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Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13-inch: AMD Ryzen ensures a very good rating despite cut corners

Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13-inch: AMD Ryzen ensures a very good rating despite cut corners
Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13-inch: AMD Ryzen ensures a very good rating despite cut corners
We have taken a look at the 13.3-inch subnotebook Lenovo IdeaPad S540. We were once again surprised by the currently outstanding performance of the Ryzen processors. Thanks to this, the laptop received a very good rating despite the manufacturer having cut a few cut corners.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S540 is a very performative office laptop with all-round potential and a price tag of 750 Euro (~$900) despite the manufacturer cutting one or two corners along the way.

We were somewhat annoyed by the display: While it certainly isn't bad, it can't keep up with the results of last year's panel. Contrast and the black value, for example, have become less good and even the brightness distribution isn't what it was. Presumably, Lenovo wanted to save a little money with the new panel. 

Another thing Lenovo was a little stingy about is the SSD: Although again this isn't a bad model, the Western Digital SSD can't quite keep up with the Samsung PM981 SSD in the device's predecessor.

Both these changes do not make the new S540 a bad laptop and the alternative hardware still is fine. Plus, the new IdeaPad 540 now features a new AMD Ryzen processor that is really impressive. The Ryzen 5 4600U in this device is almost twice as fast as the Ryzen 5 3550H in the predecessor. The Intel Core i5-1035G7 cannot even pretend to keep up with AMD's CPU.  

Find out whether the current 13.3-inch subnotebook powerhouse can iron out a large weakness the predecessor had and whether it is worth the money in our detailed review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13ARE. 

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13-inch: AMD Ryzen ensures a very good rating despite cut corners
Christian Hintze, 2020-11-28 (Update: 2020-11-26)