Lenovo IdeaPad 710S Plus (Core i7) Subnotebook Review

Apart from a few details, such as a fingerprint scanner and ports, Lenovo apparently has not changed much of anything at all compared with the very convincing predecessor - which is good news. Thus, it may be assumed that an aluminum-magnesium mix is again used as materials although Lenovo does not explicitly advertise this, which is somewhat unusual.  

Since we have already pointed out that the design and surfaces follow those of the MacBook Air in the review of the 710S, we will directly jump to build and stability. We believe that the predecessor was a bit stiffer. It is nevertheless enough for a good subscore since twisting is only possible to a very limited degree, and it is then accompanied by only subtle noises. Lenovo has again done a good job with the build; only the gaps of the removable base plate exhibit marginal irregularities. Unfortunately, while slightly less stiff, the lid still requires two hands to open, which is the price paid to restrain annoying rocking.

We, of course, again give full points for the design in total, but some subscores of the other aspects will be reduced slightly.

HP provides the most compact and lightest laptop in the test with its EliteBook Folio G1 (1.1 kg/~2.4 lb). Our Dell XPS 13 (1.2 kg/~2.6 lb) is not quite as deep but a bit wider. The width and depth of the approximately 1.1 kg review sample, which also has the biggest surface area following the especially slim Acer Swift 7, surpasses both laptops. Dell is the thickest, followed by Lenovo's IdeaPad, then HP's EliteBook, and finally Acer's Swift with a much bigger surface area than the other participants, which is likely the price for the extremely slim build.

As is common for compact subnotebooks, not many interfaces are present. At least USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C has been installed. This port is also the only possibility for connecting external monitors providing a corresponding DisplayPort adapter is purchased. Thunderbolt 3 is absent.

Of the other two USB ports, it is the left-sided port that still operates in the 2.0 standard. Since the majority of users are right-handed, and the port is predestined for connecting an external mouse, the cable has to be routed around the laptop. Otherwise, the port positioning does not give reason for complaint; everything has been installed ergonomically into the back areas of the sides. The spacing between the ports is more than sufficient.

When just looking at laptops with card readers that are not slowed down by USB 2.0, Lenovo's IdeaPad 710 Plus achieves mediocre write and read speeds with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card. Dell, for example, proves that more is possible. The speed will hardly upset users who do not have to copy a 16-GB card to Lenovo's laptop every day.

Matching the mobility claim and the lack of cabled Ethernet, Lenovo relies on a MIMO 2x2 module named Qualcomm/Atheros QCA6174 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac). It theoretically achieves a gross transmission rate of 867 MBit/s in the less frequented 5-GHz band and implements Bluetooth version 4.1. We are curious about how it will fare after the predecessor was a bit weak here.

Considering the unpreventable overhead, the transmit and receive rates of 600 MBit/s using the Linksys EA 8500 are very good. The Killer 1535 module (2x2) in Dell's laptop surpasses them slightly. Lenovo apparently does not have mobile wireless versions in its lineup.

The IdeaPad 710S Plus offers a TPM 2.0 chip, and a fast and reliable fingerprint scanner for security-conscious and mobile users.

A USB Type-C-to-DisplayPort adapter would only cost a few cents, but Lenovo does not include one. Thus, only the minimum in the form of the power supply and compulsory setup and safety instructions are in the box. We did not discover any special accessories for the 710S Plus on Lenovo's website.

The base plate fastened by ten Torx screws should be easy to remove and allow accessing most components. Since the review sample is a shop device, we did not remove the plate, which could lead to the loss of warranty and guaranty.

Lenovo offers a 24-month bring-in manufacturer warranty with only twelve months on the battery. The warranty can be upgraded for a charge. Details can be found here for warranty conditions and statement of warranty. Of course, the two-year legal retailer warranty also applies. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Extreme multitasking and using heavy-duty software, such as Adobe Lightroom, are no challenge for Lenovo's IdeaPad 710S. The dual-core furnished with 8 GB of DDR4 single-channel RAM, of course, finds its limits in highly parallelized software used in many up-to-date games that clearly benefit from four or more physical cores. The tester was pleased with the smoothly running system and, thanks to the SSD, fast launching of the OS and programs.

Although Dell's XPS 13 only sports an integrated graphics processor, the nominally slower i5-7200U, an overall weaker SSD, and a lower clocked RAM, it has a slight edge on the review sample in PCMark 8. The fact that Dell's device operates with two memory channels is not enough reason for this phenomenon. In total, all four laptops are very close on a high level, and the subjective differences should be kept within tight limits.

Although we now have some even faster SSDs in our database, we can keep things short here: The PM961 NVMe SSD with a capacity of 512 GB by Samsung achieves superb outcomes in all important single tests. 54.8 MB/s is an excellent rate in the 4K read performance, which is particularly important for launching the operating system and programs, and only few SSDs surpass this.

The AS SSD benchmark is not listed due to compatibility issues. Of the other SSDs in the test, HP's EliteBook Folio G1 can keep up to the 710S Plus the best. However, as always in practice: the main thing is having an SSD.

Like its direct Nvidia GeForce 840M and 940M predecessors, the installed GeForce 940MX graphics card is developing to be a basic card used in many laptop models. The mid-range graphics card relies on 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM, which is connected via a narrow 64-bit memory interface. The 940MX is often accompanied by the slower DDR3 RAM. To make things even more complicated, Nvidia apparently also offers the GDDR5 model with 512 (GM107 chip) instead of 384 (GM108) Shaders and a lower clock rate. This is normally 1083-1189 MHz (Turbo), but the manufacturer limits it to 954-993 MHz in the review sample. More information about the GeForce 940MX can be found following the corresponding links.

Compared with other 940MX cards (all versions) in other laptops, the performance is midfield in 3DMark 11 and 2013. An exception is the Cloud Gate benchmark where the 940MX in the 710S Plus takes second place. Rerunning 3DMark 11 in battery mode lead to a marginally lower total score that is within the mean variation.

Some up-to-date games, such as "Titanfall 2" can still be played smoothly on Nvidia's GeForce 940MX using medium presets and 1366x768 pixels. Other games like "Dishonored 2" do not come close to playability. For newer and graphically demanding games, it is possible to play most of them when using the often unsightly minimum settings and 1024x768 or 1280x720 pixels. Less demanding games, such as the new "Farming Simulator 17" or games with an isometric reproduction (exception: "Anno 2205") even allow high if not maximum ("FIFA 17") presets at 1920x1080 pixels. The card is not suitable for resolutions higher than Full HD.

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off!)

Power Consumption

As our IdeaPad is the only device in the test with a dedicated graphics card, the load outcomes are not comparable. As expected, Acer's Swift and HP's EliteBook Folio based on 4.5-watt CPUs consume less than the review sample in the operating states idle average and idle maximum, but still more than the 15-watt i5-7200U chip in Dell's XPS 13. The review sample scores with the lowest consumption when it is idling (idle min) although the differences are marginal. The 65-watt power supply is far from being exhausted.

Like in the predecessor, a 46-Wh battery is installed. The runtime in the practical Wi-Fi browsing test (Our test criteria) using medium brightness is, however, over an hour shorter. Nevertheless, almost six hours should still be enough to bring most users through a day on one battery charge.

Our Acer Swift with its 4.5-watt CPU and no dedicated graphics card sports a slightly smaller battery (42 Wh) and proves to be especially enduring with 19 to 104% longer runtimes. HP's EliteBook Folio also has an overall lead on the review sample despite its 38-Wh battery. Of course, Dell's XPS 13 60-Wh battery laptop achieves the longest battery life.