Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p

Bottom line

An absolute multimedia powerhouse, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p dominates its class. It's thick and heavy, but that's because it packs everything you need for gaming, photos, videos and more.

Performance

A multimedia powerhouse. For serious gaming, heavy video and photo editing, and Blu-ray movie watching, the Y510p never breaks a sweat. Top-of-the-line internals -- including the latest Intel Core i7 Haswell CPU and up to two Nvidia GeForce GT750M GPUs -- allow it to easily crush like-priced rivals in benchmark tests.

For gaming, you'll still get faster frame rates from pricier gaming laptops, but the dual-graphics version of the Y510p (Est. $1,100 and up) holds its own at Laptop Magazine. It blazes through "World of Warcraft" on Ultra settings, although testers have to dial down the graphics on "Bioshock Infinite." Battery life is short, though, despite the power-sipping Haswell chip. Laptop testers eke out just over 3 hours of Wi-Fi web surfing.

Ergonomics

Swappable UltraBay. It's chunkier than most laptops these days, but the 6-pound, 1.4-inch-thick Y510p packs some features you won't find on thinner models. Chief among them is the very versatile UltraBay, a swappable drive that lets you reconfigure the Y510p at will. The base model comes with a DVD burner, but you can slide in a Blu-ray Disc drive, a second hard drive, an extra cooling fan or the second GPU that's included with some configurations. There's a typically great red-backlit Lenovo keyboard and full-size multi-touch clickpad, but the lack of a touch screen disappoints reviewers.

Design

Outstanding HD screen, speakers. The Lenovo Y510p looks pretty plain on the outside, critics say, with just an unadorned black brushed-aluminum lid and matching plastic bottom. Inside, however, the keyboard's keys add flair with red sides and red backlighting. While the base model gets a lower-res 15.6-inch display that's 1,366 by 768 pixels, the step-up version tested by experts has a 1,080p HD screen that's bright, crisp and vivid, with nice wide viewing angles. It's glossy but controls glare quite well, and the JBL speakers are loud and clear, testers say.

Support & reliability

Dependable laptops, but use the phone for tech support. Three different professional sources describe the Lenovo as "sturdy" and "rock-solid." "Exemplary build quality," raves ComputerShopper.com. Lenovo always ranks as one of the most reliable laptop brands in PCMag.com's annual reader survey, but if you have a tech-support question, a phone call is your best bet. Lenovo phone techs answer Laptop Magazine staffers' anonymous questions quickly and correctly, but queries submitted via Facebook and Twitter don't always get a fast or accurate response.

Value

"A steal." The Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p packs lots of goodies -- including a full-HD screen, optional dual graphics, great speakers, comfy keyboard and rock-solid build -- at a very reasonable price. "Put simply, this system is a steal," says Laptop Magazine, where it's named an Editors' Choice. The trade-offs are bulk and battery life. If you need something more portable, try the runner-up Asus Zenbook UX51VZ (Est. $1,870 and up) or 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Est. $1,500 and up) for multimedia use, or the svelte Razer Blade (Est. $1,800 and up) for serious gaming.