Laptop Review: Lenovo Ideapad S540 81NF006PIN

The Lenovo Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN is powered by the 10th Gen Intel Core i5 10210U quadcore processor which is great for creative professionals while the GPU here is a low power is Mx250 by Nvidia with 2 GB of VRAM. RAM and Storage are configured at 8 GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM and 512 GB SSD of storage. The 60 Hz IPS display has a 1080p resolution with but colors may be a little washed out. The stand-out feature of the Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN 48 WH of the battery can give you up to 10-12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN has an understated professional design and its aluminum finish feels quite premium. Overall the Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN is all well balanced and relatively powerful considering its size.

Chassis and Ports

The Lenovo Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN has an aluminum chassis. The aluminum chassis feels solid and stable with very little flex. The bezels around the display are quite thin with a webcam on top with a hinge that can open up to 180 degrees.

Ports:  

• USB 3.1 (Gen 2)
• 2 x USB 3.0
• HDMI 1.4b
• 3.5 mm Headphone/mic combo
• SD card reader 

Keyboard and Trackpad

The Lenovo Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN has a chicklet style keyboard with 2 stages backlight led. The keys here are of a decent size and have a decent size with a matte finish and a decent grip. The actuation point is a bit short and clear and the arrow keys are half with Numpad being absent. Meanwhile, the trackpad is large on the Lenovo Ideapad S540 14 81NF006PIN has a matte finish. The left-click has a very clear actuation point while the right click is only registered on the bottom right corner on a 1 cm strip.

Performance

The Lenovo Ideapad S540 81NF006PIN is powered by the 4 core 10th Gen intel core i5 10210U which is almost as powerful than the 8th gen i7 8565U. The i5 10210U should be able to handle most of your active workloads of Photo and Video editing workloads though with some difficulty. On the Graphics end of the game, Mx250 with 2 GB VRAM is best suited for games that don’t require a lot of graphics performance. The RAM runs in dual-channel with one memory stick soldered on the motherboard while the other occupies the SO-DIMM Slot.  The Storage option here is the 512GB Samsung SSD PM981 which is a super-fast M.2 NVMe SSD.

Display: NV140FHM-N48

The choice of screen is crucial for photo editing, technical capabilities will prove vital if your line of work requires accurate color and detail. The optimal viewing distance is over 60 cm or 24 inches beyond this distance individual pixels are not visible. The IPS panel display from LG operates at 1920×1080 with Anti Glare technology and a peak brightness of 300 nits. The contrast ratio is 1120:1 and an sRGB rating of 58% and 38% of AdobeRGB with a 60Hz Refresh Rate with a decent viewing angle.