Lenovo Chromebook S330 Review: Affordable and Lightweight

Lenovo Chromebook S330: At First Glance

Chromebooks have become the first choice for most people wanting to buy a portable and affordable laptop. However, most users would expect a poor overall experience due to their low price.

However, even at under $200, there are some Chromebooks that stand out such as the Lenovo Chromebook S330. The Lenovo Chromebook S330 is a decent low-cost entry-level Chrome OS laptop that starts at $155.00 (price correct as of September 2021).

Thanks to its low price, solid specifications, and impressive performance, this laptop is one of the best-value Chromebooks available. However, no laptop can have it all, therefore; the Lenovo Chromebook S330 has a few drawbacks.

In the rest of this article, I’ll discuss these drawbacks as well as the good features of this Chromebook. So, if you want to find out, continue reading!

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Design, Dimensions & Weight

You may expect Lenovo Chromebook S330 to look cheap due to its low price, but that is not the case. Although the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is primarily built of plastic, it is pretty good-looking, lightweight, and quite sturdy.

The laptop’s plastic body feels basic. However, for $155.00, I wasn’t expecting a metal build or a luxurious exterior either.

In any case, the Chromebook has a pretty attractive black color.

Unfortunately, the laptop’s matte black exterior, while scratch-resistant, attracts fingerprints easily. On the plus side, there are no sharp edges, just smooth corners, and decent plastic chassis. 

Additionally, the Lenovo Chromebook S330’s textured lid feels nice to touch when the lid is closed. Moreover, on the lid, you will find a Chrome logo in the upper right

Also, on the upper left corner of the lid, there is a Lenovo logo.

Two sizable and sturdy hinges that run almost the entire length of the laptop’s back hold the lid to the base. However, because this is not a 2-in-1 convertible laptop, the lid can only open fully 180 degrees.

Opening up the Lenovo Chromebook S330’s lid, you will be greeted by thick bezels around the 14-inch anti-glare display. The top bezel features a 720p webcam and a microphone hole.

At the bottom bezel, you’ll find a Lenovo logo.  

As mentioned earlier, the laptop’s display is anti-glare meaning it resists reflection. Therefore, you’ll be comfortable working in bright conditions or outdoor.

Moreover, the 14-inch display comes with an FHD (1920 x 1080) screen resolution. The display screen is vivid and crisp.

However, viewing angles are very poor.

Although the display’s viewing angles are poor, the display screen is reasonably bright, recording a maximum brightness of 220 nits. Overall, I think for most users, the display on the Chromebook S330 should be adequate for everyday usage.

In addition to its decent display screen, the keyboard is also a nice feature that will delight most users. The keys on the keyboard have decent travel, feel pretty nice and clicky.

In addition to the aforementioned features, the keys on the keyboard are also very responsive.

Unfortunately, the keyboard isn’t backlit. However, this is understandable considering the laptop’s starting price.

Below the keyboard is a huge touchpad with a plastic surface that is very smooth and also responsive. Additionally, the touchpad features integrated click buttons which also has decent travel just like the keyboard’s keys.

Underneath the Lenovo Chromebook S330 are two speakers. The sound produced by these speakers is surprisingly loud.

However, just like most Chromebook speakers, these speakers lack bass.

As mentioned earlier, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 features a 720p webcam embedded in its display top bezel. This webcam isn’t really good at capturing colorful images.

However, the webcam is adequate enough for video calls.

Just like any other Chromebook, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 comes with ChromeOS created by Google. ChromeOS is a friendly, simple operating system that enables quick access to the internet, video streaming, and Android app downloads.

The Lenovo Chromebook S330’s connectivity options are pretty decent. However, they may be insufficient for some users.

The left side of the laptop features a USB 3.0 port, HDMI 4.1 port, SD card reader, and USB-C port.

Moreover, the USB-C port serves as a display port and can also be used for charging the laptop. On the right side of the laptop, you’ll find the 3.5 audio port and Kensington lock.

For wireless connectivity, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 features Bluetooth 4.1 and a dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac.

As mentioned earlier, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is pretty lightweight, this is due to its plastic build. Therefore, it weighs merely 1450 g and measures 325.7 x 232.3 x 20.8 mm.

Comparatively, the ASUS Chromebook C423NA weighs less. Specifically, the ASUS Chromebook C423NA measures 322.6 x 228 x 16.1 mm and weighs 1340 g.

In any case, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 remains one of the best lightweight Chromebooks available. Thanks to its lightweight, users can easily move around with it or store it in a backpack.

In conclusion, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 features a decent build quality, even though it is made of plastic. Additionally, this laptop comes with a good keyboard and it is quite light thanks to its plastic build.

Therefore, I believe the Lenovo Chromebook S330 deserves an eight in this design review section.

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Processor (CPU) Performance

One thing to note is that the Lenovo Chromebook S330 doesn’t feature an Intel or AMD processor. Instead, it uses a quad-core MediaTek MTK 8173C processor with no cache memory.

Furthermore, the MediaTek MTK 8173C CPU is a processor that is mostly used in Android tablets. Additionally, this processor runs at a base frequency of 1.70 GHz with no maximum frequency.

Therefore, this processor is not the most powerful; it won’t be able to run demanding applications or perform heavy multitasking. However, not to worry, Chrome OS is designed to be less demanding.

So, the MediaTek MTK 8173C processor will deliver decent performance for basic computing tasks.

In any case, you should not expect exceptional performance for heavy tasks such as video editing. However, you will be able to perform basic tasks like video streaming, light multitasking, and word processing.

Moving on, I used a CPU benchmark test to assess the capabilities of the Lenovo Chromebook S330 with this processor. Specifically, I performed a Geekbench 4 benchmark test.

Geekbench 4 is a benchmark test that measures how well a laptop or phone can handle real-world tasks. At the end of this test, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 delivered a score of 1204 points.

Comparatively, the ASUS Chromebook C423NA which uses an Intel Celeron N3350 processor performed slightly better. Specifically, the ASUS Chromebook C423NA scored 1495 points on the Geekbench 4 benchmark test.

In conclusion, the Lenovo Chromebook S330’s processor may not be powerful but it is adequate for basic tasks. Moreover, considering the laptop’s price, this processor is quite okay.

Therefore, I will be rating the Lenovo Chromebook S330 a 7 in this processor review section.

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Memory (RAM) Performance

For memory, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 comes with a standard memory of 4 GB LPDDR3.

Unfortunately, the maximum memory supported on the laptop is also 4 GB. However, when you consider the starting price of the laptop, the quantity of RAM provided is quite a bargain.

Furthermore, the laptop comes with a single RAM slot soldered to the motherboard. Therefore, the RAM is non-removable or upgradable.

However, I don’t really think you will feel the need to upgrade the RAM of this laptop. This is because 4 GB RAM is more than enough for what the laptop is designed for – basic tasks such as word processing and light multitasking.

Speaking of multitasking, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 performed moderately while multitasking with its 4 GB RAM. When testing its multitasking capability, I launched 10+ Chrome tabs, with two tabs streaming videos on YouTube.

Performing these tasks, the laptop ran smoothly. The Chrome browser tabs did load a bit slower, but you won’t be disappointed with the laptop’s overall performance.

As a way to further determine the Lenovo Chromebook S330 performance with its 4 GB, I ran a PCMark test. It is worth noting that this PCMark test is actually a PCMark for Android benchmark test.

I performed the PCMark for Android test because the main PCMark test is not supported on Chromebooks. So, due to the fact that Chromebooks supports Android applications, I downloaded a PCMark Android application on the Google Play store.

PCMark for Android is an app-based benchmarking tool that evaluates how well a device can handle tasks like data processing. Based on the outcome of the PCMark for Android test, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 scored 3678 Points.

When compared to its Lenovo sibling (Lenovo Chromebook C330), the Lenovo Chromebook S330 performed worse. On the PCMark for Android test, the Lenovo Chromebook C330 scored 5478 points.

In conclusion, the memory performance of the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is adequate for handling basic tasks and light multitasking. For these reasons, I will be rating the Lenovo Chromebook S330 an eight in this memory review.

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Storage Options & Performance

The Lenovo Chromebook S330’s storage option is one of its most appealing features. Unlike most Chromebooks, which have 32 GB of storage, this laptop features 64 GB of eMMC storage.

Considering the laptop’s starting price, 64 GB is an impressive storage capacity. Additionally, even Chromebooks twice its price features a limited storage capacity of 32 GB. 

Such a small storage capacity is not appealing considering that most smartphones have as much as 256 GB of storage. So, I’m impressed that Lenovo offers 64 GB storage on the Chromebook S330 despite its price.

In addition to its impressive 64 GB storage capacity, this Chromebook features a 4-in-1 card reader for storage expansion. That isn’t all, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 also includes a free two-year 100 GB Google Drive storage.

To sum it all up, the storage options on the Lenovo Chromebook S330 are really impressive and sufficient. Therefore, I will rate the Lenovo Chromebook S330 a nine out of ten in this storage review section.

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Graphics Card Performance

In the aspect of graphics, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 ships with PowerVR GX6250 Graphics. This graphics card has a base GPU frequency of 700 MHz.

Unfortunately, the GPU does not have a boost frequently. Also, it does not feature a dedicated VRAM.

The graphics card lacks dedicated VRAM because it is an integrated graphics card, not a discrete graphics card. An integrated graphics card is part of the CPU.

So, an integrated GPU shares the computer’s main memory (in this instance, the 4 GB RAM) with the CPU.

As a result, you should not expect exceptional gaming performance from the Lenovo Chromebook S330 with the PowerVR GX6250 Graphics. Also, don’t expect this Chromebook to run graphic-demanding applications or high-end games.

To determine the capabilities of this graphics card, I played some android games on the Lenovo Chromebook S330. While playing an android game called Dead Trigger 2, the laptop delivered an impressive frame rate of 59 fps.

Furthermore, the laptop also played Temple Run 2 smoothly, delivering a frame rate of 60 fps.

In conclusion, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is not impressive when it comes to graphic performance. However, this is understandable considering that Chromebooks aren’t meant for gaming or running graphic-demanding apps.

With all these said, I will be rating the Lenovo Chromebook S330 an eight in this graphics review section. This rating is based on the fact that the laptop played some Android games at an impressive frame rate.

Lenovo Chromebook S330: Battery Life & Performance

Lenovo powers the Chromebook S330 with a 3-cell 45 Wh, Li-Polymer battery. In terms of battery life, Lenovo advertised that the Chromebook S330’s battery should last 10 hours.

Who trusts manufacturers’ claims about their laptops’ battery life? Well, not me!

Therefore, I put the Lenovo Chromebook S330 on a battery test to verify Lenovo’s claim about its battery. To start the battery test, I charged the laptop from 0% to 100%, which took about 3 hours.  

Then I connected the laptop to a WIFI network and adjusted the laptop brightness to 50%. After that, I browsed the internet continuously until the laptop gave up.

At the end of this test, the laptop died after 7 hours of runtime. This is about 3 hours less than Lenovo’s actual claim.

Comparatively, the ASUS Chromebook C523NA performed worse, lasting only 6 hours. However, the HP Chromebook 14 lasted longer, lasting a total of 9 hours.

In conclusion, the Lenovo Chromebook S330’s battery life is above average, even though it is not up to Lenovo’s claim. For this reason, I will be rating the Lenovo Chromebook S330 an eight out of ten.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclcusion

The Lenovo Chromebook S330, as I previously stated, is one of the best entry-level Chromebooks on the market. This laptop has three distinguishing characteristics: it is relatively affordable, well-designed, and has an impressive storage space.

However, it is not fast enough for intensive tasks, although it performs adequately for basic tasks. When you consider the price and its amazing features, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is definitely a good bargain.

Therefore, if you need a solid entry-level Chromebook for basic tasks, you know where to go!

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