Lenovo IdeaPad 320s

[TheLaserCucumber]

Hi, I want to review my new Ideapad 320s from Lenovo today.

 

1. Specs

CPU: Core i5-8250U (4 cores/8 threads)

RAM: 8GB DDR4-2400 (soldered)

Storage: 500GB Samsung PM961 (basically a 960 Evo for OEMs)

Display: 13.3" 1080p IPS

GFX: Intel UHD 620 / Geforce MX150

 

2. Ports

Left:

Power in, USB 2.0 Type A, Headphone/Microphone combo Jack

Spoiler

Right: 

Full size HDMI, USB 3.0 Type A, USB 3.0 Type C, Micro SD card slot, reset switch

Spoiler

 

3. Exterior, speakers etc.

-> Speakers The speakers are (sadly) located on the bottom of the machine, in the front.

They don't really sound that well, even if you just want to watch youtube you probably should use either a bluetooth or Aux speaker or just headphones.

(You can see the speaker grills on the pictures for the ports.)

-> Keyboard 

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The white backlit keyboard is (in my opinion) really nice. It's not mushy, it is clearly defined. 10/10 for the keyboard!

-> Trackpad The trackpad though, is another story. It really doesn't like 2 finger operations, which makes moving windows etc. kinda hard. It doesn't use windows precision, ELAN or sinaptics drivers, it uses standard plain old windows drivers. It uses windows precision drivers. The gestures are OK. Lenovo could really have done a better job here, especially with the 2 finger operations.

-> Exterior The backside of the lid and the bottom are made out of aluminum, the inside is plastic. The plastic feels kinda cheap, but oh well.

The lid: 

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the bottom:

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4. Battery and performance

-> Battery: It is powered by a 36Wh battery. According to Lenovo, it should last about 5 to 6 hours. In my testing with browsing and writing in documents, it was closer to 4.

-> Performance: Here comes the interesting part!

The CPU gets 507cb in Cinebench R15 multicore.

In GTA V, 1080p normal to high settings, it gets 45FPS on average.

Further testing will be added.

 

In GTA the MX150 never got warmer than 64°C, and the CPU never exceeded 76°C.

It is not quiet, but I wouldn't say that it is loud. 

In idle the CPU hovers around 50°C, and the device is quiet. The fan isn't turned off, but it isn't easy to hear.

The MX150 is, thanks to Nvidia Optimus, disabled. The UHD 620 takes over the display here.

 

5. Pricing and models

There is a 14" and a 13" version, only the 13" one has 8th Gen CPUs and the MX150.

The cheapest 13" one includes an i3-7100U, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. It costs 600€.

If you want the MX150, you have to get the one with the i5-8250U, 8GB of RAM and the 500GB SSD for 999€.

There is also a model with an i7-8550U, but it lacks the MX150. It also costs 999€.

 

 

I will add some more later, but this has to do it for now.

The battery of it is almost empty

 

Extra

Here's the bottom with the cover taken off:

I've finally gotten myself to do it, I was a bit hesitant to do it first

Spoiler

 

[genexis_x]

I was waiting for a review on Ideapad 320S 13.3 inch and you did it! Nice review.

 

Some questions, could you stress test the CPU? (long, heavy load) I'm eager to know how the CPU perform. (Clock speed and temp)

 

Edit: A useful tip, you can change the trackpad driver to a Precision driver. Google it.

[TheLaserCucumber]

56 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

I was waiting for a review on Ideapad 320S 13.3 inch and you did it! Nice review.

Thank you, nice to hear that!

 

56 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Some questions, could you stress test the CPU? (long, heavy load) I'm eager to know how the CPU perform. (Clock speed and temp)

You can indeed stress it. Without stressing the MX150 too, it is around 75°C and is boosting to 2.3 - 2.4GHz on all 4 cores.

With the MX150, the temps rise a bit, but not by much. Maybe 5 - 10°C. The boost clock still is 2.3 - 2.4GHz.

58 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Edit: A useful tip, you can change the trackpad driver to a Precision driver. Google it.

I tried this, but windows said "No compatible drivers found for your device" even though I downloaded and extracted them...

[pocketorigin]

Thanks for sharing. I've been looking between the new Lenovo 320S and 720S models.

Since you have already opened up your 320S, could you also confirm as well for the ram upgradability on the 320S.

Only read that it is soldered on, but no actual picture explaining it.

[TheLaserCucumber]

2 hours ago, pocketorigin said:

Thanks for sharing. I've been looking between the new Lenovo 320S and 720S models.

Since you have already opened up your 320S, could you also confirm as well for the ram upgradability on the 320S.

Only read that it is soldered on, but no actual picture explaining it.

The RAM in the 320S is not upgradeable. The memory is soldered on and there is no bank.

I think the actual memory chips are under that black thing that covers a part of the PCB.

 

But the advantages of the 320S over the 720S are the 8th Gen CPUs (4c/8t) instead of 7th Gen on the 720S (2c/4t) and the MX150, if you want to have a GPU.

 

So I would rethink if upgradeable memory is more important to you than much faster CPUs and a dedicated GPU.

[pocketorigin]

Thanks for confirming on the ram. That's really cool.

 

The 720S I'm looking at is of the same similar specs as 320S (i5 8250U, MX150), but seems to price around $300 higher.

Such a bummer that consumer needs to pay more just for the ram upgradability.

This is only video I could find online in opening up the new 720S by the way.

[genexis_x]

4 hours ago, pocketorigin said:

The 720S I'm looking at is of the same similar specs as 320S (i5 8250U, MX150), but seems to price around $300 higher.

Such a bummer that consumer needs to pay more just for the ram upgradability.

720S has a better build quality, slightly better input devices (keyboard and trackpad), longer battery life, better IPS panel