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00:07Hey, how's it going guys? This is Dave2D, and this is a video on the Lenovo IdeaPad 710S.
00:14So, this is a product that was designed to compete against the best ultrabooks on the market right now.
00:19So things like the XPS 13, the Razer Blade Stealth,
00:22but the Lenovo comes in a package that's thinner, lighter, and cheaper.
00:26Let's take a look.
00:27It comes in a fairly compact box.
00:29You get the laptop inside, some paperwork, and a one-piece power adapter.
00:33So there's no flip-out prongs or anything, it's just a simple wall plug.
00:37The base model runs a Skylake Core i5, and it's priced at $700 to $800, depending on sales.
00:42A similarly equipped XPS 13 runs around $1,000, and so does the Razer Blade Stealth,
00:47but that comes with a faster Core i7 processor,
00:50and all of these have 8 gigs of RAM and 128 gigs of storage.
00:54The exterior materials that Lenovo went with are magnesium and aluminum.
00:58The top surface is magnesium with some aluminum.
01:01It has a little more flex to it than the XPS 13 lid, but it still feels solid.
01:05The bottom panel is aluminum, and you can remove some screws,
01:08including the ones underneath the rubber strip, and then you have access to the internals.
01:12The RAM is soldered on.
01:14This one has 8 gigs, it goes up to 16 gigs, but the M.2 drive is replaceable.
01:19The chassis of the device feels pretty durable.
01:21The keyboard area doesn't have too much bend,
01:23but the screen shows a little bit of flex if you put your back into it.
01:26The hinge mechanism is well made.
01:28It does need two hands to open it, though.
01:30Now, I think most of the price difference is reflected in the build quality.
01:34The Lenovo is like $200 or $300 cheaper than the XPS 13 or the Razer Blade Stealth.
01:39The build quality isn't bad, it's actually really good,
01:41especially for something this thin and this light,
01:44but you can see that with the reduction in weight,
01:46if you put torsion on the screen or if you're accidentally putting pressure on the top panel,
01:50it doesn't have the same stiffness as the XPS 13,
01:53but just get a case for it, treat it well, and it won't be an issue.
01:56In terms of connectivity, it's a little bit light on ports.
01:59There's an SD card slot, micro HDMI, a pair of USB 3 ports, audio jack, and a system restore switch.
02:05There's no Thunderbolt 3 port, so there's no external GPU connections.
02:09Okay, opening it up, the keys on the keyboard are really nice.
02:12I'd say it's one of the better typing experiences on an Ultrabook.
02:15Backlit, 1.35mm travel, nice feedback.
02:19If you're a Mac user, you'll adapt to this keyboard quickly.
02:22The one thing that bugs me, though, is the shift key on the right side of the keyboard.
02:26I know there's some people who only use the left shift,
02:28but when I first started using this keyboard, I would hit the up arrow instead of the shift key.
02:32I got used to it, but until you develop the muscle memory to hit this smaller key, be prepared for typos.
02:38The glass trackpad is a good size.
02:40Texture isn't as smooth as I'd like it.
02:43It's bigger than the XPS 13 trackpad, but it has an Elan driver, so tracking isn't perfect.
02:48There's the occasional skip. Gestures work well. The buttons are good.
02:51And overall, I'd say the trackpad experience is on par with the XPS 13.
02:55The screen has thin side bezels, like the Infinity display on the XPS 13.
03:00The top bezel is a little thicker because it has a webcam in a more traditional spot.
03:04The XPS webcam always filmed from that low, up-your-nose angle.
03:07This one's more normal.
03:09The display panel itself is nice. It's 1080p. It's bright at 320 nits.
03:14It has good color accuracy and viewing angles, and combined with the matte finish and that thin bezel, it's a great screen.
03:20The speakers are on the bottom. They're JBL branded, and you get Dolby software for it.
03:24They don't have much bass, but they sound clear, and they get pretty loud,
03:27or at least louder than you think they would on a laptop this thin.
03:30Drive speeds are pretty mediocre.
03:32The review unit I have here has a 128GB M.2 SATA drive.
03:37The read speeds are okay, but the write speeds are kind of sluggish.
03:40Fortunately, you can replace it with a faster PCIe drive if you want.
03:44System performance is otherwise good.
03:46It's got a Skylake i5 with integrated HD 520 graphics.
03:49You won't have any issues with work or media consumption,
03:52and it can kind of handle some lightweight gaming if you want,
03:55so something like CSGO or even Overwatch.
03:57If you crank all the settings down, you can hit like 50, 60 frames per second at lowest resolution.
04:02It doesn't look the best, but you can still get some games in in the middle of a lecture if you want.
04:07If you want to edit 1080p videos, it can handle it no problem.
04:10Just make sure to get an external drive for your media.
04:12If you want to do 4K videos, eh, I wouldn't do it on this one.
04:15There's no abnormal thermal throttling, but remember, I'm running the base model.
04:19Thermally, it runs at pretty average temperatures.
04:22At max load, it doesn't get uncomfortable or anything, even when you're using it on your lap.
04:26Fan noise is also very reasonable on load, nothing too loud.
04:30There's a 46Wh battery on the inside.
04:32Takes around 2 hours to charge, a little bit less, and I'm getting around 6-7 hours of regular use.
04:37Okay, Lenovo IdeaPad 710S, a thin and light ultrabook with respectable build quality.
04:43It's made with magnesium and aluminum.
04:45It has a 13-inch IPS panel, it's bright, with pretty good color gamut, and the side bezels are nice and thin.
04:50The backlit keyboard is very responsive and nice to type on, but the right shift key takes time to get used to.
04:56The glass trackpad is roomy and nice to use.
04:59On the inside, the Skylake processor is plenty powerful for work and even for some light gaming, and is properly cooled.
05:05The base model storage is pretty slow on write speeds, but it is user replaceable.
05:09The 8GB of RAM are soldered on, and then there's a 46Wh battery that'll last you around 7 hours.
05:15So, overall, this is a great device.
05:17It's a thin and light ultrabook that still has a focus on affordability.
05:21Now, it has to make some compromises to keep that price down,
05:24so things like the chassis strength and the drive speeds, those aren't fantastic,
05:28but if you're looking for a thin and light ultrabook, and you have a tighter budget, take a look at this one.
05:33You might like it.
05:34That's the end of this video.
05:35Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it.
05:37It's been nice.
05:38See you guys next time.