The Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 0914-3YU ($699.99 list at TigerDirect) is a desktop replacement laptop being marketed as a multimedia machine. Performance and productivity are enhanced by the combination of a Core i5 processor coupled with 15.6-inches of screen real-estate. However, what holds this system back from a higher recommendation, is the overwhelming amount of bloatware and the fact that there are laptops that offer more features for less, like the Sony VAIO VPC-EB33FM/BJ ($629.99 list, 4.5 stars).

Design
Manufacturers often turn to plastic as the material of choice for their laptops in an effort to keep pricing low. The Z560 0914-3YU ups the design ante with a plastic resin exterior that sports a patterned design on its lid, and adds a brushed metal interior. The chiclet-style keyboard has keys that are curved so that they cradle your fingers as you type. Lenovo managed to squeeze a compact numeric keypad onto the keyboard, a boon for number crunchers. The function keys double as media controls (play/pause and skip), so you can easily command your music or video on the fly. You can also adjust the brightness and volume by pressing the key combination Fn + arrow up, down (for brightness) and right, left (for volume). In the top right, above the keyboard, there's a touch bar that has a mute, "one-key theatre" (adjusts the PC's display and sounds effect settings when watching a movie or playing a game), "smart noise control" (controls fan speed and if button is touched and held down it activates dust cleaning feature), and "energy management" buttons. The mouse pad has a raised texture, which may or may not appeal to you, but I found it to be quite pleasant. The mouse buttons had just the right amount of resistance and were virtually silent when clicked.

The 15.6-inch screen provides 1,366 by 768 resolution (720p), which isn't quite True 1080p HD, but only videophiles will notice the difference. It weighs 5.4 pounds, so it's not as cumbersome to lug around as a larger desktop replacement, like the HP Pavilion dv7-4281cl ($999 list, 4 stars) (7lbs). Its weight is average for its class when compared with other 15.6-inch laptops, like the Sony VAIO VPC-EB33FM/BJ (5.3lbs), MSI P600-019US ($723 street, 3.5 stars) (5.3lbs), and Samsung R540-11 ($999 street, 4 stars) (5.2lbs).

Features
There are plenty of connectivity options on this laptop. Ports include, Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 ports, eSATA/USB combo, 5-in-1 card reader, and audio jacks. There's a case lock included on the side of the laptop to tether your unit down with a Kensington's ClickSafe to help prevent theft. There's also a DVD drive to play your movies or install games, though most of that is going digital nowadays. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel Webcam for video chatting and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. The 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive will provide you with plenty of space to store your files and other media. However, if you're looking for a faster hard drive the HP Pavilion dv7-4283cl's 500GB 7,200rpm will provide, but if your price is fixed at $700, good luck finding a faster one for that price.

Bloatware is a scourge that can drive any laptop down, no matter how good its part. I'm of the mind that manufacturers should show consumers where to download applications, but shouldn't force it upon them right after the first start up. A few of the programs I encountered were the Bing Bar, CyberLink YouCam, ooVoo (a video calling app), and Veriface (an option that uses your face to log you in, but it's slow). Upon starting up the computer there's also an obnoxious Lenovo Smile Icon that is supposed to help access certain programs easier/faster, but it tends to just take up space. Between this program and the Veriface app, it slowed down startup time dramatically.

Performance
The Z560 0914-3YU comes with a 2.67GHz Intel Core i5-480M processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. The combination helped it score a respectable 5,800 on our PCMark Vantage benchmark test for overall computing. The Dell Inspiron 17R-1695MRB ($799.98, 4 stars), which sports the same processor, scored 261 point more; but that's not a huge difference in real-world settings.

The Z560 0914-3YU took 2 minutes 45 seconds to complete our Handbrake video encoding test, whereas the Dell 17R-1695MRB took 6 seconds less. The Z560 0914-3YU continued to tail the Dell 17R-1695MRB closely, scoring and mere fractions of a point less and just seconds slower in Cinebench R11.5 (2.23 and Photoshop CS5 4:46), respectively. It would take more than a few seconds to make a real difference in real-world standards.

The laptop lacked any kind of 3D gaming performance, but that's to be expected, its integrated graphics. If you're looking to get in some gaming, the HP dv7-4231cl's discrete Radeon 6370 GPU can easily eat up Starcraft II, but may have a bit of difficulty on higher-end games like Crysis (29fps) and Lost Planet 2 (18fps).

The Z560 0914-3YU's 48Wh (6-cell) lasted 4 hours 28 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 battery test. That was on the lower end of the spectrum when compared with other 15.6-inch laptops, like the MSI P600-019US with its 86Wh battery (6:23) and Asus U52F-BBL9 with its 63Wh battery (5:52)0—mainly due to its small Wh battery.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 0914-3YU is par for the course when it comes to performance, and its 15.6-inch screen makes it a wonderful productivity machine for multitaskers. But a small battery and bloatware bog down this laptop for achieving a better score. If you have a big bankroll, the MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) (4 stars) is our current Editors' Choice in the desktop replacement category, but $2,199 is a bit much. For a more reasonable price, the Samsung R540-11 and Sony VAIO VPC-EB33FM/BJ offer more features for a sub-$1,000 price tag.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
Check out the test scores for the Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 0914-3YU

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 0914-3YU with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews: