Join us as we unbox the Lenovo Ideapad V14! The affordable laptop comes with an 11th Gen Intel Core i processor with up to 16GB of RAM and 2TB of internal storage. It’s got options for a discreet NVIDIA MX350 GPU for heavier workloads as well. On the display side of things, it comes with a 14-inch, Full HD display and comes with a full-sized laptop keyboard without a numpad.
Tag Archives: IdeaPad
[CES 2021] Lenovo Kickstarts 2021 with New IdeaPad 5 and Lenovo Tab Line-Up
CES 2021 is well under way and every other manufacturer is kicking off the year 2021 with a bang. After a bad year in 2020, we kind of need this. CES 2021 then, is the time that we see tech giants waking up from a bad slumber in 2020. Of course, as the world’s largest PC maker, Lenovo has to be a part of the biggest electronic show in the first half of the year.
Lenovo introduces their follow up to one of their most popular notebook PC line-ups in their stables. They have updated their IdeaPad line-up. First off, they changed the naming scheme to be more in theme with the rest of their devices since the Lenovo Legion 7 and such. They now call it the IdeaPad 5 series.
IdeaPad 5G
They kick off the year with 5G connectivity though, with a Qualcomm powered IdeaPad 5G. The new IdeaPad 5G made for 2021 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx System on A chip (SoC) with 5G compute capabilities. Within the all-in-one chip is also a powerful Qualcomm Adreno 680 GPU for all kinds of graphical needs. You can also opt for a 4G/LTE variant powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8c, if you feel that you are not ready for 5G just yet.
The Qualcomm processor package powers a 14-inch IPS display that pushes 1080p Full HD with 100% sRGB colour gamut. You get up to 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage to go with the device too for good measure. It also comes with an IR sensor with its webcam to fully utilise Windows Hello’s facial recognition feature.
With Dolby Audio speakers, entertainment should be ideal on the IdeaPad 5G. Imagine taking Netflix with you even when there is no WiFi. Imagine also watching Netflix hours on end with 51WHr of battery. Running out of power? Maybe quickly charge it via Rapid Charge Express via the USB Type-C port.
IdeaPad 5 Pro & IdeaPad 5i Pro
But it is not all Qualcomm and 5G that Lenovo is bringing to the table. Of course, there is the regular notebook PCs that we are used to. Lenovo is also launching their AMD variant at the same time as the Intel variant. They are the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Pro.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro
We start with their AMD variant, because we honestly feel that AMD powered notebooks are getting less attention than they deserve. Still, at least this one is launched at the same time with its Intel counterpart. It is also packing quite a lot of punch.
You get to choose from AMD’s next-gen Mobile Processors. We are guessing the Ryzen 4000 series processors, but Lenovo is not telling. That kind of hints the arrival of AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series for notebooks and mobile PCs, but there has not been reports of the Ryzen 5000 series hitting notebooks just yet at this time. We could be wrong.
The new Ryzen processors will power either a 14-inch or 16-inch display with up to 1.8K (14-inch) resolution. Both displays at IPS panels that stretches 16:10 display ratio offering up to 120Hz (16-inch) in refresh rate. You get up to 400 nits (14-inch) in brightness too, from these panels.
With the 14-inch You get up to an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU that should be available from NVIDIA soon. It is not a gaming notebook and you should not expect it to be one. Still, the MX450 is NVIDIA’s most powerful discreet GPU for mobile platforms to date.
On the 16-inch variant, you can technically kit it out as a gaming PC. Lenovo says that the new IdeaPad 5 Pro with AMD power will pack NVIDIA’s next-gen RTX 30 series GPUs to boot. That also means gaming class performance in a body that works even in the meeting rooms.
You also get up to 32GB in DDR4 RAM (16-inch) and up to 1TB of PCIe M.2 SSD storage for good measure. The notebook PC comes packing either a 56.5WHr (14-inch) or 75WHr (16-inch) in battery capacity with Rapid Charge Boost technology for a quick plug-and-dash.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Pro
Then we come to the Intel variant, which we all expect. You get up to an Intel Core i7 from their 11th generation stable of capable processors. That is also paired to up to an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU that should allow the PC to process 4K videos properly and even play some games.
You also get to choose between a 14-inch display that boasts 2.8K in resolution out of a 16:10 screen ratio. That 14-inch of IPS goodness refreshes at 90Hz and can punch your face at 400 nits in brightness. Or you can go bigger at 16-inch. The 16-inch display is also a 16:10 type display but only produces 2.5K in resolution. You get 120Hz in refresh rate though at a still impressive 350 nits in brightness.
You get up to 16GB in DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB in PCIe M.2 SSD storage too for both size variants. Like the AMD variant, the 14-inch only gets 56.5WHr in battery size with Rapid Charge Boost while the 16-inch variant gets a 75WHr battery with Rapid Charge Express via a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Lenovo Tab P11
The Android tablet market is quite stale these days with the usual offering from the likes of Samsung. There are some other offerings from Acer as well, but they are made for a completely different purpose and sense. Until now, there is no competing tablet to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 series.
We said until now because Lenovo has announced their Lenovo Tab P11. The Lenovo Tab P11 is an 11-inch tablet that is supposed to also come with a keyboard case and stylus pen of its own. Its 11-inch IPS panel also boasts 2K (2,000 x 1,200) in resolution. All that goodness can be pushed to 400 nits. But the 400 nits should not hurt your eyes too much with TÜV Rheinland certified Eye Care technology.
The 11-incher packs a Qualcomm’s power efficient Snapdragon 662 platform with LTE connectivity. While it does not pack as much power as Samsung’s high-end Exynos powering the Galaxy Tab S7 series, the Snapdragon 662 is still a capable enough SoC on its own. The SoC is partnered with 6GB of RAM for plenty of multitasking and smooth browsing when needed.
The Lenovo Tab P11 is made to be a family friendly tablet you can enjoy at home though. It has something called Kids Space made by Google for curated lists of apps, books, and even videos to motivate learning in kids under 9 years of age.
The 8MP selfie camera is also perfect for video calls. For meetings you need to take at home, you can even turn on Smart Privacy mode to blur out your background. That, or when you want to hide the mess that is behind you or mask your whereabouts. It is an entertainment powerhouse with Dolby Atmos certified quad speakers for the best possible aural experience when you want movies or videos in whichever orientation you prefer.
Price and Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5g is expected to hit selected markets only. There are no mentions on its release date or even which markets will get it first. Lenovo only mentions that the Lenovo is not bringing it to the North American market currently. We are not even sure it if it is going to make it into Malaysia at all, there are no plans currently.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (16-inch) with AMD’s latest H-Series processors and next-gen NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs will be available in North American markets starting May 2021. The retail price is expected to start from US$ 1,149.99 (MRY 4,650*). The 14-inch variant will not be available in the North American region but is supposed to launch in EMEA region in March 2021 with a retail price starting EU€ 799 (MYR 3,933**). Again, there are no word on its availability in Malaysia specifically.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Pro (16-inch) with Intel’s 11th generation Core processors will not be available in North America yet. It will be launched in the EMEA markets starting March 2021 with prices starting from EU€ 899 (MYR 4,425**). The 14-inch in variant is also supposedly launched in EMEA at around the same time with prices starting from EU€699 (MYR 3,440**). Its availability in Malaysia is also not yet confirmed by Lenovo Malaysia.
The Lenovo Tab P11 is now available in the North American region at US$ 229.99 (MYR 930*). Like the other things that has been announced, there are no confirmation on the device’s availability in Malaysia just yet. Of course, we are keeping our ears to the ground and keep you posted on any changes in any of this, keep watch of this space.
*Approximately based on Conversion Rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.04 as of 11th January 2021 (xe.com)
**Approximately based on Conversion Rate of EU€ 1 = MYR 4.92 as of 11th January 2021 (xe.com)
Lenovo Legion 2020 Line-up Also Includes the Legion Phone
Lenovo Legion should not be an unfamiliar name for gamers by now. Personally, the Lenovo Legion Notebook PCs that came out last year are some of the ones that stand out most in the gaming notebook PC market. They are also some of the most well-built notebook gaming PCs in the market in our humble opinions.
The design language of the 2019 line-up of Lenovo Legion products hits the spot, we feel in balancing the powerful look of a gaming notebook and a sleek looking mobile productivity machine. They look industrial, durable, and clean. So we are quite glad to see that design language continue in the 2020 line-up of Lenovo Legion products.
Lenovo Legion 7i
We start with the most powerful notebook PC in their line-up for 2020, the Lenovo Legion 7i. Not the Y700 series anymore this time, just a simple number and letter marking its CPU variant according to Lenovo. The good part is that it simplifies naming and recognition of the notebooks. To be fair though, Lenovo’s line-up is not as extensive as the likes of ASUS, so confusion should be limited in the first place.
Still, the Lenovo Legion 7i is the brand’s flagship portable gaming rig that packs the power of Intel’s most powerful mobile CPU, the 10th Generation Intel Core i9 (up to). That is paired to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU for a maxed out performance while gaming. While the hardware you can find within the all-aluminium body is testament enough that this is a serious piece of kit for both LAN parties and any CPU and GPU intensive work conditions, it does not stop here.
The Lenovo Legion 7i also has an impressive array of RGB lights on the keyboard and around the outer shell to let anyone else in the room know that you are running a serious rig. You control the lighting effects via Corsair’s trusty iCUE RGB software built into the Lenovo Legion 7i. It is individual LED lights on the keyboard too, so you can have different colours on each keys if you want. Or, if you are like me, keep everything lighted to a single colour (a waste of good RGB I know).
To keep things cool, Lenovo developed something they call Coldfront 2.0. While that sounds like a bunch of gimmicks, it is actually a very clever solution to cool the CPU and GPU for optimised performance. Heat is the enemy, here, you get the idea. There is no way around the fact that the space on a notebook PC is very limited and therefore airflow is highly restricted in these conditions. Lenovo’s way of managing this is a combination of clever fan management from the software and designing more efficient heat sinks and pipes in optimised locations within the aluminium body.
It sounds plenty easier said that done though. The new Vapor Chamber (heat pipes) that Lenovo developed for the Lenovo Legion 7i is supposedly larger than before, which is a challenge around the restricted space of the notebook PC. Still, they managed it so that there is more efficient heat transfer from the CPU and GPU to the cooling fans and ducts. All this while managing to keep two NVMe M.2 slots for two ultra-fast SSD and one SATA slot for maximum storage.
All these is nothing though if you are seeing everything through a terrible display. Some of the previous Lenovo Legion notebook PCs have gotten a few negative comments when it comes to the display because plenty of them use TN (Twisted Nematic) panel displays. Those panels are known for horrible colour accuracy, washed out images, and even worse colour contrast. They are very fast though, pushing 300Hz in refresh rates in some cases and easily push 1ms in response time.
The progression in IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology though has allowed Lenovo to take advantage of the more colour accurate displays on the Lenovo Legion 7i with Full HD resolution with up to 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time (unreal, we know). Those, along with 1000% of sRGB colour gamut for super accurate colours when you need to do all your Adobe Photoshop work or Adobe Premiere Pro colour grading work.
Smarter Gaming
Lenovo has always looked for ways to innovate in the PC market. After all, it is a very saturated market with too many players to name in the first place. Staying at the front of the market with new innovations then is very important.
For the Lenovo Legion gaming line-up they have developed a new Lenovo Vantage software that allows users to have full control over each aspect of Lenovo’s gaming rigs. You can change the fan behaviour from the software itself. You can technically set maximum fan speed, and even more overclocking or undervolting settings within the software. Of course, if you know what you are doing with a PC, you might get more out of this than Lenovo’s own default settings for yourself.
With the Vantage also comes Lenovo’s new Q-Control 3.0. This is to control both the fan speed and overclocking on the Legion notebook PCs. It is designed to quickly switch between different thermal profiles to either keep the PC quiet, or to maximise cooling efforts.
Ther have also tuned the displays on the new Lenovo Legion notebook PC line-up. The new IPS panels means better colour accuracy. Lenovo’s very own Legion Visual software optimises the graphics and colours even more by tuning the colours for optimum usage in different brightness settings and use cases.
They even made the new Legion products last even longer than before with 80Wh of battery pack now. That means that Lenovo’s Legion gaming rigs can last up to 8 hours on a single charge or more, depending on hardware power requirements and others. 8 hours is a long time for any gaming PC though.
Lenovo Legion 5Pi
There is a few variants of the Lenovo Legion 5 series that is coming into Malaysia and we, of course, start with the most powerful one. This is also Lenovo’s second most powerful Notebook PC that is coming to Malaysia. As the ‘i’ in the naming scheme suggests, this is an Intel powered gaming Notebook PC. It has a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 (up to) paired to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (up to).
While not as powerful as the super powerful Lenovo Legion 7i, the Lenovo Legion 5Pi is more powerful than plenty of gaming notebooks of its class. You get some really nice features on the Lenovo Legion 5Pi still too. There is a 4-zone RGB still on the keyboard of the Legion 5Pi notebook PC to show that this is not just a normal Lenovo Legion 5 series. Even the top clam housing the display has a slightly different design with the Legion ‘Y’ Logo front and center of the clam.
The display is also a Full HD IPS panel with 100% sRGB colour gamut to make short work of Adobe Photoshop. Along with 144Hz refresh rate and up to 1ms response time, this could be the perfect rig if you are on a slightly lower budget but still need a primary notebook PC to work with in LAN parties or at work. Again, I would tone down the RGB for myself, a matter of preference.
Lenovo Legion 5i
The Lenovo Legion 5i is technically the Lenovo Legion 5Pi, but a little toned down. As the naming moniker suggests too, it is an Intel device. Powered by Intel’s 10th Generation 10nm Core i7 (up to), this thing is still no slouch. In place of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super though is a slightly less powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti. The GTX 1660Ti is still powerful stuff to work with though. It is more than enough in most cases to deal with AAA games, Adobe Photoshop and 1080p video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro.
For better colour accuracy for those software too, the Lenovo Legion 5i gets a nice IPS panel with 100% sRGB colour gamut like its more powerful and premium Legion 5Pi at 144Hz and up to 1ms response time. This is the perfect balance between raw power and budget. It does not feature the same front and center logo design like the 5Pi, but you still get an all-aluminium body build and the same Legion design of the Legion 7i
Lenovo Legion 5
And then there is the AMD offering that we also saw from AMD’s presentation for the APAC region yesterday. The Lenovo Legion 5. Yes, just the number ‘5’ without any thing like an ‘a’ or ‘R’. There is a small caveat with the AMD version for now though. The Lenovo Legion 5 only comes with up to an AMD Ryzen 5-4500H CPU.
There is no mention anywhere yet on whether or not we will see an AMD Ryzen 7 or even the Ryzen 9 variant pop up in either the Legion 5i or the Legion 7i, but we remain hopeful. Still, the Ryzen 5-4500H is AMD’s latest 4000 series CPUs that has proven in value and power. Paired to an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, the AMD powerhouse should still impress in games and even for workflow, especially when it comes to CPU intensive software like Adobe’s Premiere Pro.
At the same time you only get 8GB in RAM, but you can always add another one RAM stick into the notebook PC or upgrade the one that is already in the PC. Lenovo encourages you to do that apparently. They even have a guide to help you do that on your own on their website.
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
A top-end and a mid-range has to be competed with an entry-level. After all, accessibility to the products becomes a concern sometimes when it comes to gaming. That is the idea of the IdeaPad Gaming 3i (no pun intended).
The Lenovo IdeaPad does not have the Legion branding moniker. It is still no slouch though. You still get Intel’s latest 10th Generation Core i7 (up to). You also can spec it with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 if you want and it will be the perfect companion for both work and play on a budget.
The 15-inch display is still a Full HD resolution display and fast enough for plenty of games. You get up to 120Hz in refresh rate, which is more than enough for most use case and games. It also comes with some Lenovo Legion design work within the body. That means bigger thermal pipes for better thermal performance under load too.
Lenovo Legion Tower 5i
Their product range is not just limited to notebook PCs though. Although that is the current most popular platform, nothing beats the power of a desktop tower set up. Lenovo has that answer too with the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i that is set to launch in Malaysia later in the year.
They did mention a more powerful Lenovo Legion Tower 7i too, but unfortunately that is not coming to Malaysia. Still, the Legion Tower 5i is a powerful gaming PC tower than anyone can appreciate. You get two variants of the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 series technically. You can spec your’s with either an AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPU or a 10th Generation Intel Core CPU. You can also pick from a variety of GPUs up to an NVIDIA GeForce 2070 Super if you want.
While it is a tower, it is not that big of a thing and is designed to be something that is small enough and light enough to be as portable as possible. In this case, you can even take it out to a LAN party alongside a small monitor and keyboard and still get the benefit of gaming on a proper desktop rig.
Lenovo Legion Phone – the Future of Gaming Smartphones
Lenovo has not been in the smartphone game for a while. That is since they took over with Motorola. They did make some compelling smartphones and tablets in the past though.
Earlier in the year there are rumours surrounding Lenovo jumping back into the smartphone scene with a gaming focused smartphone. They dub it the Lenovo Legion Phone. There are no confirmation of specifications or renders yet about the anticipated device. We do have confirmation from Lenovo’s executives regarding the existence of the device and that we will see it somewhere in the late 2020.
There are still no confirmed dates on the device so far. The only thing we got from them is; “Lenovo will launch a Legion gaming phone in 2020. Please stay tuned for more information”. Which is not too much to work with. We are excited to see ROG Phone II, Black Shark II, and Razer Phone rival though.
Price and Availability
The Lenovo Legion 7i, Lenovo Legion Tower 5i, and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i will be coming later in 2020. There are no confirmed prices for the three models mentioned yet too. We are expecting the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i to hover somewhere between MYR 2,500 and MYR 3,500 price point though.
The Lenovo Legion 5, Lenovo Legion 5i, and Lenovo Legion 5Pi will be available in Malaysia June 2020 onward. The AMD based Lenovo Legion 5 will be the most affordable option with prices starting from MYR 3,599. The Lenovo Legion 5 with Intel’s Core i5 will start from MYR 4,199. Of course, you can get that with an Intel Core i7 too. The top-of-the-line Lenovo Legion 5Pi will set you back at least MYR 6,399.