Lenovo ThinkPad L390 Review: A Small Mindblowing Laptop

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: At First Glance

The Lenovo ThinkPad lineup was first developed at an IBM facility in Japan, with the first model released in October 1992. Today, there are many series in this lineup, including the E-series, the T-series, and the L-series, to which the Lenovo Thinkpad L390 belongs.

While the ThinkPad E-series is meant for small businesses, the L-series is meant for larger organizations. Thus, it’s not a surprise to see them in schools, companies, and public administration offices.

Particularly, I was curious about how far the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 will go in competing with other 13-inch laptops. Therefore, if you are curious like I am, follow me into the remaining sections of this review.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Design, Dimension, and Weight

In simple terms, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 looks like its predecessor – the Lenovo ThinkPad L380. It has a thick and solid polycarbonate plastic chassis that comes in a matte finish.

The laptop is almost as tall as its width and has vertices that curve at a negligible smooth angle. Looking at its exterior, all you will see is a rigid and solidly-built laptop.

Thankfully, the lid doesn’t flex much under pressure. In fact, this laptop has earned the US MIL-STD 810G certificate which implies that it can survive bumps and falls.

As for color, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 comes in either silver or black. While the silver color variant may look neat and likable, the black one rather has a more commanding appearance.

That said, the lid is adorned with just a “ThinkPad” badge on the top left corner. This badge looks either reflective or white, depending on how it is hit by light.

However, the letter “I” on the badge has a red dot.

Furthermore, the lid may appear too heavy for the tiny hinges it stands on. Nevertheless, the hinges are made of aluminum and, thus, can carry the lid very well.

Not just that, the hinges can rotate 180 degrees, thereby allowing you to lay the laptop’s display flat on a surface and in line with the keyboard. Meanwhile, for lovers of convertible laptops, there is a Lenovo ThinkPad L390 Yoga that offers them a 360 degrees rotation of the lid.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L390 Yoga looks exactly like the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 and also has similar specifications. However, as a convertible, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 Yoga can be used in four different modes.

Back to the Lenovo ThinkPad L390, when you flip its lid open, you’ll see a lot of interesting features.

First of all, you’ll see a 13.3-inch display with either HD (1366 x 768) resolution or FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. Basically, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 has three display options that have a few similarities and many differences as well.

First, let me tell you about their similarities, then their differences later.

To begin with, all three display options have an anti-glare coating with a 250 nits brightness level and 16:9 aspect ratio. For clarity, let me briefly explain these display features.

The anti-glare coating prevents light reflection on a display. Therefore, having it on these displays means that you’ll be able to use them comfortably near open windows or even outdoors.

Moreover, the brightness level of 250 nits increases the clarity of the displays even when it is used outdoors.

Meanwhile, the aspect ratio (widescreen) allows you to see all aspects of a video or image. Hence, the widescreen format is better than the fullscreen format as no portion of the picture or video is cropped off.

Having seen the common features of the three display options, let’s now move to their differences. The first display option has an HD resolution, while the second and third options have FHD resolutions.

As expected, FHD resolution means more pixels which in turn means sharper and clearer display content. Furthermore, the first display option uses a TN (Twisted Nematic) panel, which refreshes faster.

Therefore, this display option will work well at reducing motion blurs in fast-moving display content like sports and games. However, because poor viewing angles are common flaws of TN displays, this display option is guilty of that as well.

Precisely, it has a viewing angle of 90 degrees. Hence, you might find it difficult to see the display clearly if you view it from acute angles.

In addition to the features of the first display option that I have shared so far, it also has a poor contrast ratio of 500:1. Due to its poor contrast ratio, this display option will not display deep blacks.

Having said enough about the first display option, let’s proceed to the rest. I mentioned earlier that the second and third display options have an FHD resolution.

Therefore, in addition to that, these two display options use an IPS panel. Thankfully, IPS displays are well known for their wide viewing angles.

So, these two display options also follow that trend.

Hence, they have a wide viewing angle of 170 degrees which implies that you will have no trouble viewing the display even from acute angles. So far, the second and third display options have been similar.

However, they have similar differences as well. Firstly, the second display option is non-touch, just like the first display option.

Secondly, it has a contrast ratio of 700:1 which is only slightly than that of the first display option but still relatively poor. On the other hand, the third display option is touch-enabled and has a contrast ratio of 800:1 which is still not impressive.

Moving on, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390’s display is surrounded by wide bezels, with the bottom bezel being the widest. Interestingly, the top bezel houses an HD webcam and two microphones at the center.

Away from the upper region of this laptop, we can now move down to its base. Here, you will see a keyboard that is as good as you will find on any ThinkPad model.

Speaking of the keyboard, this has a comfortable key size with small depressions on the surface. The concave surface of the keys makes your fingers feel at ease when typing.

Who wouldn’t want to enjoy such a comfy typing experience? I guess no one.

Still, the key travel is deep, and this makes their feedback bouncy. By key travel, I mean how deep the keys go when they are in full press.

However, a keyboard backlight is an optional feature on this laptop. So, you can order one with a keyboard backlight if you want it.

Furthermore, there’s a red TrackPoint on the keyboard for mouse scrolling. This highly responsive TrackPoint lies in between the G, H, and B keyboard buttons.

Still on the TrackPoint, this TrackPoint’s input buttons are right below the space key.

Moving on, a smooth touchpad lay right below the TrackPoint’s buttons. Meanwhile, the touchpad has its own input buttons hidden beneath its surface.

Impressive enough, there’s a fingerprint scanner located to the right of the touchpad. This makes unlocking your laptop much easier than typing passwords.

Moving to the bottom of the laptop, there you will find two stereo speakers and small ventilation openings. The speakers can be loud depending on the surface you keep the laptop.

However, the bass produced by the speakers is not sufficient.

Proceeding to the port selection of this laptop, there are plenty of ports around its edges.

Specifically, on the left side, you’ll see two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, one USB 3.0 port, and an HDMI port. Appreciably, one of the USB-C ports serves as a charging port.

Turning to the left side, you will see the power button, an audio jack, one microSD card slot, and one USB 3.0 port. That is not all; you will also find a mini-ethernet port and Kensington lock on the same side.

For wireless connectivity, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 features either Bluetooth 4.1 or 5.1. In addition to Bluetooth, you will get either a single-band or dual-band WiFi 5 card (802.11ac).

To conclude this section, let’s talk about the laptop’s dimensions and weight.

Admirably, the ThinkPad L390 measures 322 x 224.2 x 18.8 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1460 g. In comparison, the HP ProBook 430 G5 measures 326 x 236 x 19 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1483 g.

Also, the Dell Latitude 7390 measures 305 x 208 x 16.5 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1306 g. These results place the Lenovo ThinkPad L390’s portability between that of the two competitors above.

Nevertheless, because of its great display features and connectivity options, I’ll rate it an eight out of ten in this section.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Processor (CPU) Performance

The ThinkPad L390 is available in two processor options. One of the options is a dual-core Intel Celeron 4305U with 2 MB of cache memory.

Moreover, this CPU has a base frequency of 2.20 GHz.

Besides the Celeron CPU, this laptop can also come with an Intel Core processor up to Intel Core i7-8565U. With the Intel Core i7-8565U, you will get the processing power of 6 CPU cores and 8 MB of cache memory.

Meanwhile, the model I’m reviewing is configured with an Intel Core i5-8265U processor. The Core i5 CPU is a quad-core processor with a base speed of 1.6 GHz and a boost speed of 3.9 GHz.

We know the Core series of the Intel CPUs to be powerful, and there’s no doubt about that. Still, we need to know exactly how well the Latitude 7390 performs with it.

For that, we’ll be looking at this laptop’s Cinebench R15 test result from notebookcheck.net. As an application suite, a Cinebench test evaluates a CPU’s capability by giving it some difficult tasks to perform.

Consequently, a resultant value is assigned to the CPU according to its performance in the test. The higher this value is, the better the performance of the CPU.

Specifically, this resultant value could be for a single-core test or for a multi-core test.

On a single-core test, only one processor core is used to execute these difficult tasks. Meanwhile, in the multi-core test, all the processor cores are utilized.

That said, the ThinkPad L390 recorded 155 points in the single-core test and 605 points in the multi-core test.

Comparatively, the HP ProBook 430 G5 with a Core i5-8250U CPU scored 145 points in the single-core test. It also scored 586 points on the multi-core test.

In the same vein, the Dell Latitude 7390 with a Core i5-8350U CPU got 152 Points in the single-core test. Meanwhile, it scored 625 on the multi-core test.

Thus, except for the Dell Latitude 7390’s multi-core test result, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 outperformed both competitors in all the tests. Hence, my reason for rating it a nine out of ten in this section.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Memory (RAM) Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad L390 uses DDR4 RAM with a frequency of either 2133 MHz or 2400 MHz. It has two RAM slots and comes with an 8 GB memory capacity on one of the slots.

However, courtesy of its RAM slots, you can upgrade the laptop’s memory to up to 32 GB.

In fact, such an upgrade is necessary if you really want to enjoy this laptop’s full multitasking power. Nevertheless, even with the default 8 GB RAM, this laptop should be able to run most modern software for office work and multitask sufficiently.

Speaking of multitasking, with 8 GB RAM, this laptop will have no difficulty running up to 20 browser tabs simultaneously. Switching between these tabs should also be smooth.

For a better insight into this RAM’s capability, let’s look at the laptop’s results in a PCMark 10 test. In a few words, PCMark 10 benchmark is used to evaluate the memory performance of a computer.

Just like the Cinebench test considered before, a higher score on PCMark test 10 denotes better performance. Impressively, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 outperformed the two counterparts that I compared it against.

Specifically, it scored 3787 points which is slightly above the HP ProBook 430 G5’s score of 3722 points.

In the same vein, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390’s score is above the 3577 points recorded by the Dell Latitude 7390.

All things considered, I, therefore, rate the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 a nine out of ten.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Storage Options and Performance

The ThinkPad L390’s storage comes in two mouth-watering options, of which both are SSDs. The first option is an M.2 2280 PCIe SSD, while the second one is an M.2 2242 PCIe SSD.

Both storage options use the M.2 form factor, which occupies less space than the SATA form factor. Also, the PCIe interface makes upgrading easier and makes data transfer faster than the old PCI.

In addition to the storage sizes and fast transfer speed, this laptop supports up to 1 TB in the first storage option. Meanwhile, it supports just 256 GB in the second storage option which is rather disappointing.

However, it might interest you to know that there is a 4-in-1 card reader included on this laptop. With this card reader, you can expand the laptop’s storage with an SD, SDXC, SDHC, or MMC card.

As for the primary storage, my review model of this laptop uses 256 GB of M.2 2280 PCIe SSD. To show you its performance in a real-world situation, I’ll now highlight its CrystalDiskMark test result.

In a few words, this test measures the read and write speeds of a storage drive. Simply put, the read and write speeds are just how fast a storage drive can open and save files, respectively.

Similar to the tests mentioned before, higher read and write speeds indicate better performance.

In the test, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 gave a sequential read speed of 2072 MB/s. It also gave a sequential write speed of 1432 MB/s.

In comparison, the HP ProBook 430 G5 gave a read speed of 1440 MB/s and a write speed of 521.8 MB/s. Also, the Dell Latitude 7390 recorded a read speed of 493.4 MB/s and a write speed of 413.4 MB/s.

Apparently, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390’s storage is faster than its counterparts’ storage. Therefore, I will rate it nine out of ten in this section.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Graphics Card Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad L390 features an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU.

This GPU has a base frequency of 300 MHz which you can boost to 1150 MHz.

Although the GPU is reasonably powerful, its integrated interface makes this laptop a non-gaming laptop. However, this doesn’t mean that you cannot play mid-range games on this laptop.

In fact, this is where the importance of RAM upgrades comes in. Since the GPU’s performance depends on the computer’s memory, an increase in the RAM capacity means more memory available for the GPU.

Now, let’s look into this laptop’s 3DMark test result. For clarity, 3DMark is a benchmark test that evaluates how well a computer can render 3D graphics.

Therefore, achieving a high score on this test indicates better GPU performance.

In the test, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 scored 934 points. Meanwhile, the HP ProBook 430 G5 scored 1046 points, and the Dell Latitude 730 recorded 901 points.

Thus, we can see the Lenovo ThinkPad L390’s GPU performance falls below one of its competitors while outperforming the other.

Therefore, I have decided to rate this laptop an eight out of ten in this section.

Lenovo ThinkPad L390: Battery Life and Performance

The battery on the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 is a 3-cell 45 WHr Li-Po battery. Furthermore, Lenovo said that this battery could last for up to 14 hours per charge.

Although I have little or no doubt due to my past experience with Lenovo batteries, we still need to verify this claim. To do that, we will be considering this laptop’s battery rundown test result.

This test involves continuous web browsing using a WiFi connection until the laptop shuts down.

Unfortunately, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 lasted for 6 hours and 59 minutes during the test. That is far below the stated figure by Lenovo, which probably should be the laptop’s battery life on idle.

However, nearly 7 hours of working battery life is not bad at all. In comparison, the HP ProBook 430 G5 gave a negligibly lesser battery life of 6 hours 58 minutes than the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 in the same test.

Putting all these together, I will rate the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 an eight out of ten here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

If you’re thinking of a small laptop with great power, think of the Lenovo ThinkPad L390. That’s because Lenovo equipped this laptop with a mighty CPU, superfast storage, plus decent RAM.

Notwithstanding, we can’t expect its performance to equal that of high-end ultrabooks. As a matter of fact, this laptop has a few shortcomings, some of which you may or may not notice quickly.

One of its shortcomings is that the cooling system suffers from heat generated by the Core i5 CPU.

Nevertheless, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 makes a good companion both in classrooms and offices. However, if, for some reason, you still want more features, you can opt for the X or T series of Lenovo ThinkPads.

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