This notebook Ideapad 720s-15, is produced by Lenovo. It’s part of Lenovo’s Ideapad line of laptops, which are popular for their portability and versatility.
The Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 comes equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i7 engine and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics, making it capable of doing office work, web surfing, and online gaming. This post will offer you an in-depth look at the Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15. Therefore, stay in touch until the very end.
My Perception of the Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15
Although it hasn’t received the same level of attention as the Lenovo Yoga, this laptop might be worth considering for your next notebook buy.
Last night’s lap warmers had a role in my decision-making process. After using a Skylake XPS 13 and an MSI GS60 gaming laptop, I was looking for a middle ground. The XPS 13’s construction was sturdy (though its components didn’t last long), it had a long battery life, and it looked professional enough to bring to any client site or presentation.
The MSI laptop has a big, bright screen and enough gaming power to keep you entertained with space sims on a work trip or shoot ’em ups over the weekend with pals. Therefore, I sought a device that combined the two, offering both a professional design and a gaming-ready GPU for use on the move.
Finding reliable information is a real challenge when using a laptop. Most reviews are superficial; for example, relatively few discuss throttling. Furthermore, show-stoppers don’t always appear until a million monkeys get their hands on the device and start picking at it.
For instance, the Dell XPS 15 is infamous for throttling in games, and the Gigabyte Aero 15 loses keystrokes if you hold down multiple modifier keys at once.
The Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 meets all my requirements on paper, but how does it feel on my lap?
Design and Build Quality
The notebook makes a good first impression. It is covered in silver metal and has “Lenovo” carved subtly in black on the upper right lid. The underside of the device has the same design and color scheme as the rest of the device, and it is free of stickers other than the obligatory Microsoft logo.
A thin metal layer, rather than the thick metal plate of the XPS line, covers the top surface, allowing the screen to bend somewhat when pressure is applied to the right and left sides.
When you open it up, you’ll see a full-sized keyboard in the same color, complete with a numpad and adjustable backlighting (off, low, high). This keyboard is mounted to a rigid metal plate, so it won’t bend when you type.
Although the trackpad is sturdy and responsive, it lacks the Thinkpad line’s traditional physical right and left clickers in favor of the more mainstream “invisible-button” design.
Some users have complained that the trackpad loses its responsiveness after prolonged usage, but I have never seen this problem. There is a peculiarly sharp edge on the top interior surface of this laptop, which deserves special attention. This is not a particularly painful spot to use, but I could see it getting dinged up or chipped.
Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 Body Dimensions
This laptop is thinner and lighter than Dell’s XPS 15 range at 0.70 inches (17.95mm) and 4.18 pounds (1.92 kg). There are narrow bezels, and the camera is positioned appropriately, above the display. With a discreet fingerprint reader, logging in is as easy as pie.
Connectors and Ports
The value of a laptop is proportional to the variety of connections it offers to the outside world. The Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 requires some concessions in this department because of its limited port selection (one TB3 (2 lanes), one USB C, one USB A, and one SD Card slot).
Video output and more USB A peripherals will need a trip to Dongletown for those of us who utilize Logitech mouse adapters as I do. You won’t have access to a lock hole if you work in a shared office.
Display and Audio System
Even with my usual on-the-go settings of 40% brightness and power saver mode, the screen on this laptop is rather great. The colors look vivid, and you can see them from a wide variety of angles.
Although the FHD model’s backlight bleed has been reported to be very strong, my laptop’s bleed is not too bad (see below).
There doesn’t appear to be any noticeable ghosting on this 60 Hz monitor. The speakers on the laptop’s bottom front are fine, but they won’t be heard over a quilt or other thick fabric.
Software
Lenovo’s little pre-installed software is a welcome relief. This Windows 10 installation was much less cluttered than the average one on consumer hardware after I uninstalled the trial versions of antivirus software and the included games.
How Long Does the Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 Last on A Charge?
This laptop stands out from others with comparable specs thanks in part to its 79-watt-hour battery with legs. I have yet to use the battery completely in a single session, but after two hours and forty-five minutes of web surfing, word processing, and video watching, I am down to 72%. It seems reasonable to expect 8.5-10 hours of use from a single charge.
Heat And the Sound of The Fans
You should expect some level of fan noise. Even though the fan seems like it’s always on, it’s actually much quieter under stress than any other laptop I’ve used with discrete graphics. This can be because of the 15.6″ screen size or the MaxQ design.
Under heavy demand, the standard settings cause this laptop to stutter. As can be seen in the images below, the GPU will eventually throttle when Doom 2016 is run at high settings using the factory voltage curve. Unfortunately, it does not dynamically select a middle ground and instead throttles from 1,680MHz to 1,150MHz and stays there. Continuously subjecting the GPU to near full load is required to observe this behavior.
Performance
The Lenovo 720S 15’s 1050Ti Max-Q graphics card sets it apart from the competition. Thanks to the new Max-Q designs, I am able to play DOTA 2, Fortnite, Overwatch, Killing Floor 2, and Doom 2016* on medium to high settings at a smooth 60 frames per second.
The highest GPU temperatures reached 71 degrees Celsius when under load, with undervolted settings. The CPU’s performance with the Intel 620 IGP for productivity tasks is excellent even under heavy use.
Undervolting brings the 3DMark Time Spy score down to 2,307, with the GPU scoring 2,165 and the CPU scoring 3,672.
The Pluses
- The Aesthetics of a Profession
- Long-lasting batteries
- “Tier 1.5” Construction Quality
- The modern AAA titles are no match for the 1050Ti Max Q.
- Big, colorful display
- Surprisingly silent and chill under heavy gaming loads
- Undervolting Yields Fantastic Outcomes
- You can remove unwanted software without performing a clean install.
- Extensive keypad with numeric keypad
- Camera and fingerprint reader at the right places
What’s Bad
- No direct video out and only one USB type A port
- “Tier 1.5” Construction Quality
- Lenovo’s middle SKU is the least expensive with a discount or promotion.
- In this price range, dedicated devices are noticeably faster than general-purpose ones.
- The chassis is very sensitive to fingerprints.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 is a versatile and reasonably priced laptop that can do a variety of jobs. It’s a wonderful option for people that need a flexible device for their day-to-day computing demands due to its portability, strong processor, and graphics card.
The disadvantages of the laptop are that it has a lower battery life, generates more heat and noise, and cannot be upgraded very easily. If you’re in the market for a lightweight yet powerful laptop, the Lenovo Ideapad 720s-15 deserves serious consideration.