Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 Review: Big in Size, Big in Performance

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: At First Glance

Choosing a laptop to buy nowadays has become really difficult. This is because there are numerous manufacturers in the market with a long list of laptop lineups or series.

However, one lineup that has been making waves in the laptop market since its introduction is Lenovo’s IdeaPad lineup. Part of this lineup is the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 – a 17.3-inch laptop with a wide range of powerful specifications.

Some of these specs include an Intel Core i7 processor, an optional dedicated GPU, and an FHD resolution. Having said that, I know you must be eager to know more about the laptop and whether it fits your personality and preference.

Well, there is still a lot to be discussed about the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 in the remaining sections of this review article. Hence, kindly read on!

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Design, Dimension, and Weight

At first sight, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 looks more like a mini plasma television, probably due to its huge 17.3-inch size. Nevertheless, this laptop is quite good-looking and durable.

To give more details, apart from its bottom part, which is made of plastic, the entire body of the laptop is made of metal. Due to its almost all-metal build, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 appears very sturdy and solid.

Besides, the ebony-black color of the laptop’s body depicts boldness and elegance. That aside, the lid of the laptop features a glossy finish with a silver “Lenovo” logo on the top-left corner.

Moreover, the lid is attached to the rest of the laptop’s body by a sturdy bar hinge with a glossy-gray finish. Due to the extreme sturdiness of this hinge, it is almost impossible for you to open the lid with only one hand.

Nonetheless, when the lid is opened, the hinge prevents it from wobbling even when nudged with force. Also, when you open the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s lid, you will be greeted by a 17.3-inch display.

This display comes with an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution that allows it to deliver sharp and colorful picture quality. Additionally, the display offers an impressive maximum brightness of 300 nits.

Therefore, you should be able to comfortably use the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 in bright areas or outdoors. However, the laptop’s display is surrounded by thick bezels that may cause some distractions when watching movies.

In fact, the top and bottom bezels are significantly thicker than the side bezels. This is because the top bezel houses a webcam at the center while the bottom bezel features a silver “Lenovo” logo.

Focusing more on the webcam, the laptop’s HD webcam isn’t good for taking pictures or selfies as it produces grainy and blurry images. However, the webcam offers excellent performance for video calls.

Moving on to the base, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 has a non-backlit AccuType keyboard with a full numeric pad. Although this keyboard is responsive and has decent key travel, its keys are quite small and not well-spaced.

Hence, users with large fingers might experience some inaccurate inputs when typing on the keyboard. By the way, key travel is the total distance between a key’s resting point to full depression.

Underneath the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s keyboard is a spacious touchpad with two dedicated click buttons. The surface of this touchpad is very smooth and responsive, making navigation and finger-gliding easy and seamless.

Impressively, the touchpad supports multi-touch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom.

Port-wise, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers a sufficient number of ports. Starting with the ports on its right side, you will find a USB 3.1 port, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a DVD reader.

Meanwhile, the laptop’s left side houses two USB 2.0 ports, a DC plug-in port, an HDMI port, and an Ethernet port. That’s not all; the left side of this laptop also features a VGI port and a headphone/microphone combo jack.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers Bluetooth 4.0 and an integrated 802.11 b/g/n/ac (1×1) or 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2×2) Wi-Fi.

For dimension and weight, this Lenovo laptop measures 418 x 283 x 25.2 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 3000 g. In comparison with another 17.3-inch laptop (Dell Inspiron 17 3790), the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 is a bit thicker but lighter.

Specifically, the Dell Inspiron 17 3790 measures and weighs 415.4 x 279.2 x 21.9 – 25 mm (W x D x H) and 3030 g, respectively.

After a close assessment of its design features, I will rate the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 an eight out of ten in this design review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Processor (CPU) Performance

For the processor, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 is equipped with a 5th-generation Intel Core i7-5500U processor. This processor is a dual-core CPU and features a cache memory of 4 MB.

Also, the Intel Core i7-5500U processor operates on a base frequency of 2.40 GHz and a turbo-boost frequency of 3.0 GHz. In terms of performance, this processor is fast and has enough power to handle basic and demanding computing tasks.

In fact, with this processor, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 should conveniently run demanding apps like Adobe Photoshop. Also, it should be able to multitask with ease.

That said, to further ascertain this laptop’s processor performance, I will be discussing its result on a Cinebench R15 test. In short, a Cinebench R15 test is a benchmark test that evaluates a computer’s processor performance by utilizing its cores.

As a result, this test is performed in two different ways which are the single-core test and the multi-core test. To explain further, the single-core test evaluates a computer’s performance by utilizing only one of its CPU’s cores.

Whereas the multi-core test evaluates the computer’s performance by utilizing all of its CPU’s available cores. It is important to mention that a high score on these tests indicates excellent processor performance.

Therefore, based on the Cinbench R15 test results, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 recorded 118 points on the single-core test. Meanwhile, on the multi-core test, the laptop recorded 283 points.

Interestingly, when compared with the Dell Latitude E7250, which uses an Intel Core i7-5600U processor, the IdeaPad Z70 performed better. Precisely, the Dell Latitude E7250 recorded 114 points and 264 points, respectively, on the Cinbench R15 single-core and multi-core tests.

After thorough consideration, I believe the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 deserves a rating of nine out of ten in this processor review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Memory (RAM) Performance

The Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 comes with two memory slots and a standard 8 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz RAM in one slot. Moreover, this laptop also supports a maximum memory capacity of 16 GB.

Hence, by adding another 8 GB RAM stick on the second slot, you can upgrade the laptop to its maximum memory capacity. However, that may not be needed if you aren’t planning to use the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 for extremely demanding workloads.

This is because the standard 8 GB RAM should be enough for the laptop to effortlessly handle most computing tasks. As a matter of fact, the laptop will be able to multitask seamlessly with 8 GB RAM.

For instance, when 12 Chrome tabs are simultaneously running on the laptop, it shouldn’t slow down a bit or lag. In fact, switching between the Chome tabs should be without delay and problem-free.

Having said that, let us discuss the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s result on a PCMark 10 test result to further verify its memory performance. For clarity, PCMark 10 test is a benchmark test that evaluates a computer’s memory performance by simulating day-to-day computing workloads.

Furthermore, a high score on this test means a good memory performance. Hence, based on the PCMark 10 test results, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 recorded a score of 2343 points.

In comparison, this laptop performed better than the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 3510. To be more specific, on the same PCMark 10 test, the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 3510 recorded a score of just 1900 points.

In conclusion, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers two memory slots and supports a maximum memory of 16 GB. Moreover, the laptop’s standard 8 GB is sufficient for handling most computing tasks, including multitasking.

Also, the laptop performed better than one of its major rivals on a memory benchmark test. Thus, I will rate the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 a nine out of ten in this memory review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Storage Options and Performance

For storage, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 is available with two storage options. Specifically, you can either purchase the laptop with a SATA HHD or a SATA SSHD storage.

Impressively, whichever storage option you choose, you can upgrade the storage capacity to a maximum of 1 TB. Besides, the laptop comes with a 4-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC) for storage expansion.

Having said that, let us get more familiar with the storage options that the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers. Starting with the Hard Disk Drive (HDD), it is an electro-mechanical device used for storing information and files in a computer.

However, as a mechanical device, it has a moving part that makes it generate noise during operation(s). Also, the HDD is prone to mechanical faults; it may crash at any time, which may result in the loss of stored information and files.

That’s not all; HDD is also quite slow during operation compared to other storage drives like SSD and eMMC. Nevertheless, it offers more storage capacity and is quite affordable.

Meanwhile, the Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD) is a combination of both the HDD and SSD. Basically, it has the speed of an SSD (Solid State Drive) and the storage capacity of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

Additionally, the SSHD is also inexpensive, just like the regular HDD. In fact, the slogan from the manufacturer (Seagate) for the SSHD is “SSD Performance, HDD Capacity, and Affordable Price.”

Hence, it is fair to say that the SSHD is way better than the regular HDD and the typical SSD. Thankfully, this review is based on the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 with a 1 TB SATA SSHD.

Due to the fact that it has the speed of an SSD, this laptop’s SSHD should offer a fast transfer speed. Also, it should be able to open and save files swiftly.

To prove this, let us now discuss the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s result on a CrystalDiskMark test. In brief, the CrystalDiskMark test is a benchmark test that evaluates the storage performance of a computer by measuring its storage drive’s read and write speed.

For clarity, the read speed is how fast a storage drive can open a file. Meanwhile, the write speed is how fast the storage drive can save a file.

Besides, the higher the “MBps” value on the CrystalDiskMark test, the faster the read and write speed of the computer’s storage drive. Thus, according to the test result, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s SSHD recorded a read speed of 1972 MBps.

In addition to that, the laptop’s SSHD also recorded a write speed of 1285 MBps. Compared to the HP ENVY 17t‘s SSD, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s SSHD has a faster read and write speed.

Specifically, on the CrystalDiskMark test, the HP ENVY 17t’s SSD delivered a read and write speed of 1160.7 MBps and 809.23 MBps, respectively.

In summary, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers two storage options that support a maximum storage capacity of 1 TB each. Moreover, the laptop’s SSHD storage option delivered an impressive performance on a storage benchmark test.

Hence, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 deserves nothing less than a nine out of ten rating in this storage review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Graphics Card Performance

Similar to the storage, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 offers two graphics card options. These graphics card options are an integrated Intel HD Graphics 5500 and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 840M.

Starting with the integrated GPU option, it has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 950 MHz. However, as an integrated GPU, it is embedded into the laptop’s processor.

Hence, it lacks a dedicated VRAM and shares the system memory with the processor to carry out graphics-associated tasks. Thus, with the Intel HD Graphics 5500, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 may not be able to handle graphics-intensive apps or games.

That said, the NVIDIA GeForce 840M GPU comes with a base frequency of 1029 MHz and a boost frequency of 1124 MHz. Unlike the integrated graphics card, this GPU isn’t embedded into the laptop’s processor – it stands alone.

Furthermore, it doesn’t have to share the system memory with the CPU as it features a dedicated VRAM of 2 GB DDR3. Hence, with the NVIDIA GeForce 840M, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 should be able to comfortably handle graphics-demanding apps like Adobe Illustrator.

Also, the laptop should be able to smoothly play most title AAA games. For example, when playing World of Warships, the laptop delivered an impressive frame rate of 103.4 fps (frame per second).

To further verify the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s performance with the NVIDIA GeForce 840M GPU, I will now be discussing its result on a 3DMark 11 test. Briefly, the 3DMark 11 test is a benchmark test that measures the 3D graphics rendering abilities of a computer.

Furthermore, a high score on this test indicates good graphics performance. So, from the test result, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 scored 2371 points.

Sadly, the ASUS Zenbook Flip 14 UX463, which uses an NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU, performed better than this laptop on the 3DMark 11 test. To be more specific, the ASUS Zenbook Flip 14 UX463 delivered a score of 4404 points on the benchmark test.

Nevertheless, because it offers two GPU options, I will rate the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 an eight out of ten in this graphics card review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z70: Battery Life and Performance

The Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 is powered by a 4-cell 41 WHr Li-polymer battery. This battery, as advertised by Lenovo, can last up to 4 hours after a full charge.

Although this “advertised” battery life isn’t particularly good, it might still not be true. Hence, in order to verify, we will now be discussing the laptop’s result on a battery rundown test.

By the way, this test involves continuously browsing the internet on the laptop via a Wi-Fi connection until the laptop dies. So, at the end of the test, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 delivered a battery life of 3 hours and 42 minutes.

Even though this battery life is almost on par with Lenovo’s claim, it is still poor and can’t last a full day. In fact, compared to most of its closest competitors, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70’s battery life is very poor.

For example, on the same battery rundown test, the LG Gram 17 delivered a battery life of 12 hours. That’s not all; the Dell Inspiron 17 3793 also delivered a battery life of 7 hours and 27 minutes on the battery rundown test.

Hence, due to its poor performance, I will rate the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 a six out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

As a 17.3-inch laptop with poor battery life, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70 is an ideal desktop replacement laptop. Besides, you won’t be able to carry the laptop around easily due to its heavy weight.

Therefore, it is better off on a desk. Nevertheless, this laptop has excellent performance and a long list of powerful specs, such as an optional dedicated GPU.

Also, the laptop offers two storage options, including an impressive and super-fast SSHD. That’s not all; this Lenovo laptop comes with quite a number of ports and a bright FHD display.

Hence, if you are looking for a desktop replacement laptop with great performance, you should consider buying the Lenovo IdeaPad Z70.

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