Ideally, if you have all the money you can have, you’d likely get yourself a laptop dedicated for gaming, and a laptop optimized for the workplace. It really is just how things work, right? Sometimes, there are processing needs certain jobs require gaming laptops can’t meet. Or maybe we can just say it’s hard to keep temptation away when you have to work on that report but League of Legends calls you to play.

However, this isn’t an ideal world, and therefore choices have to be made. Manufacturers do provide options for “cheaper” gaming laptops, or more “optimized” laptop workstations. Others may opt to choose ultrabooks “capable” of “doing both.” Unfortunately, even then, laptops don’t always compare to the PCs built precisely for either gaming or for work, so compromises have to be made in terms of quality, performance, or even aesthetics.

Lenovo wants to change this, however. And in the spirit of their push for sleek and versatile products, they may have given gamers a nudge that says: Hey, we’ve got laptops we want to show you.

Enter the IdeaPad 300 and Legion Y530 – laptops for the modern avid gamer.

UPDATED Nov. 12, 2018: We managed to make a Legion Y530 review! See the preview on our page, see the actual review on YouTube with this link, or read the next part.

Lenovo Legion Y530: In-Depth Review

If you want to see the Legion Y530 in action, we’ve actually made a review about it! See it on YouTube, or just click the thumbnail below:

Lenovo At Conquerors Manila 2018: League of Legends, League of Gamers

Last weekend’s Conquerors Manila 2018 saw the top Southeast Asian teams compete for a spot at the League of Legends (LoL) Worlds 2018 tournament. This will see the world’s top LoL teams compete for the Grand Championship, which will effectively cement their superiority in the game – at least for the year. Fans and enthusiasts for the hit mobile battle arena (MOBA) flocked to Mall of Asia Arena to partake in the festivities.

However, other gamers – such as Rhenn from our team – gathered to enjoy other offerings, including Lenovo’s two (2) powerfully stylish devices.

Two (2) new Lenovo machines bask in the spotlight in their booth. The tech company first touted the IdeaPad 330, a multitasking-oriented laptop packing a powerful punch in a light exterior. Lenovo Legion also revealed the Legion Y530, the newest in its line of gaming laptops.

Lenovo, in keeping with its modern branding of sleek and functional devices, wants to cater to the underexposed kind of gamer.

Catered For ‘Modern Avid Gamers’

Gamers nowadays tend to consider themselves “branching” out into two (2) separate “groups.” We use “groups” in the loosest sense of the word, as even we don’t like to use it for the hobby. Interestingly, some fans do like to “split” hobbies into two (2) “communities,” depending on the level of one’s commitment to the craft. After all, it’s either you can actually commit, or you really can’t, right? Right?

“Hardcore” gaming fans dominate one end, where enthusiasts have made video games a fundamental part of their lives. This crowd contains your tournament regulars, the updated fans of both known and unknown brands, and even the “heroes” who’ve made the hobby into a livelihood.

“Casuals” gather on the other, where gaming fans like to “try” out one game or a franchise for the experience or the heck of it. This group has the busy bees, the ones who don’t exactly have the time to invest in a franchise or those who really aren’t “very into the hobby.”

Lenovo begs to differ. Lenovo Philippines’ Michael Ngan said market research actually reveals a third subset of gamers not everyone gets to notice.

“Modern avid gamers [are] most[ly] millennials who carried the enthusiasm to adulthood but find it hard to continue due to their responsibilities,” he explained. Ngan, Lenovo Philippines’ Country General Manager, added modern avid gamers love the craft so much but social life, family, and work tend to hold them back from fully indulging in it.

The newest Lenovo releases wish to meet these needs. Especially now that modern avid gamers need a laptop that can let them indulge in their passion and partake in the craft that fit their lifestyle. Ngan said the devices meet these “requirements,” all in a device that’s powerful, portable, and minimalistic, and stylish.

Lenovo Legion Y530: Bring In The Firepower

Lenovo’s Legion keeps up with the new “light but powerful” trend for the modern avid gamer. Although much of the Legion offerings remain powerhouses of their own, the Y530 packs its own lethal punch. Lenovo touts the Y530 to be portable and light, perfect for the travelling gamer. As such it sports quite a solid aesthetic that grabs the eyes, especially courtesy of the light radiating from the O in the Y530’s Legion emblem. Did we mention it’s just 5.1lbs light and 24mm thin?

Like other Legion laptops, the Y530 can handle heavy-duty gaming on the go. The laptop comes powered with up to the latest of Intel’s 8th Generation Core i7 processors, and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU. It’s no slouch with memory either, as it’s capable of handling up to 2TB HDD storage or up to 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD, and up to 16GB DDR4 2666MHz memory. Sound lovers can enjoy crisp and clear audio thanks to its Doly Audio Premium.

Gamers won’t have to worry about heat either, as Lenovo said the laptop features an improved thermal layout that maximizes airflow thanks to quad-vent cooling and a dual fan design.

Lenovo IdeaPad 330: Boost Your Entertainment, Productivity

Lenovo enthusiasts have a fair share of gamers, which is why its Legion brand is so popular. However, other Lenovo fans do appreciate the company’s attention to powerhouse laptops dedicated for various tasks. The IdeaPad 330, available in 14-, 15-, and 17-inch variants, sports a PC-ABS material chassis that’s capable of protecting its interior components while maintaining a sleek aesthetic.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 can last for up to eight (8) hours, ideal for anyone who wants to handle prolonged working or studying hours. It’s no pushover, though. The IdeaPad 330 can be outfitted with up to Intel’s 7th Generation Core i7 processors, with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics. This makes the IdeaPad a paragon of reliable performance and responsiveness.

Not only that, but these graphics options do allow both resource-intensive applications and, of course, gaming. In speaking of gaming…

Trying It Out… Through An Older Model

Gamers at the Lenovo booth at Conquerors didn’t exactly get to try the IdeaPad 330 and Legion Y530 on display. However, the manufacturer did allow gamers to indulge in small “matches” using the slate of “older” Legion models they’ve brought with them. Interestingly, one might say the small Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and League matches in the booth could be their way to “attract” players.

We’d argue it’s an excellent way to gauge the Y530’s performance, despite the lack of actual models to try. Lenovo had players compete in matches with the Legion Y520 and Y720 laptops they’ve brought with them, which added a splash of red to the blue-white aesthetic the IdeaPad 330 and Y530 had. In fact, it’s only then that some gamers may realize that the new Legion offering didn’t have a number higher than “720.”

This is because the Y530 touts itself as middle ground between the Y520 and Y720. Interestingly, playing with the Y520 can get someone excited to tinker with the Y530 short of actually trying it out. The Y520 has got enough firepower to run a Modern Warfare 4 demo mission seamlessly despite being in medium graphics. This is remarkable, given gunfights and explosions peppered the battlefield (in true Call of Duty fashion) throughout the demo, and nary an instance of lag to spot.

Granted, the demo game didn’t have any multiplayer component with it – so lag, in terms of competitive matches, couldn’t exactly be measured. Interestingly, Rhenn did try the model in front of him as the fifth or sixth player in the line of expecting players – which does imply the device can take on continuous gaming for hours at a time.

Modern Avid Gamer: Does It Compare?

It’s such a shame we didn’t get to try the Y530, especially for its aesthetics. The white backlit keyboard became a welcome sight to the reds that crowded the gaming area. The Y530 model Lenovo brought sat majestically along the center of the booth, providing quite the unique contrast to the Y520s and Y720s in the area. It’s got a more compact and “boxier” design compared to the Y520.

Perhaps more eye-catching could be the fact that it is, in fact, quite thin. It’s different reading the fact that it’s “much thinner” than “other laptops” out there. Seeing the Y530 and the other Legion models in the booth does speak for itself. You wouldn’t really think such a device could hold that much firepower in such a small frame, but apparently it could.

There aren’t any other IdeaPad models on sight aside from the 330, though.

The Takeaway: Sleek Doesn’t Mean Pushover

Lenovo’s newest IdeaPad and Legion entries have definitely given fresh sights to see in Conquerors Manila 2018. Exploring the booth and looking at the devices up close gave a lot of users a break from all the intense action inside the arena proper – especially if it’s to look at devices like these. Admittedly, despite the fanfare and the League hype, not all gamers in the MOBA scene are all “committed” to their “virtual careers” through and through. Acquiring a laptop intended for the “modern avid gamer” does help at least give players the option to “transition.”

Lenovo didn’t hold back loading in the firepower for its new set of devices. True to its sleek and versatile branding, the new Lenovo laptops do share a lot of similarities with their siblings, albeit possessing more in terms of both loadout and accessibility. The devices don’t compare to powerfully-built desktop systems which – at least in the realm of PC and PC-like devices – stays as the hallmark of “true” gaming customizability. Regardless, Lenovo appears to have worked hard to meet the standards of the modern avid gamer demographic, and they may have met that goal.

The devices themselves aren’t exactly “cheap,” but are worth saving up for if you want “in” on the Lenovo hype. Although there’s yet to be news on its durability, gamers who want a device flexible enough to transition from gaming to work may want either one of these laptops.

Specifications

IdeaPad 330

Legion Y530