Lenovo Ideapad 320s Review

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Lenovo knows how to make laptops. If you are looking for an inexpensive laptop that can surprise you with its performance, then this laptop is perfect for you.

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This laptop offers Intel Pentium Gold processor. It isn’t the fancy i3 or i5, but the processor is very capable; I can edit even HD videos with HitFilm Express 2017. It has 128 GB storage and importantly, it has a hard drive bay, so you can install additional SATA hard drive or SSD drive and expand the storage.

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Is there any bloatware?

Yes, there is some, unfortunately. It has so-called Lenovo Vantage preinstalled which tries to manage the laptop’s sound and other software and hardware settings. Actually, I think the laptop would be better off without it.

Is it upgradable?

Yes, of course. It has removable SSD module, which is a mini PCI Express.

And one slot for RAM (memory). From the factory, it comes with 4GB RAM module installed. Also, it has a hard drive bay, which I suspect is working.

Quality of built

I had no issues with anything on this laptop. Just the keyboard has a power button next to Delete key, so sometimes I hit the power key instead of the Delete key.

But, overall, the keyboard is nice, silent and you can type fast on it. Lenovo knows how to make a good keyboard for a laptop.

Screen

My version is a matte screen because I like matte screens that have no reflections. It is 1366×768 pixels resolution, which is on a lower side. I would prefer having it 1920×1080. But still, it looks OK because it is a 14 inch screen.

Operating system

It has Windows 10 Home. I personally would like Windows 7 but it is impossible to install it here because Windows 7 does not have drivers for SSD and I believe the touchpad would not work also.

EMF

This laptop, I guess, has higher electromagnetic fields than my Asus E403SA. I have made a cover for this laptop from kitchen foil, and it seems to lower EMF. I use a separate desktop PC keyboard and can cover the top and bottom of this laptop with a cover. It acts like some sort of Faraday cage, preventing the EMF from escaping.

Is it good for games?

The short answer is no, it does not have AMD or Nvidia graphics chips. But some games will probably run on it. Honestly, I haven’t tested, as this laptop was bought not for games after all.

Portability

It is thin and light. It’s not the thinnest out there but as it is a 14 inch screen it’s easy to carry it around.

Battery life

Also, it has a good battery life if you do not use a wireless card; something in the 8 hours range. The wireless card draws too much power. It can be replaced, and I probably will try to use another Wi-Fi card and see.
It can also be fitted with a bigger battery.

If you consider upgrading it. The disassembly process is not complicated. You must unscrew a few screws on the bottom.

Use a plastic credit card to separate the plastic. Please start from the SD card slot side as this is the easiest way to separate the bottom plastic from the base.

 

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