Desktop: Lenovo B500 Review

The Lenovo B500 IdeaCentre is a compact yet powerful desktop PC that delivers good performance and viewing space.

DESKTOPS tend to take up a significant amount of space in anyone’s room. You need to find a place for the CPU, monitor and all the cables running between them. This does not even include all the necessary accessories that go with any computer.

The Lenovo B500 is an “all-in-one” PC, meaning it’s a CPU built into a monitor with a retractable stand to keep it level. Now, the question is, can a slimmed-down desktop perform just as well?

Slim but busty

This model is no more than 3in thick but boasts a 23in widescreen full HD display. It is monstrous and covers almost the entire front frame. Watching movies in HD is simply exhilarating, so much so that you forget this is a PC and not a TV.

Beyond the movies, there is so much space for additional icons, files and folders viewable on a single screen instead of a list. This is excellent for those who enjoy having everything at a glance.

The set comes with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Now, as much as I am a fan of all things Bluetooth, this model seems to have a pretty shoddy built-in receiver. Syncing the keyboard was troublesome and took a long time for reasons unknown.

The mouse lags whenever you wake it up from “idle” mode. It goes without saying that both these appendages are hugely important and you expect them to work above all else.

Nuts and bolts

The B500 has a set of illuminated touchscreen buttons on the bottom right of the frame. These control the volume, brightness and one special button turns the monitor on and off (but not the PC). The buttons are highly responsive and the monitor button is always illuminated so that you can see it at night.

The power button is on the side with the optical drive, card reader and two USB ports. There are four more USB ports in the back that reduces the need for a USB extender, eliminating more cables in the process.

The whole unit is held up by a retractable stand and I do wonder about the long-term strength of that stand.

Stellar performance

Moore’s Law is not just doubling capacity, it’s also about halving the space required to house all that power. This model is testament to that. The Intel Core 2 Quad processor certainly puts out plenty of performance and the graphics card is decent.

The startup time is impressive at roughly two minutes (not scientifically tested). If you are an ardent PC gamer reading this, I installed Supreme Commander 2 and the GT240M was still smooth at the highest graphics level. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare worked fairly well too — loading the levels took unusually long though.

With 4GB of RAM and half a terrabyte of space, it feels like a little command centre. What is even better is that it gives you that commanding feeling while allowing you to throw things that you need behind it because there is still so much space left.

Books can be piled on the space where the CPU used to be. If you spend a lot of time at your desk or if your job is built around one, you will really appreciate the benefits of having more space for important stuff.

There is ample room for storing fat HD movie files and a lifetime collection of music. No compromise on hard disk space here, which is a big plus.

The webcam takes up no space at all but still churns out fantastic pictures and really good video. Skype is the best way to test a mic — if your friends keep asking you to repeat yourself, you could have a bad mic. Suffice to say, this unit passed the completely made-up Skype-test with flying colours.

Silence is deafening

When I set up this review unit, only one cable ran astray across the back and into the ground — the speaker cable. It was necessary because the built-in speakers were plainly poor. It was the biggest disappointment and it was the only important thing missing from the all-encompassing IdeaCentre.

Lenovo actually managed to squeeze in a light to illuminate the speakers, which are at the bottom and they even built a touchscreen button for that light. But it is purely decorative. They should have mounted a small bass emitter instead. Wasted chance.

The optical drive pops out from the side. This may look cool but it means that you have to snap on a CD on the tray that it is suspended on the frame. If you try and do it with one hand, it seems like you can break it as there is very little plastic on that frame. Slot trays are better any day for me as they are also less likely to break.

For those who watch free-to-air TV, the B500 comes with a TV tuner to keep you covered.

Conclusion

Priced at USD1000, I believe the Lenovo B500 IdeaCentre is an interesting choice for a desktop. Gamers may be turned off by the graphics card and that is understandable.

However it could be an attractive proposition for students, working professionals and movie buffs from any category. Add a couple of hundred ringgit more for a good set of speakers and you’ve got yourself a pretty awesome wireless command centre. When they become cheap enough to buy on a whim, I will have three of these in every room.

Pros: Space saver; powerful performance; great design; plenty of memory.

Cons: Poor quality speakers; flimsy optical drive tray; unconvincing support stand.

All-in-one PC

Manufacturer: Lenovo
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz, 1,333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
MEMORY: 4GB DDR3 RAM
DISPLAY: 23in widescreen HD (1,920 x 1,080-pixels)
GRAPHICS: nVidia GeForce GT 240M 1GB
STORAGE: 500GB SATA hard drive
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11b/g, Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth
PORTS: PS/2 keyboard, AV-in, digital TV antenna socket, six USB ports, 6-in-1 card reader
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Home Premium
OTHER FEATURES: TV tuner, built-in webcam
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 560mm x 25-38mm x 440mm

Buy from your local amazon: