Ideapad Z580-2151-28U for $599
Update 8/8/2012 – The deal has expired and the prices have shot up to $749. We hope that compare-processors.com readers enjoyed the deal buster posts. We encourage everyone to post their experience with this notebook in the comment section below.
Staples is one of the favorite shops that often gives good deals and a great shopping experience. Anyone who has visited Staples must have observed this feeling – they have less obstrusive sales person ( very unlike the best buy).
The Ideapad Z580-2151-28U at $599 is one of the best deals as of the first week of August 2012.
The key specifications include Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M and an 8 GB memory. The quick details of the processor is here.
Table : Core i5-3210M Features and Specs
| Feature | Core i5-3210M |
| Core Frequency | 2.5 GHz |
| No. Of Cores | 2/4 Hyperthreads |
| Cache Organization | 3 MB L3 |
| Turbo Frequency | 3.10 GHz |
| TDP Rating | 35 Watts |
| 64 Bit Support | Y |
| Lithography | 22 nm |
| Integrated Memory Controller | DDR3-1600, DDR3L-1333 |
| Integrated Graphics | HD 4000, 650 MHz Base, 1100 MHz Turbo |
The Core i5-3210M belongs to the Ivy Bridge series and can be categorized as mid to high end notebook processor with base clock of 2.5 GHz and maximum Turbo clock of and 3.1 GHz. Architectural improvement provides 10% performance advantage over the similarly clocked Sandy bridge processors. We also get native support for PCI Express 3.0 and USB 2.0
The integrated graphics get a much greater improvement with HD Graphics 4000. We also have a faster video encode with a better Quick Sync. Apple uses this processor in its Macbook Pro line of notebooks.
I just bought one for my daughter and also received $100 credit because of her school. At $499 – it is one of the best laptops around – I think.