With a wide range of configuration options and affordable pricing, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 is something you don’t see in mainstream budget notebooks.
This Lenovo laptop uses AMD so it is good at multi-tasking and offers a bright screen and smooth performance for daily work. The IdeaPad 330 range comes in three screen-size variants (14, 15.6, and 17.3-inches) so you can choose the one that is best suited to your needs. The stylish, premium design and excellent connectivity options make it a budget system worth owning!
In this review, we’re looking at the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD model with an 8th generation Intel processor and RAM.
PROS
- + Strong performance
- + Nice design
- + Reasonable pricing
- + Good connectivity
CONS
- – Battery life would be better
Design
The IdeaPad 330 has a small and lightweight design. It weighs 4.85 pounds, just like the Acer Aspire E5-576-392H (our top pick for budget laptops) only with a smaller size of 0.9 by 10.2 by 14.9 inches (HWD).
We are at an age where elegance and tech-sophistication are the trends. People want their computers to look stylish. The sleek platinum gray frame feels reasonably sturdy, and it easily passes for an aluminum build, which isn’t the case. This platinum gray profile is used in high-end Lenovo systems, and it does pick up dirty marks just like other notebooks bearing the same material.
Display
The only feature that might not be liked on this laptop is the 15.6-inch 720p screen, which is still bright and legible for a budget laptop. The Acer Aspire E5-576-392H (see review here) offers an HD resolution of 1920 x 1080, but Lenovo instead opted for a lower-resolution 1366 x 768 TN screen, explaining the low price of this laptop.
This budget notebook has washed-out displays in its category but you do get a low resolution, which is better than other notebooks that are in the same category. For the first few minutes, you’ll be boring, but it’s not terrible and you can live with it for the price. Lenovo provides sub-HD media machines with an anti-glare screen, making it the perfect choice for a smooth viewing experience.
Keyboard And Touchpad
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD comes with a non-backlit, 6-row chiclet keyboard that has nicely spaced keys. Its arrow keys are well-positioned, and the number pad on the right can come in handy. It also feels nice to type on individually as each key has a short journey without giving you so many pressure points. You can quickly type your way around it and even fast typers will find reliable keyboards.
The color of the touchpad is similar to the rest of the device. It’s positioned slightly towards the left, but it works well with gesture control. The touchpad can be configured to respond to Windows 10 input through the setup menu. It responds well to physical inputs precisely and accurately registers what you’ve done on screen.
Ports And Storage
The Lenovo Ideapad 330 boasts an excellent set of I/O ports, which have been rounded up by Lenovo. There are a total of two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.0 Type-C port, an HDMI port, and an SD slot. The SD card is an excellent way to easily extend storage capacity and transfer media files to the SD card.
Some of its features include an Ethernet port, a DVD drive, and a headphone jack. It also has wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi 802.11AC and Bluetooth 4.1.
This system comes with a 5400RPM 1TB hard drive, which means you won’t need to extend the storage unless you have lots of files to store, but it’s convenient to have the option. However, this capacity is far more than you’d find in most budget Chromebooks.
Performance
This laptop is equipped with the AMD Quad-Core Ryzen 5 2500U CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD storage, and an Integrated Intel HD 620 graphics card. The Ryzen 5 is a quad-core chip designed for mainstream notebooks and Chromebooks that allows the user to get slightly better performance than the AMD A12-9700P chips.
The system is customizable. It’s up to you to decide which type of CPU, graphics card, RAM size, and screen size you want. Integrated Intel HD 620 graphics card and a dual-core CPU are for office, web, and light multitasking. These chips are not meant for games, but they will perform well with typical office tasks.
Battery Life
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15 AMD laptop is not efficient. It has a short battery life, which is disappointing. It offers around 3 hours 20 minutes on a single charge on typical use, which is lower than many other current models.
Final Verdict
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15 AMD is a 15-inch laptop that successfully meets the company’s primary goal of making a lightweight laptop. It comes at an affordable price, and it’s on the lower end of the budget spectrum.
For the most part, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 is a handy notebook – it offers solid productivity performance, and its display is good even if it’s falling behind the curve.
You’re getting an affordable full-size laptop with superior features that are also stylish and functional. You can choose between Lenovo’s own AMD laptops or the Acer laptops in the paragraph if you want to pay a little more for better performance, a Full HD display, and significantly longer battery life.
