We were certainly very happy with the Lenovo’s noise levels. After an initial whir of startup activity, the fans are whisper quiet. In fact, the only noise we noticed was when accessing data on the hard disk, so if you intend to replace an office-worth of PCs with a set of J105 systems you’ll have a very grateful workforce.
They should also be pretty pleased with the mouse and keyboard. While HP bundles a non-optical model, Lenovo opts for optical technology. The keyboard is up to the high standard we’ve come to expect, with minimal rattle and a pleasant feel. There’s no monitor bundled, but this is no bad thing. By shopping around at time of purchase, you’ll be able to pick up a batch of bargain 17in TFTs that severely undercut the price of Lenovo’s own.
Overall, it’s a strong offering. If you’re looking for a very basic system, the lowest-spec J105 costs just £220 and our review system hits a very sweet spot in terms of spec-for-buck – the HP only includes an 80GB hard disk and a combo drive for £319. Despite this, there isn’t quite enough to knock the dx5150 off the A List: we prefer the HP’s small form factor and it includes XP Professional rather than Lenovo’s choice of Home Edition. But if you like the sound of Lenovo Care, the J105 is an excellent alternative.
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