A great laptop isn’t just a laptop where you can game heavy! There are other laptops in the market that are great at their own niche and arena like the best multimedia, casual usage laptop. One of such great laptop for the best multimedia usage is the Lenovo IdeaPad s340-15.
The Lenovo IdeaPad s340-15 laptop is a productivity powerhouse, with a spacious screen and very comfortable keyboard. Available at quite a flexible and affordable price, it is the company’s mid-range laptop. The specs details of this laptop featuring the Intel Core i7 processor could be for everyone, and when added with the signature Lenovo look and design, this laptop is something you would definitely have as your best buddy. It is also very lightweight, and super-portable, and outranks a lot of laptop in it’s category on many levels which we will be discussing in this article below.
What’s in the box? – Lenovo Ideapad s340 -15
A general purchase of the Lenovo Ideapad s340-15 comes with:
- 240V, 1.5 Amp Barrel charger
- A setup guide
- Lenovo Ideapad s340 laptop
Specifications of Lenovo IdeaPad s340 – 15
| Operating System | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7- 1065G7 4 x 1.3 – 3.9 GHz, Ice Lake U |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Plus GraphicsG7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) 300 MHz |
| Display | 15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, 60 Hz Storage |
| Memory | 1000 MHz, DDR4 , 4GB |
| Storage | 512 GB, Intel SSD 660p. |
| Ports and Interface | 2x USB 3.1 Type-A Gen. 1 port. AC adapter, HDMI, USB Type-C 3.1 Gen. 1, 3.5 mm combo audio. |
| Weight | 1.751 kg, Power adapter : 158gm. |
Overview – Lenovo IdeaPad S340 – 15
Design and Appearance
Design and build material-wise, The Lenovo IdeaPad S340 contains a plastic build, that has carbon fibre threads on it, but it is not visible enough, making it almost invisible. These fibers make the plastic stronger, and along with plastic, the laptop contains an aluminum finish on the lid, providing a real sturdy look.
The laptop is not the thinnest and slimmest on the market at 17.9mm, but Lenovo has named it ‘ultrathin’. But what we can say with its 1.5kg for its 15inch model is that it is very compact and portable. You can toss in your laptop to any bag and carrying it won’t be much of a burden on your shoulders too.
One great design feature added in the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 is the TrueBlock privacy shutter. This feature lets you to physically cover the webcam, whenever you don’t need it. Although a little fiddle to use, it is a small addition and you won’t even notice its there. but, it is very helpful.
Available in colors like Sand Pink, Onyx Black, Abyss Blue and Platinum Grey, the Lenovo Ideapad S340 is truly a great and super compact multimedia laptop.
Display
Though it cannot be compared to the ultra 4K HD level display, the display of the Lenovo Ideapad S340 is quite great for a multimedia laptop, with minimal graininess and the contrast is better than expected from a matte panel on an inexpensive laptop. To the contrary, the limited color spacing plus the inaccurate colors forbid the panels from being as colorful as the panels found on its pricier market competitors like the Surface Laptop 3 15.
The response times for the Lenovo Ideapad S340 is also noticeably slow when gaming, and the unit bears a slight-moderate uneven backlight bleeding towards the edges and corners of the screen. Featuring a touchscreen display, which is pretty uncanny for a matte panel, it also has a physical webcam shutter towards the top edge barrow side bezels.
Performance
Performance wise, it is a no brainer that this Lenovo Ideapad S340 is a laptop that is targeted towards casual users, who generally browse the internet, stream, and send in emails, in comparison to the competitor Intel Core H series laptops, that is basically aimed towards a more power users, video editors, plus avid gamers.
The newly features 10th gen Core i7 Ice Lake CPU, which is similar in the performance league compared to the last year’s Whiskey Lake-U series, but with an improved graphics potential to promote photo editing, plus the occasional gaming. The IdeaPad S340-15, however, offers no dedicated graphics feature, which makes it safe to assume that heavy gaming is a no-no. The laptop also features a 4 GB soldered RAM, having one free DDR4 SODIMM slot for expansion.
Processor and GPU
The Lenovo Ideapad S340 – 15 features the Core i7-1065G7, which is a really good processor but contextwise it is for name only. Usually the laptops or Ultrabook that feature an Intel Core i7 processor, have equally compatible GPU ( The Nvidia Series) and RAM (8GB and more), are compatible with activities like heavy-duty gaming, and even 3d rendering. But without the compatible GPU and RAM, the i7 processor might not be as useful.
Likewise, the features GPU on the Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 is the Intel Iris Plus GraphicsG7, which is quite okay for regular activities like browsing the net and streaming. The Intel Iris Plus GraphicsG7 is a low-end graphics processor, and is capable of running almost all PC played games, infact, quite smoother than the other integrated graphics processors. But, heavy duty gaming is where it lacks , and has quite of work to be done in terms of compatibility and drivers, to compete with powerhouses like Nvidia.
Ports and Connectivity
The port and interface selection of the Lenovo Ideapad S340 is quite decent and satisfactory. There are most of the expected ports present, like the Type-C, USB Type-A, and HDMI. Ports are greatly positioned like the tightly-packed HDMI port squished in between the AC adapter port and USB Type-C port.
On the right of the laptop, you get the 2x USB 3.1 Type-A Gen. 1 port. Likewise, on the left side, you are provided with the AC adapter, HDMI, USB Type-C 3.1 Gen. 1, 3.5 mm combo audio. The back end of the laptop and the front end don’t feature ports of any kind.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Lenovo has used the same or if not the similar keyboard and touchpad for all of its Ideapad series like the S340, S540 and the S740 models. For the discussed Lenovo Ideapad S340 model, the provided clickpad size is the most identical between the other mentioned ones, standing at about 10.5 X 7cm, which is quite enough to navigate through and use. This clickpad features smooth gliding, without cursor jumping even when you are moving slowly. It also has a little clicking effect, that gives an audible click with soft feedback.
Similarly, for the keyboard of Lenovo Ideapad S340, it has a soft feedback whenever you press on it. The ThinkPads series are known to have some of the best keyboard keys in a multimedia laptop, but this one on the S340 model feels a little spongier, shallower, and cheap overall. This feels a little bland when compared to its market competitor Ultrabooks like the HP Spectre series and the ThinkPad.
However, it does feature a back-lit keyboard with two level white backlight illumination, on all keys and symbols. The NumPad and Arrow keys, feel a little cramped, and a bit spongier than the main QWERTY keys.
Speakers and Audio
The stereo speakers give you nothing out of the ordinary, for an inexpensive 15.6-inch laptop. The available audio of the Lenovo IdeaPad S340, is fairly loud with weak bass, implying the speakers are better for video conferencing rather than music or multimedia playback. The given higher volume settings, is not vibrating enough as the palm rests or gets introduced at any static.
Heating and Cooling
A budget multimedia laptop like the Lenovo IdeaPad S340- 15 that is aimed towards casual usage doesn’t run much heating issue like other gaming targeted Ultrabooks. But, there are still some heat dissipated on the left half of the laptop, in comparison to the right half of the laptop, solely due to the positioning of the processor and motherboard inside. Under heavy duty loads, the hot spots can be ranged between 34 C to about as high as 44 C, on the bottom.
Regarding noise, the CPU of Lenovo Ideapad S340 15in, tends to be fairly quiet. No fan noise is expected during low loads, like browsing or streaming; with only a small increase to ~30 dB(A) under moderate loads. The cooling solution contains of a single ~55 mm fan, plus a short heat pipe over the CPU.
Pros and Cons of Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15
The Final Verdict
All in all, the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 – 15in is a pretty good laptop on a budget, great for mundane and usual activities like browsing the net, sending emails and preparing PowerPoints. It features the Intel Core i7 processor, which is a great processor if you’re on a tight budget and don’t want to settle for low-end specifications. But, this laptop isn’t the one for your if you are in need for a laptop where you can do occasional gaming too, because the system begins to fall apart when running games or anything demanding for extended periods. Plus, the GPU and RAM doesn’t support games either.
We hope this review was helpful enough if you were thinking on buying the Lenovo Ideapad s340 – 15 as your next laptop. In case, you have further more queries, please feel free to write them on the comments section. We will be happy to answer them.
Related Post: Lenovo ThinkPad E585 – Is it the best Lenovo Laptop in the market?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Lenovo IdeaPad S340 good for gaming?
Unfortunately, the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 isn’t the best laptop for heavy duty gaming, even though it has an Intel Core i7 processor, but the GPU and RAM doesn’t support games well. But, you can definitely do light-gaming or PC starter games on this laptop.
Is Lenovo IdeaPad S340 worth buying?
Yes, the Lenovo Ideapad S340 is definitely worth buying, if you are looking for an affordable multimedia laptop, that will assist you in casual daily activities. It is however, not the best laptop option for gaming.
Is Lenovo IdeaPad S340 touchscreen laptop?
Yes, the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 is a touch-screen laptop, where you can easily maneuver your way with the help of your fingers. On top of that, it also has a backlit keyboard with very comfortable keys.
