Lenovo offers two versions of its Essential line of lower-priced laptops. The B series is described as "budget laptops for working at home or at the office," while the G series is pitched as "everyday laptops at a great price." What that means in practical terms isn't entirely clear, as the B and G Essential laptops we've checked out use the same Intel Core i5 2410M processor and have the same amount of RAM and hard-drive capacity, they just have different screen sizes and some design differences. Here we'll focus on the Essential G570.
Lenovo Essential G570
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Once you get into the $600-to-$800 range, the field gets very crowded, especially for midsize laptops. Lenovo's pitch for this line, that you can get the company's legendary quality for less than usual, falls a bit flat because these Essential systems definitely feel lower-quality without having dramatically lower prices.
The biggest selling point of the Essential G570 is that it's currently $579 (allegedly discounted from $749). A roughly comparable 15-inch ThinkPad is $869, while a 15-inch Core i5 IdeaPad is $699. That is a significant discount, but we'd be inclined to pay the extra $100 to move up to the excellent IdeaPad line. Still, note that a similar basic Core i5 laptop from Dell or Hewlett-Packard starts at around $700, making the Essential line one of the least expensive options for an entry-level Core i5 midsize laptop.