Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarLenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e is the Windows version of the ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook that we already reviewed, and both devices use the same Bay Trail processor. Our review will show whether the Windows version can leave a better impression than the Chromebook.
Rivals for the Yoga 11e would be the Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 and the HP Stream 11 X360, for example. Those two devices are 11.6-inch convertibles as well. But tablets like the Asus Transformer Book T200TA and netbooks like the Acer TravelMate B115 or the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145, respectively, are also competitors for our review unit.
The two tested models of the ThinkPad Yoga 11e have a similar construction, so we won't cover the sections Case, Connectivity, Input Devices and Speakers in this review. The corresponding information can be found in the review of the ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook.
Case & Connectivity
The two ThinkPad Yoga 11e models use the same chassis, but there is one small difference in respect of the port variety: The Windows version has an additional Gigabit-Ethernet port, while the Chromebook version did not have an Ethernet port at all.
Display
Lenovo equipped the Yoga 11e with a glossy 11.6-inch display, which has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The brightness is quite decent with 285.1 cd/m². We measured a similar value for the display of the Chromebook sibling (277.8 cd/m²), but the Chromebook (1260:1; 0.23 cd/m²) does have an advantage over the Windows model (713:1; 0.4 cd/m²) in respect of the contrast and the black value.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 285 cd/m²
Contrast: 713:1 (Black: 0.4 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.39 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 5.41 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.76
We can measure an average DeltaE 2000 deviation of 6.39 ex-works. The target value would be smaller than 3. Our review unit does not suffer from a blue cast.
Lenovo equipped the Yoga 11e with an IPS display, which means the display content is visible from every position. The convertible can be used outdoors, but you should favor a place in the shade or use it on cloudy days. The glossy screen surface will prevent use under direct sunlight.
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE IPS 1366x768 | Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e IPS 1366x768 | HP Stream 11 X360 TN 1366x768 | Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 TN 1366x768 | Asus Transformer Book T200TA IPS 1366x768 | Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ IPS 1366x768 | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145-20BC000UGE TN 1366x768 | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 TN 1366x768 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 45.76 | 45.43 | 41.82 | 39.2 | ||||
| sRGB Coverage | 64.6 | 67.7 | 62.5 | 58.8 | ||||
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 47.14 | 46.94 | 43.26 | 40.51 | ||||
| Screen | 18% | -43% | -33% | 10% | 9% | -45% | -53% | |
| Brightness middle | 285 | 289.8 2% | 197 -31% | 230 -19% | 284 0% | 201 -29% | 203 -29% | 294 3% |
| Brightness | 285 | 278 -2% | 189 -34% | 205 -28% | 275 -4% | 182 -36% | 186 -35% | 266 -7% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 88 0% | 91 3% | 84 -5% | 90 2% | 85 -3% | 86 -2% | 86 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.4 | 0.23 42% | 0.4 -0% | 0.36 10% | 0.4 -0% | 0.27 32% | 0.46 -15% | 0.89 -123% |
| Contrast | 713 | 1260 77% | 493 -31% | 639 -10% | 710 0% | 744 4% | 441 -38% | 330 -54% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6.39 | 5.46 15% | 11.44 -79% | 10.22 -60% | 4.56 29% | 3.51 45% | 10.94 -71% | 11.14 -74% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.41 | 5.73 -6% | 12.54 -132% | 11.7 -116% | 2.99 45% | 2.61 52% | 12.05 -123% | 11.48 -112% |
| Gamma | 2.76 80% | 2.4 92% | 2.45 90% | 2.37 93% | 2.58 85% | 2.53 87% | 2.43 91% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 6082 107% | 7269 89% | 14995 43% | 13107 50% | 6749 96% | 6372 102% | 14576 45% | 12680 51% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 42 | 43 | ||||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 18% /
18% | -43% /
-43% | -33% /
-33% | 10% /
10% | 9% /
9% | -45% /
-45% | -53% /
-53% |
* ... smaller is better
Performance
Lenovo's ThinkPad Yoga 11e is an 11.6-inch convertible that provides sufficient performance for office and web applications. Our review unit is available for around 550 Euros (~$603), but Lenovo offers other versions as well: The device is also available as a Chromebook or normal netbook (without 360-degree display hinge), respectively.
Processor
The heart of the Yoga 11e is an Intel Celeron N2930 (Bay Trail) quad-core processor. The CPU runs with a nominal clock of 1.83 GHz, which can be raised up to 2.16 GHz via Turbo Boost. The Turbo can be used on mains as well as battery power: The CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks were always executed with 2.16 GHz.
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2930, Toshiba MQ01ACF050 | HP Stream 11 X360 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2840, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2840, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380 | Asus Transformer Book T200TA HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3775, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2930, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142 | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145-20BC000UGE Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 Radeon HD 8240, E1-2500, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380 | Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e HD Graphics (Bay Trail), N2930, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinebench R15 | -16% | -17% | 2% | -5% | ||||
| CPU Multi 64Bit | 133 | 76 -43% | 69 -48% | 129 -3% | 120 -10% | |||
| CPU Single 64Bit | 33 | 37 12% | 38 15% | 35 6% | 33 0% | |||
| Cinebench R11.5 | -17% | -6% | -6% | -37% | ||||
| CPU Multi 64Bit | 1.57 | 0.92 -41% | 1.39 -11% | 1.48 -6% | 0.66 -58% | |||
| CPU Single 64Bit | 0.41 | 0.44 7% | 0.41 0% | 0.39 -5% | 0.35 -15% | |||
| Cinebench R10 | -9% | 1% | -1% | -15% | -28% | |||
| Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit | 3898 | 2533 -35% | 3997 3% | 3862 -1% | 2875 -26% | 2016 -48% | ||
| Rendering Single 32Bit | 1130 | 1334 18% | 1108 -2% | 1133 0% | 1086 -4% | 1052 -7% | ||
| Geekbench 3 | 8% | -1% | 3% | -28% | ||||
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score | 836 | 907 8% | 839 0% | 870 4% | 785 -6% | |||
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score | 2703 | 2925 8% | 2653 -2% | 2766 2% | 1340 -50% | |||
| Sunspider | ||||||||
| 1.0 Total Score * | 399.7 | 318.1 20% | 423.3 -6% | 632 -58% | ||||
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 | ||||||||
| Total Score * | 7470 | 4366 42% | 7094 5% | 7469 -0% | 4664 38% | |||
| Octane V2 | ||||||||
| Total Score | 4167 | 5518 32% | 4320 4% | 4186 0% | 7334 76% | |||
| Peacekeeper | ||||||||
| --- | 729 | 1537 111% | 731 0% | 1292 77% | ||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 42% /
31% | -2% /
-6% | 5% /
4% | -2% /
-1% | -6% /
-6% | -31% /
-31% | 33% /
33% |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
We did not have any problems with the system. The notebook runs smoothly and without hiccups. The PCMark results are on the expected level and correspond with the performance of the CPU. It would be possible to increase the system performance with a second memory module or the replacement of the hard drive with an SSD.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 1360 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 1209 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 1355 points | |
Help | ||
| PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE | |
| Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 | |
| Asus Transformer Book T200TA | |
| Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ | |
Storage Devices
Lenovo equipped the Yoga 11e with a hard drive from Toshiba that has a capacity of 500 GB and runs with 7,200 revolutions per minute. It is pretty rare that we review drives with this speed, and the transfer rates are correspondingly very good: It is around 25% faster than a 5,400 rpm hard drive on average.
Graphics
The graphics core of the Yoga 11e has the designation HD Graphics. It supports DirectX 11 and runs with up to 854 MHz. The 3DMark results correspond with the performance of the GPU, which means it is at the bottom of the performance ranking. Our comparison chart shows that comparable graphics cores from AMD are significantly faster.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 257 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 19266 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 1467 points | |
Help | ||
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE | |
| Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 | |
| Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145-20BC000UGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 | |
| 1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE | |
| Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 | |
| Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145-20BC000UGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 | |
| 1280x720 Sky Diver Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE | |
| Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ | |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Score (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145-20BC000UGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 | |
Gaming Performance
You should not even think about playing modern 3D titles like Assassin's Creed Unity on the hardware of the Lenovo notebook. Smooth frame rates are only possible in a couple of games – with reduced resolutions and quality settings. The situation changes when you want to play titles from the Windows Store. They are usually no problem because they were designed for weak hardware in the first place.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 15.5 | 8 | 5.2 |
Emissions & Energy Management
System Noise
The fan is usually deactivated while idling. Still, the device is not silent because you can clearly hear the murmur of the hard drive. Replacing the hard drive with an SSD would solve this issue. The fan does not have to work very hard under load; even low rpm-levels ensure a sufficient cooling of the hardware. We can measure a system noise of just 34.1 dB(A) during our stress test, which means the Yoga 11e is on par with its Chromebook sibling in respect of the noise.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 33.3 / 33.3 / 33.3 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 33.6 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 34.1 / 34.1 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
Our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark for at least one hour) shows the same behavior for the Yoga 11e on mains as well as battery power. The processor can maintain its maximum Turbo clock (2.166 GHz), while the GPU runs with 820 MHz. The device does not really get warm; we could not measure more than 40 °C at any measuring spot, even during our stress test. The result of the Yoga 11e is once again similar to its Chromebook sibling.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 34 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 19.6 to 55.7 °C for the class Convertible.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.5 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.4 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.2 °C / 86.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.2 °C / 82.8 F (-2 °C / -3.6 F).
Power Consumption
The power consumption of the Yoga 11e is on a normal level for this hardware platform in all scenarios. We were able to measure a consumption of 17.8 Watts during the stress test, which is also the maximum value since both the CPU and GPU run with their maximum clocks.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.25 Watt |
| Idle | 4.6 / 7.8 / 8.9 Watt |
| Load |
14.8 / 17.8 Watt |
   
| |
Battery Runtime
Our realistic WLAN test opens websites automatically every 40 seconds. The power plan "Balanced" is active and we adjust the display brightness to around 150 nits. The Yoga 11e manages a runtime of 4:57 hours, which is clearly worse than the Chromebook sibling (6:29 h). This is, however, not really surprising: Chromebooks usually have a lower power consumption compared to their Windows counterparts in our experience, which means they manage longer runtimes. Another factor that should not be forgotten: The Yoga 11e uses a conventional 2.5-inch hard drive, while the Chromebook is equipped with eMMC-storage that is much more frugal. But there is an additional reason in this case: We introduced a new WLAN test a couple of weeks ago, so the results of the two Yoga models are not really comparable.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Lenovo's ThinkPad Yoga 11e is an 11.6-inch convertible that is primarily designed for schools, which means the construction is correspondingly very sturdy. The Bay Trail Celeron processor is powerful enough for office and web applications. The Yoga 11e is always quiet and does not really warm up at all. You also get good input devices, and a large maintenance hatch at the bottom means the device is easy to maintain and upgrade. We also like the display; Lenovo integrates an IPS display with good values for the brightness and the contrast. Still: Both the brightness and the contrast could be higher for such a device. All the mentioned characteristics mean the convertible is not only interesting for the education sector but also for users that need an 11.6-inch convertible for the road.
However, the problem is the mobility: The ThinkPad manages a runtime of 4:57 hours in our realistic WLAN test, so it neither lasts a full school day nor a business day.
This is an average result for an 11.6-inch notebook, but we already reviewed 11.6-inch devices with much longer runtimes. The device is also not really inexpensive with a price of 550 Euros (~$603). Rivals like the HP Stream 11 x360 and the Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 L10-B-101 are around 200 Euros (~$219) less expensive. However, both devices are only equipped with TN displays with limited viewing angles in return.
If you are looking for an enduring 11.6-inch device and do not require a touchscreen and/or a 360-degree display hinge, then you get much cheaper and more enduring alternatives with notebooks like the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E145 and the Acer TravelMate B115.
Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 20D9000QGE
-
03/14/2015 v4(old)
Sascha Mölck
Pricecompare
