2019 Lenovo IdeaPad 15.6” (81H5002FUS) Review
As you scour through a variety of laptops available in the market, it is hard to find a reliable workhorse that is modestly priced. The Lenovo Ideapad may not knock you off your feet but it returns good value for money. The laptop boasts a moderate screen size of 15.6 inches, however, the HD resolution is a bit of a setback. With its own dedicated graphics card, you are sure to power your way through light gaming and daily bookkeeping/surfing tasks. The Lenovo Ideapad has earned its place in our list of best laptops under 400 as a reliable machine that will last a few years unless you step on it whilst sleepwalking.
2019 Lenovo IdeaPad 15.6” (81H5002FUS) Review Summary
PROS & CONS
SSD(Laptop boots up swiftly and data is retrieved quicker)
DVD-RW ROM
Excellent keyboard
Poor webcam
Weak battery
Weak resolution
DESIGN
| The product measures at 14.8 x 10 x 0.9 inches. In addition it weighs at 4.6 pounds which is little heavy and the screen being 15.6” doesn’t make it the ideal device to carry around, as 14” is said to be the limit for the screen size when portability is kept comes into question. As with other laptops in this price bracket some compromises have to be made. Sadly the laptop has been donned with a plastic body that does not meet our expectations. The plastic used is low quality and it is best to use it with a soft hand. The plastic however, contributes positively to keep the laptop weight down so that it is easy to carry around. Additionally the black plastic body does not take the refined classy look away from this laptop given that it is a budget laptop. |  |
CONNECTIVITY
The model contains 1 x HDMI, 10/100 Ethernet, 1 x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 and 1 x Headphone/Mic Jack. This device also gives wireless connectivity to the internet via Wifi (802.11ac) which is up to three times faster than the traditional 802.11n and it is Bluetooth capable. Unfortunately the Kensington lock is not present which poses a security threat as the lock is used to secure the laptop moreover without a fingerprint scanner the security really takes a hit. However Windows 10 gives you the option of password protection and face unlocking.
SPEAKERS
Two 2 W speakers are present at the bottom of the product. Although the use of external speakers or headphones is advised, if sound quality matters a lot to you as the performance of these speakers isn’t that amazing.
WEBCAM
There is a webcam present at the top of the display panel. The webcam barely gets the job done when it comes to video calls, so you might want to think about buying an external webcam if you video call a lot.
KEYBOARD
The keys are greatly spaced and comfortable to use. In addition they are highly responsive and soft to touch, which promotes fast typing but the keys do produce a tick sound when pressed, which can sometimes get annoying. A numeric keyboard is also present which makes crunching in numbers easier than ever. The keyboard, unfortunately isn’t backlit however it does help in reducing battery consumption(prolonging the battery life).
WISH-LIST
There is a 4 in 1 SD card reader which supports SD, MultiMediaCard, SDHC and SDXC memory card formats (so you can boost your storage up to 2TB using the SDXC). Moreover this model does have a CD-Drive allowing you to use CD’s and DVD’s, which is a rare sight in newer laptops. Additionally, there is also an internal microphone available, which removes the need for an external one. On the other hand this model doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor nor is it a 2 in 1 laptop.
DISPLAY
| This Ideapad comes with a 15.6” 1366 x 768 HD TN display panel, which explains the low cost. The TN panel helps to lower the weight(as they are thinner) and the cost of production furthermore it has the ability to eliminate flicker and lower the power consumption, helping the battery life to last longer. However the viewing angles of a TN panel are very restricted, meaning to get the greatest experience you would have to sit right in the middle of the screen. Additionally when picture quality comes into question the TN panel does fail to catch up to its contenders, the VA and IPS panels. This model has a Matte screen, which helps in reducing eye strain, helps against glare, so you can easily work in the sunlight or in an extremely well-lit room, and dirt on the screen is less visible. On the other hand it reduces contrast and sharpness,and it is difficult to clean, in addition hazy texture appears on the screen, due to the matte screen, when displaying light colors.The bezels are noticeable but aren’t that wide to make them annoying or that they make the viewable screen too short. The display lid can be pushed back 180 degrees, which makes typing much more easier and enjoyable. As mentioned this is not a 2 in 1 laptop so no touchscreen. |  |
PERFORMANCE
PROCESSOR
This device is equipped with 7th Gen AMD A9-9425 Dual-Core 3.10 GHz. The laptop boots up quickly due to the processor coupled with the SSD (as data is retrieved briskly). It delivers sufficient performance for typical office and web applications, and it can handle light multitasking as well. Furthermore it is great for browsing and online shopping as well. It can run almost all of the software you might need from Microsoft Word to Photoshop but it fails to run computer intensive softwares such as android studio. Most of the apps required can either be downloaded from the internet or from the Microsoft store. Moreover It has a dedicated AMD Radeon R5 graphics( which has to2 MB’s of RAM) card that can smoothly run games like PUBG lite, Fortnite, CS Global offense and League of Legends at minimum settings but it is capable of running games life Hard life, road redemption, GTA IV at maximum settings.
The processor sadly does heat up but to tackle that a fan present, which unfortunately gets loud when the processor is put under pressure.
HDD/SSD
The model comes with a pre-installed 128 SSD, which sadly isn’t replaceable. 128 GB’s is adequate for day to day use. Furthermore The SSD is faster than a HDD and an eMMc, so if speed matters to you this is the laptop that will fulfill those needs, but it is far more expensive than an HDD or even an eMMc. If 128GB isn’t enough for you, then the SSD can be upgraded up to 4TB ( but be warned upgrading the SSD would be an expensive task), or even an SD card to boost up the storage to 2TB. But it is also recommended that an external HDD be used, which can be plugged through the USB ports, as it is far cheaper and can give you up to 18TB of storage.
RAM
This model is equipped with a single 4GB DDR4 SDRAM chip. There is only one memory slot available, so the RAM can only be upgraded up to 16GB. However, 4GB is perfect for browsing the internet, socializing, playing light games and using light software(emphasis on light) but it is strongly recommended that you refrain from intensive multi-tasking if you don’t wish to compromise on your laptop’s speed.
BATTERY LIFE
The device is equipped with a 2-cell lithium ion Battery, which gives an average battery life of about 5 hours which is too short and it is not recommended to use while traveling. However the battery life can be extended by dimming the brightness to a bare minimum and keeping the device on airplane mode.
AVAILABLE APPLICATIONS
The OS for this laptop is the Windows 10 so the Microsoft one cloud(Offers 5GB’s) as well as the google drive (offers 15 GB’s) is available if the user requires cloud storage. If you however wish to expand your cloud storage you will have to pay a monthly fee. Cloud storage provides you the freedom to access your data anytime and on any device connected to the internet as long as you remember your email and password.
Given the fact that the OS of this device is windows 10 , you get Microsoft’s Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote, in addition to this you are also given full access to the Microsoft store which gives you the ability to download popular softwares like notepad ++, Blender along with certain android softwares like Whatsapp, Instagram etc
BUY IT IF
You like casual gaming or just need a laptop for tasks such as browsing the internet, socializing, making notes, lists, watching movies, a little editing here and there or even online shopping. Moreover if you are someone who needs bulks of storage(you will have to use an SD card or expand the internal storage first) then this laptop is a great choice for you.
DON’T BUY IF
You use or intend to use computer intensive softwares, like Android studio or such or like heavy gaming then this laptop is not the ideal device for you. Furthermore if you need a laptop while travelling then a lighter laptop with a greater battery life like a chromebook at this price range is the one for you