Lenovo G550 laptop

A couple of days ago I bought two Lenovo G550 laptops – one for me, one for my wife.  After spending a day browsing all the online shops and driving around all computer outlets in the city, I decided that this is the best option available.

Specifications: Dual-core 2Ghz Intel CPU, 15.6 inch glossy screen (WXGA, maximum resolution 1366×768), 4 GB of RAM, 250 GB hard disk, a bunch of USB ports, HDMI out, DVD writer, WiFi, and all the standard stuff, weighting at around 2.7 kilograms. Battery life is around 4 hours. Price: 500 EUR + 15% VAT = 575 EUR.

Both machines are running Linux (Fedora 12) already, even though they were coming with some Windows pre-installed.  I wouldn’t know which one since I haven’t even booted into that once.  Fedora Linux installation was straight-forward and everything worked, except for the wireless networking, which needs an extra step to enable those Broadcom drivers.  Gladly, the required step is widely covered in the blogosphere. – basically, enable RPM Fusion yum repository, install kmod-wl package, and reboot your machine.

Everything is working find and I really enjoy the laptop, except for a few things that annoy me with its keyboard.  The layout is somewhat weird.  First of all, I am not used to having a number pad on a laptop keyboard.  But that’s OK – if there is space, then why not, right?  Well, there is space, but I think it would have been utilized better for Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys.  As they are now, PgUp and PgDn are located next to navigation arrow keys and Home/End keys are only accessible through a Fn key, which is really strange.  On top of that, Insert and Delete keys are in a different part of the keyboard – on top of the Backspace key.  And while I don’t use Caps Lock all that often, some people will notice that Caps Lock indicator is missing, as well as NumLock and ScrollLock.  What can I say?  That’s one weird keyboard layout.

Other than that though there is nothing that I can complain about.  The machine is nice and cool and pleasant to use.  My wife seems to enjoy it as well.

19 thoughts on “Lenovo G550 laptop”


    1. I am using ubuntu 11.04 on this laptop. I have audio output through hdmi. You need to choose the output in the hardware tab of the sound preferences.


    1. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 with this laptop. As Chris mentions, there is no audio out of the HDMI port. I believe it is because Ubuntu currently does not do HDMI audio. It’s still under development.


  1. i bought i new lenovo g550 notebook but the CD icon is missing in my computer. when i put a CD in it doesn’t even show. can u help me restore it back.


  2. Hi Leonid – I bought the G550 8 days ago. Mine has a 320GB hdd. But I also have the caps light working fine. I wonder y urs doesn't. It's next to the power on and restore button and on it's left is the num lock indicator. I do agree the keyboard layout is weird – but I'm only used to desktop keyboards. This is my first laptop. The only complaints I have is the tacky look & feel of the material used for the palm rest and the touch pad mouse. I bought a USB mouse and I prefer it.


  3. Hi ,
    I bought my g550 with the same config mentioned above which came with windows 7.
    Every thing is working fine except my usb mouse.
    I have change 2 Usb mouses till now which just worked only for one day
    And I am vexed up with those usb mouses and gone for bluetooth moude Enter brand made in hongkong
    It just worked again for only one day.
    I am almost shocked if some cat is inside my laptop
    Please let me know which external mouse are you all using comfortaly


    1. That’s a personal preference over a few years of experience. I’ve worked in a few considerably-sized companies, where we bought plenty of laptops over the years. I was involved with the technical support – installations, configurations, maintenance, etc. Through that experience I came to a conclusion that there are only two brands that I trust for laptop, desktop, and server hardware – IBM/Lenovo and HP.


    1. The print screen button is in the top row of the keyboard, just above the backspace key on my model


  4. Hi Leonid, I bought a G550 18 months ago in Berlin and while it has a German keyboard…I’ve got used to it (I’m not German).
    It’s called a Notebook, not Laptop, hence the number pad.
    For info RE: the keys you mentioned above…You have most of them in double.
    On the number pad – with the Num lock OFF – 1=End, 7=Home, 9=Pg Up and 3=Pg down.
    The Caps lock light is top left of the keyboard just above the F3 key and on its right is the Cap lock light.
    Hope this helps.
    I really like mine too – ‘cept the speakers are pretty poor for music so headphones or external speakers make all the difference.
    Only other 2down” thing is that I’ve just loaded Windows 7 Ultimate and it has really slowed it down. But for another €25 you can up the RAM from its 1 giga to 3 gigas and that should solve that one.
    Enjoy!
    Stephen King


  5. I’m trying to find the model number 4 numbers 3 letters I have torn this thing apart basically still have no idea where it is. I need a screen replacement for it.

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