Introduction
Lenovo ideapad 720s-15-Overview. This blog is a full review of the Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 by forum user Kretschmer.
Today I am writing a mini-review of the Lenovo Ideapad 720S-15. This laptop has flown almost completely under the radar – no Lenovo Yoga-style marketing campaign, no tons of reviews on tech sites, etc. – but it could be a worthy contender for your next laptop purchase.
My last heaters influenced my selection criteria. Coming from a Skylake XPS 13 and an MSI GS60 gaming laptop before (albeit with low component life), I could run a marathon on a single charge and be professional enough to take to any client site or lecture.
But on the other hand, the MSI laptop featured a large, bright screen and enough gaming insight to offer a spatial simulator distraction during a business trip or a weekend away visiting friends. So I was looking for a mix between the two: professional aesthetics, solid battery life, and a GPU that could play on the go.
Laptop research is challenging! Most reviews are very superficial – like a few touchy-feely throttles – and dealers often don’t show up until a million monkeys get on the product and point out all the flaws.
Aesthetics and build quality-Lenovo ideapad 720s-15
This laptop makes a nice first impression. It’s clad in dark silver metal with a subdued “Lenovo” etched into the top right of the lid. The colors and material are mirrored on the underside of the unit, which is free of unsightly stickers apart from the obligatory Microsoft badge. Unfortunately, the top surface is covered with a thin layer of metal instead of the thick metal sheet of the XPS series, and it can bend a bit if opposing forces are applied to the right and left edges of the screen.
Generously Proportioned keyboard-Lenovo ideapad 720s-15
After opening it, you will be greeted by a generously proportioned keyboard in the same shade, a full numeric keypad, and variable black backlight intensity (off-low-high). This keyboard is placed on a metal back plate and does not bend when the keys are pressed. Ditches the physical right and left mouse buttons from the Thinkpad line for a common “invisible button” design. (Some owners have reported that the trackpad has slowed down after prolonged use, but I haven’t experienced this.)
The oddly sharp edge on the top of the inner surface is notable on this laptop. While this area is not uncomfortable in use, I could see it as a potential spot for scratches and chips. Also worth noting is the small gap between the bottom plate and the laptop’s body. It looks like a design decision instead of a manufacturing defect, but it’s less pleasant than a smooth connection. My unit also squeaks a bit when the upper right quadrant of the body is handled. Finally, the rubber feet – a point of failure on every other laptop I’ve owned – are quite stiff and firmly attached to the unit’s base.
Ports and connections-Lenovo ideapad 720s-15
A laptop is only useful in so many ways; you can bridge it to the outside world. It is one area where the 720S 15 requires compromise, as ports are limited to 1xTB3 (2 lanes), 3.5mm headphone jack, and any other USB A peripherals would need a trip to dingle town, like any video output. There is no lock for those working in shared spaces.
Screen and speakers
The display on this device is quite nice, even at 40% brightness with battery-saving mode (my default when traveling). The viewing part is excellent, and the colors look vivid. There have been reports of excessive backlighting on the FHD model, but my laptop is reasonable in that department (see below). This display runs at 60Hz with no apparent ghosting issues. The speakers are on the base front of the laptop and are acceptable, although a blanket or other covering surface will silence them.
Software
Lenovo was mercilessly light on installed software. I removed the standard antivirus trial and Windows 10 games, but overall it was a cleaner install than is typical for consumer hardware.
Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 battery life with similar features is its 79-watt-hour battery with legs. While I haven’t drained the battery in one sitting yet, I’m currently sitting at 72% after 2 hours and 45 minutes of browsing, typing, and streaming. 8.5-10 hours of battery life seems to be a safe estimate of time available on a single charge.
Temperatures and fan noise
Fan noise is reasonable. While the fan always seems to run audibly, it’s quieter under gaming load than other discrete graphics laptops I’ve used. It could be due to the MaxQ design or the 15.6″ form factor.
This laptop throttles under load at standard settings. It will eventually cause the GPU to throttle. Frustratingly, it drops from ~1680MHz to ~1150MHz and stays there instead of dynamically selecting the middle path. This behavior only becomes apparent when running the GPU continuously near full load.(e.g., Doom @ high settings and less demanding games or graphics settings do not cause any noticeable throttling).
With a -150mV CPU and -100mV GPU Undervoltage, this laptop becomes a completely different gaming machine. Maintaining a GPU clock of 1772MHz! Note that the CPU is still thermally throttling (green peaks in Intel XTU). The amount of said throttling is quite harmless and still results in a quad-core clock of 3.3-3.4GHz.
Conclusion
Overall, I’d call it “Tier 1.5” build quality: better than many laptops. But not as durable as the XPS 13 or as beautiful as the Surface Book 2. I comfortably threw the XPS 13 in a full backpack. Textbooks, while the Lenovo 720S may be safer with a novel reader. Form Factor Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15. At 0.70 (17.95 mm) and 4.18 lb, this notebook is lighter. Than the Dell XPS 15 series and comfortable carrying or moving with one hand.
