Lenovo IdeaPad Z370
Review Summary:
The Lenovo Z370 is a value-priced 13-inch laptop with plenty of performance, nice battery life and a good keyboard and touchpad.
Pros
- Solid build quality
- Good keyboard and touchpad
- Five-hour battery life
- Good value
Cons
- Glossy plastic smudges easily
- Slow hard drive
Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 Full Review
Lenovo's new 13.3-inch value notebook has a great-looking design, a comfortable keyboard and is easy to carry. Is this Intel Core i5-equipped laptop a worthy travel companion? We take an in-depth look.
Build and DesignLenovo has historically done a good job of making their budget notebooks look more expensive than their price tag; the IdeaPad Z370 ($629) continues that trend. The palm rest and surround is brushed aluminum which feels and looks great. The chassis is strong and resists twisting as well as a business
The lid unfortunately could use improvement. For starters the glossy plastic cover smudges up and scratches too easily. Furthermore it does not share the chassis' good build quality as it bends easily; furthermore, ripples show up on the screen when pressure is applied to the back. As long as the lid is not subject to any undue stress (items placed on top of it and so on), this should not be an issue.Overall the Z370 has good quality, certainly much better than expected at this price point.
Ports and Features
There is a slightly better than average selection of ports on this notebook; the addition of eSATA is nice for connecting an external hard drive. Unfortunately, the IdeaPad Z370 lacks USB 3.0, DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard slot. All picture descriptions are left to right.
There is a slightly better than average selection of ports on this notebook; the addition of eSATA is nice for connecting an external hard drive. Unfortunately, the IdeaPad Z370 lacks USB 3.0, DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard slot. All picture descriptions are left to right.
 Front: Status lights, wireless on/off switch, media card reader |  Rear: Battery pack |
 Left: Kensington Lock slot, cooling exhaust vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI out, USB 2.0/eSATA combo port, USB 2.0 |
Screen and Speakers
The Z370's 13.3-inch display has a 720p (1366x768) resolution. The screen is typical for a budget consumer notebook. As a TN-type panel, it has good visibility from either side but colors quickly wash out from above and below.
The Z370's 13.3-inch display has a 720p (1366x768) resolution. The screen is typical for a budget consumer notebook. As a TN-type panel, it has good visibility from either side but colors quickly wash out from above and below.
Color reproduction is adequate but they don't exactly pop out of the screen as on a better display. The glossy surface helps contrast somewhat but has a lot of reflections and is difficult to keep clean. The 720p resolution is limiting but there are no better resolutions available in this screen size for the price.
This notebook has a surprisingly good set of speakers located above the keyboard. They have ample volume and do a good job of not sounding tinny. There is even a hint of bass.
Keyboard and TouchpadLenovo has finally decided to adopt the new Chiclet/island keyboard style in its revised IdeaPad lineup. The keyboard has a direct feel and thanks to enough key travel (the distance between pressed and un-pressed positions), it is easy to type quickly and accurately. The keyboard is relatively quiet; students shouldn't have a problem using this notebook in class. That said, I thought the older standard-style keyboard has a better feel; this new keyboard is harder and less forgiving. An interesting change with this new keyboard is that the left [Ctrl] key is now located in the bottom left corner and the [Fn] key next to it; historically their positions have been switched.
The Synaptics touchpad has an excellent dimpled surface and is overall a pleasure to use. The touchpad buttons are thankfully quiet and solid. The touchpad buttons on many notebooks I test feel cheap and are too loud; it's always nice to see a manufacturer get it right - Lenovo consistently does so. Right: Headphone and microphone jacks, optical drive, USB 2.0, AC power |
Our Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 review unit is configured as follows:
- 13.3-inch glossy 720p display (1366x768 resolution)
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor (2.3GHz, up to 2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)- Intel HM65 chipset
- Integrated Intel HD graphics
- 4GB DDR3-1333 RAM (2x 2GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
- 500GB 5400RPM Hitachi hard drive (HTS547550A9E384)
- 802.11n wireless network adapter (Broadcom)
- Internal Bluetooth v2.1+EDR
- Integrated 2.0MP webcam
- Built-in tray-load DVD burner (Slimtype DVD A DS8A5SH)
- One-year limited warranty
- 6-cell Li-ion battery (10.8V, 48Wh)
- Weight: 4.41 lbs.
- Dimensions: 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.8~1.3 inches
- MSRP: $629
The Z370 has respectable specifications; it is smaller than most notebooks since it has a 13.3" screen and weighs less than 4.5 lbs., making it a good travel companion. The processor and RAM are more than ample for multitasking; just about the only application this notebook is not good for is gaming as it only has integrated Intel graphics.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Z370 has good overall performance for general tasks including web surfing, office productivity, and multimedia. The second-generation Intel Core i5 processor is quite fast and the 4GB of included RAM is more than enough for running several applications at once. The Z370's Achilles' heel is the unusually slow 5400RPM hard drive; ideally it would have come with a higher-performance 7200RPM model, which would improve Windows start-up and application load time.
The Z370 has good overall performance for general tasks including web surfing, office productivity, and multimedia. The second-generation Intel Core i5 processor is quite fast and the 4GB of included RAM is more than enough for running several applications at once. The Z370's Achilles' heel is the unusually slow 5400RPM hard drive; ideally it would have come with a higher-performance 7200RPM model, which would improve Windows start-up and application load time.
As noted earlier, just about the only application the Z370 will not be good at is gaming since it has basic integrated graphics, not a powerful separate (dedicated) card.
wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):
PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):
PCMark 7 is a newer benchmark which measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):
3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):
CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:
Heat and Noise
The Z370 has a single fan that exhausts warm air out the left side of the notebook. The notebook's components produce little heat and therefore the fan stays off most of the time. It is audible when turned on, perhaps a bit more than it should be; it has a slight whine. Nonetheless it is quiet enough to be ignored. The external temperatures listed below are shown in degrees Fahrenheit:
The Z370 has a single fan that exhausts warm air out the left side of the notebook. The notebook's components produce little heat and therefore the fan stays off most of the time. It is audible when turned on, perhaps a bit more than it should be; it has a slight whine. Nonetheless it is quiet enough to be ignored. The external temperatures listed below are shown in degrees Fahrenheit:
Battery Life
The included 6-cell battery has a moderate 48Wh rating, which is average for a consumer notebook. I measured five hours, five minutes of battery life during our standard battery rundown test (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every minute). This is a good if not impressive time for a 13.3-inch notebook.
The included 6-cell battery has a moderate 48Wh rating, which is average for a consumer notebook. I measured five hours, five minutes of battery life during our standard battery rundown test (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every minute). This is a good if not impressive time for a 13.3-inch notebook.
Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):
Conclusion
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 is a solid choice for an inexpensive portable notebook. It has an aesthetically pleasing design, good keyboard and touchpad, good battery life (five hours) and even decent speakers.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 is a solid choice for an inexpensive portable notebook. It has an aesthetically pleasing design, good keyboard and touchpad, good battery life (five hours) and even decent speakers.
There are no major downsides to this notebook however there are a few items that could be improved. The glossy screen hampers usability because of all the reflections; an anti-glare model would make more sense. The included 5400RPM hard drive is slow and hurts performance. Lastly, the glossy plastic on the lid smudges up to easily and becomes an eyesore.
All things being considered, the Z370 is hard to pass up for the price and we give it our full recommendation.
Pros:
- Solid build quality
- Good keyboard and touchpad
- Five-hour battery life
- Good value
Cons:
- Glossy plastic smudges easily
- Slow hard drive
Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support
Upgrade Capabilities
Usability
Design
Performance
Features
Price/Value Rating
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
Software & Support
Upgrade Capabilities
Usability
Design
Performance
Features
Price/Value Rating
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
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