Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X evaluate: skinny and actually quick

MSRP $1,600.00

“The Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X leverages a fast AMD CPU and a discrete GPU to provide surprising performance in a thin and light machine.”

Pros

• Excellent productiveness efficiency
• Great inventive efficiency for a skinny and lightweight laptop computer
• Attractive, stable construct
• Superior IPS show
• Extensive privateness options

Cons

• Slightly costly
• Fans will be loud

A brand new breed of 14-inch laptops mates skinny and lightweight chassis with potent elements. We’re speaking laptops which can be 0.7 inches or slimmer and working 35-watt and 45-watt CPUs and discrete GPUs. Such elements have been as soon as reserved for 15-inch and bigger machines which can be larger and thicker, offering higher airflow to maintain issues cool.

The efficiency outcomes with these 14-inch laptops have been decidedly combined. But that doesn’t cease new machines from being launched, together with Lenovo’s Slim 7 Pro X that packs in a 35-watt AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and an Nvidia RTX 3050 discrete GPU. That efficiency mixed with the enticing design makes the Slim 7 Pro X one other winner in Lenovo’s lineup.

Specs

Thin can nonetheless be quick and long-lasting

The Slim 7 Pro X is simply 0.63 inches thick. That doesn’t depart a number of room for thermals, though the laptop computer advantages a bit from its bigger 14.5-inch 16:10 show and, due to this fact, a barely bigger chassis. Some different laptops within the comparability group beneath additionally characteristic quick, full-power CPUs and are a bit thicker. The Acer Swift 3 OLED is one instance, with its 45-watt Core i7-12700H and 0.70-inch thickness — not an infinite distinction however sufficient to afford higher airflow. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is a mannequin with the identical Intel CPU that’s as thick as 0.75 inches.

Packed contained in the Slim 7 Pro X is an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, a 35-watt 8-core/16-thread CPU that’s a quick multi-threaded performer, together with a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. My $1,600 Costco evaluate configuration was well-stocked with 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD. You’ll avoid wasting money by selecting a Ryzen 7 6800HS CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, a configuration that prices $1,430 on Lenovo’s web site.

While the chip didn’t do effectively in Geekbench 5 within the Slim 7 Pro X, it was quicker in our Handbrake take a look at that encodes a 420MB video as H.265 and in Cinebench R23 multi-core. It additionally did extraordinarily effectively within the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark that measures a mixture of productiveness, multimedia, and creativity duties.

Perhaps most significantly, the Slim 7 Pro X did effectively within the PugetBench Premiere Pro benchmark that runs in a reside model of Adobe Premiere Pro and makes use of each the CPU and GPU, scoring 548 in balanced mode. The benchmark wouldn’t run after I used Lenovo’s utility to change to efficiency mode (I’ve reported each leads to the opposite benchmarks), which is a bummer. But its rating was barely behind the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus that hit 569 in balanced mode. Both laptops featured the RTX 3050 GPU, so the distinction probably comes all the way down to Intel optimizations that velocity up Adobe’s playback efficiency.

Overall, the Slim 7 Pro X is a powerful performer and might deal with essentially the most demanding productiveness workflows and fairly heavy inventive duties. That’s spectacular for a skinny laptop computer. There was some throttling, as anticipated, with the CPU heating as much as round 95 levels C and lowering frequencies, however that didn’t considerably affect the Slim 7 Pro X’s total efficiency.

Lenovo ships the Slim 7 Pro X with Nvidia’s Studio drivers, that are optimized for quick and dependable efficiency in functions like Adobe’s Creative Suite and AutoCAD quite than gaming. Even so, the laptop computer carried out effectively for an RTX 3050. It scored 4,057 within the 3DMark Time Spy take a look at, which jumped to 4,910 in efficiency mode, and it managed 46 frames per second (fps) in Fortnite at 1200p and epic graphics (58 fps in efficiency mode). These are stable showings for the GPU and promise competent 1080p gaming at affordable graphics settings in trendy titles.

The skinny chassis additionally tends to restrict battery capability, though Lenovo managed to suit a good 70 watt-hours into the Slim 7 Pro X. Thanks to the superior effectivity of the Ryzen 9 CPU in comparison with Intel 45-watt chips, the Slim 7 Pro X was a frontrunner in battery life amongst our comparability group in all however our video take a look at. Even then, it was the 28-watt Core i7-1280P that beat it.

It’s not assured that you simply’ll get a full day’s work out of the Slim 7 Pro X, however you’ll come nearer than with many different high-powered 14-inch laptops.

Performance isn’t every little thing

The Slim 7 Pro X isn’t only a skinny chassis wrapped round quick elements. In reality, even when it weren’t such a quick performer, it might nonetheless be a compelling machine (albeit a bit costly). I’ve talked about how skinny it’s, however it’s additionally mild at 3.02 kilos. The Storm Gray aluminum chassis is inflexible with no bending, flexing, or twisting, making it practically equal to the exquisitely designed Lenovo Slim 9i. Its chassis edges are rounded, though not as comprehensively because the Slim 9i’s, whereas the perimeters alongside the show are additionally rounded. The Slim 7i Pro X is a beautiful laptop computer that’s additionally unusually snug in hand.

Not every little thing is ideal with the Slim 7 Pro X design. For instance, the hinge wasn’t as clean as some, binding up because the lid was opened to about three-quarters and requiring a second hand to complete the motion. And the followers spun up and have been louder than you’ll discover on many related laptops. These are minor nitpicks, although.

The keyboard is spacious with giant, sculpted keycaps. I discovered the mechanism barely higher than the Slim 9i’s, with what felt like deeper journey and a crisper bottoming motion. In basic, I discovered it extra snug than the Slim 9i’s, though nonetheless not in the identical class as HP’s Spectre or Dell’s XPS keyboards. The touchpad was giant, took up many of the palm relaxation house, and was exact with assured, quiet button clicks. The contact show on my evaluate unit was good to see.

For such a skinny laptop computer, the Slim 7 Pro X manages to supply stable connectivity. There are two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports (with out Thunderbolt 4 assist becauseto the AMD chipset), two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Creators will miss an SD card reader, which is a big omission. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 are a step behind, once more on account of AMD.

I’ve observed a powerful uptick in show high quality throughout many of the laptops I’ve reviewed over the past 12 months, a development that I famous on the finish of 2021 and that’s solely accelerated since then. While applied sciences like OLED have made an amazing affect, the standard IPS show has additionally seen an across-the-board enchancment that’s been spectacular to look at unfold. The Slim 7 Pro X affords only one show choice in the intervening time, a 14.5-inch 16:10 3K (3,072 x 1,920) IPS panel working at a brisk 120Hz that makes the Windows 11 consumer interface much more fluid.

The panel’s total high quality was spectacular, with loads of brightness, unimaginable distinction for an IPS show, and barely higher than common coloration width. Color accuracy was a bit off, however it was nonetheless adequate for all however skilled inventive work.

Privacy and videoconferencing are strengths

Suppose you’re a heavy consumer of videoconferencing instruments like Zoom and Skype. In that case, you’ll admire the Slim 7 Pro X’s 1080p webcam with an digital privateness shutter activated by a change on the correct aspect. The webcam affords a high-resolution picture with wonderful lowlight assist and loads of element. The Lenovo lacks among the extra superior videoconferencing options like automated centering and such which can be provided on another machines, however the high quality is pretty much as good as you’ll discover.

There’s additionally an infrared digital camera that permits Windows 11 Hello passwordless login assist, which was quick and dependable in my testing. Lenovo additionally included its clever sensing performance, together with Zero Touch Lock that turns off the show when the consumer leaves the world and places the laptop computer to sleep, and Zero Touch Login that wakes it up and routinely logs in when the consumer returns. This type of performance is changing into extra frequent on premium laptops, and it not solely affords higher privateness, however it additionally helps save battery life. As common, the options labored so effectively that I needed to flip them off to conduct our suite of battery assessments.

I’ll additionally point out some further comfort options that fall below the “intelligent” label. Special gestures are constructed into the touchpad, together with the flexibility to regulate show brightness and system quantity whereas scrolling up and down on both aspect of the touchpad. A set of touchscreen gestures carry out related features. These are small touches, however they assist make the Slim 7 Pro X extra usable.

Yet one other stable 14-inch various