Lenovo is one of the most recognized PC manufacturers worldwide and, according to figures from the research firm IDC, the Chinese company was the one that sold the most PCs in 2020 worldwide, with a total market share of 24% which translates into 72 million 669 thousand computers sold.
Therefore, it is likely that when looking for a new computer for school, work and/or entertainment then they will always find an option from Lenovo. In that understanding, I have been testing the Yoga Slim 7 in its version with an AMD processor, and although it is not a model recently launched on the market, it is a PC that in 2021 continues to be a highly recommended option for many users.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 datasheet
screen | 14-inch Dolby Vision compliant |
Resolution | Full HD – 1920 x 1080 pixels |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 4800U |
RAM | 16 GB |
GPU | Integrated – Radeon Graphics |
Storage | 512 SSD PCle M.2 |
Drums | 60.7 Whr 65W charger |
Ports | USB-C 3.2 x 2 USB-A 3.1 x 2 3.5 mm jack HDMI microSD card reader |
OS | Windows 10 Home |
Building material | Aluminum |
Sound | Dolby Atmos Compatible Stereo Speakers |
Security | Infrared camera facial unlocking |
Approximate price | 21,999 MXN / 784 USD |
Good performance without spending a fortune
Currently, it is not difficult to find a computer with good performance for games or programs, however, buying one of these machines may involve an investment of more than 30 thousand pesos, and that is something that most students or users who need one PC to work can not be allowed.
The Yoga Slim 7 has an approximate price of 21,999 MXN, which when making a cost/benefit evaluation we obtain a laptop that is interesting for what it offers because in addition to performance, the multimedia section and autonomy are two cards that Lenovo has played very good.
AMD has been doing an excellent job with the Ryzen 4000 – in my case, I have used the version that is equipped with the best chip in the series available for this machine, the Ryzen 7 4800U, which is accompanied by a Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU and 16 GB of RAM.
Normally I do not use benchmarks to measure the performance of a team because there the power is only reflected in numbers, so I will tell you about my experience of use on a day-to-day basis so that you know if this processor can with what you need.
The Ryzen 7 is synonymous with muscle. You can without problem with the most common tasks, from using Office and browsing the Internet (even with more than 10 tabs open), to having Spotify, WhatsApp, Telegram and other programs in the background without the machine starting to feel slow or the fan You have to work hard, so if you are users who need to browse, listen to music and edit documents, the Yoga Slim 7 will even have plenty.
In slightly more demanding programs such as Photoshop or Illustrator, the situation is still highly favorable. Everything goes smoothly and at no time are there problems with other background processes; in fact, working with multiple layers in Photoshop does not pose any threat to the processor.
I must say that this ultrabook has not been thought for gamers, but that does not mean that it cannot be played without this becoming a nightmare. With this configuration, it is possible to play almost everything on the market in a decent way. Titles like Fortnite can be run almost up to 60 fps without a major problem, yes, only with FHD resolution.
If you are casual gamers, do not be afraid to choose this equipment for games, but if you are one of those who seek a greater visual and performance demand in triple-A games, then you should look the other way.
As for the heat, the Yoga Slim 7 stays at a good temperature in almost all the tasks that it must execute, and it is only with video editing programs or games that the heat is most noticeable and the fan is in evidence.
Design: light and complete
At the design level, the computer is interesting. It has an aluminum body along with a screen with such thin bezels that, despite the 14-inch, it doesn’t make for a large laptop.
On the screen, we have the front camera that is accompanied by a ToF sensor that also has infrared facial recognition technology. This means that it is compatible with Windows Hello and that it only needs to recognize our face to unlock the PC.
I must admit that the facial unlocking does not work badly, but it is not at the level of the Surface, which, from my point of view, are the ones that do the best job with the facial unlocking, because on the Yoga Slim 7 several times I have had to zoom too much my face to recognize it.
What I like is that, despite being an ultrabook, we have an HDMI port, two USB-C (one for charging), two USB-A ports and a microSD card reader, so considering that today it is common to have a USB-C port and a USB-A, what Lenovo has done is to be appreciated.
The keyboard is backlit and although it only has two levels of light, the truth is that they will not need much more. On the sides of the keyboard, we have two stereo speakers that can be heard very well; the volume is not that high, but they are in tune. In addition, support for Dolby Atmos is included, so that the contents compatible with this format will have to surround audio.
Speaking of Dolby, the screen also has support for Dolby Vision, so services and/or movies that offer content with Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio will have an outstanding multimedia experience. A small luxury that not all computers of this price can offer.
Although Lenovo mentions that the screen has anti-glare technology, the reality is that there is a lot of reflection, something that on the one hand is good because it offers us a screen with much more vibrant colors in which more multimedia content is enjoyed compared to those screens that they do focus entirely on eliminating reflections, but that in turn makes the colors much paler.
Remarkable autonomy thanks to AMD
One of the advantages of the Ryzen 7 is its great energy management, because according to company figures, models with Intel processors offer up to 15 hours of autonomy with the same FHD resolution, while with the Ryzen 7 a duration of 17 hours.
In the end, the autonomy will depend a lot on the type of use that they give to the battery and the type of configuration that they establish in Windows, but I can assure you that in the “normal” use that most users will give in Internet browsing, office automation tasks and video and music playback, the battery can last more than 15 hours without having to worry about the charger.
If instead of this we add about three hours of gaming and we increase the brightness to the maximum in all tasks, the autonomy ranges between 10 and 12 hours, a figure that is not bad considering that the Yoga Slim 7 is an ultrabook.
The most important thing is that when we need to use the charger we have fast charging technology that with its 65W of power allows us to have a full charge in about an hour and a half.
Is it a recommendable PC?
Honestly, the Yoga Slim 7 with the Ryzen 7 processor is highly recommended for most users, its power, autonomy and design are its strongest cards and allow to recommend this PC to a wider audience.
On the other hand, we have some “luxuries” such as Dolby Vision, Dolby Audio or infrared facial unlocking, however, I would have liked instead we had a touch screen or a fingerprint reader on the power key that would make it faster and convenient login.
There will be users who prefer a laptop with a 4K screen or a dedicated GPU, but I think that AMD and Lenovo are showing that you can have thin and light computers that offer outstanding performance that is often only achieved in models focused on the gaming or business sector, and whose price is usually higher than 30 thousand pesos.