Budget laptops will always be in demand, because people whose work does not go beyond the scope of household or office tasks do not need to spend money on powerful and expensive laptops. That is why in the personal computer market there is a considerable demand for state employees. Like many other brands, Lenovo has quite a few inexpensive and affordable options.
The hero of today's review is the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 15`6, which may not be quite noticeable, but it is quite confidently winning the laptop Olympus. Having an ordinary appearance and mediocre filling, he will surely find his buyer, especially since he has someone to compete with and is what.
Specifications
- Depending on the modifications, the device is equipped with different processors, but the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 Celeron N2840 is more widely used. This variety is characterized by lower power consumption, but the chip performance is low. The platform does not support Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading, so there can be no talk of launching demanding applications or modern video games even with minimal settings.
- The integrated graphics chip from Intel HD Graphics does not have RAM and is suitable for watching videos, there is no point in counting on something serious, although you can try playing old toys with minimal settings like FIFA 14 or StarCraft 2.
- On board the device is 2 GB of RAM with the ability to expand to 4 GB, which is enough to maintain the normal operation of several simultaneously running applications in the operating system.
- The Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 N3540 comes with a 1 TB hard drive, other modifications are limited to 500 or even 320 GB of memory. The device’s maximum hard drive speed is 5400 rpm.
- The laptop is equipped with a small and unpretentious front camera with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels, which, of course, will not make high-quality photos, but it’s quite suitable for talking on Skype.
- The screen with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels is made in a matte style and has small viewing angles.
- Speakers of average quality with barely audible bass and sometimes a hoarse sound.
Design
In general, the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 laptop looks very modest, but attractive in its own way. The colors are selected in a classic black style, coupled with a matte finish made of plastic, so leaving your fingerprints on the surface is quite difficult. On the lid is the Lenovo logo in an already familiar style.
The interior is also dominated by modesty in a similar color and style. Only marked keys stand out against the dark background of the entire device. In general, the boring and ascetic design will be in the hands of those who use the laptop only for work, such a minimal design will allow you to fully concentrate on everyday tasks.
The bottom of the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 is also made of plastic. There is a compartment where the internal components of the device are hidden. For ventilation, there are special elongated holes, as well as a slider to fix and remove the battery.
The laptop has the standard dimensions for this class of laptops - 380x262x25 mm and weighs 2.3 kg, which is very good for a 15-inch one. Due to its characteristics, the device is perfect for traveling and all kinds of trips. The only thing that travelers should be warned about is that the lid of the model is subject to deformation under high pressure, so you do not need to store the laptop in the lower part of the luggage.
Display and acoustics
Screen Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 has a matte surface with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. No special moments were noticed - everything is standardized: the average brightness level, low visibility, the usual TN-matrix and a little contrast are more than enough for office needs.
The display is edged with an ordinary plastic frame, and what’s most pleasant about the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 is that simple user reviews were heard and the company made it matte rather than glossy, allowing you to calmly open the device’s lid without fear of leaving a ton of prints there.
The webcam above the display is extremely modest - with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels, so there is no need to talk about high-quality photos or videos. It is suitable only for video calls on Skype and the manufacture of avatars.
The acoustics of budget models are very mediocre, so there is no need to rely on quality sound. The speakers are weak and quiet, the bass is almost inaudible, and as an alternative to the local sound, you can offer third-party headphones or external speakers.
Input Devices
Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 Black is equipped with a convenient and fairly ergonomic AccuType keyboard , which is characteristic of almost all products from Lenovo. It is built on a simple principle in the form of small islands, where all buttons have a concave base, clear markings and rounded shapes for greater convenience.
Pressing occurs without unnecessary efforts, but with good returns. The only thing the keyboard lacks is the backlight, but you can’t count on it at a budget cost. In general, work on the device takes place with comfort and proper convenience.
Manipulator
The touchpad of the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 is quite responsive and the fingers glide perfectly on a rough surface during positioning. The manipulator was executed in the classic “Lenovo” style with standard sizes ideally “poured” into the 15-inch laptop.
The touchpad supports scrolling, rotation and scaling, that is, all the necessary multi-touch gestures. In addition, the manipulator is supplemented by two physical keys that work very clearly with little impact.
A little to the right of the touchpad is the already familiar fingerprint scanner - an ideal way to protect the information stored on the device from strangers.
Performance
Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 Pentium N3540 comes with a pre-installed operating system "Windows" 8.1x64. The dual-core processor has a clock frequency of 2.16 GHz with one megabyte of L2 cache on board. The chip itself is made using 22-nanometer technology, which allows it to limit its power consumption to 7.5 watts.
As mentioned above, the laptop does not support Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading technologies, so two processor cores can only process two data streams at a time. Otherwise, the laptop's performance is enough for most undemanding applications, so you will feel quite comfortable doing web surfing, watching videos, working with documentation, etc.
The built-in video card from Intel supports applications that require DirectX 11 development, but for lack of its own memory, it will use the operating one. The Bay Trail graphic chip installed on this laptop model is more powerful than the previous Ivy Bridge, but not as productive, therefore it is considered optimal for simple data processing.
Naturally, such a video card is far from a gaming option, and even old games will go a long stretch, producing no more than 30 fps at the very minimum graphics settings.
Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 is equipped with 2 GB of RAM variant of DDR3 with a frequency of 1333 MHz. If there is a need, then you can expand the RAM to 4 GB by adding a similar bracket, but the existing memory is enough for the flawless operation of several simultaneously running applications in the OS.
The standard set of the line includes a 500 GB hard drive at a speed of 5400 rpm. Just like with RAM, the hard drive can be replaced with a more powerful one, although it is more than enough for everyday tasks.
Interfaces
All ports on the Lenovo IdeaPad B5030 are located on the side faces of the device, leaving the back panel and front end intact. The only thing located on the front panel is a universal card reader that can read most of the known formats (SD / MMC / SDHC / SDXC).
On the right side of the laptop is a DVD receiver with support for double-sided discs, coupled with Kensington Castle. There are also a USB 2.0 port and a universal audio jack for connecting headphones with a microphone.
On the left side of the device, you can see two USB 3.0 ports, an RJ-45 network adapter, a charging port and HDMI outputs with VGA. As a wireless source of communication in the laptop, Wi-Fi communications at the points 802.11 b / g / n and Bluetooth of the fourth version are provided.
Autonomous food
The battery capacity of the device is 32 Wh * (2200 mAh). In gentle mode, the laptop will last for more than four hours, and with a heavy load, the battery will drain in an hour and a half. In long trains, such autonomy can be a problem, but if the device is not far from the outlet, then there will be no problems, since the battery charges quite quickly.
Summarizing
If you need a powerful laptop that can meet the requirements of graphic applications, or an entertainment center in the modern gaming industry, then with the model B5030 you are not on the way. This is a great budget option with good performance, but do not expect anything special from it.
There is no need to overpay for the device, and although it belongs to the segment of serious computing technology, its capacities will be enough only to the level for which it was created, namely, for everyday and office tasks.
The model has all the necessary tools for work: a modern Intel or Celeron processor, 2/4 GB of RAM, a good-level built-in video card, new interfaces, a convenient keyboard and a practical case. The laptop justifies its price tag, which is almost $ 350, at 100%, so the model is worth the money, and numerous consumer reviews speak about the quality and reliability of the device.