With its large 15.6-inch screen, ergonomic keyboard, and adequate processing power for office tasks and more, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15 AMD is a great budget laptop option.
You can tailor an IdeaPad 330 to your specific requirements with the lineup’s three different display sizes (14, 15.6, and 17.3 inches). In any case, you’ll receive a low-cost system with a sleek, high-quality appearance and several convenient connection choices.
This Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD review focuses on the 15.6-inch variant, which comes equipped with an Intel Core i3-8130U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and Intel UHD Graphics 620.
The specifications appear like they’d be found on a cheap laptop, but the sturdy build and top-tier productivity performance are what really matter. It’s a no-brainer for us to name it the best cheap laptop of the year.
For a little higher price, you can have the IdeaPad outfitted with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB solid-state drive. While there is a lot of rivalry in this market, the option to tailor your notebook to your exact needs makes it an intriguing purchase.
Design
Measuring 0.9 by 10.2 by 14.9 inches (HWD) and weighing 4.85 pounds, the 2019 IdeaPad 330 seems compact and lightweight and can be easily taken anywhere. However, unlike some of its rivals, it is not cumbersome in size or weight. Topping our list of recommended low-cost laptops is the 5.27-pound, 1.19-inch-thick Acer Aspire E15 (E5-576-392H).
The sleek platinum grey chassis is surprisingly solid, giving the impression of an aluminium construction even though it isn’t. The ultrabook and premium notebook categories have introduced metal builds. Premium Lenovo systems feature a platinum grey profile that, like other notebooks featuring the same material, shows dirt and fingerprints easily.
Display
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15 AMD’s 15.6-inch 720p screen is the only thing we’re not crazy about, but it’s plenty bright and legible for the price. Lenovo chose a lower-res (1366 x 768) TN panel, which explains the cheap price you’re paying for this laptop, in contrast to competitors like the Acer Aspire E5-576-392H (see review here), which offers a full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution.
In comparison to similarly priced budget notebooks with similarly washed-out displays, you may not immediately notice the low resolution. You’ll need to use some creative angling to find a spot that holds water at first. For the price, we may overlook the fact that it is only adequate.
To be fair, Lenovo does include an anti-glare coating on the screen, which minimises reflections, making it the ideal choice for a sub-HD media machine so long as you find a good viewing angle.
Battery Life
Although battery life is often excellent on budget laptops, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD falls short in this regard. The battery life of this specific IdeaPad 330 is quite poor. It has a somewhat limited battery life for a contemporary machine, with just about 3 hours and 20 minutes available on a single charge. On a single charge, the Aspire E 15 (E5-576-392H) lasts for an astounding 10 hours and 51 minutes.
Keyboard And Touchpad
The non-backlit, 6-row chiclet keyboard of the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD is well-spaced and has a comfortable feel under the finger. The arrow keys are in the appropriate spot, and the addition of a numeric keypad is welcome. The individual key travel is brief, and there is a distinct pressure point. A short tap of the keys will take you where you need to go, and even brisk typists will find them to be dependable.
The touchpad blends in with the rest of the device’s design. It leans slightly to the left, but may still be used for gesture inputs. A touchpad’s setup menu allows for personalised gesture configuration. It works well with Windows 10 gestures and accurately detects inputs from the physical world.
Performance
The AMD Quad-Core Ryzen 5 2500U CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and an Integrated Intel HD 620 graphics card are all included in this Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15 AMD configuration.
Ryzen 5 is a quad-core processor that offers somewhat greater performance than AMD A12-9700P processors in standard laptops and Chromebooks. The processor, graphics card, amount of memory, and even the size of the display may all be upgraded throughout the ordering process, as was previously noted.
While neither of these processors is designed to handle heavy loads, they both provide adequate performance for the average office environment and most web-based programmes.
Even at their lowest settings, most games released in 2015 and 2016 can be played successfully on the integrated Intel HD 620 graphics card, which is an improvement over its predecessor.
Ports And Storage
The Lenovo Ideapad 330’s impressive array of input/output ports seals the deal. And it has a Type-C connector, which is unusual for low-cost laptops. Two regular USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 3.0 Type-C connector, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot are all included. One of the best features of SD cards is that they can be used to transfer media files and so increase the system’s storage capacity.
In addition, there are extras such as a DVD drive, Ethernet connector, and socket for headphones. Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi (802.11ac) allow for wireless communication.
The machine already has a 1TB 5400RPM hard disc installed, so adding more storage isn’t necessary unless you have an extremely large amount of data to store. But this storage space is far larger than what you’d get in low-cost Chromebooks. Moreover, an SSD can be added as additional storage during the ordering process if desired.
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