31 August 2014

from Argos stores : Lenovo H500S Desktop PC Tower : novice review

Lenovo H500s Lenovo H500s
Lenovo H500s Lenovo H500s
Lenovo H500S Desktop PC Tower from Argos (UK)
Price at time : £199

Quick verdict : 
Verdict : Good buy
Great computer for internet surfing and watching online videos. Fast start up and everything opens quick. Webpages load quick and so do videos without buffering when watching. A great value buy.

Downside :
No inbuilt WIFI ?
No inbuilt bluetooth ?  
Seems to be no HDMI slot (for those concerned, not me)  Wish there were more USB slots on the front panel but not a big issue.

Spec (on this computer I bought. August 2014, using Belarc Advisor to check spec) :

Computer Model : LENOVO 10157 Lenovo H500s
Processor chip : 2.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium J2900
RAM installed : 4GB
Operating System : Windows 8.1
500GB Hard Drive
DVD drive
Intel HD Graphics

USB inputs : 6 inputs (2 at front, 4 at back including one for power supply)

USB 3 : one slot (seems to be top one at the back)
Bluetooth enabled but you need a dongle
Front panel includes card reader
HDMI slot : doesn't seem to be
Power supply : Independent Transformer which plugs into a USB slot

Noise : Almost silent.

Comment :
This is a great computer for general home surfing (using a cable to the router) including watching streamed video. It starts up quick and seems quick off the mark to each task. Webpages open quick including the likes of the Daily Mail front page which is quite full with images and shockwave ads etc. Using it to stream videos, sites such as youtube, BBC player etc loaded quick with usually no buffering while watching videos. Even using a video editor it kept up to speed, which my previous computers of the same price range could not (last computer was 2 years old). The hard disk doesn't seem to get 'confused' like on my older computers. I would say this is the first computer that has met my expectations, me being someone who has always bought 'entry level' computers. I would prefer if there were more USB slots at the front but I use an extension cable and put in a USB multi-connector anyhow. It has a DVD drive but I doubt I will use it. I have seen it listed as having an HDMI slot but I can't see such a slot. It does have a card reader at the front. The power supply is a separate transformer which then plugs into a USB port. I guess this means you have 5 USB ports left. It does not have a WIFI router installed but it works fine with any router cable connected. It's bluetooth enabled but you need a dongle.

Verdict :
Great value buy for most general home users

Updates :
Oct 2014 : Still a great buy after 2 months use

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