Lenovo IdeaPad 520s-14IKB (Core i5-7200U, 940MX) Laptop Review

Compared to the IdeaPad 510s-14ISK, the IdeaPad 520s-14IKB has become smaller, mainly in the horizontal dimension, so that it is slightly more compact overall. However, the thickness has remained almost the same, and in terms of its weight the new IdeaPad is even slightly heavier than the old model. In terms of size, despite its narrower bezels it plays in a completely different league than the 13.3-inch Ultrabooks. The XPS 13 in particular is definitely more compact and light. However, the 14-inch notebooks in our comparison are all very similar.

Lenovo takes one step towards being current, but unfortunately does not follow it through. Although the IdeaPad 520s has USB Type-C, it is only a very limited implementation. There is neither Thunderbolt, nor does the connector offer the alternate DisplayPort mode. Lenovo continues to use a proprietary connection for charging the device. The USB-C connection which only supports data transfers according to USB-3.1 Gen-1 is a missed opportunity. In addition, one USB-3.0 connection and the foldout Ethernet port have been left out. For many users this might not be critical, but perhaps still a painful loss. 

There is nothing to complain about the position of the connections. The connections are all far enough apart and positioned on the sides towards the back.

There is an SD-card reader on the right side of the case. In the benchmark test which as usual we performed with the Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference storage card ran at a rather average speed. While very cheap laptops have considerably slower card readers, there are also some with much faster ones, such as the XPS 13.

It is a drawback that the cards are still sticking out after inserting them into the reader, so the slot is not suitable as a permanent storage extension.

The Intel Wireless 3165 is a 1x1 AC-WLAN card that can often be found in less expensive notebooks. It delivers a performance suitable for everyday life, and the connection always remained stable in the test. Although it is okay for non-demanding users, the limitation of the 1x1 design clearly shows in the benchmark test. 2x2 AC cards, such as the Killer Wireless 1535 or the Intel Wireless 7265 are considerably faster.

The built-in camera is a typical notebook webcam. It produces a noisy and pixelated image. The microphones are slightly better. Both components are sufficient for video calls, but not much more than that. 

There are no accessories included with the test unit and there are no manufacturer's or model specific accessories such as docks either.

Lenovo offers a two-year warranty on the IdeaPad 520s-14IKB. During these 24 months, you can send your notebook to Lenovo to use the warranty (bring-in service). Optionally, Lenovo offers an extension to 36 months, as well as on-site service and accident protection, which includes accidental drops. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Touchpad

Lenovo has built in a suitably large ClickPad. Unlike the more expensive Ultrabooks, this has a plastic instead of a glass surface. Still, the plastic surface does not really feel too cheap and works well enough, since it is sufficiently smooth to permit unimpeded gliding of the fingers. The mechanics of the ClickPad do not produce any clacking, and the clicks are crisp and not too loud.

Lenovo uses touchpads according to Microsoft's Precision-Touchpad standard in all their new laptops, which is also the case in the IdeaPad 520s. Consequently, the use of the touchpad is good and gestures work perfectly and precisely.

The IdeaPad 520s-14IKB is available in half a dozen different configurations on the German market. The six models cover a price range from about 600 to 900 Euros (~$714 - $1071). With a regular price of 850 Euros (~$1012), our model which is the only one with a dedicated Nvidia GPU is at the upper end of the range. Five of the six configurations have the Core i5-7200U built-in, and only one uses the more expensive Core i7-7500U.

The two weakest configurations have a 1-TB HDD, and the rest have either a 256-GB SSD, or in the most expensive model a 512-GB SSD. All models except for the most affordable device have 8 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM, and the model for 600 Euros (~$714) has only 4 GB. There is one RAM slot, and the storage can be expanded to a maximum of 16 GB.

The Core i7-7200U is an economical dual-core processor of the Kaby-Lake generation. With a TDP of 15 W it falls into the class of ultra-low-voltage CPUs, which you can recognize by the appended "U" at the end of Intel's processor designations. The CPU offers Hyperthreading as well as Turbo-Boost up to 3.1 GHz. The base clock speed is 2.5 GHz. You can see more comparisons in our CPU benchmark list.

Many laptop test websites test the performance only in a single test run, which cannot simulate a constant load. However, Notebookcheck uses a 30-minute loop of the Cinebench R15 Multi-core test to evaluate how well the cooling system of the test unit can really handle the built-in components and whether the performance really is available constantly. In this test, the IdeaPad 520s-14IKB shows a considerably reduced performance from the second test run. Although there is still no throttling since the speed does not go below the base clock speed, the CPU can clearly not use its full potential.

In a single run of the Cinebench R15 Multi-core test, the i5-7200U can achieve its optimal result of above 330 points. The lower performance in the loop test is apparently due to a temperature limit which has been set by the manufacturer. When 70 °C (158 °F) is reached, the CPU lowers its speed to the base clock speed, while before that it can consistently maintain the Turbo speed of 3.1 GHz. In a single test the temperature limit is not reached, whereas things look different during constant load.

In battery operation the CPU performance is not limited.

The combination of sufficient RAM, an SSD, and a modern Intel processor in the test unit assure a good result in the PC-Mark benchmarks. In everyday life the performance and reaction speed also give no reason for complaint.

This SSD is a first for us, since it is the first time that we have an SSD from the manufacturer RAMAXEL in our test. RAMAXEL does not only produce SSDs but also working memory.

The built-in 256-GB SSD runs only at SATA-III speed. This is not unusual for an affordable notebook, but even among the SATA-III flash storage, this SSD is not really one of the fastest SSDs. The Samsung SSD built into the predecessor is about 30% faster, and against the modern PCIe-NVMe SSDs, the RAMAXEL SSD has no chance anyway. However, in everyday life the slightly slow SSD produces no noticeable negative effects, and it is still worlds apart from the slower HDDs.

The Nvidia GeForce 940MX is an outdated graphics solution based on the Maxwell architecture. It was introduced in the beginning of 2016 as a facelift of the GeForce 940M, which in itself was really only a renamed GeForce 840M. Thus the technology the 940MX is already 3 years old. At that point the GPU was still the mid-range, but today it is considered the lower range due to its age (a successor is already on the market in the form of the GeForce MX150). At least Lenovo uses the GDDR5 version of the GPU, while there is still another version with the slower DDR3 storage.

Even though it is outdated, it more than clearly beats the Intel HD Graphics 620. The Intel Iris 550 in the predecessor is also considerably slower and the similar GeForce 940MX in the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air is slightly slower as well. However, the old GeForce does not come anywhere near the MX150 in any benchmark, and the difference in generations clearly shows in the results. You can compare the 940MX with other GPUs in our GPU benchmark list.

Like the CPU, the GPU performance is also not limited in battery operation.

Of course you cannot expect much from the GeForce 940MX. If at all, current games can only be played in reduced detail. For the casual gamer, it is quite suitable though, particularly if it does not have to be the latest games.

Parallel to the Cinebench loop, Notebookcheck performs a similar test to evaluate the performance capabilities of the graphics chip under constant load. We use "Witcher 3" in the Ultra setting for this. The result: Unlike the CPU, the GPU is able to maintain its (low) performance level.

The comparison with its own predecessor and the MX150 are interesting. Here the difference to the newer GPU is not quite as large as in the synthetic benchmarks, although it is still clear enough to make the difference between playable and not playable. The Iris 550 in the IdeaPad 510s-14ISK remains far behind.

As customary for many notebooks with ULV CPUs, the fan of the IdeaPad is almost always turned off during idle operation, and if it does turn on, it runs very quietly. The fan noise is very pleasant and not disturbing at all, even during load when you can hear the fan more clearly.

There are no high-pitched or other disturbing noises in our test unit.

The speakers of the IdeaPad 520s are placed at the bottom. In this position, they achieve a performance that is okay for an Ultrabook. They are not particularly loud and as always, the bass is hardly present, but at least the sound is not distorted at higher volumes and the speakers sound relatively balanced. The flawless headphone port on the left side of the case achieves an even better performance.

Frequency comparison (Checkboxes selectable!)

Under load, the IdeaPad 520s-14IKB uses considerably more power than the direct competitors. This is not surprising since most of them have no dGPU, which drives up the power consumption. In the idle state, the test unit fares much better, placing in a similar range as most of the competitors. The predecessor, the IdeaPad 510s-15IKB, still used considerably more, and also the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air uses much more power while idling.

A 65-W power supply is included, which is exactly the right size for its maximum consumption of 57 W.