Lenovo IdeaPad 700 15.6″ Basic Gaming Laptop (FHD, Intel i5 / i7, Nvidia GTX 950M)

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The Lenovo IdeaPad 700 is an entry-level 15.6-inch gaming notebook. It’s also advertised as a “multimedia powerhouse”. If you view it as a standard mainstream laptop, it’s quite powerful and well equipped. Instead of the common dual-core Intel Core i-series processors, the IdeaPad 700 features noticeably faster quad-core Core i chips. Also, Lenovo has managed to squeeze in a dedicated video card in this thin laptop, instead of just the basic Intel HD integrated graphics.

The 0.8″ thin machine with a weight of 5.1 pounds sports crispy FHD (Full HD) resolution on its wide viewing angle IPS screen. The display doesn’t support touch input, so interacting with Windows 10 and programs relies on the keyboard and trackpad. Select configurations feature backlight beneath the keys, while the touchpad features a seamless tracking surface with “mouse” buttons integrated in it.

Under the hood, the Lenovo IdeaPad 700 packs either the Intel Core i5-6300HQ or i7-6700HQ quad-core processor, the Nvidia Geforce GTX 950M video card, up to 16GB of system memory, and hard drive or solid state drive storage or both combined. The i5 and i7 are both powerful quad-core processors, which are sufficient for all computing tasks of the average user. Furthermore, they can be a great tool for crunching some hardware-intensive tasks like editing and conversion of video and audio files, or working on professional-grade photographs. Speed-wise, difference between these i5 and i7 chips won’t be noticeable in the real world use, except in some very CPU-intensive situations. For gaming performance, the video card is the most important factor. The Geforce GTX 950M card with 4GB of dedicated video memory is a mid-range discrete GPU. It isn’t as powerful as full-blown GTX 970M / 980M series, but still it can easily handle most of the popular game titles. Also, it’s undoubtedly a better graphics processor than all integrated graphics solutions on the market, such as the Intel HD 520. The machine ships with either 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of RAM memory. Even the least capacious choice will satisfy multitasking needs of vast majority of users. As for storing data, there are multiple choices, too. As the basic option, you can have a 1-Terabyte hard disk drive. If you’re not satisfied with sluggish performance of the traditional HDDs, you can purchase the IdeaPad with a snappy additional solid state drive with 128GB or 256GB capacity. Also, you can choose an SSD-only configuration with 256GB capacity.

Sound is delivered through a pair of speakers. A subwoofer speaker is not present on this model. For video conferencing, you can use the built-in 720p HD web camera. All the necessary ports, slots, and network interfaces. The Lenovo IdeaPad 700 has two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, HDMI output, a combo audio jack, and a media car reader, as well as an Ethernet LAN port, 802.11AC Wi-Fi wireless connection, and Bluetooth.

The laptop includes a 45 WHr battery. It’s a decent capacity by the everyday notebooks’ standards, but since the IdeaPad 700 features power-hungry CPUs and GPU 45 WHr appears to be a bare minimum. Lenovo estimates the battery can last “up to 4 hours” on a single charge, which is a quite common battery life among 15.6″ notebooks.

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Specifications of the Lenovo IdeaPad 700

Here are the specs of the Lenovo IdeaPad 700 with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand Lenovo
Screen Size 15.6-inch

This is by far the most popular laptop screen size. It provides a lot of screen real estate, while avoiding bulkiness of the 17.3" laptops.
Screen Resolution 1920x1080 pixels Full HD

Full HD is the most common laptop screen resolution today. It provides a good image sharpness and a decent amount of space on the display for the user interface and programs. However, it isn't as good as the top-tier 4K Ultra HD.
Touchscreen No

This laptop doesn't support touchscreen input.
Other Display Specs IPS type

Displays based on IPS technology provide much wider viewing angles than the budget-class TN screens.
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-6300HQ 6th Gen (older-gen higher-end CPU)

Intel Core i7-6700HQ 6th Gen (older higher-end gaming and pro CPU)
Graphics (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M 4GB dedicated video card (able to run all games, but may not be smooth on high detail settings in heavy games)
System Memory (RAM) Size 8GB RAM

The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users.

12GB RAM

12GB is greater than the recommended minimum of 8GB and enables very comfortable multitasking during everyday tasks. However, many games and professional software may require 16GB or more.

16GB RAM

16GB and greater RAM sizes are recommended for heavy multitasking, gaming, and specialized programs that require a lot of RAM.
Data Storage 256GB SSD

256GB is a decent capacity. If you tend to download and store a lot of large files like movies and install many programs, 512GB or more is a better choice.

1000GB (1TB) HDD

1TB is an excellent storage capacity, but HDD is a slow type of storage.

1000GB (1TB) HDD + 128GB SSD

This is an excellent capacity, but the HDD portion is a slow type of storage.

1000GB (1TB) HDD + 256GB SSD

This is an excellent capacity, but the HDD portion is a slow type of storage.

1000GB (1TB) HDD + 512GB SSD

This is a huge capacity, but the HDD portion is a slow type of storage.
DVD Optical Drive None
Keyboard & Input Backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad

The keyboard has backlit keys and a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard.

Non-backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad

The keyboard has a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard, but it has no keyboard backlight.

Touchpad with click buttons built into the surface

The left and right click buttons are built into the surface of the touchpad, as opposed to separate physical buttons.
Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers

As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.

Combo microphone and headphones audio jack

This laptop has the ordinary 3.5mm combo audio jack that supports both headphone output and microphone input simultaneously.
Camera Front-facing web camera

Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This laptop is no exception.
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11AC

The 802.11AC is the previous-generation wireless networking standard. It's also known as Wi-Fi 5. 802.11AC is succeeded by 802.11AX Wi-Fi 6 with data transfer speed and multi-device connectivity improvements.
Ethernet Network Port Yes

This laptop has an Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE) No
Bluetooth Yes

This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports 2 x USB 3.0 + 1 x USB 2.0

A total of three full-size Type A USB ports.
Video Output Ports 1 x HDMI

HDMI is a widely used digital video output port. You can find HDMI-in ports on most computer monitors and TVs.
Media Card Reader SD card reader

The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Battery "Up to 4 hours" of battery life

3-cell 45 WHr
Weight 5.1 pounds
Height 0.9"
Width 15.2"
Depth 10.4"
Windows Version Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home is aimed at the regular home and office computer users. Only select business users need the Professional edition. Windows 10 Home users are eligible for a free upgrade to the latest Windows 11 Home.
Warranty 1-year

A typical laptop warranty.

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User Reviews and Q&A on the Lenovo IdeaPad 700

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the laptop. Thank you for your contribution.

  1. Osvaldo Pasquali

    Tre stelle possono bastare.
    la tastiera risponde male ai comandi. Molto spesso la battuta va a vuoto, quando alzo la testa per vedere cosa ho scritto, si vedono tante parole sottolineate in rosso perché mancano delle lettere. Ho dovuto sovrapporre la tastiera del precedente PC e tramite USB-WiFi si riesce a sopperire a questo grave difetto.

  2. Mantri Khatri

    It’s system momery upgradable 8 to 16 GB?

  3. Rob

    Hello,

    Good overall review.

    I saw two (2) fans inside. I imagine these are not silent and must make some noise. How much noise do they make?

    I have an Acer Alpha Switch 12. While it’s in a different class of laptops altogether, its main selling point is, according to Acer: “Fan-less Acer LiquidLoop™ cooling keeps CPU performance up and won’t generate whining fan noise.”

    It really is silent. I know the Lenovo isn’t silent, but how much fan noise does it make?

    Thank you for your reply.

    R. J.

    • Danijel Z

      Hi, I haven’t tested the IdeaPad 700, but generally laptops with a dedicated video card and quad-core Intel processors are noisier than the mainstream dual-core / integrated graphics laptops. Gaming laptops like the IdeaPad 700 usually have dual fans to cool down powerful components as opposed to a single fan in ordinary notebooks. And of course they are noisier than liquid-cooled and fanless notebooks.

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