Review Lenovo G780 Notebook
17-inch laptops are always welcome in the multimedia sector. Because of their big screens they are also often used as desktop replacements, providing that a strong CPU/GPU combo is available. Thus, the Chinese computer manufacturer, Lenovo, enriches its range in the popular entry-level sector with an adequate device for under 1000 Euros (~$1276). DELL Latitude E6320 battery
In this review, we send Lenovo's IdeaPad G780 (M843MGE) through our test range. The test device sports Nvidia's dedicated GeForce GT 630M graphics card, Intel's Core i5 processor including the integrated HD Graphics 4000, a lot of memory capacity and a large working memory for roughly 770 Euros (~$982). A Blu-Ray drive is to ensure high-definition movie entertainment on a HD+ screen.
Our review shows how well the on paper strong components work together in our test laptop. HP G62 battery
The casing is a mixture of charcoal black and dark brown and has been fully adopted from the prior IdeaPad G770 range. The display lid features a brushed aluminum look and is gently curved at the edges. It still lacks torsional stiffness and can easily be depressed from the back. The surface is susceptible for grime and fingerprints. The display lid cannot be opened with one hand without lifting the base unit.
Upon opening the lid, we see a glare-type 17-inch screen, a high-gloss painted display bezel and an equally finished plastic trimming in the area of the hinges and keyboard. Consequently, annoying reflections will not only be a matter of course in light. The display lid rocks intensely despite the tightly pulled hinges, which will also be an issue when the laptop is used on the go. A32-N50 HP HSTNN-LB73
The wrist rest is comprised of brushed aluminum and is very solid even over the optical drive at the right edge. The cleanly inserted chiclet keyboard is embedded in a matte-black plastic tray and sports a dedicated number pad.
The IdeaPad G780's resistant, matte-black plastic bottom harbors a large maintenance cover besides the replaceable 48 Wh battery. The former conceals the Wi-Fi module, hard drive and both occupied RAM slots. The fan is also accessible and can be cleaned. ASUS Eee PC 1001 battery
Material processing makes a solid impression. Regrettably, the test laptop's chassis is not completely even. The right front foot hovers approximately one millimeter over the surface. Consequently, Lenovo's IdeaPad G780 is a bit wobbly. This also results in a noticeable lowering of the laptop when the right hand is placed on the wrist rest.
Performance Acer TravelMate 290 battery HP Pavilion dv9000 battery
Lenovo installs Intel's Core i5-3210M processor with a clock rate of 2.5 GHz into its IdeaPad G780. The chip is built in a 22 nanometer process and is the second strongest option to power the G780 in the lineup. More information and extensive benchmark tests about the i5-3210M can be found here.
The processor installed in our test device is supported by an 8 GB DDR3 working memory that is divided over two 1600 MHz memory bars. It can be upgraded to a maximum of 16 GB since the G780 only sports two SODIMM slots. Dell Inspiron 9400 battery
Processor
Oddly, Lenovo crops the strong CPU ex-factory and prevents the Turbo
Boost maximum of 3.1 GHz, which Intel's Core i5-3210M could actually
provide. No matter if we ran a gaming benchmark or only let the CPU
process rendering tasks in Cinebench R10, the processor never exceeded
its default clock rate of 2.5 GHz. This phenomenon was also noticed in
the demanding Cinebench R11.5. However, it is positive that the CPU
maintained the default clock and did not throttle even after a longer
period of stress testing. We cannot explain why Lenovo purposely
disabled overclocking in the G780. DELL Latitude E6520 battery
This intentional limitation is clearly noticed in most benchmarks. Compared with other laptops using the same processor, such as Lenovo's IdeaPad Z580-M81EAGE, Lenovo's G780 shows a poorer performance of averagely 10 to 20%.
System Performance Toshiba PA3817U-1BRS
We use PCMark 7 and PCMark Vantage to assess the overall system performance of Lenovo's IdeaPad G780. Low 1933 and 6715 points speak for themselves since the system remains below the expected level. Contenders like HP's Pavilion DV7-7000sg (2450M, GT 630M) with 2059 and 7161 points or MSI's GE70-i547W7H (3210M, GT 650M) with 2023 and 7038 points show the possibilities. Dell Studio 1747 battery
Storage Solution
Lenovo offers 320 GB HDDs with up to 1 TB in the G780 range. Seagate's Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB is installed in the test device. It has a large memory capacity for multimedia data with 750 GB and spins agreeably fast with 5400 rpm. The HDTune benchmark tool recorded a transfer rate of 79.4 MB/s and an access time of 18.2 ms, which are average rates for a conventional hard drive. The burst rate of 178.9 MB/s is within a good range. The hard drive was always very audible and palpable during the benchmark tests, which is a drawback of conventional spinning drives. Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS
Graphics Card
An array comprised of Intel's HD Graphics 4000 CPU-integrated GPU and Nvidia's dedicated GeForce GT 630M graphics card featuring Nvidia's energy-saving Optimus technology take care of graphical tasks.
Nvidia's GeForce GT 630M is a lower midrange graphics card that has 2 GB of DDR3 VRAM. The dedicated graphics card consistently achieved its core clock of 475 MHz and memory clock of 900 MHz and did not throttle even during full load in the synthetic benchmarks. ASUS N71JQ Battery
Gaming Performance
Lenovo's G780 is not a downright gaming machine in view of the installed components. Nevertheless, Nvidia's GeForce GT 630M is suitable for the odd, occasional game. We played our FIFA 13 and Anno 2070 benchmarks, representative of gaming. FIFA 13 ran smoothly and achieved at least 70 fps even in ultra-settings. The somewhat more hardware-hungry Anno 2070 first displayed smooth 32 fps in medium settings. Thus, up-to-date games are playable when the settings are modified accordingly. Toshiba Dynabook RX3W battery
Gaming Performance
Lenovo's G780 is not a downright gaming machine in view of the installed components. Nevertheless, Nvidia's GeForce GT 630M is suitable for the odd, occasional game. We played our FIFA 13 and Anno 2070 benchmarks, representative of gaming. FIFA 13 ran smoothly and achieved at least 70 fps even in ultra-settings. The somewhat more hardware-hungry Anno 2070 first displayed smooth 32 fps in medium settings. Thus, up-to-date games are playable when the settings are modified accordingly. Toshiba Qosmio F60-10J battery
Temperature
The surface temperatures of Lenovo's G780 stayed within limits subjectively. The vital areas, such as the wrist rest and touchpad, did not heat up excessively even during full load; the temperatures ranged between 28 and 37 °C. A maximum of 45 °C was reached in the area above the air outlet. Dell Latitude E4310 battery
The casing clearly remained below this maximum rate in routine use so that use on the lap should always be possible. The top reached a maximum of 33.8 °C and the bottom's peak was 34.7 °C in idle. We ascertained an average of approximately 30 °C on the surfaces. Dell Studio 1735 battery
The PSU's temperature of 32.3 °C stayed within an uncritical range in idle. However, it reached 52.6 °C during load so that air circulation should be ensured.
The CPU's core temperature reached a maximum of 91 °C and the GPU heated up to reasonable 84 °C in the stress test. Overall, these are not unusual temperatures that would explain why Lenovo omits the CPU's Turbo Boost.
Battery Life
Power Consumption
Lenovo's IdeaPad G780 consumed an average of 0.5 watts in standby. It is only 0.1 watts when the laptop is turned off. The laptop required between 8.8 and 13.6 watts in idle. The PSU drained a maximum of 62.9 watts from the outlet during full load. Acer Aspire M5 battery
Battery Runtime
The 6-cell, 48 Wh lithium ion battery has a capacity of 4400 mAh and weighs just below 300 grams. Lenovo specifies a maximum runtime of 5 hours. BatteryEater's synthetic Reader's test excelled this. The laptop was first drained after 5 hours and 49 minutes using maximum energy-saving settings, disabled Wi-Fi modules and minimum brightness. Lenovo's G780 still lasted for 94 minutes in BatteryEater's Classic test with enabled Wi-Fi and maximum brightness. ASUS Eee PC T91MT battery
Our practical internet runtime test, which simulates browsing through different websites in medium brightness and with enabled Wi-Fi, forced the laptop back to an external power source after nearly 3.5 hours. Lenovo's G780 allowed 150 minutes of movie entertainment from a Blu-Ray disc in balanced energy-saving settings and the Wi-Fi module off. Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 Battery
The 90 watt PSU needs around 2 hours for recharging a fully drained battery.
Battery Runtime
The 6-cell, 48 Wh lithium ion battery has a capacity of 4400 mAh and weighs just below 300 grams. Lenovo specifies a maximum runtime of 5 hours. BatteryEater's synthetic Reader's test excelled this. The laptop was first drained after 5 hours and 49 minutes using maximum energy-saving settings, disabled Wi-Fi modules and minimum brightness. Lenovo's G780 still lasted for 94 minutes in BatteryEater's Classic test with enabled Wi-Fi and maximum brightness. Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 battery
Our practical internet runtime test, which simulates browsing through different websites in medium brightness and with enabled Wi-Fi, forced the laptop back to an external power source after nearly 3.5 hours. Lenovo's G780 allowed 150 minutes of movie entertainment from a Blu-Ray disc in balanced energy-saving settings and the Wi-Fi module off. Asus A32-K72
The 90 watt PSU needs around 2 hours for recharging a fully drained battery.