I think I'm going to buy Idea Pad C340 - thoughts?

[Rahmahn]

So I think I'm going to buy the Lenovo IdeaPad C340 (14", Intel)

Some features/specs that caught my eye, were:

USB C charge

Touch screen

i7

Decent battery

Nice track pad and keyboard

Price of just £550

 

BUT, I want to double check and see if any of you guys agree with it being a good choice and if not, what would you alternatives be?

[5x5]

What are you using it for? Generally, the Intel variant is pretty poor. I'd suggest either buying the cheaper Ryzen model or looking at a different laptop since the Intel model is just not worth the money considering how crippled that i7 is.

[GDRRiley]

for 550 you can do better

[5x5]

Overall, if it were my money - I'd get a business-class machine. Something like the HP ProBook 455 G6 - https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hewlet-packard-hp-probook-455-g6-8mg91es-abu-amd-ryzen-5-3500u-8gb-256gb-ss-8mg91es/version.asp

 

It's going to be MUCH better built, a LOT more durable, will definitely outlive the C340 by at LEAST 2 years and will also be faster since the Ryzen 5 3500U is allowed to run in a larger power envelope and thus sustain clockspeeds. (the i7 in the C340 throttles down to under base clock due to power and heat)

Not to mention you get a large and fast SSD and a quiet cooler (the C340 is loud)

[5x5]

Another very good option is the Lenovo ThinkPad E495 - https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-thinkpad-e495-amd-ryzen-5-3500u-8gb-256gb-14-inch-windows-10-pro-lap-20ne000juk/version.asp

[5x5]

If you want something that looks good but also performs decently - Asus ZenBook 14 - https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-zenbook-14-um431da-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-blue-10194537-pdt.html

 

Or the Acer Swift 3 - https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10193941-pdt.html

[GDRRiley]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Overall, if it were my money - I'd get a business-class machine. Something like the HP ProBook 455 G6 - https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hewlet-packard-hp-probook-455-g6-8mg91es-abu-amd-ryzen-5-3500u-8gb-256gb-ss-8mg91es/version.asp

 

It's going to be MUCH better built, a LOT more durable, will definitely outlive the C340 by at LEAST 2 years and will also be faster since the Ryzen 5 3500U is allowed to run in a larger power envelope and thus sustain clockspeeds. (the i7 in the C340 throttles down to under base clock due to power and heat)

Not to mention you get a large and fast SSD and a quiet cooler (the C340 is loud)

wait for the 445 g7 to be in stock ypu can already get it custom ordered from HP.

they have the ryzen 4000 chips. I've got a 445R g6 and it isn't bad but the new 4000 chips should get you better battery life+better gamming than the 5-6 I had. (I am running dual drives and had both ram slots full)

[Rahmahn]

I'm using it for low end gaming, web surfing, downloading, music/DJing....And thanks for the replies

[5x5]

1 minute ago, GDRRiley said:

wait for the 445 g7 to be in stock ypu can already get it custom ordered from HP.

they have the ryzen 4000 chips. I've got a 445R g6 and it isn't bad but the new 4000 chips should get you better battery life+better gamming than the 5-6 I had. (I am running dual drives and had both ram slots full)

Oh yeah - if he can wait, getting Renoir is optimal. The 4600U is over 50% faster than the best i7/R7 in an ultrabook and the 4700U is upwards of 80% faster

[5x5]

Just now, lewball said:

I'm using it for low end gaming, web surfing, downloading, music/DJing....And thanks for the replies

Then you can forget about Intel in that price bracket. The Intel iGPUs cannot handle any game well. Your minimum should be Vega 8/10

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, lewball said:

I'm using it for low end gaming, web surfing, downloading, music/DJing....And thanks for the replies

wait nothing other than 4000 APUs have enough power.I got a 3500U and it runs light or older games okay

 

order a 445/455 g7 with a 4500U 8gb ram (add in a second stick for like 40$ vs 100 from HP). I'd order it with a HDD and swap in an SSD ether M.2 or just a sata

get the 1080p 250nit with IR 65W power

USD is 750$ then put in 100$ in upgrades

 

this isn't bad but you'll want to spend the 80-100$ to buy new ram

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-probook-445-g7-notebook-pc-p-3h663ut-aba-1

[5x5]

1 minute ago, youngboy said:

Lenovo is trash. They made cheaply made plastic products that thermal throttle and break. Lenovo sucks. Get an HP or Dell. I personally like HP, because they made reliable quality laptops that run forever so I use HP, but Dell also works fine and lasts very long, but never get a Lenovo

Never buy based on brand. Lenovo have some bad and some good models. Just like HP who had to recall several exploding batteries a year ago. Same with Dell who still can't figure out how to stop the XPS models from overloading and melting

[5x5]

Just now, youngboy said:

Well this year, HP and Dell screwed up, but in general, they tend to be much more reliable than Lenovos. I have a Lenovo, and that thing thermal throttles all the time since it's made to plastic, it's like 2 inches thick, made of cheaply made plastic that cracked, and the display on the laptop is starting to come out, and it crashes every time I use it, and I keep that thing on my desk all the time. I take good care of the thing. I also have an HP laptop, and that thing is so much better designed and so much thinner, and after 5 years of use, it still holds up very well. It's reliable, and works every time I need it to. My brother uses a Dell, and he's been using his for 7 years now, and the thing still works fine. My HP holds up, and his Dell holds up, but my Lenovo cannot hold up. Lenovos just don't have the reliability that Dells and HP's do

Like i said, Lenovo have some bad models and some fantastic models - the ThinkPad T series and X series for example are class-leaders. That's why you always review the model and never blindly buy by brand

I am currently typing this on a Lenovo 720s Ultrabook and I am very happy with it. But I've also had the Y50 which I am not satisifed with since the hinge had to be manually loosened to avoid it falling apart. This is what I mean - every brand has good and bad products.

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, youngboy said:

Well this year, HP and Dell screwed up, but in general, they tend to be much more reliable than Lenovos.

you clearly have had enough time with the T series. T60, T420s

[Rahmahn]

1 minute ago, youngboy said:

Well this year, HP and Dell screwed up, but in general, they tend to be much more reliable than Lenovos. I have a Lenovo, and that thing thermal throttles all the time since it's made to plastic, it's like 2 inches thick, made of cheaply made plastic that cracked, and the display on the laptop is starting to come out, and it crashes every time I use it, and I keep that thing on my desk all the time. I take good care of the thing. I also have an HP laptop, and that thing is so much better designed and so much thinner, and after 5 years of use, it still holds up very well. It's reliable, and works every time I need it to. My brother uses a Dell, and he's been using his for 7 years now, and the thing still works fine. My HP holds up, and his Dell holds up, but my Lenovo cannot hold up. Lenovos just don't have the reliability that Dells and HP's do

You can take specific examples with just about anything though. My bro has had a Lenovo Yoga for 8 years and it still works fine. I've had my HP laptop for 7 years and its absolutely knackered lol. Battery went a couple years ago, the shift keys no longer work and I have to use a on screen keyboard. It's a nightmare. Lol

[5x5]

1 minute ago, lewball said:

You can take specific examples with just about anything though. My bro has had a Lenovo Yoga for 8 years and it still works fine. I've had my HP laptop for 7 years and its absolutely knackered lol. Battery went a couple years ago, the shift keys no longer work and I have to use a on screen keyboard. It's a nightmare. Lol

Basically yes. That's why we have to carefully review each model and recommend based on whether the model is good or shit

[5x5]

Just now, youngboy said:

 

I agree that Lenovo does make some good products, but from my experience, HP and Dell are much more reliable. Some of their expensive laptops are great, but in general, I think HP and Dell are more reliable, but Lenovo does make some good products, but from my experience, HP and Dell hold up better

Again, stop generalizing brands. You'll never get any self-respecting tech to agree with brand-based logic.

[5x5]

1 minute ago, youngboy said:

My HP laptop is 6 years old, and works fine. My bro's Dell also works fine after 7 years, but it is kind of slow. Everything works fine on both HP and Dell in age. But with my Lenovo, the screen is coming off the hinges, half the keys don't work, it crashes all the time, and just a nightmare. HP and Dell hold up much better

Repeating the same thing won't make brand generalization any truer.

 

Just now, youngboy said:

Ok sure I will stop generalizing brands. I'm just stating the experience I've had with products from specific brands

Yes, that makes more sense. Your personal experience based on very different models to the ones we're discussing

[Rahmahn]

I really don't need a great GPU for gaming, it's really low end gaming. i5 would be more than enough. I think what I liked about Ideapad was the

39 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

wait nothing other than 4000 APUs have enough power.I got a 3500U and it runs light or older games okay

 

order a 445/455 g7 with a 4500U 8gb ram (add in a second stick for like 40$ vs 100 from HP). I'd order it with a HDD and swap in an SSD ether M.2 or just a sata

get the 1080p 250nit with IR 65W power

USD is 750$ then put in 100$ in upgrades

 

this isn't bad but you'll want to spend the 80-100$ to buy new ram

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-probook-445-g7-notebook-pc-p-3h663ut-aba-1

This looks almost identical to my Elitebook. I'm not sure I'd go for this same feel again though. The bezels i'm really not a fan of. I don't know if this would also have the same issues but my Elitebook wifi connectivity was so weak, it would lose connection all the time. Then I'd take out my other 3 laptops i've used and it'll be fine. Then the battery went and it was no longer portable. Then the keyboard went and I had to use an on screen keyboard...So I've had bad experiences! Not sure I wanna go back to something that looks so similar, despite it obviously being a much newer model 

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, lewball said:

I really don't need a great GPU for gaming, it's really low end gaming. i5 would be more than enough. I think what I liked about Ideapad was the

This looks almost identical to my Elitebook. I'm not sure I'd go for this same feel again though. The bezels i'm really not a fan of. I don't know if this would also have the same issues but my Elitebook wifi connectivity was so weak, it would lose connection all the time. Then I'd take out my other 3 laptops i've used and it'll be fine. Then the battery went and it was no longer portable. Then the keyboard went and I had to use an on screen keyboard...So I've had bad experiences! Not sure I wanna go back to something that looks so similar, despite it obviously being a much newer model 

define low end

 

you can get the intel wifi 6 or a diffrent one ive got the older 445R g6 and it works well over wifi.

Much new means they should have fixed everything. My only complant was not a larger batter but they gave you a 2.5in drive bay instead.

I've got a full review of the last gen in my signature and I can always grab more video or pictures if you got any questions about it

[Rahmahn]

Online games mostly, like Runescape...Sometimes online steam games like Blazerush

[Rahmahn]

14 minutes ago, youngboy said:

For your use case, this laptop looks good. Why not PC? I say you should get a Ryzen 7 instead of the i7. It can be hard to find a Ryzen 7 Lenovo, since most brands use intel, but I think ryzen 7 you should go with. For very shallow gaming, you can get away with integrated graphics, but anything above that you need a GPU, so if you are doing light gaming, you should be fine. Also, if you buy it, I would not go hard on that touch screen. Don't abuse the touchscreen if you buy it, but right now, looks good

I'd love a PC but not right now. I haven't got desk space until I move out. And I like the portability of a laptop. Yeah I'm not massively into touch screen, I think I just kinda like the idea more than anything that I have the option. And maybe I would prefer it sometimes, rather than messing about with a touch pad. It's difficult to know really, I need to actually go into a shop and feel. But obviously I cant right now lmao

[Rahmahn]

1 hour ago, 5x5 said:

If you want something that looks good but also performs decently - Asus ZenBook 14 - https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-zenbook-14-um431da-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-blue-10194537-pdt.html

 

Or the Acer Swift 3 - https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10193941-pdt.html

I think that Zenbook has lit my eyes up more than anything else posted here...USB-C charge and the screen is full with no big chunky bezels  The only thing I would say, is the Lenovo Ideapad is a touch screen and this isn't...I'm not massive on touch screens, but it is quite a nice feature that I think I might end up using if given the option. But you have definitely given me something to think about

[GDRRiley]

12 minutes ago, lewball said:

Online games mostly, like Runescape...Sometimes online steam games like Blazerush

get a R5 or r7 based laptop then

 

Just now, lewball said:

I think that Zenbook has lit my eyes up more than anything else posted here...USB-C charge and the screen is full with no big chunky bezels  The only thing I would say, is the Lenovo Ideapad is a touch screen and this isn't...I'm not massive on touch screens, but it is quite a nice feature that I think I might end up using if given the option. But you have definitely given me something to think about

touch screens don't have a lot of use. the 445/455 g6/g7 have usbC charging as an option.

 

[Rahmahn]

13 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

get a R5 or r7 based laptop then

 

touch screens don't have a lot of use. the 445/455 g6/g7 have usbC charging as an option.

 

It's my bro, he's adamant that once you get a touch screen, you do end up actually using it. He said at the start he didn't think he would but it can be a lot more convenient at times. So I thought I could try it out... And not a fan of the massive bezzels on the HP. I know it's a bit of a silly thing to have a annoyance about. But I find it so annoying when they don't make use of the space on their hardware. The same applies to having a nice full keyboard and big trackpad. None of this empty space crap