Lenovo IdeaPad S145(Intel Core i5 variants) - Full Review with Pros and Cons
The Lenovo Ideapad s145 is Lenovo’s offering to the budget office and daily use home laptops. The USP of these laptops is that they offer a great value at a very low price. These laptops are adored by office users and students.
This is the review of the models which is available around 45000, the ones with i5 processors.
Looking for the review of the i3 model ? – click here
Build and Quality
The build of the Ideapad s145 is decent considering its price point. The polycarbonate body feels well made but the glossy finished plastic on the top panel and the interior deck makes it look cheap and is not very grippy. Also, there is a bit of flex in the keyboard deck as well. All around the design is okay but a matt finish is always welcome. It is 1.85 kgs which is not that heavy.
Ports, I/O and Connectivity
The majority of ports are to the right of the machine which is comfortable for a right handed mouse user. The ports include AC power in port, HDMI, a headphone jack, full size SD card reader, a USB A 2.0 and a couple of USB A 3.0 ports. There is no type c port though. Overall the port selection is good considering the target demographic.
Maintenance
The RAM and storage is upgradable which is a good thing considering maximum models have just 4 GB RAM and a SSD would really help improve the speed in this device if you don’t get the model with an SSD The service of Lenovo is decent. But the components used in this laptop are usually available and repairs won’t be any difficult.
Input Devices
Keyboard –The keyboard layout in this machine is good, there is a number pad with specific media controls as well. The keystrokes are decent , they may feel a little mushy but you will get used to it quite easily.
Touchpad –This laptop doesn’t use windows precision driver in its touchpad usage which is a disappointment, the acceleration is a bit hickey, the surface is not that smooth and may feel sticky at times but the buttons are tactile and have a satisfactory click to them. A purchase of an external mouse is recommended if you are getting this device.
Display
The display on the ideapad is okay at best. The 1080p panel is not bright and is not colour accurate. The contrast is low and viewing angles are okay. The matt finfish makes the text look grainy if viewed off axis. But the display is pretty usable for document writing, excel usage or watching some content here and there but definitely not for colour accurate work like photoshop or video editing.
Performance
The 8th gen Core i5 is capable as it can handle light video editing and photo-shop at 1080p. Daily tasks like using word or excel is handled pretty good but as soon as you open up chrome and open more than 5 tabs the 4GB RAM starts showing its limitations so we would highly recommend getting the variant with 8GB RAM or upgrade the RAM as soon as you get the laptop.
With the NVIDIA MX 110 handling GPU duties the machine can play some modern games at low settings and also help improve render times during editing. Getting the variant with the 8th gen Core i5 with the NVIDIA MX 110 and upgrading the RAM and installing a SSD is the best choice to get a overall good performer.
If you are not interested in gaming then getting the variant with integrated graphics and 512 GB NVMe SSD is great as it gives a significant improvements in loading times of applications.
Storage
There is 1TB of HDD storage in the variant with MX 110 which is decent but we would recommend installing a sata3 SSD which would improve loading times by a mile. If gaming is none of your concern getting the one with the 512 GB NVMe SSD is a good choice.
Speakers
Speakers on the device are okay. They include two 1.5 watt speaker units. The speakers lack base but have decent mids and highs. The speaker support Dolby Audio and are decently loud which gets the job done.
Battery Life
Battery life in this device is okay at best. The battery is a 35 Whr unit which gives around 4.5 hours of battery and requires an evening top up everyday at moderate usage. The charger brick included in the box has the adapter unit integrated in the socket assembly which helps in portability.
- Pros
- Inexpensive
- 180 degree hinge
- Decent keyboard with numpad
- Decent performance
- 512 GB NVMe SSD
- Cons
- Only 4GB RAM (upgrading RAM is highly recommended)
- Poor trackpad
Lenovo IdeaPad S145(Intel Core i5)
Nerd Score