LG Ultra PC 16 (2022) AMD review: This is not a gram.
LG's gram laptops are lightweight, quiet and ultraportable. They are available with a 14-, 16- or 17-inch screen (no more 15-inch models) and carry a premium price tag. Not everyone can afford or is willing to buy a laptop costing more than 1,500 Euro (US$1,480).
What about a pared-back LG gram then? Well, it is called the Ultra PC – a laptop that weighs slightly more than the gram (1.6 kg instead 1.19 kg) and comes with an AMD CPU. So is the 16-inch device necessarily the inferior option? We don't think this is the case for everyone after having checked out the LG Ultra PC 16" configured with a Ryzen 3 5300U, 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage. Priced slightly below 900 Euro (US$887), our review unit is the smallest and cheapest model in the line-up.
More LG laptop reviews:
Comparison with possible competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83.8 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2022 | LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G R3 5300U, Vega 6 | 1.6 kg | 16.3 mm | 16.00" | 1280x1200 | |
| 86.4 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2021 | Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 i7-11370H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.7 kg | 15.9 mm | 16.10" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.3 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | LG Gram 16 (2021) i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 16.8 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 84.7 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F R7 5700U, Vega 8 | 1.6 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 83.5 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2021 | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 R5 5500U, Vega 7 | 1.7 kg | 19.1 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.2 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2022 | Honor MagicBook 16 2022 R5 5600H, Vega 7 | 1.8 kg | 18.2 mm | 16.10" | 1920x1080 |
Case - Ultra PC is 400 g heavier
So in what ways are the gram and Ultra PC different? And why does the Ultra PC weigh significantly more even though the two devices look very similar on the outside? The Ultra PC's body is made of plastic instead of magnesium. The device also uses a standard 72 Wh battery instead of a lighter one with higher energy density. Therefore, the batteries in the two laptops have identical dimensions but different weight.
The stiff magnesium on the gram is able to cope with having just rudimentary internal reinforcements. But this also means the chassis has some flex. The Ultra PC is sturdier by comparison. Its plastic base requires strong vertical and horizontal reinforcements. As a result, both the display and the base section on our review unit have less flex than their counterparts on the gram. Twisting the display slightly will cause noticeable backlight bleeding at the lower edge of the screen. Backlight bleeding even occurs to some extent when the display is being moved.
The display hinges are also attached differently on the two devices. The Ultra PC has a visible hinge in the middle, whilst the gram features a hidden hinge that disappears behind the laptop's body. The screens on both laptops can tilt back as far as 140 degrees. Although it is possible to open up the lid slightly with one hand, you'll have to hold the base to move it back further.
The Ultra PC weighs exactly 1,600 g (3.53 lb) – 400 g (0.88 lb) more than the gram 16. As previously mentioned, this is due to the laptop's standard battery and plastic body. On the outside, the Ultra PC is marginally larger than the gram in width, depth and height. But keep in mind we are talking about differences of less than one millimetre here.
As demonstrated by the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51, some of the competitors can be quite slim as well. The Acer laptop is just 15.9 mm (0.63") thick but weighs 100 g (0.22 lb) more. At 1.6 kg (3.53 lb), the Dell Inspiron 15 5515 weighs the same as the Ultra PC. However, it is visibly thicker at 18 mm (0.71") instead of 16.3 mm (0.64"). In short: when it comes to weight and thinness, the Ultra PC is able to compete with other device in the same price range.
Features - Windows laptop with fast Wi-Fi
LG has equipped the 16-inch device with two USB-A ports (USB 3.1 Gen2) and one USB-C port (PD, DisplayPort 15 watts). You can power the laptop via the USB-C port (tested with 45- and 65-watt chargers). To avoid taking up the port for charging, the manufacturer has included a 65-watt power adapter with a tiny barrel plug.
The laptop can be connected to up to two external displays (via HDMI and DisplayPort). Unlike the Intel-based gram 16, the Ultra PC doesn't support Thunderbolt 4, meaning that it is compatible with USB-C 3.1 docking stations at most. Power can be delivered to the laptop via a docking station, provided that it supports 65-watt power pass-through. The ports on the left and right are located towards the back of the laptop, allowing the areas beside the palm rest to be kept free of cables.
SD card reader
The SD card reader has rather average performance. It is able to transfer photos at around 75 MB/s, which is very similar to the performance level seen on the Intel-based gram 16. Many laptops in this price range have an SD card reader with a slower connection, such as the Lenovo and Dell in our comparison.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average of class Office (22.7 - 198.5, n=33, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average of class Office (25 - 249, n=29, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Connectivity
The Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 module in the Ultra PC supports the 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards and offers Bluetooth 5.1 functionality. Under optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices in the immediate surroundings, short distance between the laptop and the server), the module produced results that are lower than the speeds in the specifications. However, with upload and download speeds of 1,300 and 1,500 Mbits/s respectively, the Ultra PC doesn't have to shy away from the competition at all. The Wi-Fi module is connected to two antennas that run along the bezel.
Webcam
The webcam (0.9 MP) has a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 720. It lacks colour accuracy, as shown by the high average Delta E of 21. Laptop cameras are not great most of the time, but the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 shows that it is at least possible to do better by having a webcam with a Delta E of 10. Ideally, Delta E should be below 3.
Accessories
Besides the usual documents (warranty information, quick start guide), the laptop only comes with a 65-watt power adapter.
Maintenance & software
You can access the internals after removing the bottom cover. There is a screw underneath each of the five rubber feet (glued on). Another three screws are hidden by small covers (glued on). The covers can be removed using a flat-head screwdriver and the feet using a plastic spudger. Once the screws have been removed, the bottom cover can be easily lifted up from laptop.
Software
Warranty
In Germany, LG provides a two-year warranty on the 16-inch device with the option to extend the warranty to three years for around 50 Euro (US$50). In the US, the warranty period is one year. Warranty conditions may vary from country to country.
Input devices - not optimal for people who type a lot
Numeric pad, small arrow keys and black keys – the keyboard on the Ultra PC is almost identical to the one on the gram 16. Well, just almost. The gram has a backlight for its keyboard, but the Ultra PC doesn't. Consequently, the font on the keys is also different. The font on our review unit is printed on, whereas the letters and numbers on the gram's keyboard is translucent due to the backlight.
Keyboard
The flat, smooth keys on the chiclet keyboard have a short travel and very distinct actuation point. We like the crisp resistance that the keys provide. During typing, the keyboard exhibits some flex, particularly in the middle and the right side, extending all the way to the numeric pad. This hinders fast typing and makes the keyboard feel less premium because you can't simply press down firmly on the key. All in all, LG has delivered a keyboard that is adequate for everyday use, but we can't recommend it to people who type a lot.
Touchpad
The smooth surface of the clickpad (13.2 x 8.2 cm, or 5.2 x 3.2") allows fingers to slide across with ease. The corners of the clickpad also respond to inputs. It has a significant click depth (in the lower half), a distinct actuation point and a moderately loud click.
Display – IPS panel with clouding
LG uses its own panel (LG Display LP160WU1-SPH1) on the Ultra PC. For professional users and outdoor enthusiasts alike, it is great news that the laptop comes with a matt display rather than a glossy one, just like on the gram 16. Whilst the Ultra PC shares the same 16:10 aspect ratio as the gram 16, the screen resolution has been reduced to 1,920 x 1,200 from the gram's 2,560 x 1,600.
As usual, the AMD CPU works with Radeon Software. Vari-Bright adjusts the display brightness based on what is on the screen and is enabled by default. But we disabled it when we were testing the display and the battery life. The Ultra PC doesn't have an ambient light sensor. The display's peak brightness is somewhat below average at 269 cd/m². The contrast of 1,128:1 puts the panel on the same level as the competition. Nevertheless, it has lower contrast than the LG.Philips panel on the gram 16.
The display has a modest response time of roughly 28 to 38 ms. But, then again, the laptop was not designed for gaming. Only a few 16-inch devices can perform better in this regard. One example is the Honor MagicBook 16 2022, whose display has a response time of 10 to 17 ms. One positive thing is that we didn't detect any PWM flicker on the screen.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 299 cd/m²
Contrast: 1128:1 (Black: 0.265 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.57 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9, calibrated: 5.02
ΔE Greyscale 3.8 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
37% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
55% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
36% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.6
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G LG Display LP160WU1-SPH1, IPS, 1280x1200, 16" | Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 Chi Mei CMN160B, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.1" | LG Gram 16 (2021) LG Philips LP160WQ1-SPA1, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F BOE NV15N4V, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 Lenovo LEN156FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Honor MagicBook 16 2022 NV161FHM-NH0, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.1" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 84% | 124% | 1% | 5% | 85% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 36 | 66.6 85% | 95.8 166% | 36.58 2% | 68.4 90% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 55 | 99.5 81% | 99.8 81% | 54.37 -1% | 59 7% | 98.9 80% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 37 | 68.5 85% | 83.8 126% | 37.79 2% | 38 3% | 68.6 85% |
| Response Times | 23% | 7% | -14% | 30% | 60% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 38 ? | 32 ? 16% | 44 ? -16% | 44 ? -16% | 29 ? 24% | 16.8 ? 56% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 28 ? | 20 ? 29% | 20 ? 29% | 31 ? -11% | 18 ? 36% | 10.4 ? 63% |
| PWM Frequency | 2500 ? | 1250 ? | ||||
| Screen | 34% | 2% | -8% | -43% | 19% | |
| Brightness middle | 299 | 304 2% | 331 11% | 251 -16% | 376 26% | 342 14% |
| Brightness | 270 | 284 5% | 309 14% | 241 -11% | 341 26% | 329 22% |
| Brightness Distribution | 85 | 88 4% | 88 4% | 87 2% | 78 -8% | 92 8% |
| Black Level * | 0.265 | 0.165 38% | 0.22 17% | 0.23 13% | 0.66 -149% | 0.29 -9% |
| Contrast | 1128 | 1842 63% | 1505 33% | 1091 -3% | 570 -49% | 1179 5% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.57 | 1.44 68% | 4.64 -2% | 5.14 -12% | 6.4 -40% | 3.2 30% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.92 | 3.62 59% | 9.82 -10% | 18.41 -106% | 20.45 -129% | 5.5 38% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 5.02 | 3.16 37% | 0.9 82% | |||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.8 | 2.6 32% | 6.9 -82% | 1.08 72% | 4.59 -21% | 4.5 -18% |
| Gamma | 2.6 85% | 2.41 91% | 2.34 94% | 2.43 91% | 2.26 97% | 2.22 99% |
| CCT | 6142 106% | 6527 100% | 7904 82% | 6534 99% | 6819 95% | 7610 85% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 68.5 | 75.1 | 37.79 | 38 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99.5 | 100 | 54.37 | 59 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 47% /
44% | 44% /
29% | -7% /
-7% | -3% /
-23% | 55% /
39% |
* ... smaller is better
The IPS panel has a pretty lacklustre colour coverage. It is not even close to fully covering the relatively small sRGB color space (55%). Whilst not all of the competitors are better, three of them outperform the Ultra PC in colour coverage: the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51, Honor MagicBook 16 2022 and LG gram 16.
Right out of the box, the LG Display panel has decent colour reproduction, but fails to hit the target value (Delta E below 3) with a colour difference of around 4.6. The panel doesn't have any blue tint. Calibration did improve the colour accuracy, but only for the greyscale: Delta E decreased from 3.8 to 0.4. On the other hand, the Delta E for colours became worse, increasing from 4.6 to 5.0. We took all the measurements using Portrait Displays' Calman colour calibration software.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 28 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 12 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 69 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 38 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 19 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 19 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 52 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8627 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Thanks to the matt finish, it is possible to read the display outdoors. However, the mediocre peak brightness is counterproductive for outdoor use. The following photos were taken at max screen brightness (Vari-Bright off).
The IPS panel has a wide viewing angle and can be easily viewed from any position.
Performance - space for another SSD
Our review model can't be found on LG's website. The unit has been configured based on a retailer's specifications in order to hit a very low price point – currently about 840 to 880 Euro (US$840 to US$880). For that price, you are getting a quad-core AMD Ryzen 3 5300U processor (eight threads and clock speeds of 2.60 to 3.80 GHz) as well as a pared-back amount of RAM (only 8 GB). The rest of the specifications are identical to the Core i5 model, including a 512 GB SSD. You should carefully consider whether the Ryzen 3 model is right for you, as the RAM is soldered and non-upgradeable.
The Ultra PC is also available with either an octa-core Ryzen 7 5825U (2.0 GHz, boost speeds of up to 4.5 GHz, 16 MB of L3 cache) or a hexa-core Ryzen 5 5625U (2.3 GHz, boost speeds of up to 4.3 GHz, 16 MB of L3 cache). Both variants come with 16 GB of dual-channel RAM by default, and their prices start at 960 Euro (US$960).
Test conditions
Unlike the Intel-based gram, the Ultra PC does not ship with LG Control Center. Only the LG Update & Recovery app is pre-installed on the system. This means you only have built-in Windows tools and the Radeon Software at your disposal for managing system performance and the GPU respectively. We left the Radeon Software in its default settings. Therefore, the power-saving FPS limiter wasn't enabled. We also disabled AMD Vari-Bright and all Windows power-saving modes and selected the "Best performance" option. During battery life test, the power plan was set to "Balanced".
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 3 5300U with eight threads was tested using the Cinebench loop. The Ultra PC managed to fare better than the LG gram 16 (2021), but only in multi-core tests. All other laptops with a Ryzen 5 or 7 pulled far ahead of the Ultra PC, performing 60% to 100% better. Nevertheless, the Ryzen 3 had a respectable showing – under sustained load, there was only a small performance dip of 8% over time. The processor was able to run at 26-27 watts for the first few seconds before quickly dropping down to 20 watts (see the power usage graph for the first Cinebench run). After running the benchmark in a loop for a while, the Ryzen 3 settled down at roughly 18 watts, with CPU temperatures rising to around 90°C (194°F).
Under sustained load without any interruptions (such as the R15 loop), the Ryzen 3 responded by reducing its clock speed to slightly above 3.0 GHz, causing the APU's power consumption to remain at a stable 17 watts. This figure is far from the 30-watt PL2 (short burst) and 25-watt PL1 (sustained) that this chip is capable of. It appears that LG has lowered the limits to reduce chassis temperatures and minimise noise. This is great for the laptop's emissions, as we will see later, but (slightly) affects how much performance we can get from the CPU.
Cinebench R15 Multi Sustained Load
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G -2! | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Office (1577 - 15743, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (4772 - 5522, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average of class Office (618 - 1995, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (1102 - 1129, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Office (590 - 5980, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (1883 - 2138, n=4) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Office (229 - 766, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (431 - 441, n=4) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (246 - 2642, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (832 - 915, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (98 - 284, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (166 - 170, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (524 - 617, n=3) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average of class Office (208 - 1956, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Average of class Office (7532 - 65460, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (19170 - 24366, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average of class Office (2972 - 6687, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (3755 - 4198, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Office (1018 - 11980, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (3730 - 4191, n=3) | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average of class Office (510 - 1995, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (1040 - 1080, n=3) | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Average of class Office (1.72 - 18.7, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (5.87 - 6.74, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (63.4 - 77.1, n=3) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (31.3 - 129.6, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (0.654 - 0.664, n=3) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average of class Office (0.4244 - 1.135, n=84, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G -1! | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (763 - 24250, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (3612 - 7053, n=3) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (4113 - 102371, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (33606 - 37829, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Average of class Office (287 - 4551, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (1244 - 1248, n=2) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average of class Office (8185 - 115197, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (51280 - 51454, n=3) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Average of class Office (404 - 14288, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (6686 - 6703, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (2075 - 54846, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (17564 - 20109, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (7254 - 155900, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (19307 - 34964, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (78 - 1018, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (374 - 396, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (432 - 12869, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (3199 - 3768, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average of class Office (4814 - 54971, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (16799 - 17037, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
System performance
According to PCMark 10, the application performance is rather lacklustre in all sub scores and is even below the two-year average amongst office laptops. The CPU is most comparable with the Ryzen 7 5700U in the Dell Inspiron, which is 11% better. In Crossmark, an alternative benchmark, there is hardly any difference between the 5300U and 5700U (+4-7%). That said, we know that the Dell Inspiron 15 5515 doesn't fully exploit the APU's potential; this was one of our criticisms of the device. Those who want great performance on a budget should take a look at devices with Ryzen H-series APUs, for instance the Honor MagicBook 16 2022 with Ryzen 5 5600H. That will give you the most bang for the buck – even in CPU benchmarks.
We can't make any broad statement on whether the Ryzen 7 variant of the Ultra PC will have better performance. It really depends on the capacity of its cooling solution and the specified power limits.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Average of class Office (2463 - 7344, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (4299 - 5006, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average of class Office (5575 - 20841, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (7833 - 9015, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average of class Office (3041 - 10415, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (6596 - 7852, n=3) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Office (2049 - 9773, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (4136 - 4811, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Average of class Office (348 - 1891, n=82, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (932 - 935, n=2) | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Average of class Office (393 - 1870, n=82, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (983 - 989, n=2) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Average of class Office (340 - 1982, n=82, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (899 - 920, n=2) | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Average of class Office (258 - 2017, n=82, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (844 - 866, n=2) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 4299 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average of class Office (7158 - 108783, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (30710 - 36092, n=3) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average of class Office (7325 - 127282, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (34493 - 35443, n=3) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Average of class Office (7579 - 117935, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (38052 - 40554, n=3) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (97.1 - 113.5, n=3) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Average of class Office (7.6 - 185.2, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
In our standardised latency monitor test (web browsing, 4K video playback, Prime95 high-load), we observed issues with the laptop's DPC latency. Even though the highest interrupt to process was fairly moderate at 517 ms, we saw 50 dropped frames during playback of 4K YouTube videos. Latency Mon suspects that the problem could be related to Wi-Fi drivers or CPU-throttling settings in the BIOS. However, we could not find any negative indicators, even under advanced options (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F7). Therefore, with its current driver configuration, the system doesn't seem to be suitable for real-time video and audio processing.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Honor MagicBook 16 2022 | |
| LG Ultra-PC 16 16U70Q-G.AR36G | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 | |
| LG Gram 16 (2021) | |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
The Samsung SSD (PM991 MZVLQ512HBLU) has a capacity of 512 GB. There is also a larger 1 TB option for the Ryzen 7 model. Because the laptop doesn't come pre-installed with much software, approximately 420 GB of usable storage is available out of the box. The PM991 drive is one of the reasonably fast SSDs on the market. But it delivers below average performance in the Ultra PC. This, along with the small amount of RAM, is possibly the reason for the ho-hum results obtained in PCMark 10 and Crossmark. Under sustained load, the Samsung SSD experienced a minor drop in performance – this doesn't have to be the case, though, as demonstrated by the PM9A1 SSD in the Honor MagicBook 16.
