88 PCWorld DECEMBER 2019REVIEWS LENOVO IDEAPAD S340-15IWL
approach it) when it
comes to Fortnite.
What our Sky
Diver chart illustrates
is the gulf in graphics
performance
between a laptop
with a discrete
graphics card and
one with
integrated graphics.
That big blue line at
the top represents
an Acer Aspire E 15
with a discrete
GeForce MX150
graphics card (go.
pcworld.com/e15e)
(and that’s just an
entry-level GeForce
card, mind you). Way
behind are the rest, which are mostly saddled
with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 cores.
The sole exception is last year’s Lenovo
IdeaPad Flex 6 14 (go.pcworld.com/f614)
with a discrete GeForce MX130 graphics
card, which should have put up far better
numbers than it ultimately did. We’re still
scratching our heads over that one.
All that said, not everyone needs a laptop
with discrete graphics. Unless you’re a gamer
or you’re planning on doing video work,
integrated graphics are probably just fine, not
to mention cheaper.Acer E 15 E5-576G -5762
(Core i5-8250U)
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UA
(Core i5-8250U)
Lenovo IdeaPad S340-151W(Core i5-8265U) L
Lenovo IdeaPad 730S-131W(Core i5-8250U) L
Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ(Core i5-8265U)
Lenovo ThinkPad L480
(Core i5-8250U)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 6 14 (2019)
(Core i5-8250U)
Acer Aspire 5 A515+54-30BQ
(Core i3-8145U)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 6 14 (2018) (Core i5-8250U)3DMark Sky Diver 1.0 Overall
(GPU score)LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE10,4304,5864,7094,1514,7644,2744,6463,451
3,111The Lenovo IdeaPad S340’s 3DMark 8 score isn’t bad for a laptop with
integrated graphics, but if you want to see what a discrete graphics card can
do, check out that top score.BATTERY LIFE
We test battery life by looping a 4K video
using the stock Windows 10 Movies & TV
video player, with screen brightness at
about 250 nits (because the S340’s display
can’t get that bright, we simply cranked its
brightness setting all the way up) and
volume set to 50 percent, with headphones
plugged in.
The S340’s average result (we ran the test
three times) of 503 minutes, or a shade under
8.4 hours, is a bit of a disappointment given
how its competitors fared. Indeed, with its 52