This was posted 3 years 10 months 5 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13", AMD Ryzen 7 4800U (8C/16T), QHD (2560*1600) IPS, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD $1097.10 @ Lenovo Education Store

2510
Lenovo IdeaPad S540 13", AMD Ryzen 7 4800U (8C/16T), QHD (2560*1600) IPS, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD $1097.10 @ Lenovo Education StoreAffiliate
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shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 15:49 lenovo.com (8107 clicks)
Last edited 16/01/2021 - 19:40 by 1 other user
BACK2SCHOOL
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Specifications:

Processor
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4800U (8C / 16T, 1.8 / 4.2GHz, 4MB L2 / 8MB L3)

Display
13.3" QHD (2560x1600) WVA 300nits Glossy, 100% sRGB

Memory
16GB Soldered DDR4-3200

Hard Drive
512GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe

Battery
Integrated 56Wh (Up to 14hrs battery life)

Camera
720p + IR + ToF

Keyboard
Backlit, English

Wireless
11ax, 2x2 + BT5.0

Ports
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (always-on)
2 x USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 1 (power delivery + Display Port)
1 x Combo audio/mic jack

Weight
Approx 1.25kg

Chassis build material:
Aluminum

Delivery time is currently 6-7 weeks, however other posters on this forum have advised that they have received theirs earlier.

Another benefit of this laptop is that you can change the TDP in BIOS or Lenovo Vantage between Battery Saver (12.5W), Intelligent Cooling (15W) and Extreme Performance (25W).

Computing 14inch Computer Laptop Lenovo

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closed Comments

  • mrkrazy on 16/01/2021 - 15:54
    +8

    Good specs for the price. Hard to beat when you consider bang for buck?

    • TheLurker on 16/01/2021 - 16:01
      +1

      Definitely. If only had touch screen, and I had an edu address, I'd jump on it. Hardly normal sells a similar machine for $2699. I did read it throttles down at extreme performance mode vs equivalent APU in a Razor, but it will still be quicker than anything else at this price. Decent screen too

      • Sean8802 on 16/01/2021 - 19:07

        Agreed, it's just missing the touchscreen unfortunately.

        • Skramit on 17/01/2021 - 09:53

          Do people honestly want/need a touchscreen on a laptop? That blows my mind. I've never seen anyone use their touchscreen on a laptop.

          • TheLurker on 17/01/2021 - 10:06
            +1

            @Skramit: When I bought my first Samsung touchscreen laptop in 2013 I thought it was a gimmick but after years and two other HP laptops it's something I really miss. Flip into tablet mode was never useful, and tent mode was rare though. Pinch to zoom etc becomes a habit after a while and I think i could navigate around screens faster than touch pad or even mouse but I understand why it's not a must have for many people

            • Skramit on 17/01/2021 - 11:05

              @TheLurker: Interesting. Can’t imagine myself ever using a touch screen on a laptop.

              • TheLurker on 17/01/2021 - 11:34

                @Skramit: I guess it's the same as phones. Took a while to get used to not having buttons which is one reason blackberry stayed so popular. A touch screen phone also isn't a must have, but once you've become used to it, it's very hard to go back. If it was a machine for gaming primarily I agree there's very little value

                • Skramit on 17/01/2021 - 11:41
                  +1

                  @TheLurker: Yeah I have an iPad for using as a tablet on the couch. So my laptop is purely business use.

          • Sean8802 on 17/01/2021 - 12:27

            @Skramit: It's quite handy for my mother. People over the age of 60 aren't the best at using touchpads.

          • Make it so on 19/01/2021 - 13:21

            @Skramit: Yep! I use a laptop in meetings all the time, but I hate carrying a mouse around as much as I hate using touch pads. Big fan of touch screens.

          • NopeNopeNope on 27/01/2021 - 10:27

            @Skramit: yep basically won't buy a laptop with out touch screen. Shits on track pad.

    • TheCutter on 17/01/2021 - 08:54
      -4

      Get an Acer from Taiwan
      Lenovo is China.

      • Sean8802 on 17/01/2021 - 18:54

        Acer has shit warranty, no worldwide warranty same as Lenovo if you get overseas stock. If you're going Taiwanese Asus is the way to go. They have worldwide warranty.

  • Jacko1235 on 16/01/2021 - 16:11
    +3

    I'm in the market for a new laptop. Should I jump on this now or will there be better laptop deals?

    • Junglegreen on 16/01/2021 - 16:23
      +4

      This is pretty good mate.

    • zoner on 16/01/2021 - 16:26

      Yep, this is great value. Also speedy delivery

      • zingerzagger on 16/01/2021 - 22:07

        how long did it take for your delivery?

        • zoner on 17/01/2021 - 00:28

          During Xmas period 6 days

    • Wardaddy on 17/01/2021 - 17:13

      I've had several Lenovo laptops - been excellent.

  • frewer on 16/01/2021 - 16:12

    Can someone help me with these questions? Why 13.3" and 2560x1600? Will these specs good enough to runs 30+ tabs ? Can I hook up into another screen and use both at the same time?

    Looks good enough for my needs, but the screen just slightly small

    • stefanko on 16/01/2021 - 16:30
      +5

      I run 3 different browsers with several windows each and end up having 100+ tabs open at any given time. Basically they stay open untill I find the time to go back to it and read it thorughly. As far as CPU, I never had any major issue doing this even on an old sandy bridge i5. What you seek is RAM and 16gb with other apps open just might not cut it in ceratin situations or you will have to watch out for RAM usage at times. All my machines that I work(ed) in this way have(had) 24-32gb RAM.

      And screen? Never enough, I hook them all up to 40inch 4k samsung tv. Works like a charm.

      • Wardaddy on 17/01/2021 - 17:15

        Maybe get better organised?

        • stefanko on 19/01/2021 - 15:49
          +1

          maybe I am :) one is for sensitive stuff - banking, mygov, work, tafe.. second for emails, messaging, social media and youtube, third for news and potentially dodgy websites. I also use tor in case something is really suspisious but maybe you are better organized and should reveal your approach… :)

          • frewer on 19/01/2021 - 17:46

            @stefanko: You likes me, my excuse is I cant organized it in time, coz I have to chase after my children

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 16:40
      +6

      Yes it shouldn't be a issue. The AMD R7 4800U is one of the most powerful X86 CPUs you can get at the moment. It performs a lot better than higher wattage Intel i7 and i9 CPUs. Multi-core performance is better then the recently released Apple M1 CPU, based on Cinebench R23 score.

      The USB-C ports support DisplayPort/HDMI, so you could output to two additional screens using two USB-C DisplayPort or HDMI adapters

      Just depends on how much RAM you need!

      • NigerianPrince on 17/01/2021 - 04:56

        Hello.
        Can you shed mor light on this. This is the only thing hdimg me from buying this. I have 2 monitors I would like to hook up with. But it seems one of the usb C would be used for the power delivery. I need these 2 ports to be able to use those display port cables. Does this laptop have a separate charger port

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 16:55
      +3

      You can run 30 tabs.
      The screen is 16:10 ratio so it is taller than most widescreen 16:9 laptops and can be more useful for working on documents/spreadsheets as well as having more scrolled content.
      I have had this laptop for the last few months and am quite happy with it. I have run it with dual external monitors, you will likely need a USB-c hub with PD or a universal docking station if driving more than one external screen.
      I even tried loading up MS Flight Simulator, but the graphics are not quite up to it.
      Older steam games seem to run ok

      • tlc72 on 16/01/2021 - 21:11

        Do you know what displayport version the usb-c supports (e.g. 1.2, 1.4b etc) - I cannot seem to find anywhere on the specs sheet

    • jcon on 16/01/2021 - 17:00
      +4

      This computer is ridiculously over-powered for any kind of every-day casual or office use.

      What you should do is lower your price point.

      This is literally the first one I found, without any effort, and it's about perfect for what you want.

      https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-edge/…

      • frewer on 17/01/2021 - 12:23

        Thanks for that, I think I needs 16GB of memory.

    • frewer on 17/01/2021 - 12:23

      Opps needs student email … nvm then

  • wombat81 on 16/01/2021 - 16:12
    -5

    No dedicated graphics is a bit of a downer…

    • fafsdfadfabcfbc on 16/01/2021 - 16:19
      +4

      Put another 1k or 2k on it and you can whatever you want

    • Merlict on 16/01/2021 - 16:38
      +6

      Unreasonable to expect it in this size / price bracket.

      • wombat81 on 16/01/2021 - 16:51
        -8

        Disagree. MX GPUs are very common at this size and price point.

        • shaneiwey on 16/01/2021 - 17:04
          +21

          Pretty sure the ryzen 7's integrated graphics is on par with the MX gpus lol

        • shaybisc on 16/01/2021 - 17:04
          +1

          Unreal specs for the price.

        • Fiximol on 16/01/2021 - 17:10
          +12

          The iGPU (Vega 8) in this is actually comparable to the mx350

  • FlatulentFrank on 16/01/2021 - 16:14

    Screen size kills it for me, fantastic specs for the price point.

  • bruceclipse on 16/01/2021 - 16:16

    Holy smoke that's good spec. Better than M1.

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 16:20
      +1

      Yes, it's multi-core performance is higher than the M1, based on Cinebench R23 scores. 4800U scores over 10k vs around 7k for the M1.

      • nurbsenvi on 17/01/2021 - 02:24

        Was R23 native app though?

        • shellshocked on 18/01/2021 - 07:32

          R23 was native to both operating systems. Looks up other reviews where one is Windows and one is MacOS. M1 has better single-core but loses in multi-core.

  • agalea101 on 16/01/2021 - 16:19

    Would this be a good replacement for a surface 2 laptop?

    Looking to upgrade. Thanks!

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 16:20
      +3

      Performance would be night and day versus your Surface 2.

      • agalea101 on 16/01/2021 - 16:21
        +4

        Why U need to say it like that haha now I got to get it lol

        • mrau on 16/01/2021 - 16:29
          +1

          First check which one of the two is night, and which one is day. While you're at it, check if day is better than night or the other way around.

        • TheLurker on 16/01/2021 - 18:12
          +1

          Def performance improvements, but you might feel slightly more 'budget' with it as it doesn't have a machined aluminium case at the same quality as surface. Still is much better than other plastic frames normally at this price point

  • ilove on 16/01/2021 - 16:41

    is lenovo good quality these days?

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 16:44
      +2

      I have had this laptop for about 6 months. Build quality is great.

      • ChaLuo on 16/01/2021 - 16:49

        how does the build quality compare to T series?

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 16:59
          +11

          It is more consumer focused, so it looks nicely finished, the keys feel like they have less travel than the T series.
          Hinge quality is probably not up to the life expectancy of the T series.
          Glass trackpad feels better than the plastic ones on the T Series.
          The screen looks great, 300 nits - my one shows light bleed at the top of the screen on boot up but decided to just leave it as it is not noticeable in regular use, and I do not want to have to set up another one all over.

          The things I like about it:
          Great screen, no PWM, bright and vivid, 2k resolution is nice to have without causing too much battery hit.
          4800U CPU is amazingly powerful yet very efficient. It still blows me away seeing the 16 logical processors (8 cores) in windows task manager.
          Windows Hello login with the IR camera is convenient, but I threw in a Sunrose Fingerprint scanner into the USB port for $25 or so from aliexpress and use that for even faster login.
          The laptop is almost completely silent, especially if you use the low power setting in the BIOS. I can go for many days without hearing the fan at all.
          The large trackpad is glass and a pleasure to use.
          The aluminium finish on the top/bottom/keyboard surround is the same all over and has a pleasing, non-glossy sheen to it which also feels quite nice.

    • greatlamp on 16/01/2021 - 18:47

      Depends which model series you are looking at.

      Thinkpad - good
      Legion - not so much

  • Ibz on 16/01/2021 - 16:45
    +20

    I was able to claim Cashback on the edu store through cashrewards on this same laptop a few weeks ago by going through cashrewards to the normal lenovo website, then scrolling to the bottom and clicking resources -> student store -> shop weekly deals -> remove default Intel processor filter and add amd filter and find laptop - > add to cart and checkout

    • axloz on 18/01/2021 - 21:33
      +1

      I just ordered one. Followed your method, hopefully it works!
      edit - just got the CR 'tracked' email - looking good!

      • Hotshot on 12/03/2021 - 16:13

        Hi, My CR cashback was declined because Back2School was not an approved code.
        Did anyone else have the same issue?

        • axloz on 13/03/2021 - 17:08

          Mine is still shown as 'pending' on the CR website.

          The laptop has arrived and is a great little lappy!

  • flud on 16/01/2021 - 16:47

    A great machine but Ryzen 5 + MX450 laptops are coming soon

    • la ciudad respirando on 16/01/2021 - 17:38

      for what price tho, even in edu stores itd be >1500 no doubt.

    • TheLurker on 16/01/2021 - 18:21
      +1

      I'm not sure that's soon, and not necessarily a huge step up…

      Ryzen 4xxxU was launched at CES 2020 and first machines I found available in AU was August. While I hope this is a tad earlier than August, global shortages this year mean stock is pretty dry everywhere and market is getting used to jacking prices

      The new 5xxxU processors are misleading. Anything with an odd number (5300U, 5500U, 4700U) is Zen 2, so only a revision of what's in market now. Getting Zen 3 with bigger improvement means waiting for even number (5600U, 5800U) models to come out.

      Finally I may be mistaken but don't think there's any approved or leaked laptop designs with AMD APU's and Nvidia MX dGPU's. 3xxx is of course coming. Any you know of?

      I hope my assumptions on timing and cost are proven wrong and we do see cheap high spec next gen AMD Nvidia machines coming soon

  • edrift on 16/01/2021 - 17:01

    Is this any good for games?

    • Merlict on 16/01/2021 - 17:03

      Not really. You can play esports or older games on low- medium but it's no gaming laptop.

    • shaybisc on 16/01/2021 - 17:19
      +3

      YouTube - 4800u gaming

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRiQyx4whKo

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 18:10
      +2

      Is it good? No, get a gaming PC or laptop if you want something good for games.

      Is it like the integrated graphics of yore that couldn't run games from a decade ago? No, it'll run anything old fine, and even most new games at 720p low settings.

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 21:00
      +2

      Please refer to the below review for approximate gaming performance

      https://next.lab501.ro/notebook/english-lenovo-ideapad-s540-…

  • shaybisc on 16/01/2021 - 17:17
    +1

    What's the deal with .edu email addresses? Does Lenovo match them to a database of any kind? If I ask the kid next door for a lend of his email address then set up an Australia Education Store account with that address but my name and address, will that work to buy this?

    Not going to buy this. For future reference.

    • bunnybash on 16/01/2021 - 17:31
      +14

      16GB is fine for most people.

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 17:43

      You can try firefox, I found it use less memory compare to chrome.

    • Gorian4 on 16/01/2021 - 19:22
      +2

      Anyone who finds 16GB limiting needs to limit their chrome tabs

      • happychappy1 on 17/01/2021 - 00:28

        LOL, if you're doing work, and you need things to be open, there's no time to faff about with managing your tasks to fit around the hardware, when the hardware can fit around your needs. There are lots of things you need to worry about. When I had 16GB RAM, I already found it slowed down heaps, especially with multiple PDFs, tabs and Word documents open. It makes sense to get more so you can have your system last longer, especially when the price different isn't huge. I speak from experience.

        • Ibz on 17/01/2021 - 19:58

          Ive been using this extension called one tab for firefox/Chrome and that's helped me both manage my tabs at work and save ram, you should check it out! Obviously if you want 32gb then go for it, but I reckon the extension is still cool

  • ForTheGreaterGood on 16/01/2021 - 17:26

    Good price! I was looking for a similar config on Black Friday, and ended up getting a refurbished Acer Swift 5 for a similar amount, but this would have been a good choice to have!

  • zbc on 16/01/2021 - 17:28

    What is the bloatware like on these? Coming from a Thinkpad.

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 17:41
      +1

      I always do fresh install of windows on any laptop anyways. Pretty sure just some Lenovo own driver update/features app and also Free Mcfeeeeee.

    • happychappy1 on 17/01/2021 - 00:30

      Get a Thinkpad. These don't compare in terms of build or support (software/drivers/BIOS, after-sales service). You get way more updates and longer support/parts on a Thinkpad. I believe there are models that allow configuring of 24GB or 32GB+ RAM, which this doesn't support.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 17:44
    -2

    Just before people sheep into this sale, you should double check the brightness on these screens. The last few Lenovo laptops that were popular on here e.g. the Slim 5 deal that is still standing have really bad brightness and unless you're plugging them into a screen the majority of the time you use them, then I'd encourage you to get something with a brighter display.

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 18:11
      +7

      This display is 300nits, 100% sRGB display, which fine and mentioned in the description. The laptop you mentioned only have 220-250nit 60% sRGB display.

      • TheLurker on 16/01/2021 - 18:27
        +1

        Thanks OP for the post! I tried to PM you but switched off. If updating the post sometime hope you might be able to tag as a laptop. I tried filtering category to Deals>Computing>Laptops on OzB and it didn't show. Worth keeping this one on record

      • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 20:33
        -1

        Yea its not that much of a difference. I still think someone should report back with their experience

  • BillyRippen on 16/01/2021 - 18:18
    +2

    It's a real shame about the build time. I'd be very tempted if I thought I could get it before the start of semester.

  • Heaclan on 16/01/2021 - 18:32

    bought one of these from the last deal, anyone got any third-party usbc dongles/adaptors?

  • schquid on 16/01/2021 - 18:48
    +3

    I'd absolutely jump on this, if I could access the deal that is. Excellent specs and is one of the very few Lenovo Ryzen laptops that has a decent screen. $1800 on the consumer website.

    Wonder if TA could get a promo all the non-students could use…

    • frugalbat on 16/01/2021 - 18:54

      Im also interested in thia deal buy don't have access to edu store…

      • tlazolli on 16/01/2021 - 19:07

        There's a post somewhere on ozbargain with details of how to obtain an edu account without edu mail

      • shaybisc on 16/01/2021 - 19:54

        They say give them a call if you haven't got one. Don't know how that would go for non-students. Some unis give graduates permanent alumni email addresses but not mine and I don't know if that works for this either.

  • MoreThanYouNO on 16/01/2021 - 19:11

    This is a very nice and premium feeling laptop. For the price it is amazing. I expected a better battery life but can't complain (6-7hours). One thing I overlooked was the gen 1 type c port. For me, this meant that I couldn't Daisy-Chain monitors nor run my 144hz screen at max.

  • Viper8 on 16/01/2021 - 19:16

    Is there a 15.6" version of this available?
    Great specs, and for once a great screen to match!

  • Hurg on 16/01/2021 - 19:18

    Am I missing something or does this laptop not have any display ports?

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2021 - 19:26
      +1

      It has 2 usb-c ports on the left that output video, video can go from them via USB-c to HDMI/DP cables or a hub/ dock, one USB A on the right.

    • shellshocked on 16/01/2021 - 19:26

      I outputs via a USB-C. You need an adapter USB-C to DisplayPort or HDMI.

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