15.6" Lenovo 720s GTX 1050 ti? Thoughts? $1399

Here's the playlist for your learning pleasure. If this unit disappoints you then "these are not the droids you are looking for"





Original post: This seems interesting? Not much on the net about it unfortunately.

7700HQ
UHD panel
All metal?
512/1tb SSD maybe nvme?
GTX 1050 ti 4gb

Could scale to 1080p for gaming quite well if desired or required of course.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/501645/IdeaPad_720S_Touch_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Grey

There's a 1TB ssd model for $1799 too

http://www.microcenter.com/product/488378/IdeaPad_720S_Touch_156_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Grey

I might cover this on the channel. My main concern is its availability. They're not exactly easy for everyone to get right now.

 

I have the Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB (Nvidia 1050, 7300HQ) - not exactly the same., but I can tell you the build quality is pretty good with the all metal case.

 

By any chance have you tried removing the bottom for adding more Ram or storage?
Just wondering if it’s easy or not?
Edit: never mind I see you have the Yoga and not Ideapad

 

This thing is absolutely gorgeous! In depth reviews in coming.

 

after tax that's $1500 for a 1050ti, considering you can get 1060 for less then $1000 i would say overpriced

 

This isn’t a bang for the buck gaming machine, but rather an XPS 15 alternative.

 

I have the 720S 15. It's a "jack of all trades" laptop, and should be approached as such:
>Good battery life (7-8 hours browsing @ 40% brightness and stock clocks)
>Sleek and professional appearance, with zero "gaming bling"
>1050Ti with sufficient cooling for gaming on the go
>Good FHD screen, though I have heard reports of bad backlight bleed on some of the HD units
>"Tier 1.5" build quality. It's not a single block of machined aluminum, but the metal exterior is competent and firm and it overall looks quite nice.

I bought this to be "a professional laptop that can game on the side." After my XPS13 died for the second time, I needed a notebook that I could bring to a class, client, or professional event and wanted a device that would allow for some gaming on the side. While you might be able to snag a 1060 for less (Inspiron 7000), or pay more for a 1060 in a sleeker chassis (Razer Blade 14), those options have downsides that would necessitate a second laptop. The 720S gives me the15.6" screen, battery life, and appearance I need for 8AM-6PM and the 1050Ti I like for an evening of Fortnite, DOTA2, or Doom to blow off steam.

This laptop does throttle during intense gaming, but not in a way that I've noticed with a 60Hz display. The MaxQ setup seems to reduce processor speed before GPU clocks, and the games I play are more dependent on graphics oomph to hit 60 FPS. Trying to run an external 144Hz display off this unit could be trouble (maxing out CPU and GPU), but performance is excellent in my gaming library at 1080P/60Hz. If you use some sort of compute app that maxes out your GPU and CPU simultaneously, you will run into power and thernal throttling.

My unit undervolt like a champ, with -100mV on the GPU and -150mV on the CPU. These undervolts have been tested in 3DMark, IBT, and Prime95, with very low temps. Undervolted and capped at 60 FPS in games, my GPU runs a steady 1770MHz. If uncap FPS that becomes ~ 157X-175X MHz, which is equally playable if not perfect. I might be able to push clocks or voltages more but haven't had the time to dig deeper.

You will need dongles if you use a lot of USB-A peripherals, as there is just one of the venerable sockets on this laptop (plus USB-C, TB3, 3.5mm, and a SD card reader). Given this laptop's footprint I would have preferred another USB port and HDMI out.

The fingerprint reader is a nice addition, and the trackpad is not a downgrade from my former XPS13. I enjoy the keyboard but am not picky with that part.

All in all, this is a good laptop. The week I bought mine the i7/512GB unit was down to $1,200, and the it/256GB SKU has been under $1,000. At the full $1,500 I would have a tougher time recommending my mid-range SKU, as that puts you very close to the next tier of notebooks with more RAM and beefier GPUs. Also, mobile Coffee Lake is right around the corner and may offer more cores or better battery life. But Lenovo is offering a number of coupons and discounts for these models, so they've been very competitive with the XPS line. The top SKU is quite a deal for anyone who is ok with a 4K display, as it bundles 1TB of fast storage and 16GB of RAM for $1,600 (before discounts).

I will repost these thoughts in a separate thread for questions.

 

Pretty fair assessment.

The clocks were solid at 1683 once I undervolted both cpu and gpu. Then Liquid Metal maxes temps into the mid 70’s.

This was 3 hours of gaming uncapped in Overwatch, PUBG and BF1.

Great machine.

 

Are you the Bob from the video?

Those are great clocks and temps for uncapped FPS. I'm getting ~70 capped/vsync. Uncapped, temps are fine but clocks meander more. Does replacing the thermal grease void your warranty?

I'm happy to support a gaming-capable PC without RGB LEDs and red plastic. Hopefully this is a start of a trend, as Kaby Lake G and MaxQ parts push GPUs into a wider variety of form factors.

 

Yes that’s me. I can’t imagine Lenovo or most manufacturers want their laptops dismantled that far but the only “Lenovo” sticker was covering the m.2 drive screw.

There’s 3 videos in that playlist. My review, a LM application start to finish with results and performance testing across three titles with a brief discussion to what it’s about should you need it.

 

Great review. I really get the sense you are judging this machine on its merits

 

Great summary thank you. I like the rationale "a professional laptop that can game on the side" - perfectly describes why I chose mine too

 

Bob, I noticed that you swapped your BIOS setting from "Performance Mode" to "Balanced" mode. What does this affect?

Good news on the battery front: I'm getting 8-9+ hours on battery saver/40% brightness with a -150mV undervolt.

I can replicate your GPU throttling in games under sustained GPU load (at stock settings). I don't understand why the stock voltage curve lets the GPU throttle so badly, or why it throttles directly to 1,152MHz instead of settling at some sort of intermediary value. The good news is that my GPU runs like a champ with a -100mV undervolt, running at a sustained 1,772Mhz with capped FPS. I might need to dial back that clock to something like 1,700MHz for long gaming sessions, but that will require some additional torture testing.


With better stock settings this could be a rock-solid unit, but I worry that the stock voltage settings will hurt it in reviews. Although, I can't seem to find any reviews outside of YouTube...

 

Link to a more detailed write-up: https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1426897&p=35080083#p35080083

 

The BIOS setting was only showcasing the feature and what it can do. For gaming make sure it's set to performance.

 

Anybody here have the UHD version? Planning on pulling the trigger on that version because of the ram and ssd.

And why does this laptop have limited reviews and seems hard to find online stock for it?

 

Does my review in the OP count as a review?

This is a new to market machine.

 

Sorry, what DOES that BIOS setting do? I gather that it improved battery life but don't remember the review mentioning the specifics of that tradeoff.

 

It looks like Lenovo is focusing on their 2-in-1s in the consumer space, as the Yoga line is quite prolific in advertising and reviews while the 720S 15 isn't even reviewed at the usual sites.

You have to remember that new Intel chips are coming out soon and this SKU is likely to be a stopgap until the hex-core/Kaby Lake G units land.

 

Actually saw your videos that got me interested in this machine. Just wished there were more information /reviews on it already. I’ve never been a fan of being the first few people getting a new product.

 

Unlike the lucky ones, I have bought every laptop covered on the channel so far.

Not that my thoughts and process would change if they were lent to me.

Just in case you were skeptical based on that.

Good luck on your info hunt!

 

Pulling the trigger on this one .just wanted to get some additional input. Would you guys suggest getting the FHD then manually upgrade ram to 16gb and 1tb ssd OR just get the UHD one.

There's like a 300usd difference and I just plan to re purpose or sell parts (ram+ssd) I won't use anyway.

Never been a fan of UHD on laptops and touch screens. Also I know my battery life can last longer with just FHD

I feel getting UHD version is a better steal but just wanted to get additional input as well.

 

Where are you buying from?

 

Directly from Lenovo. They have a FHD version for 1200usd right now with 8gb and 512gb ssd then 1600usd for UHD one at 16gb ram and 1tb ssd

My bad there's a 400 usd difference apparently

 

Looks good to me. You can add another 8gb of RAM later and there's another m.2 slot should desire more space later. I say go for it

 

Didn't know it had an extra m2 slot. This makes for an easier decision. Thanks Bob!

 

It’s in my tear down video should you need visual reassurance

 

I thought the 8GB SKUs shipped with 2x4GB, so you'd need 2x8GB to upgrade?

 

FHD all the way. Games never look as good scaled to 1080P, and your battery will hate the 4K panel. Plus scaling issues on some apps...

That said, that UHD SKU is a steal. I just refuse to feed the 4K mistake. If you don't want to game it's an awesome deal, but ifif y never game why buy this laptop?

 

with the 6 core 8750h laptops releasing in a day on april 3, i would really hold off buying anything now

 

I honestly don’t know. I assumed it was a single 8. I honestly haven’t heard either way, sorry.

 

I bought a i7-7700K a few months before Coffee Lake, and I bought an i7-7700HQ a month before Coffee Lake mobile. Still no regrets, as I needed a laptop at the time and this will serve me well.

 

your money your call but the 50% increase in performance in 8750h is real

 

Yes in multi-core. Single is basically the same. Not that I couldn’t personally use the extra cores/threads.

If priced the same then it’s a no brainer.

Over the next 6 months might be the best time to snag a kabylake based laptop if inventory needs cleared.

Provided you don’t need the extra 2c/4t which most people won’t.

 

So Lenovo can get a 1050ti into one of these machines, yet they cannot even get Intel Iris graphics in the x1 Yoga? Why is it so hard to get an actual Lenovo (thinkpad) with a video card in it, even a low end one? And no, a GTX 940m doesn't count. I love Lenovo, I love thinkpads, I love trackpoints, I love all of their laptops but the biggest thing holding me back from purchasing one for myself as a new unit is the lack of options they have as far as video goes. I know they aren't gaming macghines and aren't meant to be, but something with at least half decent discrete graphics, or Iris integrated graphics would give me the power I need to have an all in one work portable laptop, and if I ever wanted to play a basic game of CS or something, I have the power to do minimal things like that with it. Is this too much to ask for Lenovo?

 

I'd love intel to use their iris solution in something like this. It's pretty stout having tried one for a few weeks on a Broadwell i5 5675c. If the game driver support was a bit stronger (maybe it is now) then it could be great option.

 

The biggest reason I am upset about it and posted it is because last years model of the X1 Yoga was announced and advertised as having the Iris graphics in it, then a few models came out in EU and people got their hands on with the graphics chip, then everything else that was released in the US and elsewhere did not come with it and had no mention of it, so I'm salty that a year later they haven't been able to find a way to pull this off as it would be my ideal perfect laptop.

 

The X1 like all the new U series processor thinkpads are using 8th generation chips for the big performance jump over 7th generation, and I haven't seen any 8th gen chips with Iris graphics released yet. So at least for Iris the issue may well be in Intels court... they did push the 8th gen out the door a bit early in order to address Ryzen.

As for GPUs in thinkpads... for the most part since they are business machines your usually going to see the Quatro versions of NVidia consumer cards. you can get the mx150 in a t580 or the quarto version of it in the p52s...those are around the performance of the last generation 950m. anything better and your going to need to go to a p50 / p70 machine.... which unfortunately haven't got their 8th gen refresh yet.

 

Yeah I was more referencing the fact that the 2017 model which was initially announced with Iris graphics, and models in the EU were seen with Iris graphics, then anything related to Iris dissapeared a few weeks before it "officially released" and has not been seen since is what really upsets me. I know they are not gaming machines and don't necessarily NEED the GPU and I don't want a serious nvidia GPU or anything, just something better than ****ty Intel HD graphics so that SOMETHING graphical could be done if someone so decided to want to. The fact that models are/were still coming out with mx940s in them was just mind boggling to me. Throw Iris in the T4xx line of laptops, why are you putting like a 2 year old POS "graphics card" in there anywhere, might as well just keep integrated graphics at that point. It's like they try to put something in the machines recently but put something so low end it's not even worth it and doesn't make sense. If I was going to get into something like P series with that kind of weight for the power, I would just buy a laptop like my current one and suck it up not having a track point which is what I ended up doing because sadly no Thinkpads quite meet the needs or wants I was looking for, but I would drop my current laptop in an instant if I could get a respectable Thinkpad with a medicore low end GPU capable of basic things if I ever so desired.

 

Has anyone with this machine tried a SATA m.2 ssd in the 2nd slot? I was hoping to find out, but there's been no information about it.

 

Can you switch to 'dGPU mode only' in BIOS to avoid Optimus?

Update: I found out that this is impossible. This is not how Optimus works.

 

Also can you remap media buttons above numpad? For example, to assign Home/End/PgUp/PgDn buttons

 

Can we replace display on this machine?

 

I wish I could help you there. I only had the 4K panel and it didn’t appear to be easily removable.

 

Can anyone confirm that you can charge the laptop over the Thunderbolt 3 port? I want to set up my desk with a TB3 dock and just have one wire to worry about.

 

I have this machine and it is awesome. Except... I'm getting a quite obvious electronic interference in the headphones that is even worse when it is charging. Anyone else with this machine getting this?

I talked to lenovo and they said it hasn't been reported and I should just send it back and get a different one but I'm skeptical.

 

Can you try a different pair of headphones and cable.

 

I have tried 4 different headphones, everything from a cheap pair of buds to two different pairs of Sennheisers. . And several different versions of the Realtek audio driver. It is a really faint interference that I only noticed a few days after buying the laptop and only occurred when I was charging. It doesn't interfere with sound if it is at a decent volume but if you are listening to something low or even worse just have the headphones on and nothing playing it is noticeable. After a few more days I started hearing it even on battery.

Describing the sound it is a faint electronic sound with occasional faint beeps. The sound when charging now is much louder with more static. And the volume and pitch change based on what I am doing on the computer. Scrolling can make it louder. As does opening and closing programs. And the charging sound is much fainter as it gets near fully charged and is quite annoying when it is at half or less.

I have already decided and gotten approval to return it (we have 45 days free returns at the place I bought it) but I am not sure if I want to chance getting another one or something else. It would be a shame, because otherwise this thing is an amazing laptop.

 

^^ I really hope you decide to get another one and it is trouble free

The BJ's warehouse unit I picked up for $699 is the best laptop I have ever owned for that price. I'm trying not to fanboy this thing but I truly think it's great!

I'm typing on it now

 

Wait, you got one of these units with a 1050ti for $699? Where can I find this deal.

If only it had a trackpoint I would go out and buy one right now even though the last thing I need is another laptop.