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MagyarLenovo Ideapad L340-17API laptop review: 17.3-incher pleases with good battery life
The Ideapad L340-17 series succeeds the Ideapad 330-17 series. The devices of both series are very similar, but there are differences in detail. The Ideapad L340-17API model before us is powered by the Ryzen 5 3500U APU from AMD. Alternatively, there are also models available that use Intel processors. Devices such as the Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA, the Dell Inspiron 17 3780 and the HP 17 are among the competitors.
Case and connectivity - There is no memory card reader
The case of the Ideapad L340 is made completely of a silver-gray plastic ("Platinum Grey"). The display bezel is colored black. The top of the base unit and the back of the lid show a brushed-aluminum look. There is nothing to complain about in terms of workmanship. The gap dimensions are correct, and sharp edges are not felt. There is a need for improvement in terms of stability: The base unit and the lid can be twisted a little too much for our taste.
Our review unit does not offer an optical drive. There is a dummy in the drive slot. However, the SATA slot required for connecting an optical drive is available. In this way, a corresponding drive could be set up on demand.
The L340 does not come with a maintenance hatch. In order to access the inside, the bottom cover needs to be dismounted. The dummy found in the slot for the optical drive is removed first. Afterwards, all the screws in the bottom of the device need to be removed. Then the bottom cover can be detached with the help of a thin spatula or a grout finishing tool. This procedure must be done carefully. The bottom cover is held by many clips. The solid state drive, fans, Wi-Fi module, RAM module and battery can now be accessed.
The supply of ports is clearly arranged. The laptop comes with two USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port, which all work with the USB 3.2 Gen 1 standard. This is joined by an HDMI connector and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The Ideapad does not offer a memory card reader. All ports are placed in the rear section of the laptop's left side. This results in the areas next to both sides of the palm rest remaining free of cables.
The Wi-Fi module uses a chip (QCA9377) from Qualcomm. Alongside the 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi standards, it also supports the fast ac standard. The transfer speeds that we measured under optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices nearby, short distance between laptop and server PC) are moderate. The competition delivers similar results. A Gigabit Ethernet controller from Realtek's RTL8168/8111 family handles wired network connections. It fulfills its tasks without issues.
Ports configuration
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| HP 17-ca0013ng | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 | |
| HP 17-ca0013ng | |
Input devices - Keyboard backlighting is missing
Lenovo configures the Ideapad L340 with a chiclet keyboard that lacks backlighting, but includes a numeric keypad. The flat, lightly roughened keys have a short travel and a clear pressure point. We like the resistance provided by the keys. The keyboard gives way a bit when typing. But this did not prove to be bothersome. All in all, Lenovo delivers quite a good keyboard here, which is also suitable for regular writing.
The multitouch-capable ClickPad is around 10.5 x 7 cm (~4 x 2.75 in). This leaves a lot of space for the use of gesture controls. The smooth pad surface makes gliding easy for the fingers. The pad also reacts to inputs on the corners. It shows a short travel and a clear pressure point.
Display - Dim, poor contrast and unstable viewing angles
The matte 17.3-inch display of the Ideapad runs at a native resolution of 1600x900 pixels. The brightness (200.6 cd/m²) and contrast (500:1) are unable to convince. We consider values beyond 300 cd/m² and 1000:1 respectively to be good. Within our comparison field, the displays of the HP 17 and the Dell Inspiron 17 are able to meet our requirements. Positive: The display of the L340 never shows PWM flickering.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 78 %
Center on Battery: 230 cd/m²
Contrast: 500:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.36 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.94
ΔE Greyscale 13.32 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
74% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
48% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
52.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
73.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
51.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.54
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE TN LED, 1600x900, 17.3" | HP 17-ca0013ng IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T TN LED, 1600x900, 17.3" | Dell Inspiron 17 3780 IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 23% | 1% | 23% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 51.1 | 67 31% | 51.2 0% | 63.7 25% |
| sRGB Coverage | 73.9 | 86.4 17% | 75.2 2% | 88.9 20% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 52.7 | 63.2 20% | 52.9 0% | 64.6 23% |
| Response Times | -49% | -8% | -115% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 42 ? | 33 ? 21% | 41 ? 2% | 46 ? -10% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 11 ? | 24 ? -118% | 13 ? -18% | 35.2 ? -220% |
| PWM Frequency | ||||
| Screen | 47% | -3% | 53% | |
| Brightness middle | 230 | 394 71% | 237 3% | 322.9 40% |
| Brightness | 201 | 352 75% | 216 7% | 322 60% |
| Brightness Distribution | 78 | 83 6% | 82 5% | 84 8% |
| Black Level * | 0.46 | 0.35 24% | 0.58 -26% | 0.26 43% |
| Contrast | 500 | 1126 125% | 409 -18% | 1242 148% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 10.36 | 6.08 41% | 10.78 -4% | 4.19 60% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 18.63 | 10.88 42% | 19.24 -3% | 7.04 62% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 13.32 | 7.22 46% | 13.38 -0% | 4.5 66% |
| Gamma | 2.54 87% | 2.48 89% | 2.51 88% | 1.97 112% |
| CCT | 14124 46% | 7997 81% | 15051 43% | 7041 92% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 48 | 57 19% | 49 2% | 57.6 20% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 74 | 86 16% | 75 1% | 88.4 19% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 2.8 | 3.55 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 7% /
29% | -3% /
-3% | -13% /
24% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 11 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 7 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 26 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.1 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 42 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 20 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. » 64 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.1 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 17204 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The display's color reproduction does not impress either. With a DeltaE 2000 color deviation of 10.36, the target area (DeltaE smaller than 3) is far off. In addition, the display suffers from a clear blue tint.
Through the color profile that we have provided, the display's color reproduction can be slightly improved. It is important to make sure that the same display model (manufacturer + model number) as in our review device is built in. Otherwise, the color reproduction can become even worse. It is common for laptops of the same model series to use displays from different manufacturers.
Lenovo equips the Ideapad with a TN panel that shows unstable viewing angles. Consequently, the display is not readable from every position. Outdoors, the laptop's display is barely or not readable at all due to its little brightness.
Performance - More than enough for office and Internet
With the Ideapad L340-17API, Lenovo has a 17.3-inch laptop in its range, which offers enough computing power for office and Internet applications. The integrated GPU allows playing a game or two. About 550 Euros (~$610) need to be spent for our review unit. Other configuration variants are available. At the time of writing this review, the most affordable model could be bought for 400 Euros (~$444), and it comes with an Athlon 300U APU.
Processor
The Ideapad is powered by the brand-new Ryzen 5 3500U (Picasso) APU from AMD, which offers more than enough performance for Office and Internet applications. The CPU part of the APU is comprised of a quad-core processor, which runs at a base speed of 2.1 GHz. An increase of up to 3.7 GHz is possible through Turbo. The processor supports simultaneous multithreading (two threads can be processed per core).
The multithread tests of the Cinebench benchmark are processed at 3.3 to 3.4 GHz for a short time. The clock speed drops then to 3 to 3.1 GHz. The single-thread tests are run at 1.5 to 3.7 GHz. On battery power, the multithread tests begin to be processed at 2.4 GHz. Subsequently, they are run at 3.1 to 3.2 GHz. The single-thread tests are processed at 1.4 to 2.4 GHz.
We test whether Turbo is used consistently when plugged in by running Cinebench's R15 multithread test continuously in a loop for a minimum of 30 minutes. The CPU is able to maintain a turbo speed of 3 to 3.1 GHz for some minutes; the speed then drops to 2.9 GHz and remains at this level for the rest of the test.
The Ideapad delivers better results than most laptops that are equipped with the direct predecessor APU, the Ryzen 5 2500U. The improvements carried out by AMD with the Zen+ architecture of the 3500U APU (smaller structural width, minimally higher working speeds, slightly more performance per clock) seem therefore to bear fruit.
| Cinebench R10 | |
| Rendering Single 32Bit | |
| Average of class Office (3562 - 9351, n=7, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (4542 - 4565, n=4) | |
| Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit | |
| Average of class Office (13854 - 40266, n=7, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (13249 - 17578, n=4) | |
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score | |
| Average of class Office (last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (9503 - 13145, n=4) | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score | |
| Average of class Office (last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (3258 - 3478, n=4) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Geekbench 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score | |
| Average of class Office (6371 - 39509, n=13, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (10099 - 12171, n=11) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score | |
| Average of class Office (3246 - 7007, n=13, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (3400 - 3924, n=11) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (1101 - 1693, n=14) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE (Edge 44) | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 (Edge 44.17763.1.0) | |
| Average of class Office (404 - 1966, n=96, last 2 years) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Office (22414 - 93596, n=42, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE (Edge 44) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (19083 - 32938, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 (Edge 44.17763.1.0) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Office (294 - 544, n=14, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 (Edge 44.17763.1.0) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE (Edge 44) | |
| HP 17-ca0013ng | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 3500U (106.9 - 208, n=13) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T | |
* ... smaller is better
System performance
The system works swiftly and smoothly. We did not experience any problems. The laptop provides more than enough performance for office and Internet applications. This is accompanied by good results in the PCMark benchmarks.
However, Lenovo leaves some of the performance underused since the RAM runs in single-channel mode. Dual-channel mode cannot be activated later because the laptop only has one RAM slot.
Nonetheless, there are configuration variants of the Ideapad L340 where dual-channel mode can be used. These models are additionally equipped with 4 GB of soldered memory.
| PCMark 7 Score | 6391 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3423 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3520 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4865 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 3754 points | |
Help | ||
Storage
A SATA SSD from Samsung is used as a system drive. It is a model that comes in the 2.5-inch format and provides 256 GB of storage space. About 213 GB is usable out of the box. The remaining storage space is divided between the recovery partition and the Windows installation. Overall, the SSD delivers good transfer speeds.
There is still a free M.2 2280 slot inside the laptop. This can take in NVMe SSDs.
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE Samsung SSD PM871b MZ7LN256HAJQ | Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T Seagate Mobile HDD 1TB ST1000LM035 | Dell Inspiron 17 3780 SK Hynix BC501 NVMe 256 GB | Average Samsung SSD PM871b MZ7LN256HAJQ | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -91% | 79% | -3% | 316% | |
| Write 4K | 94.4 | 1.747 -98% | 120.3 27% | 83.7 ? -11% | 162.5 ? 72% |
| Read 4K | 32.45 | 0.285 -99% | 41.81 29% | 32.4 ? 0% | 63.1 ? 94% |
| Write Seq | 482.8 | 76.8 -84% | 619 28% | 481 ? 0% | 2625 ? 444% |
| Read Seq | 524 | 85.6 -84% | 1119 114% | 515 ? -2% | 2835 ? 441% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 232 | 1.727 -99% | 492.2 112% | 229 ? -1% | 412 ? 78% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 253.6 | 0.647 -100% | 398.8 57% | 216 ? -15% | 537 ? 112% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 496.5 | 89.3 -82% | 812 64% | 512 ? 3% | 3293 ? 563% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 540 | 78.6 -85% | 1616 199% | 541 ? 0% | 4438 ? 722% |
Graphics card
AMD's integrated Radeon RX Vega 8 graphics unit is responsible for the graphics output. The GPU supports DirectX 12 and runs at speeds of up to 1200 MHz. The results in the 3DMark benchmarks are at a normal level for this GPU. Since our review model is unable to make use of a dual-channel mode, a performance increase is not possible.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 3195 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 60288 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 11161 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1752 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 661 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
The hardware in the L340 can run quite a lot of the games that are found in our database smoothly. This applies in the first place to games that are already a couple of years old and do not have very high hardware requirements - "Diablo 3", "Team Fortress 2" and "League of Legends", for example. The games reach smooth frame rates at HD resolution and low to medium quality settings. Titles from the years 2018/2019 are barely playable. Only very few games are able to reach playable frame rates at low resolution and low quality level.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 87.1 | 55.9 | 43.4 | 15.1 |
| Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 19 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Anthem (2019) | 10.8 | 7.5 | 6.4 | 3.7 |
| Anno 1800 (2019) | 29.6 | 9.8 | 5.7 | 3.1 |
| Rage 2 (2019) | 20.5 | 9.5 | 7.9 | |
| Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019) | 29.9 | 10.2 | 6.2 | 4.4 |
| F1 2019 (2019) | 38 | 17 | 15 | 10 |
| BioShock Infinite - 1366x768 High Preset | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) (17.2 - 68, n=16) | |
| Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE | |
| Dell Inspiron 17 3780 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 X705UA-BX022T | |
Emissions and energy - Quite long-lasting
Noise emissions
The Lenovo laptop does not produce an excessive amount of noise. In idle usage, the fan is often quiet and silence prevails. It does not spin that strongly under load. In this way, we measure a noise level of 35.3 dB(A) during the stress test. Unfortunately, the fan makes a quiet whistling sound.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 30 / 30 / 30.2 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 35.4 / 35.3 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 30 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
Either plugged in or on battery power, the Lenovo laptop works through our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least an hour) in the same way. The processor begins the test running at 2.5 GHz. After about 10 minutes, the clock speed drops to minimally 2.3 to 2.4 GHz and remains at this level. The working speed of the GPU drops in this same period from an initial 900 MHz to 600 MHz. The stress test represents an extreme scenario that does not come up in everyday use. With this test we verify that the system remains stable even under full load.
The laptop does not become overly warm. We only register temperatures above 40 °C (~104 °F) at two measuring points on the bottom during the stress test. The values are in the green area in everyday use.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.7 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 44.1 °C / 111 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.4 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 29.6 °C / 85.3 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-1.9 °C / -3.4 F).
Speakers
The stereo speakers are placed on the bottom of the device. They produce a slightly hollow sound lacking in bass. In addition, the maximum volume is quite low. Headphones or external speakers are recommended for a better sound experience.
Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (68.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.8% lower than median
(-) | bass is not linear (16.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.2% higher than median
(-) | mids are not linear (18% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.6% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (26.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 78% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 15% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 78% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 18% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy consumption
The Lenovo computer is quite efficient in its use of energy over the entire load range. In idle usage we register a maximum energy consumption of 6.8 watts - a good value. During the stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least an hour) the value increases to up to 38.6 watts. The power adapter has an output of 65 watts.
| Off / Standby | 0.5 / 0.37 Watt |
| Idle | 3.8 / 6.3 / 6.8 Watt |
| Load |
31 / 38.6 Watt |
   
| |
Battery life
Our practical Wi-Fi test simulates the load caused by accessing websites. The "balanced" profile is activated, the energy saving functions are turned off and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². The Ideapad reaches a runtime of 6:54 hours. Although Lenovo only gave the L340 a relatively small battery (36 Wh), the device can squeeze out a lot of runtime from the battery.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Lenovo's 17.3-inch laptop is powered by a Ryzen 5 3500U APU, which offers more than enough performance for office and Internet applications. In addition, it allows, at least to a limited extent, the use of computer games. However, the APU cannot develop its full potential since RAM only runs in single-channel mode; activating dual-channel mode is not possible.
With the Ideapad L340-17API, Lenovo delivers a 17.3-inch laptop for the home desk. However, there are serious weaknesses in the configuration variant before us.
A solid state drive in the 2.5-inch format makes for a fast system. Additionally, there is a slot for an NVMe SSD in the M.2 2280 format inside the computer. The case would need to be opened in order to add a corresponding SSD. The laptop does not offer a maintenance hatch.
The matte HD+ display does not impress. It is dim, contrast-poor and has unstable viewing angles. Furthermore, the color reproduction is unable to convince either. The laptop's keyboard made a good impression, and is also suitable for regular writing tasks. However, we did miss a keyboard backlighting. The good battery life should be mentioned too, which Lenovo squeezes out from the relatively small battery. The fan produces a quiet whistling sound unfortunately.
We liked the Ideapad L340-17API in principle, but we cannot make a purchase recommendation for the configuration variant before us. The two greatest weaknesses are the dim, contrast-poor TN display with its unstable viewing angles and the RAM running in single-channel mode. For about 50 Euros (~$55) more, there are configuration variants available for the Ideapad, which have a slightly stronger APU, a Full HD IPS display with stable viewing angles and memory that runs in dual-channel mode.
Lenovo Ideapad L340-17API-81LY0004GE
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08/20/2019 v6 (old)
Sascha Mölck
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