Lenovo Ideapad 130S: At First Glance
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S is an affordable laptop with entry-level features. It brings an exciting feel for the budget-conscious consumer.
Most times, you will expect a budget laptop to have the least pleasing appearance, but the Lenovo Ideapad 130S is not displeasing to behold. Though it doesn’t look very classy, it does a good job of surpassing expectations.
However, the moment you decide to purchase a budget laptop, you should adjust your expectation accordingly. Nonetheless, its features and specs are interesting enough to earn one’s attention.
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Design, Dimension, and Weight
Just like many standard laptops, the Lenovo Ideapad 130S has a regular design and build. Unlike the adventurous path many laptops seem to take with their design, Lenovo has remained simple.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S looks attractive with its simple and professional build. It comes in three color variants – Mineral Grey, Midnight Blue, or Granite Black.
Though the Lenovo Ideapad 130S has a plastic build, it feels sturdy. The laptop’s body has an all-matte finish that makes it look more appealing despite its plastic build.
Moreover, Lenovo stuck with the Ultra-slim style to make the Lenovo Ideapad 130S look sleek and portable. The laptop measures 334 x 235 x 18.6 mm and weighs 1450 g.
Furthermore, the laptop’s keyboard functions well enough for a low-cost laptop and so does the touchpad. The laptop’s touchpad has a (multi-touch) feature built-in.
In addition, the laptop looks attractive and sturdy despite being a budget laptop. Therefore, it scores an eight in this review
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Processor (CPU) Performance
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S comes with a dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 with a base speed of 1.10 GHz. The processor has a maximum speed of 2.60 GHz.
This laptop’s CPU performance is a bit on the lower end. However, its performance is not bad considering the rate at which many manufactures tend to cut-cost through the CPU in order to meet a budget price point.
Moreover, the Lenovo Ideapad 130S is capable of offering a satisfactory performance when it comes to computing operations. It has no problem handling 90% of the basic tasks you will need it to handle.
On the Cinebench R15 test, the laptop scored 124. . This is no surprise because the Lenovo Ideapad 130S has only two cores and two threads processor.
Moreover, despite its low score in the CPU performance test, the laptop won’t have any problem with regular computing operations. It is perfect for tasks like web browsing, reading and sending emails, editing an online document, and watching YouTube.
Although the Lenovo Ideapad 130S does not perform well with high video-editing tasks, it is excellent at basic computing operations. Therefore, the Lenovo Ideapad 130S scores a seven in this review.
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Memory (RAM) Performance
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S is equipped with 4 GB of DDR4 RAM. It has only one slot which is non-removable.
Therefore, the laptop’s RAM is non-user upgradeable despite being small in size. The maximum supported size is 4 GB.
As a result, the laptop’s RAM doesn’t have exceptional multitasking capabilities. While it performs smoothly with few browsing tabs and a 1080p YouTube video, it begins to lag when you try to run a few software programs simultaneously.
Moreover, in a response to customer reviews on BestBuy, Lenovo advises that the Lenovo Ideapad 130S is not for heavy multitasking or running demanding programs.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S scores a six in this review because its RAM is non-user upgradeable. However, its ability to handle light multitasking is a bit comforting.
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Storage Options and Performance
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S features 64 GB eMMC storage. It also includes a microSD card reader.
However, this laptop’s storage is not as fast as modern SSDs. But its drive is faster than regular hard drives.
Furthermore, the laptop’s storage capacity is not large enough. Though the microSD card option helps with increasing storage and easy accessibility of files, it doesn’t totally make up for its limited storage.
To make it worse, you cannot add your own storage because there is no extra storage slot on the motherboard. Ultimately, you will be stuck with what you get unless you purchase an external hard drive.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S scores a seven in this review because of its limited storage that cannot be upgraded.
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Graphics Card Performance
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S comes with an Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600 card. The graphics card has a base frequency of 200 MHz and a maximum frequency of 650 MHz.
The laptop’s graphics card is not exciting but it is definitely reasonable for its price point.
However, the Lenovo Ideapad 130S doesn’t run AAA games at very favorable frame rates. But it performs well with older games that are less graphically intensive.
On gaming performance tests, it ran old games like Left4Dead at a surprising rate of 35 FPS. It also ran Dirt3 at 30 FPS.
However, the Lenovo Ideapad 130S didn’t run modern games like The Witcher 3 very well. It ran The Witcher 3 at 15 FPS.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S scores a seven in this review because it exceeds gaming expectations even though it doesn’t run high-end games very smoothly.
Lenovo Ideapad 130S: Battery Life and Performance
Lenovo equipped Ideapad 130S with a 2-cell 30 Wh Lithium polymer battery. Lenovo claims that the laptop’s battery will last up to 8 hours after a full charge.
However, Lenovo also made sure to state that the battery life will vary with the laptop’s settings and usage. This is based on their tests with Mobile Mark 2014 – as indicated on their website.
Nonetheless, battery life is one of this laptop’s exciting features. Its battery life is impressive considering that most modern laptops usually run out after 6-7 hours.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S lasted up to 7 hours with web browsing, light gaming, and general use. On heavy usage, it is likely you get a lesser battery life just like you could get a higher battery life with lighter use.
Above all, this laptop’s battery life adds to its solid qualification for a light usage travel companion. Therefore, this laptop scores eight for its good battery life.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is not a touchscreen. The Lenovo Ideapad 130S has an HD (1366 x 768) resolution with an anti-glare feature. But the display is not a touchscreen and it doesn’t support wide viewing angles like IPS displays.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S is an entry-level laptop that uses an Intel Celeron processor. It is a good laptop for regular computing operations. However, it is not meant for heavy multitasking or demanding programs.
The laptop functions well at light browsing and regular computing tasks.
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S comes with an Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600 card. The laptop performs well at light gaming. However, it doesn’t run AAA games at favorable frame rates.
You will have to reduce the game settings in order to play games like The Witcher 3, Fortnite, etc.
Yes, it does. As part of its connectivity options, the Lenovo IdeaPad 130S features Bluetooth version 4.0.
Lenovo has earned a solid reputation for itself in the laptop industry. They are known to always deliver laptops for maximum productivity. Lenovo emphasizes productivity, therefore they always aim to improve the productivity of their customers.
You cannot go wrong with their Lenovo Thinkpads or Ideapads.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Ideapad 130S is an affordable laptop that is worth every bit of its cost. It is a great lightweight laptop that offers a satisfactory performance.
However, you will have to bear with the screen quality and be prepared for a reduction in performance over time. But it is a good laptop for its price.
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