The laptop is an indispensable tool in this era. Whether you’re working at home, and want to move around, or are already out and about, the ability to be able to open it up and just get to work. Lenovo sent us the IdeaPad Slim 7, with AMD’s new Ryzen 7 processor. Let’s see if it lives up to the hype.
DESIGN: 4/5
The IdeaPad Slim 7 has a small footprint, which I really appreciated. Because of the size of most of the laptops I use, it has ironically been a long time since I’ve used a computer on my lap. The IdeaPad Slim 7 though was right at home, and the light weight makes for a comfortable experience. It’s got a metal shell done in a deep gray, which gives it that serious, understated look that makes it fit in at any venue. Open it up, and it’s just a bit busier. The 14-inch display is surrounded by reasonably thin bezels with the webcam peeking through a little hole at the top. The keyboard is backlit and quite brightly so, with speaker grilles on either side. There’s a short, wide trackpad just below the spacebar which is noticeably smoother than the rest of the frame, making it easily distinguishable, and nothing else. The power button is located on the right edge, just beside the microSD card reader and two USB ports. The opposite edge has a full-sized HDMI port, and two USB-C ports, with one serving as the charging input. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack for your audio needs.
HARDWARE: 4.5/5
The IdeaPad Slim 7 runs a Ryzen 7 4000 series processor—the same one that put AMD in the lead of the processor game, and a superb balance of performance and price. This is mated with a generous 16GB of RAM, and integrated Radeon graphics, which packs quite a punch. Our review unit had a full-HD panel which delivers 300 nits of brightness, and is paired with dolby-tuned speakers for quite an immersive entertainment experience. It also has a battery that’s rated for up to 14 hours of use, so you don’t have to experience charger anxiety.
USER EXPERIENCE: 4/5
The pandemic has pretty much forced me to stay at the desk at home, since that’s where the desktop is currently situated. This isn’t always ideal, as sometimes, a change of scenery is necessary to fill page after page with words. I do have a laptop, but it’s far to heavy to just pick up and take elsewhere, and it doesn’t really have the best battery life. Fortunately, the IdeaPad Slim 7 was sent to us for review, and I have to say, I’ve loved every minute of it.
Since I’ve been with my gaming laptop for some time now, I have forgotten just how thin, light, and functional laptops have gotten. The Lenovo, with its AMD Ryzen 7 400 series is testament to that. While it’s almost half the weight of my personal gaming lappie, I found it wasn’t lacking in 99 percent of the tasks I asked of it.
The very first thing I loved was how wonderfully portable it is. At a hair over 3 pounds, it really is quite pleasant to use it on one’s lap. It also helps that the thermals are not bad. It get a little warm under heavier, non-gaming loads, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Gaming of course changes that, but if that’s your goal, maybe head over to a desk.
The screen is also vibrant and sharp, letting me get quite precise in stitching audio files together for our podcast. Audio quality was likewise understandably great, and while I’d still use headphones for a final master, the built-in speakers did a great job with clarity—much much better than I would have expected from laptop speakers, and good enough to forget about headphones when watching videos.
As for performance, I am an extremely multitasking-heavy person. I never close tabs, programs or windows, and just alt-tab into each one as my extremely scrambled brain sees necessary. The Ryzen 7 processor on the IdeaPad Slim 7 didn’t seem to care in the least. From multiple browser winds, each with multiple tabs and streams, to my DAW, downloads, and OBS, it didn’t seem to mind my particular usage habits. Again, for just how thin and light it is, it really brings the goods.
Rendering audio files (I haven’t really learned video, but I’m working on it!) was impressively fast, a testament to the compute power that the processor brings to the table. Having used it more than a few times for this purpose, I’d not hesitate to take this out with me as mysole device for recording and producing podcasts, from the recording, all the way to uploading. Impressive. For general desk jockey work it won’t even notice the load. Another thing worthy of note is that the keyboard is quite pleasant, even compared to larger laptops. There’s good travel, a nice, tactile feel, lots of room between keys. All in all, a great keyboard for long typing sessions.
When I am finally done with work I still like to kick back with a little gaming. Overwatch remains our poison, and despite its integrated graphics and its general form factor, the IdeaPad Slim 7 was more than up to the task. With the correct peripherals plugged in (a claw controller, gaming mouse, and wireless headset), I was quite comfortable with playing on this 14-incher. It holds a steady 60 FPS at medium settings, and while it does get quite hot, the fans are able to manage, and it doesn’t seem to threaten to shut down, even after over an hour of playing.
Battery life is equally impressive, going well past a full workday without having to plug in. Charged up, and without too much of a load, say, regular office work, I actually wouldn’t be too afraid to leave the charger at home.
VALUE: 5/5
The Ideapad Slim 7 delivers great bang for the buck. At a starting price of PHP 49,995, you get the Ryzen 7 4000-series processor, 16GB of RAM, great battery life, and even some gaming thrown in. All that plus great entertainment potential makes this a prime candidate for anyone looking for great value with great performance.
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 12.62” x 8.18” x 0.58”
- Weight: 3.08 lbs
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 4800
- RAM: 16GB
- Storage: 500GB SSD
- Display: 14.0 inches, FHD IPS 1920×1080
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Integrated
- Battery: 65 WH
What’s Hot:
- Superb performance
- Great battery life
- Impressive price
What’s Not:
- Nothing to see here
Bottomline:
In the market for a new laptop to keep you company as you work or study from home? This is a great option.
Also published in Gadgets Magazine November 2020 Issue.
Reviewed by Ren Alcantara