Lenovo G50-80 80E501U3US 15.6-inch

The Lenovo G50-80 80E501U3US is a bestselling 2015 15.6-inch laptop that received positive reviews for its lightweight design, powerful processor, cutting edge integrated graphics, ample memory, and good sound output. Despite offering great value for money in terms of hardware, its battery life isn’t very long and some users wished it came with 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB. Considering its excellent mid-range performance and commendable graphics capability, the G50-80 80E501U3US is an attractive entry level laptop for price conscious users or casual gamers.

The Lenovo G50-80 80E501U3US is a solid value laptop with strong hardware components for handling basic and mid-range applications. Its modest looking plastic case feels cheap compared to high-end laptops with aluminum housings, but the plastic material also keeps its weight down without leaving out an optical drive. Its 15-inch TFT screen with 1366 x 768 pixels offers sufficient brightness and accurate colors, but its viewing angles aren’t as good as on IPS panels.

Thanks to a powerful Intel Core i5 processor and 6GB of RAM, it manages to breeze past day to day activities, and the onboard Intel HD 5500 graphics deliver playable frame rates even while running modern games at medium to low graphics settings. We’d expect a better runtime from a laptop powered by an ultra-low voltage processor, but the G50-80 manages to pull off only 3 hours of battery life under normal use.

Although some competitors offer more RAM and larger hard drives, for its sub $450 price tag the 80E501U3US is hard to beat in terms of raw value for money. Overall, the G50-80 80E501U3US makes reasonable trade-offs to provide budget buyers a powerful machine that is a step above most basic laptops at this price range.

• Weight: 4.62 lbs
• Processor: Intel Core i5-5200U 2.2GHz
• Display Size: 15.6 inch
• RAM: 6GB DDR3
• Operating System: Windows 8.1
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500