Review: Lenovo A63
Friday, April 23, 2010 by Mike Bertolino Over the last few month I have had the pleasure of using the Lenovo A63 as my main computer. There are a few things I like about this rig, and a few things I don't. Full Disclosure: This was out on long term loan and is going to be given out to one lucky HackCollege reader in a giveaway to be decided on later. Woo, now let's get into this machine.
You could have this! Image courtesy Lenovo.
Pros
After putting this computer through the paces of the daily college routine for about a month there are a bunch of things that make this small business workstation work for students, but I'm just going to talk about a few. First, it's pretty powerful. Second, it's pretty quiet and third, the screens are effing huge!
I graded the power of this AMD-powered computer by how little it interfered with my ability to get things done. The 2.90 GHz processor with 2.00 GB RAM were able to fuel my daily computing needs. My needs are usually, streaming movies or TV shows, blogging for our dear HackCollege, and doing homework on Google Docs. I can do all of those things at the same time, without the computer heating up.
Another thing I really liked about this tower is how quiet it is. It's nearly silent. This is crucial if you are living in a dorm room. While most laptops tend to be quiet, it's hard to say the same for desktop computers. If you were to tuck this baby away you wouldn't know it's there. I can't even remember a time when the fan went crazy or anything.
Finally, the two monitors that came with the A63 are absolutely gorgeous. The two of the are each 22.5 inches on the diagonal and forced me to change my pants a few times throughout the review process. Streaming movies and television shows were so nice to watch. Also, they are extremely energy efficient. So If you are living in apartment off campus and are in charge of your own electric bill, having a green screen (see what I did there) would bring your bill down a bit.
Cons
There were a few things that, being a college student, didn't help me as much as I thought it would have been. As much as a I love the two screens and the keyboard, they are... ahem... too big.
The two screens took over my desk, leaving little room for my alarm clock, tissues and other personal effects. If you are cramped for space in a dorm room, forking over the cash for a workstation like this is not in your best interest.
As far as the keyboard and mouse go, they didn't fit in the drawer under my desk, so it was a bit of hassle trying to work the both of them. It's possible that like having two large screens, could take some getting used to.
The Verdict
I'd say take this review, like any review online, with a grain of salt. Know what your needs are, and if this product matches what you do with your major, or in your spare time I'd say buy it. But don't buy this if you are in a dorm and it's not imperative that you have this computing power or screen real estate.
Do you want the Lenovo A63? How would you use it? Comment below to share or connect with me on Twitter!
Reader Comments (8)
I'm soon moving to New York, to begin a PhD program in Biomedical Sciences. I'm also getting married, and that means two people in a small, small space (it's going to be wonderful, but certainly cramped). Neither of us owns a desktop computer at the moment, instead we have rapidly aging laptops. With a solid, powerful, quiet desktop like this one, and two new iPads (on the wedding registry, fingers crossed) we'd be absolutely set to be connected at school, and have a powerful machine for more computer-intensive tasks (and Hulu watching, on those massive screens). This computer would make an already exciting couple of months exponentially more awesome!
Also: great blog Mike. The wired student revolution is totally happening!
I'm currently a junior at CWU, in Ellensburg, WA. The information you guys present on Hack College is awesome. The mix of social activities and academic pursuits is something that is a big draw. I Dj at the campus radio station and have plugged some of your articles in past shows. I'm currently using an outdated compaq laptop and would love the oppurtunity to get a hold of a desktop. Keep up the awesonme work. Also how did you set up the cult of less? I am looking to sell some things and think this is an awesome idea. Cheers.
I'm a junior Chemistry major at a public university in Georgia. The field of pharmacy is my ultimate career goal and I'm well on my way there, but I've always had a deep interest in computers. In fact, my hobby recently landed me a job as a computer technician at my local IT store.
I'd be more than happy to take that Lenovo off your hands and beef up the specs a little bit. Maybe it'll actually motivate me to start my long time goal of learning some web development languages on my break this summer. And I'd have the chance to play the one or two PC games that I've had my eyes on. There's also a high chance that I'd pass this Lenovo down to my FOUR younger sisters at home in the next few years, as the HP desktop they use is fast approaching its end.
Thanks for reading.
I am in graduate school at the University of Alabama and would be more than happy to take this computer off your hands. Main typical use would be streaming YouTube/hulu, working on excel spreadsheets, and writing papers. I love the dual monitor effect as it would be easy to work on papers or spreadsheets one one screen and have my reference on the other screen, or YouTube!
@Joe
You might be the first person in history to add the iPad to your wedding registry :)
@Kelly
No kidding! But, we figured we could do with less Kitchenaid mixers, and more Plants vs. Zombies HD in our lives
I'm desperate for a computer.
I'm a Chemical Engineering junior at UCSB, which means that I program a lot to do calculations. At the moment, I head to the computer labs to work with my USB stick. When the lab is closed, however, I'm forced to work on it using my broken laptop from junior year in high school.
It takes 10 minutes to turn on - it often freezes when doing calculations.
What's more, it's also not even a laptop: it is connected to a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor, because all of these do not work on the laptop (water damage that broke my heart freshman year).
I've been trying to buy a new computer for a while. But I'd always put it on the Shopping Cart and go to the Check Out page, and never have the courage to press Confirm. Like most college students, my bank is constantly broke after paying for rent and food. I'd be really stoked if I were to get one for free.
Thanks for the review :) Coming from aomeone who always enables the zoom function on my laptop, I love that the screens are so large.