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MagyarLenovo S20-30 Netbook Review
For the original German article, see here.
Little 10.1 and 11.6-inch netbooks are still popular nowadays, mostly because writing on these mobile devices is much more comfortable than typing on a tablet with an attachable keyboard. We're already familiar with the Lenovo S20-30 up for review here; the Lenovo S20 series is structurally identical to its predecessors, the IdeaPad S210 and IdeaPad S215 lines. We tested the IdeaPad S215 59372287 (AMD A4-5000, Radeon HD 8330) and the IdeaPad S210 Touch 59370994 (Pentium 2127U, HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge)) a while ago. While the predecessors still ran on Ivy Bridge processors or AMD APUs, Lenovo chose to install Bay Trail processors in their S20 models. Is the S20 series an enticing offer? Read our review to find out.
Fundamentally, all 11.6-inch computers count as competitors against Lenovo's S20 line. Examples include the Aspire E3-111-C6LG, the Asus F200MA-CT067H, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 and the Acer Aspire V3-111P-P06A.
Case & Connectivity
The little computer's whole case is constructed out of matte, black plastic. The top side of the base unit and the display frame have a roughened feel. The back side of the lid and the underside of the device are textured. In terms of stability and manufacturing quality, there's nothing much to critique. The base unit yields to pressure in the usual spots: to the left of the keyboard and below the touchpad. The base unit could also stand to be a little stiffer. But all in all, the case delivers what we'd expect of an 11.6-inch netbook in this price range. The computer lacks a maintenance hatch; to access the inner workings, the bottom shell would have to be removed.
When it comes to connections and their locations, the S20 looks exactly like its predecessors. Lenovo integrated the usual connections for a netbook on today's market. The computer comes with Windows 8.1 (64-bit) + Bing preinstalled. There is no recovery DVD. For those interested in installing Windows 7 instead, Lenovo offers the necessary drivers for download.
Input Devices
The little S20 is equipped with an unlit chiclet keyboard. The flat, glossy keys have a short travel length and a clear click point. During typing, the keyboard bends slightly, especially in the middle. Overall, the keyboard isn't exactly one of the best of its kind. The Aspire V3-111, for example, and especially the ThinkPad Edge E145, both offer better keyboards. The S20's touchpad measures about 8.1 x 4.4 cm (~3.2 x 1.7 inches) and supports multitouch gestures. The palm rest's roughened surface continues into the touchpad as well, but our fingers still glide easily across the pad. The computer recognizes and translates multitouch gestures without a problem. The two mouse keys have a short travel length and a distinctly audible and palpable click point.
Display
In their little 11.6-inch netbook, Lenovo installed a matte display with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The panel's brightness value of 235.2 cd/m² is on par with others in the device's price range; its contrast (203:1) and black value (1.25 cd/m²), however, should be better.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 254 cd/m²
Contrast: 203:1 (Black: 1.25 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.77 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 11.97 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
40% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
43.35% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
63.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
41.96% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.13
| Lenovo S20-30 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2830, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPCX-24C6HT0 | Acer Aspire V3-111P-P06A HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N3530, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 Radeon HD 8240, E1-2500, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380 | Acer Aspire E3-111-C6LG HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2930, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX | Lenovo IdeaPad S215 59372287 Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -3% | -7% | -4% | -5% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 41.96 | 40.67 -3% | 39.2 -7% | 40.43 -4% | 40.17 -4% |
| sRGB Coverage | 63.2 | 61.1 -3% | 58.8 -7% | 60.7 -4% | 59.4 -6% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 43.35 | 42.02 -3% | 40.51 -7% | 41.8 -4% | 41.43 -4% |
| Screen | 14% | 17% | -3% | 20% | |
| Brightness middle | 254 | 233 -8% | 294 16% | 245 -4% | 222 -13% |
| Brightness | 235 | 222 -6% | 266 13% | 235 0% | 198 -16% |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 88 2% | 86 0% | 85 -1% | 77 -10% |
| Black Level * | 1.25 | 0.68 46% | 0.89 29% | 1.17 6% | 0.58 54% |
| Contrast | 203 | 343 69% | 330 63% | 209 3% | 383 89% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 10.77 | 10.29 4% | 11.14 -3% | 12.53 -16% | 7.55 30% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 11.97 | 11.2 6% | 11.48 4% | 13.25 -11% | 8.13 32% |
| Gamma | 2.13 103% | 2.54 87% | 2.1 105% | 2.68 82% | 2.18 101% |
| CCT | 14771 44% | 14016 46% | 12680 51% | 18403 35% | 12120 54% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 40 | 40 0% | 38.7 -3% | 37.6 -6% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 6% /
9% | 5% /
10% | -4% /
-3% | 8% /
13% |
* ... smaller is better
Out of the factory, the screen's average DeltaE 2000 deviations measures 10.77 -- a normal number for a notebook in this low price range. A deviation of less than 3 would be ideal. The display has a visible blue cast.
Thanks to its matte display surface, the S20 can be used outdoors, as the user doesn't have to fight against reflections on the screen. Lenovo selected a TN panel for their netbook. These panels only offer limited viewing angles.
Performance
The S20-30 is one of Lenovo's little, mobile machines for writing and surfing. The hardware is intended for office and Internet-related applications. Our test device is currently available for 250 Euros (~$309). The manufacturer also has models with different amounts of working memory and hard drive space in their line-up.
Processor
The S20's processor is a model we've run into a lot lately. For several weeks now, the Celeron N2830 dual-core processor (Bay Trail) has shown up in more and more extremely low-priced notebooks. The CPU runs at a base clock speed of 2.16 GHz. Via turbo, the speed can be increased to up to 2.416 GHz. The processor completed the Cinebench benchmark's CPU tests at full speed (2.416 GHz) in both AC power mode and battery mode, demonstrating that the CPU's full performance power is always available.
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
Great performance is not to be expected of this computer; the hardware platform is too weak for that. Nevertheless, the little netbook runs smoothly and doesn't present any problems. The results in the PCMark benchmarks are on par with those achieved by comparable devices.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 1130 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 815 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 1137 points | |
Help | ||
| PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo S20-30 | |
| Acer Aspire E3-111-C6LG | |
| Asus F200MA-CT067H | |
| Acer Aspire V5-132P | |
| Acer Aspire V3-111P-P06A | |
Storage Devices
The 11.6-inch computer's hard drive is manufactured by Western Digital. It offers a capacity of 500 GB and runs at 5400 revolutions per minute. The drive's transfer rates are at a normal level for 5400 rpm hard drives.
Graphics Card
Like the processor, the HD Graphics GPU installed in the device doesn't offer all that much in terms of performance. Comparable graphics cores from AMD, like the Radeon R4 (Beema) chip offer much stronger performance. Intel's GPU supports DirectX 11 and runs at up to 750 MHz. The results in the 3DMark benchmarks are more or less on par with those attained by other computers equipped with this graphics core. However, the comparison table below reveals that even with the same GPU, the Aspire E3-111-C6LG, for example, achieves better results here. The reason: The Aspire's graphics core runs at a higher clock speed (up to 854 MHz).
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 226 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 15256 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 1176 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
If you only play games that are available for download in the Windows Store, you shouldn't have any problems. Modern 3D games almost never reach playable frame rates on this Lenovo machine -- exceptions, of course, prove the rule.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 14.1 | 7.4 | 4.8 |
Emissions
System Noise
Surprisingly, the S20's fan never stands still. Even in idle mode, it continues to run at a low speed. In a quiet environment, the whirring is audible. The sound generated by the hard drive is also noticeable. If the little computer is under load, the fan only runs a little faster; it never spins fast enough to be truly loud.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 33.4 / 33.4 / 33.4 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 33.7 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 34.7 / 35.4 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
The S20-30 completed the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark running simultaneously for at least an hour) in the same way in both AC power mode and battery mode: The processor ran at 2.416 GHz. The graphics core went about its business at 720 MHz. Neither in idle mode, nor during the stress test, did the Lenovo netbook's case grow particularly warm. We only measured a temperature of over 40 °C (104 °F) in one spot.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 33.7 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 33.1 °C / 92 F, ranging from 21.6 to 53.2 °C for the class Netbook.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 36.6 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.8 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 29.8 °C / 86 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33.7 °C / 92.7 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 29.3 °C / 84.7 F (-4.4 °C / -8 F).
Speakers
The computer's stereo speakers are located on the underside of the device. An excellent sound is, of course, not to be expected. The two speakers generate a thin sound that is noticeably lacking in bass.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Intel's Bay Trail processors are some of the most energy-efficient of their kind. As a result, overall, the S20-30 doesn't require a lot of energy. In idle mode, the power consumption rate remains significantly under 10 Watts. During the stress test, the number rose to 13.4 Watts. These numbers are in line with those of other notebooks equipped with the same hardware platform.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 4.9 / 6 / 6.2 Watt |
| Load |
12.8 / 13.4 Watt |
   
| |
Battery Life
In our WLAN test, which is designed to simulate practical, everyday use, we run a script that automatically loads a new webpage every 40 seconds. The energy-saving profile is active, and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². In this test, the S20-30 achieved a battery runtime of 5:28 h -- a good result.
Verdict
The Lenovo S20-30 offers enough performance for office and Internet-related applications. The computer always runs relatively quietly and doesn't warm up excessively. The computer's battery life is also perfectly satisfactory. Considering the price of the notebook, the screen is acceptable, though it could stand to provide stronger contrast and a better black value. For the most part, the device's attractiveness is based on its low price. In our opinion, the Acer Aspire V3-111 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 are better mobile machines for writing and surfing, as they are outfitted with superior keyboards and run considerably longer off of one battery charge. However, even without a Windows operating system the two computers cost 320 Euros (~$396; Aspire) and 310 Euros (~$384; ThinkPad). If you add the cost of a used Windows license (about 30 Euros; ~$37), the two cost just under 100 Euros more (~$123) than the S20-30.
