Dual core - Nice feature set - Solidly built - - Sometimes awkward keyboard layout - Slightly grainy screen - Questionable port placement - CPU fan runs too much Overall, probably the one to buy in the current bargain laptop market. Last edited by zfind; 19th February 2008 at 3:38 PM.

19th February 2008, 5:05 PM	#3
DavoRulz Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Lismore, North NSW Posts: 3,428	It seems that stock levels vary store to store. My local store was out and "not getting any more in at that price", so I went to the next town over where they had plenty. The screen is fairly clear on my unit and not grainy at all. Touchpad on it feels fairly solid too. I've uninstalled the bloatware and put another gig of ram into mine. Another plus: Quality hardware was used. Mine has Hynix ram, a Seagate Momentus hard drive, and an LG optical drive. I'm very happy with my unit And on another note: From what I can tell from my research, the X3100 = the graphics in the GM965 chipset. So 965 = X3100 __________________ Desktop: i7 920\|EX58-DS4\|6gb GeIL DDR3\|GTX 285\|Audigy ES\|1Tb\|P160\|SP 2.0 500w\|BenQ FP202w WoW: Smashfist - 80 Ret Paladin, GM of <Tortured Reality>, 5th ranked Alliance guild on Jubei'Thos Ride: 1997 SS Commodore - 304ci - FOR SALE $8000 ONO

21st February 2008, 8:02 PM	#8
f1re Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sydney Posts: 641	how heavy is it? can you post pics (and next to objects so we can get a feel for size) is it widescreen? cheers __________________ P4 2.8 "c" @ 3.6 (478) \| Leadtek 128 6600GT \| Zalman 7000alcu-LED \| MSI 865PE-NEO2 \| 2x1GB PC3200 \| OCZ Modstream 450W \| W.D 500GB SARA AAKS \| Seagate 250 SATA \| Pioneer A06 DVDRW \| LG DVDRW \| 2x LG 17" LCD

23rd February 2008, 11:56 AM	#9
Quelch Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 417	The N200 can have the memory upgraded, the CPU and the hard drive How big a hard drive could be used and how would you transfer all the Lenovo information needed to run the computer ? Sorry f1re I meant to attempt an answer to your questions then I forgot ! Self, Self, Self - as my mother used to say ! Display TFT technology LCD Size 14.1 inch Resolution 1280 by 800 N200 Laptop Size Width: 335mm Depth: 246mm Height: 30mm to 36mm I could not find reference to the weight anywhere in the manuals The kitchen scale didn't go high enough and the bathroom scale were much too erratic I guess about 3 kilogram __________________ CPU - Intel E8400 3Ghz Core 2 Duo, Motherboard - ASUS P5K-SE-EPU (EPU), Memory A-DATA 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800 6400, Hard-drive SATA W.D. 640GB HDD, Graphics Card Gigabyte PCI-E 512MB 8600GT, Case CoolerMaster RC-690 with PSU, DVD RW Samsung SATA 20x Black, Logitech LX-310 Cordless K/B + Mouse, MS Windows VISTA 32bit Home Premium Edition Last edited by DiGiTaL MoNkEY; 13th March 2009 at 11:04 AM. Reason: Consecutive posts merged, please use the edit button instead..

23rd February 2008, 2:08 PM	#10
mhef Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Queensland Posts: 71	I came just came across this. I haven't really got much idea with laptops, is this a good deal? http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/leno...n200-notebook/ Specifications: Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2330 (1.6GHz) Genuine Windows Vista Business (XP Pro down gradable) Chipset: Mobile Intel® GM965 Express chipset Intel Graphics media accelerator X3100 Optical drives: DVD recordable Integrated fingerprint reader Omni directional internal microphone EXPRESS display: 39cm (15.4") TFT WXGA(1280 x 800) Nvidia 128mb Graphics (Dedicated) Memory: 1GB DDR II 667 (PC2-5300), DRAM HDD: 120GB Wireless technology: 802.11b/g, Dual band LAN/Modem: Gigabit Ethernet / 56kbps 4USB, VGA, S-Video, IEEE1394 (4p), MIC, RJ11/45, stereo headphone port, RJ11 telephone connector, RJ45 Ethernet connector Express card slot: Express card Five-in-one multi-card reader (SD card, MMC, memory stick, XD-picture card, memory stick pro) Battery: Six-cell li-ion battery Keyboard: Lenovo full-sized keyboard (six rows) with power button and Lenovo care button Two-button touch pad Full wireless capability (802.11abg) Wireless on/off switch Wireless technology: Lenovo 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless Notebook dimensions (closed): (W) 36cm X (L) 26cm X (H) 3cm 12 month manufacturer's product warranty Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Price: $1899.00. DealsDirect Price: Only $869.00 + $9.95 Shipping (Australia-wide flat rate). At this price, you'd better hurry! They're sure to sell out fast! I'm guessing that bigw is better value? Last edited by DiGiTaL MoNkEY; 13th March 2009 at 11:04 AM. Reason: Consecutive posts merged, please use the edit button instead..*

19th February 2008, 4:53 PM	#2
drunkntigr Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: MELB Posts: 1,297	Any pictures? Is this still available now in Melbourne and in plentiful stock?

19th February 2008, 6:25 PM	#5
carny Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 115	You migh want to try and turn down the screen brightness to have less grain. The macbook pro matte screens do the same thing with white. The sound card is bloody terrible even with headphones in lol.

23rd February 2008, 2:22 PM	#11
Tony Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,915	why did they delete the nipple point? and does that deals direct one have an x3100 or an nvidia geforce? __________________ "Nowadays things are completely different, and auto makers are much more global in structure. Its difficult to see ANY new car these days as the product of any one company or country. There are honourable exceptions that prove this rule though. The R32, R33 and R34 series Skylines were the babies of an intensely focused faction inside Nissan, a group who still feel their heritage & family tree come from the Prince regime of ex-aircraft engineers who were really serious about racing and making great cars. Sadly, this group now seems to be feeling pressure to change." I drive a stock R33 non turbo automatic Skyline - 120kW at the wheels! OCAU Nissan Skyline Club Member

24th February 2008, 6:08 AM	#13
Quelch Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 417	I'm new to laptops and Vista How much of the bloat ware can be removed from the Lenovo N200 without doing any damage I'm happy to stick with Vista Most of the other stuff that is on there I don't want ! What is the best way to remove it ? How are you setting yours up ? I've just been touring the Lenovo site, lots of interesting stuff, I downloaded the manual and got answers to a lot of my questions These machines are 300 N200 0687 A31 if you're interested in having a look Just Google Lenovo and choose the Australian site __________________ CPU - Intel E8400 3Ghz Core 2 Duo, Motherboard - ASUS P5K-SE-EPU (EPU), Memory A-DATA 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800 6400, Hard-drive SATA W.D. 640GB HDD, Graphics Card Gigabyte PCI-E 512MB 8600GT, Case CoolerMaster RC-690 with PSU, DVD RW Samsung SATA 20x Black, Logitech LX-310 Cordless K/B + Mouse, MS Windows VISTA 32bit Home Premium Edition Last edited by DiGiTaL MoNkEY; 13th March 2009 at 11:05 AM. Reason: Consecutive posts merged, please use the edit button instead..

24th February 2008, 10:00 AM	#14
_the_duke_ Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Adelaide, SA Posts: 3,992	I just looked on PricePoint Computers site and a complete PC with similar specs will set you back >$650, so I can't believe how good value this notebook is! __________________ Do you see the way that tree bends?