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Pros
Pantalla grande y brillante de 2560 x 1600
Excelente conectividad inalámbrica y por cable
Altavoces potentes
Rendimiento sólido
Contras
Diseño sin destacar
Teclado y touchpad mejorables
Calidad de la webcam
Nuestro veredictoPuede que Google haya acabado con Stadia, pero los Chromebooks para juegos siguen existiendo, y el IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook de Lenovo demuestra que la plataforma merece la pena en el área gaming.
Mejores precios hoy: Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming ChromebookTienda
Precio
$538.40
Ver oferta
La decisión de Google de asociarse con fabricantes de portátiles para crear Chromebooks para juegos no podría haber llegado en peor momento. Los primeros modelos se lanzaron a finales de 2023, sólo unos meses antes de que Google cancelara Stadia, su servicio interno de juegos basado en la nube.
Esto podría parecer el fin de los Chromebooks para juegos antes de que hayan empezado. Pero el IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook de Lenovo demuestra que la idea todavía tiene recorrido. Desde la excepcional pantalla, hasta los potentes altavoces, este dispositivo tiene mucho que ofrecer. Aquí tienes nuestro análisis completo.
Diseño y construcción
Diseño sencillo y minimalista
Construcción ligeramente endeble
Buena selección de puertos
El IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook está construido para jugar con sólo mirarlo. El portátil está dotado con un exterior de material de plástico gris simple, confiando únicamente en una tira mate de contraste para animar un poco las cosas.
Tiene un diseño atractivo, pero tampoco llama demasiado la atención. Lenovo podría haberlo etiquetado fácilmente como un portátil educativo o de negocios sin ningún cambio en el diseño.
A juzgar por su aspecto, nunca sabrías que el IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook está hecho para jugar”
Aparte de su aspecto, el IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook es un dispositivo relativamente moderno. Presenta unos biseles impresionantemente finos alrededor de la pantalla, lo cual ayuda a mantener el tamaño general relativamente bajo para tratarse de un panel de formato 16:10 de 16 pulgadas.
El portátil mide poco más de 355 mm de ancho, 254 mm de profundidad y 20 mm de grosor. No es pequeño, pero sí más compacto que muchos de los portátiles de 15,6 pulgadas que salieron al mercado hace unos años.
Sin embargo, la calidad de construcción no es tan impresionante. Todas las superficies del portátil son de plástico (aunque la tapa parezca de metal) y hay una ligera flexión tanto en la tapa de la pantalla, como en la parte inferior del chasis.
Nada de esto es una sorpresa dado el precio del portátil, pero los competidores de Lenovo pueden hacerlo mejor. El Acer Chromebook 516 GE, por ejemplo, ofrece un chasis parcialmente de aluminio que a muchos les resultará más lujoso.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Este Chromebook se inclina hacia USB-C con dos puertos que admiten tanto la carga rápida Power Delivery, como el modo alternativo DisplayPort para conectarse a pantallas externas. Cualquiera de los dos se puede utilizar para la carga, la transferencia de datos, o la entrada de vídeo a un monitor.
También se incluyen un par de puertos USB-A para usar con dispositivos cableados más antiguos. Un lector de tarjetas MicroSD y un conector de audio de 3,5 mm completan las opciones. Es una buena oferta a la que tan solo habríamos añadido un puerto HDMI completo.
Teclado y trackpad
Teclado de tamaño completo
Teclado numérico separado
Buen desplazamiento, pero no el más táctil
Trackpad pequeño pero sensible
Lenovo aprovecha bien todo el tamaño del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook para desplegar un teclado tremendamente espacioso. Junto a todas las teclas normales, tienes un teclado numérico separado en el lado derecho.
Hay mucho recorrido de tecla y espacio para escribir cómodamente, pero las teclas parecen un poco blandas y no particularmente táctiles. Sin embargo, la fila especial de teclas de función de Google Chromebook están todas ahí, proporcionando un acceso rápido a funciones como el volumen, el brillo y la actualización del navegador web.
IDG / Matthew Smith
La retroiluminación del teclado es una característica clásica de los portátiles para juegos, aunque aquí es un poco más limitada. Puedes personalizar el color de la retroiluminación a través de los ajustes de Chrome OS, pero sólo hay un puñado de colores o una opción de arco iris predefinida.
Aún así, es una gran característica dado el precio del portátil. La mayoría en este rango de precios se quedan con una retroiluminación de teclado blanca y sin personalización del color.
Hay mucho recorrido y espacio para escribir cómodamente, pero las teclas son un poco blandas y no especialmente táctiles”
Justo debajo del teclado principal hay un modesto touchpad. Mide 114,3 mm de ancho por 50 mm de profundidad, lo que es definitivamente en el lado más pequeño. Aunque responde bien y nunca parece estrecho, se agradecería un poco más de espacio.
También notarás que el touchpad está significativamente desplazado hacia el lado izquierdo en un esfuerzo por mantenerlo centrado debajo de la barra espaciadora. Los usuarios con manos grandes deben tener cuidado, ya que esto puede significar que su mano izquierda termine fuera del lado del reposamanos.
Personalmente, prefiero el enfoque del Acer Chromebook 516 GE, que prescinde por completo del teclado numérico para centrarse en un panel táctil y un teclado centrados. Tu opinión variará dependiendo de cuánto valoras la presencia del teclado numérico.
Pantalla, sonido y webcam
Sólida pantalla LCD IPS de 16 pulgadas a 120 Hz
Altavoces impresionantes
La calidad de la webcam 720p podría ser mejor
El IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook es uno de los dispositivos ChromeOS más grandes que se pueden comprar, con una pantalla de 16 pulgadas y relación de aspecto 16:10.
Mientras que el modelo básico tiene un panel de 1920 x 1200 con una tasa de refresco de 60 Hz, el que he probado lo mejora a 2560 x 1600 y 120 Hz. Ambos son LCD IPS en lugar de OLED, pero tienen un acabado antirreflejos y sin brillo.
Por desgracia, la calidad de imagen es mediocre. Aunque los colores son atractivos y el brillo máximo es razonable (350 nits), la relación de contraste de la pantalla no es nada impresionante y resta profundidad y dramatismo a la imagen. Las escenas oscuras a menudo se ven ligeramente borrosas, con sombras carentes de detalle.
A pesar de estos defectos, la pantalla del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook es una mejora sobre la mayoría de portátiles baratos, como el Acer Nitro 5 y el Asus TUF Gaming A15. Los portátiles gaming Windows de este rango de precios tienden a tener una gama de colores peor y apagada, y un ratio de contraste aún más bajo.
La frecuencia de refresco de 120 Hz del Lenovo es otra ventaja sobre la competencia. Se muestra muy fluida en los juegos, pero también mejora la experiencia visual del día a día. El desplazamiento es fluido, mientras que el movimiento por las aplicaciones y las páginas web es muy sensible.
Aunque la pantalla es una ventaja, hay un gran inconveniente: no todos los servicios de juego en la nube admiten una resolución de 2.560 x 1.600 a 120 Hz. Hasta donde yo sé, Nvidia GeForce Now y Shadow Blade son los únicos servicios disponibles que admiten esta resolución y frecuencia de actualización.
El portátil soporta otros servicios de streaming de juegos, pero la imagen en estos puede parecer más suave de lo que cabría esperar.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Aparte de los juegos, la pantalla se ve muy bien al navegar por la web o escribir documentos. Su imagen nítida y brillante reproduce las fuentes finas con una claridad sobresaliente, mientras que la capa antirreflejos elimina los bordes de la luz. El tamaño y la alta relación de aspecto de la pantalla también ofrecen espacio de sobra para la multitarea.
Hay más noticias buenas en lo que respecta al audio: los altavoces integrados del portátil son excelentes para su precio. Están orientados hacia arriba, lo que significa que el sonido no está amortiguado en absoluto, y combinan una buena separación estéreo con una pizca de fuerza en música y películas.
El rango medio todavía puede ser mejorable y el volumen es simplemente adecuado, pero los altavoces están un peldaño por encima de la mayoría de Chromebooks y portátiles Windows de precio similar.
Los altavoces están por encima de la mayoría de Chromebooks y portátiles Windows de precio similar”
Encima de la pantalla hay una webcam básica de 720p. El brillo y los colores son aceptables, pero el vídeo tiende a verse suave y falto de detalle. Sin embargo, aquellos que se preocupan por la privacidad, estarán contentos de ver la inclusión de un obturador de privacidad físico que puede bloquear completamente la cámara.
La calidad del micrófono está por encima de la media, con buen volumen y claridad. Es incapaz de bloquear muchos ruidos de fondo fuertes o consistentes, pero los sonidos menores u ocasionales no son un problema. Sin embargo, merece la pena señalar que el obturador físico no desactiva el micrófono.
Desafortunadamente, el inicio de sesión biométrico (con tu huella dactilar o cara) no es una opción en este Chromebook. Pero eso no es una sorpresa, ya que no muchos Chromebooks optan por incluir esta característica. En su lugar, tendrás que utilizar un PIN o una contraseña a la antigua usanza.
Especificaciones y rendimiento
CPU Intel Core i5-1235U
Mucha RAM y almacenamiento
Excelente rendimiento en juegos en la nube
El IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook está equipado con el procesador Core i5-1235U de Intel, una CPU de la gama de 12ª generación que llegó en 2023. Con 10 núcleos (dos de rendimiento y ocho de eficiencia), es un procesador modesto comparado con los portátiles gaming Windows, pero extremadamente potente para un Chromebook.
Lenovo tampoco ha comprometido otras especificaciones de rendimiento. Tienes 8 GB de RAM y un SSD de 512 GB.
Eso es excelente para un Chromebook, incluso 256 GB deberían ser suficientes para la mayoría de la gente. En mi experiencia, un SSD de 256 GB en un Chromebook es similar a una unidad de 1 TB en un portátil con Windows, ya que el espacio de almacenamiento reducido se compensa con el hecho de que la mayoría de las aplicaciones (incluidos los juegos), se ejecutan en la nube.
Estos son los resultados benchmark del Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook en cinco pruebas de rendimiento basadas en navegadores.
CrXPRT 2: 184
Velocímetro: 124
Basemark Web 3.0: 1193
Kraken 502.7
Jetstream 2: 211,928
Estas son puntuaciones altas que compiten con otros Chromebooks recientes con procesadores Intel Core i5, como el Acer Chromebook Vero 514 y el Framework Laptop Chromebook. El Lenovo con procesador Intel está un poco por delante del Acer Chromebook Spin 514 con procesador AMD Ryzen en la mayoría de las pruebas, aunque los resultados del benchmark están muy cerca en general.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 no está diseñado para jugar, pero sigue siendo un competidor clave
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
¿Qué hay de los juegos? Los juegos instalados en el Chromebook no se ejecutan bien – o en absoluto. Los juegos de Android están técnicamente disponibles a través de Google Play Store utilizando la emulación de Android, pero los títulos exigentes están fuera de cuestión.
Durante las pruebas, Call of Duty: Mobile se bloqueó inmediatamente y me devolvió al escritorio. Genshin Impact se inicia bien y es vagamente jugable, pero tiene un aspecto terrible y es de todo menos fluido. Asphalt 8 es lo bastante fluido para jugar, pero tiene problemas de tartamudeo que restan valor a la experiencia.
Sin embargo, el juego en la nube es otra historia. El IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook puede transmitir cómodamente casi cualquier título de juego en la nube con una resolución máxima de 2560 x 1600 y una frecuencia de actualización de 120 Hz.
Usando el nivel Ultimate de Nvidia GeForce Now (19,99 € al mes), que proporciona acceso a hardware de clase RTX 4080, ejecuté Cyberpunk2077 a 136 fps. Esto fue con los ajustes Ultra detalle y Ultra trazado de rayos activados, además de DLSS 3 activado.
Y lo que es aún más impresionante, lo hice desde una habitación situada a 15 metros con varias paredes de distancia del router de casa, por lo que dependía totalmente de la potencia de la señal wifi.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Es un resultado asombroso. Habría que gastarse miles de euros para obtener un rendimiento similar en un portátil con Windows que jugara localmente.
También me sorprendió la solidez del adaptador Wifi del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook en esta situación. Es un escenario difícil, ya que el rango entre el router y el Chromebook resulta en solo 90 Mbps de ancho de banda y latencia irregular, pero el juego se sentía sin problemas.
¿La pega? Tendrás que pagar una cuota mensual para acceder a cualquier servicio de juego en la nube. También estarás limitado a una selección más reducida de juegos compatibles. Pero si puedes hacer frente a estas limitaciones, el juego en la nube en este Chromebook es una experiencia fantástica.
Jugar en la nube en este Chromebook es una experiencia fantástica”
La conectividad es impresionante, ya que el portátil es compatible tanto con Bluetooth 5.1, como con el último estándar WiFi 6E (en el momento de escribir estas líneas). Eso es importante para un Chromebook de juegos – mientras que WiFi 6 es más que capaz de manejar los juegos en la nube, el ancho de banda extra nunca es una mala cosa.
Me alegra saber que el portátil es compatible con Bluetooth 5.1 y WiFi 6E, que es el último estándar. Esto es importante para un Chromebook de juegos. La velocidad de WiFi 6 es capaz de gestionar juegos en la nube, pero un ancho de banda extra nunca viene mal.
WiFi 6E también tiene una banda adicional de 6 GHz que puede mejorar la fiabilidad de la red si tienes numerosos dispositivos conectados. Sin embargo, necesitarás un router compatible para aprovecharlo.
Duración de la batería
Capacidad de 71 Wh
Impresionante duración de la batería
El Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook incluye una gran batería de 71 Wh en su gran chasis. Es una gran capacidad para tratarse de un Chromebook, y merece la pena cuando estás lejos de la corriente de carga durante mucho tiempo.
Usando el test de duración de batería CrXPT 2, registré unas muy alentadoras 15 horas y 56 minutos. Es un gran resultado, superando a portátiles de la talla del Acer Chromebook Vero 514, Acer Chromebook Spin 514 y Framework Chromebook Laptop.
La duración de la batería es un punto fuerte del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook”
Sigue siendo un gran salto con respecto a los portátiles para juegos de Windows, que a menudo luchan por alcanzar las cinco horas de duración de la batería con una sola carga. La duración de la batería es uno de los puntos fuertes del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook.
Precio y disponibilidadEl precio del IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook parte de un precio para la configuración aquí analizada de 699 € con procesadores de última generación y la resolución FullHD soportada con el panel IPS antireflectante que integra.
Esto lo convierte en un Chromebook de gama alta sin llegar a ser un portátil caro, pero en uno de los portátiles para juegos más asequibles que se pueden comprar.
Su rival más obvio es el Acer Chromebook 516 GE (desde 999 €), mientras que el Acer Chromebook Vero 514 (más económico) no está diseñado para juegos, pero podrás ejecutarlos a través de la nube.
VeredictoEl IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook es un Chromebook impresionante, tanto para abordar tareas de productividad diaria, como para jugar en la nube. Hay mucho que gusta aquí, incluyendo una pantalla brillante y nítida, buen rendimiento, gran conectividad y excelente duración de la batería.
Lenovo ha hecho algunos sacrificios de diseño, sin embargo, mientras que el teclado y la webcam no son los mejores.
Por muy bueno que sea este dispositivo, el Chromebook 516 GE de Acer ofrece una experiencia de juego ligeramente más completa. Pero la mayoría de la gente será feliz con cualquier dispositivo, y el IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook es una buena segunda opción.
Especificaciones
Pantalla de 16 pulgadas y ratio 16: 10
Procesador Intel Core i5-1235U
Memoria: 8 GB
Gráficos/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
Resolución de pantalla de 2560 x 1600
Almacenamiento: 512 GB SSD
Cámara web 720p con IR
Conectividad: 2x USB-C con Power Delivery y DisplayPort 1.4, 2x USB-A, 1x lector de tarjetas microSD, 1x conector de audio combinado de 3,5 mm
Redes: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
Biometría: Ninguna
Batería de 71 Wh
Dimensiones de 356 x x 252 x 22 mm
Peso de 1,82 kg
You're reading Review Lenovo Ideapad 5 Gaming Chromebook
Lenovo Legion 5I Review: This Gaming Laptop Cranks The Rtx 3060 To 11
Pros
Good processor performance
RTX 3060 delivers in gaming
Excellent connectivity
Strong bang-for-the-buck
Cons
Uninspired design, mediocre build quality
RGB keyboard backlight looks dull
Mediocre display resolution and image quality
Short battery life
Our VerdictThe Lenovo Legion 5i makes the most of Nvidia’s RTX 3060, though its design may leave you wanting more.
Legion, Lenovo’s gaming sub-brand, is celebrating its five-year anniversary and its first half-decade has proven a success. Legion laptops are now strong competitors across a broad range of price points. The Legion 5i, a 15.6-inch gaming laptop, looks to push aside strong mid-range competitors such as Acer’s Nitro 5. Lenovo’s alternative delivers on performance and connectivity but still feels built to fit a tight budget. Let’s get right into it.
Lenovo Legion 5i specs and features
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H
Memory: 16GB DDR5
Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060
Display: 2560 x 1440 IPS 165Hz
Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 M.2 solid state drive
Webcam: 720p
Connectivity: 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with 135 watts Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio combo, power connector
Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
Biometrics: None
Battery capacity: 80 watt-hours
Dimensions: 14.13 x 10.33 x 0.79 inches
Weight: 5.3 pounds
MSRP: $1,549.99
Design and build qualityIDG / Matthew Smith
Lenovo’s Legion 5i embraces a sleek, handsome style that’s popular among numerous mid-range laptops. It measures about 0.8 inches thick, providing a somewhat thin profile, and weighs in at just 5.3 pounds. This puts it right in line with Acer’s Predator Triton 300 SE and Alienware’s X15 R2. The Legion 5i is slimmer than the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro and Acer Predator Helios 300.
The result is a design that looks professional and workmanlike. However, the laptop’s build quality doesn’t live up to expectations set by the design. I found flex in both the display lid and the lower chassis when handling the laptop roughly. To be clear, it’s not terrible: older gaming laptops were far more flimsy. Still, the lack of rigidity is obvious next to a premium laptop like the Razer Blade 15 or Lenovo’s own Legion 5 Pro.
Material quality is also unexceptional. The Legion 5i has metal panels along touch points but uses plastic on the lower chassis and surrounding the display. This is a fine way to cut costs, but it doesn’t feel luxurious or stand out from competitors.
The net result? You get what you pay for. The Legion 5i looks and feels fine for a mid-range gaming laptop but doesn’t stand out. There’s a noticeable difference between this laptop and Lenovo’s Legion 5 Pro, which I tested earlier this year. The Pro model is thicker and heavier but also feels more durable and rigid.
Keyboard and trackpadIDG / Matthew Smith
The Lenovo Legion 5i packs in a keyboard with numpad that makes aggressive use of the laptop’s interior space. Almost every inch of width is crammed with keys, providing a spacious layout. Most keys are full sized though a few, such as the Backspace, are on the small side. The numpad keys are also undersized, which is normal for all 15.6-inch (and most 16- and 17-inch laptops) that include a numpad. I found the layout comfortable and easy to use.
Key feel is acceptable but doesn’t stand out. Travel is acceptable but not long and keys bottom with a somewhat vague feel. Key action remains smooth, however, and rebounds nicely. Nitpicks aside, it’s a usable keyboard and on par with most gaming laptops.
An RGB keyboard backlight is included and allows color customization across four keyboard zones. Its settings are controlled through Lenovo’s Vantage software, which looks attractive and is easy to use. Backlight color is an issue, however, because some colors (red and yellow) appear too white or pastel. I noticed the same issue on Lenovo’s Legion 5 Pro.
The touchpad offers plenty of space, as it measures about five inches across and three inches deep. It’s much smaller than class leaders like the Corsair Voyager a1600 but on par with the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE and much larger than the Alienware X15 R2. Windows multi-touch gestures work well, making it easy to flip through open tabs or clear open windows from the desktop.
Display, audioIDG / Matthew Smith
The Lenovo Legion 5i I tested had a 2560×1440 165Hz IPS LCD display with a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz. Shoppers take note: this display may not be available on the model you’re considering, as the configuration I tested is only available through Costco. Most Legion 5i models have a 1920×1080 IPS LCD with the same 165Hz refresh rate.
This is a 16:9 aspect ratio display which, just a few years ago, was common. However, many laptops have switched to the taller 16:10 aspect ratio. The Legion 5i’s display feels a bit tight by comparison because it has less vertical display space. This may be disappointing if you want to use the laptop for content creation. It’s less important when gaming since most games target a 16:9 aspect ratio as the default.
Image quality has some strengths. The IPS LCD provides good color accuracy and looks vivid at its maximum brightness of 381 nits, which is much higher than its claimed maximum of 300 nits. Color accuracy is high and the color gamut covers the full sRGB color space, though only 80 percent of the larger DCI-P3 color space. The display’s 1440p resolution, which packs 188 pixels per inch, ensures the image looks sharp and crisp. These traits make for a lifelike and eye-catching image when displaying bright and colorful titles like Overwatch 2.
However, the display lacks contrast compared to laptops with OLED and Mini-LED displays such as the Asus Vivobook Pro OLED or Apple MacBook Pro. The Legion 5i can struggle with low-light details and shadows in dark games, like Diablo II: Resurrected, as well as gritty films like The Batman. With that said, most gaming laptops remain stuck on IPS LCD screens because they offer the highest refresh rates, so the Legion 5i’s display quality is on par with competitors.
The refresh rate can reach as high as 165Hz and, because of the laptop’s performance and 1440p resolution, that refresh rate is achievable in so-called “esports” titles like Counter-Strike and League of Legends. Motion clarity is good at high refresh rates but doesn’t stand out when framerates are lower. The laptop supports both G-Sync and Nvidia Optimus, providing smooth frame pacing in games and improving battery life (though Optimus runs into some issues, which I’ll discuss in the battery life section of this review).
The Legion 5i’s speakers aren’t great. They are downward-firing, which means audio quality and volume will change depending on the surface the laptop is on. Maximum volume is loud enough to provide some punch but also muddies the quality as thin bass creeps into the midrange and highs turn shrill. Audio quality is acceptable for gameplay or music at modest volume, but headphones will be desirable for more serious use.
Webcam, microphone, biometricsThe Lenovo Legion 5i has a 720p webcam. Video quality is grainy, soft, and dull, though fine for most video calls. An electronic privacy shutter is included and activated using a physical switch on the laptop’s right flank. Microphone quality is also mediocre. It provides good volume, but my voice was distant and hollow in recordings. The result is usable for video calls, however, so it does the job.
The Legion 5i doesn’t offer biometric options. Though a bit disappointing, this cut-costing measure is typical for a mid-range laptop.
ConnectivityIDG / Matthew Smith
The Lenovo Legion 5i offers a healthy dose of future-proof connectivity spanning two USB-C ports and one Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports. The rear USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 135 watts of Power Delivery, while left-flank USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 ports only offer DisplayPort Alternate Mode.
The rear USB-C port’s Power Delivery is notable because its maximum of 135 watts is much higher than competitors, which typically have a maximum of 90 to 95 watts (if they have it at all). This still isn’t enough to fully power the laptop under heavy load, as it comes with a 300-watt power adapter. However, it can provide reasonable charging speed and keep the laptop charged during light to medium use.
Lenovo doesn’t skimp on USB-A, either, providing three USB-A ports: one on the right flank and two around rear. The rear points are joined by HDMI-out, Ethernet, and the laptop’s power connector. The healthy selection of rear-facing port options will help with cable management when the laptop is docked on a desk.
Wireless connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. Support for Wi-Fi 6E, which is the latest Wi-Fi standard, ensures the laptop can provide great wireless performance when used with a Wi-Fi 6E router. Bluetooth 5.1 is a step behind the latest Bluetooth 5.2, and it’s a bit odd to see 5.2 is not supported. However, the features in Bluetooth 5.2 are minor and largely apply to Bluetooth audio.
PerformanceThe Lenovo Legion 5i I tested had an Intel Core i7-12700H. This is a 14-core, 20-thread processor that’s effectively standard issue for all new mid-range and some premium gaming laptops. It’s supported by an Nvidia RTX 3060 with a beefy maximum power of 140 watts. 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB PCIe solid state drive round out the spec sheet. The results shown in our graphs were achieved in the laptop’s standard “Balanced” power profile.
IDG / Matthew Smith
PCMark 10 starts the Lenovo Legion 5i off on the right foot. It achieves a combined score of 7,167, which is the third-best of this competitive set and a bit above the overall average for similar laptops. With that said, all of the laptops shown in this graph achieve generally similar results.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Next up is Cinebench R15 multi-thread, a heavily threaded, demanding, but short-duration benchmark. The Legion 5i does extremely well here, as its score of 2,431 is again the third-best in this competitive set. It also is quite far above the average. It’s impressive to see the mid-range Legion 5i run far ahead of competitors like the Razer Blade 15, which is much more expensive.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Handbrake, a video encoding tool, is a heavily threaded, long duration benchmark that puts a laptop’s thermals to the tests. The Legion 5i dips a bit below the average on this test and is the fourth-quickest overall, but its performance remains solid for a mid-range gaming laptop.
Now we move onto graphics benchmarks. The Legion 5i’s inclusion of an Nvidia RTX 3060 might seem underwhelming, but the devil is in the details. This is a 140-watt incarnation, the highest available for laptops with an RTX 3060. So, does that lead to excellent performance?
IDG / Matthew Smith
The 3DMark Time Spy benchmark reached a score of 8,335. This is almost identical, though a tad lower than, the Acer Nitro 5—another laptop with Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics and a 140-watt TGP. Laptops with RTX 3070 and RTX 3070 Ti hardware tend to be around 20 percent quicker but, of course, have higher price tags.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Shadow of the Tomb Raider averages a blistering 110 frames-per-second, which is an excellent result for an RTX 3060 laptop. The Legion 5i slightly beats the Acer Nitro 5 here, though only by four frames per second.
Laptops with better Nvidia RTX mobile graphics continue to deliver better results, however. Some, like the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro and Alienware X15 R2, are over 30 percent quicker.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Metro Exodus tells a familiar story. The Lenovo Legion 5i averaged 38 frames per second, which is a solid result for a mid-range laptop and just a few frames short of some RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 laptops. However, the Acer Nitro 5 is a bit stronger in this test.
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro and Alienware X15 R2 once again leap way ahead of the pack, so those will be a better choice if you want maximum performance.
Even ray-tracing is within reach. Cyberpunk 2077 averaged 25 frames per second at Ultra settings and 1080p resolution with RTX Ray Tracing turned on and DLSS off. Tweaking a few settings (such as turning on DLSS or reducing Ray Tracing quality to Medium) bumps the average above 30 frames per second.
All tests in this review were performed with the laptop’s Balanced mode turned on. This mode offered acceptable fan noise and temperatures, though fan noise did start to become annoying in the most demanding games (like Metro Exodus).
The Lenovo Legion also has a Performance mode. It delivered much higher performance in some situations. Cinebench R15 returned a score of 2,710, which is a 14 percent improvement over the Balanced Mode, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider gained 10 frames per second. Unfortunately, this mode was annoyingly loud. That limits its real-world usefulness, but it’s worth turning on if you plan to set the laptop to a demanding long duration task (like encoding an edit of a 4K video) and leave for lunch.
Battery lifeThe Lenovo Legion 5i comes equipped with an 80 watt-hour battery. That’s a respectable size, but it falls short of the effective maximum of 99 watt-hours (the result of FAA regulations on the size of batteries allowed in carry-on electronics).
To offset this, the Legion 5i supports Nvidia Optimus switchable graphics. This can turn off the more power-hungry Nvidia GPU and fall back to Intel integrated graphics to conserve power. However, it doesn’t achieve great results.
IDG / Matthew Smith
The Legion 5i delivered under five hours of battery life, a figure that puts it slightly behind the pack. This result is in line or below some laptops that don’t offer Optimus. That is a disappointing result. It may be the case that Optimus is not engaging correctly. With that said, the Nvidia’s GPU activity monitor didn’t indicate the GPU was engaged during our battery life test.
It’s clear the Legion 5i isn’t the best choice for battery life. It’s a powerful and power-hungry laptop with a modestly sized battery. Expect to top off the laptop frequently.
ConclusionThe Lenovo Legion 5i is a competent mid-range gaming laptop that struggles to throw aside the compromises its affordable pricing demands. It does the job, but it’s a bit boring.
Performance is the highlight. Mid-range gaming laptops often perform well for their price and the Legion 5i seems a bit ahead of this already impressive pack. This is as quick a gaming laptop as you’ll find without upgrading to RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 hardware, something you’ll only find in laptops that are at least a few hundred dollars more expensive. However, Acer’s Nitro 5 is a slightly better value, offering almost identical performance for even less.
The rest of the laptop is a cost-effective shell for the hardware. Aside from its connectivity, which is excellent, nothing about the laptop’s quality or feature set puts it ahead of the crowd. But with an as-tested price of $1,549.99 and some almost identical hardware configurations dipping to $1,399.99, that’s a compromise many gamers will be willing to accept.
Lenovo Y40 Review: An Understated 14
Lenovo isn’t the first name you think of when you’re considering a gaming laptop. Alienware or Razer, maybe, but not Lenovo. The Y40 might change your opinion. This machine delivers great everyday performance, a GPU that’s good enough to game at the display’s native 1920×1080 resolution, and a classic Lenovo keyboard.
Measuring 13.7 inches wide, 9.8 inches deep, and 0.9 inches thick, and weighing 5.4 pounds (with the AC adapter; 4.5 pounds without), the Y40’s form factor is neither chunky nor thin-and-light—just all-purpose, all the way. That said, it’s a bit more stylish than the norm, with tasteful red accents highlighting the sides of the keys, setting off the speakers from the keyboard desk, and delineating the right/left button areas on the touchpad.
Red accents are scattered all over the Lenovo Y40’s design, from the sides of the keys to the speaker grill and USB ports.
Our eval Y40 (Lenovo’s model number 59416787) arrived with an Intel Core i7-4500U, 8GB of DDR3/1600 memory, an AMD Radeon R9 M275 GPU with a 2GB frame buffer, and a 256GB SSD. It costs $950 and is available on Amazon, (but not from Lenovo’s site). Lenovo sells the similarly configured model 59423035 for the same price, but that is equipped with the slightly different Core i7-4510U. Less-expensive versions start at $749 and feature the same discrete GPU.
Lenovo’s Y40 can’t swing with the big-boy gaming laptops, but it definitely doesn’t embarass itself. And it costs a whole lot less.
The Core i7, the discrete graphics, and the SSD helped our test unit earn a more-than-respectable WorldBench 9 result of 67. Not surprisingly, given the discrete GPU and dedicated graphics memory on board, its gaming scores were good, too. While it didn’t equal the marks of its big sibling, the Y50 (which is outfitted with the more powerful Nvidia GTX 860M), the Y40 did manage playable frame rates in the high 30’s and high 40’s in 1080p tests. If you want to game at 60fps and higher, you’ll need to dial the resolution down to 1024×768. But at this price, that’s excellent performance.
You’ll need to dial the graphics down a bit if you want to game at 60-plus frames per second. The Y40 was more than twice as fast at 1024×768 than it was at 1920×1080.
Battery runtime for the Y40’s 54-watt-hour unit was 5 hours and 14 minutes, not too shabby given the configuration. That’s measured while everyday computing chores are being performed, not gaming; you’ll want to be plugged into an AC outlet for that.
The Y40 delivered excellent battery life for a gaming machine.
Getting to said battery entails the removal of no fewer than 12 screws before you can pull off the bottom of the unit. The Y40’s design further complicates this process with screws whose insertion angles follow the rounded contour of the shell, rather than remaining perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the unit. I quickly realized why most vendors choose the latter approach when I stripped a soft screw head while trying to insert it only slightly off-kilter. User error, to be sure, but it shouldn’t be that easy to get wrong.
Using the Y40 for writing and general business was a pleasure. The keyboard, though short-throw, had nice aural and tactile feedback, and the touchpad was a solid with butter-smooth response—it was a world of difference from my recent experiences with the Dell Latitude 14 5000.
Lenovo’s well-earned reputation for building excellent keyboards is preserved with the Y40.
The 14-inch, 1920×1080 display—being non-touch with a matte finish—is less prone to glare than many laptop displays you’ll find these days. The bezel surrounding it, however, is glossy and prone to such. That can be distracting. But the display rendered 1080p movies and games to good effect, and that’s what really matters.
One caveat is that you have a lot of pixels in a relatively small amount of space, which apparently confused either Windows or the graphics driver. The fonts in some applications, such as Device Manager, were badly anti-aliased. This is a software/driver issue, though; it’s not the fault of the display.
The sound through the Y40’s JBL speakers was acceptable. Spaciousness increases dramatically if you use Windows Media Player’s WOW effect (or similar), which means the speakers are decent. But bass response is minimal, even with TruBass (or similar effects) enabled.
Inputs/outputsThe thin chassis meant Lenovo had to use a drop-jaw Ethernet port. But this one feels very sturdy and unlikely to break.
Perusing the BIOS, I found the always-on charging for the USB turned off. This is done to extend battery life, but it’s a pretty handy feature to have off by default. I was in the BIOS to change the function key behavior back to the old-school norm of not having to press the FN key in conjunction with the F4, F5… keys to achieve the desired effect. Old habits die hard.
All told, Lenovo has done an exceptional job with the Y40. It has the Lenovo-ness (simple design, great input ergonomics) that has won the company legions of fans, it’s fast, and it games well enough for the average player. There’s not a lot more you could ask for in a 14-inch laptop in this price range.
Lenovo C260 Review: This Inexpensive All
Penny pinchers in need of a very inexpensive all-in-one desktop PC will be happy with the Lenovo C260 only if their computing needs are truly minimal.
The best all-in-one PCs bundle solid desktop features in a sleek display—no unsightly tower required. But because they include a display, they often cost a lot more than traditional desktops, a problem Lenovo seeks to address with its C260 all-in-one, a 19.5-incher which goes for $480 (Amazon was selling this model for $450 as of this writing).
Frankly, we’d have happily traded the optical drive for better wireless networking hardware and more USB 3.0 ports.
But you get what you pay for, and the C260 skimps in many ways to achieve its low price. It might be adequate for someone with truly minimal computing needs—email, light web browsing, or simple word-processing tasks—but others will find at least some of the many compromises annoying.
Boo! There’s just one USB 3.0 port, and no HDMI input for connecting a videogame console or set-top box.
Performance is the obvious starting point. Powered by a Pentium J2900 CPU with integrated Intel HD graphics (the latest branch on Intel’s Bay Trail family tree) and 4GB of DDR3/160 memory, the C260 eked out a dismal Desktop WorldBench 9 score of 28, despite having a relatively fast, but low-capacity hard drive. It’s only 500GB, but it spins its platter at 7200 rpm (we’ve seen all too many inexpensive PCs with 5400-rpm drives).
The Lenovo C260 produced one of the most anemic Desktop WorldBench 9 scores on record.
Granted, our 100-point baseline PC consists of an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, discrete graphics and a solid-state drive, but very few of the PCs we’ve tested have scored below 50. The Pentium chip, which lacks hyperthreading, likely is the major culprit, although the minimal amount of RAM combined with integrated graphics almost certainly contributes as well (the system can be upgraded to 8GB of memory).
Intel’s Pentium J2900 CPU might be better suited to a tablet than a desktop PC.
This is not a unit you’d want to use for multitasking, which would severely challenge its memory resources. Even YouTube videos with lots of movement showed signs of strain, including pixelation. I also found touchscreen response to be less than snappy.
The YouTube issues, however, may also relate to another significant drawback: The unit’s Wi-Fi client adapter is a 1×1 model that supports only 2.4GHz, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. A 1×1 adapter like this can support just one spatial stream for transmission and one for receiving. This adapter is also limited to operating on the very crowded 2.4GHz spectrum, which will be problematic in environments where lots of other wireless networks are operating.
A halfway decent wired keyboard is better than a crummy wireless one, but did I mention this machine needs more USB 3.0 ports. Oh well, at least it has gigabit Ethernet.
You’ll be limited to the playing very simple machines on this all-in-one.
There are other irritants as well: Only one of the C260’s four USB ports supports USB 3.0—the others handle only slower USB 2.2 connections. And unless you pay extra to upgrade to a wireless keyboard and mouse, two of those four ports will be occupied by the wired peripherals that come with the unit.
Review: Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 4 Business Ultrabook
There are certain things about the X1 Carbon line that stay consistent across all the models — the slim body, sharply tapered front edge, dark color, and classic ThinkPad keyboard, for example. Each model features subtle changes over the last model, though, and the fourth-generation X1 is no exception. One of the first things you’ll notice is the lighter weight — the X1 is lighter than it looks, and won’t be any sort of burden when in your laptop bag or backpack.
Big changes aren’t anywhere to be found, however. The largest deviation from the last model is one that may turn away some consumers — Lenovo has ditched the touchscreen, something that won’t matter at all to some users and will be sorely missed by others. Truth be told, having a touchscreen on the X1 Carbon seems a tad pointless — the display can’t rotate fully back into tablet mode, instead opening a max of 180-degrees. There’s little usefulness for a touchscreen, then, as there’s no way to use it that isn’t awkward.
If you need a touchscreen, Lenovo no doubt would rather you choose from one of their many (many) Yoga and flexible ThinkPad laptops. (check out the ThinkPad Yoga 12!)
Touchscreen aside, the display is as excellent as you’d anticipate for an X1 model; customers have the option of a 14-inch 2560 x 1440 IPS 300nits panel or a 14-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS 300nits panel. This is nestled in a body weighing 2.6lbs with svelte 13.11 x 9.01 x 0.65″ measurements. The laptop, despite its thin size, packs a bunch of connectivity options — there’s mini DisplayPort, HDMI, a trio of USB 3.0 ports, microSD, OneLink+, and WiGig…a nice upgrade from the third-generation model.
The ThinkPad keyboard has long been a favorite among users, and you’ll find it in all its glory with the Gen 4 X1 Carbon. The keys aren’t too shallow, but still have a modest profile, being soft on the downstroke with a firm report while typing. Lenovo has elected to keep the physical buttons on the trackpad, as well, something found on the third-generation and the first generation, but not the second. As with Gen 3, the physical buttons are much better over the no-button Gen 2 design. The TrackPoint nub in the keyboard is still present.
TECH SPECS
Processor: Up to Intel® Core™ i7 vPro™ Processor
Operating System:
– Windows 10 Pro
– Windows 10 Home
– Windows 7 Professional
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 520
Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR3
Storage: Up to 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Camera/Microphone: 720p/Digital Array Microphone
Battery: Up to 11 Hours (52 WHr)
Display:
– 14″ WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS, 300 nits
– 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, 300 nits
Dimensions: 13.11″ x 9.01″ x 0.65″
Weight: Starting at 2.6lbs
Security and Manageability
– TPM
– Kensington® Lock
– Touch Fingerprint Reader
– Intel® vPro™ Technology
I/O (Input/Output) Ports
– WiGig
– OneLink+
– Mini DisplayPort™
– HDMI™
– 3 x USB 3.0
– microSD™
WiFi: Snowfield Peak 2 x 2 a/c + Bluetooth® 4.1 (vPro™)/Snowfield Peak 2 x 2 a/c + Bluetooth® 4.1 (Non-vPro™)/Douglas Peak (WiGig / WiFi / Bluetooth® 4.1 Combo) (coming soon)
Mobile Broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband/Sierra Wireless EM7455 Qualcomm (coming soon)
Bluetooth®: Bluetooth® 4.1
Note: specs vary based on configuration.
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 Packs Two Fans For Peak Gaming Power
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 packs two fans for peak gaming power
Lenovo has a new Android gaming phone, and the Legion Phone Duel 2 is aiming to not only deliver the power for full mobile gameplay, but the media credentials modern streamers demand. The unusually-shaped smartphone includes a twin-fan cooling system and a larger-than-average battery, to keep it running at maximum speed for longer.
On the front, there’s a 6.92-inch 20.5:9 aspect AMOLED display. It’s running at 2460 x 1080 resolution, with a 144 Hz refresh rate and 8-bit HDR support. Lenovo has used a 720Hz touch sampling rate, too, for faster response times.
Brightness is 800 nits standard, with 1,300 nits peak, and there’s 111.1-percent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage plus HDR10+ certification. It’s protected with a slab of Gorilla Glass 5, and the whole phone tips the scales at 259 grams.
Inside there’s Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888, with either 12GB, 16GB, or a whopping 18GB of LPDDR5 memory. Storage is either 256GB or 512GB. For connectivity, there’s 5G, WiFi, and Bluetooth, and the Legion Phone Duel 2 runs Lenovo’s ZUI 12.5 based on Android 11.
You can have the fastest chipset in the world, of course, and still get mediocre performance if you don’t take care of heat. Lenovo is using both active and passive cooling, with a vapor chamber for liquid cooling, and then twin turbo-fans to really keep temperatures down. Both the intake fan and output fan have 29 blades apiece, the former running at 12,500 rpm and the latter at 15,000 rpm. They make around 27 dB at 30 cm distance, Lenovo says.
Since the Legion Phone Duel 2 is designed to be held horizontally, like a Nintendo Switch, Lenovo has put the processor in the center away from the gamer’s fingers. There are also eight virtual buttons, including four ultrasonic shoulder keys, two rear capacitance screen touchpoints, and two in-display force touchpoints. Lenovo is also using a new Dual HaptiX dual-X-axis haptic vibration motor system, for more accurate touch feedback.
A pop-out 44-megapixel selfie camera with an 84-degree lens pops out of the side of the phone – so that it’s positioned right for when you’re streaming yourself during gameplay – and there’s onboard background removal, real-time overlay and effects generation, and virtual avatars.
The rear cameras meanwhile, are a 64-megapixel f/1.9 wide angle, and a 16-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide. There’s HDR10+ video recording at 4k/30fps, or 8k video recording at 24fps.
On the audio side, there are dual front-facing speakers with 7-magnet drivers and dual smart amplifiers, plus Dolby Atmos support. Four microphones add features like background noise reduction, and there’s 48 kHz / 16-bit output support via USB-C.
For power, there are dual 2,750 mAh batteries for a total of 5,500 mAh. Dual 90W USB-C charging ports on the side mean that 17 minutes plugged in is good for 4,500 mAh of charge, Lenovo says.
In China, where it’ll be called the Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro, it’ll go on sale in April; availability in Asia Pacific and Europe will follow in May. It’ll be priced from 999 euro ($1,160) for the 16GB/512GB configuration and with a bundled charging dock, while the 12GB/256GB version without the dock will be 799 euro ($930).
As for North America, Lenovo says that it’s still deciding whether to bring the Legion Phone Duel 2 to market.
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