Lenovo is relatively a newbie in the gaming world, but it has proved over the years that it is a powerhouse by delivering solid entry-level gaming laptops. The Lenovo Y70 Touch sits on a class of its own by offering a full HD resolution multi-touch display that is not common in gaming laptops. If you are not on a budget and looking for a high-performing gaming laptop with the latest processor and graphics technology, then look no further.
The Lenovo Y70 (80DU00ESUS) 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop is powered by a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4720HQ processor with 16 GB DDR3 RAM and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M Graphics that make this laptop suitable for HD gaming, image and video editing, entertainment and other uses. The machines comes with windows 8.1 that is upgradeable to windows 10 for free that offers an ultimate experience with touch enabled capabilities.
The Lenovo Y70 measures 1.02 by 16.64 by 11.44 inches (HWD), and weighs 7.5 pounds thereby falls short of being called an ultraportable gaming laptop by our editor. It as well lacks the slimness of the Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro Black (0.85- inch thick and 5.8 pounds) or the MSI GE Series GE72 that is thinner and weighs 6.6 pounds.
The 17.3-inch display comes with a 1920 X 1080 resolution and 10-point touch support with an attractive design similar to the smaller Lenovo Y50. The laptop is black with red accents. It has brushed aluminum on the lid and underside of the chassis and matte, soft-touch paint on the palm rest.
Performance
The Lenovo Y70 boasts a quad-core 4th generation Haswell 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor, with 6MB of L3 cache, the same quad-core CPU used in the Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro, but with twice the memory allotment at 16GB of RAM. Haswell CPUs use less energy to give you a longer battery life when compared to previous Intel processors. With Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, the maximum clock rate this processor can achieve is 3.6 GHz.
Having four cores also allows the notebook to run multiple programs at the same time without slowing down the computer. The separate Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics processor and 4GB of dedicated video memory will get you some pretty good performance in popular games despite the entry-level price. For your storage, the Lenovo comes with a 256 GB SSD, 5,400 RM to boost performance.
In terms of connectivity, the laptop has several ports and connections. It has two 3.0 USB ports and a single 2.0 USB port to connect all your accessories and peripherals and an HDMI out port. For connecting to other wireless devices, such as a mouse or speakers, the computer supports Bluetooth 4.0.
The Lenovo Y70 includes an external super multi DVD drive and an internal card reader to save and read CDs, DVDs, MMC, SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. It also offers other features such as a 720p webcam and microphone, which can be used for making video calls. The notebook has 802.11ac wireless and Gigabit LAN RJ-45 Ethernet port for accessing a network. Included with the notebook are a power adapter and battery that lasts up to 4 hours.
Other features
The Lenovo Y70 features a 17.3″ 10-point multi-touch screen, which allows the use of two fingers for pinching to zoom, or flick through photo albums using nothing but your fingers. For a better viewing experience with videos and images, the display supports a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and is equipped with IPS technology that provides wide viewing angles with accurate colors.
This notebook is also built with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics which has 4GB of dedicated video memory that offers crisp graphics and smooth frame rates for running 3D and 2D applications. The device also lets you enjoy a vivid, immersive sound when playing music, gaming, or watching videos thanks to JBL stereo speakers and subwoofer bringing an ultimate new experience to your entertainment world.
The keyboard uses the same AccuType design that we saw on the Lenovo Y50 Touch 4K UHD Laptop, complete with red backlighting and sculpted keycaps for a comfortable typing feel. Despite the larger dimensions of the 17-inch system, there’s still no space between the standard keys and the numeric pad, but there is now a lot of empty space on either side of the keyboard. It’s still very usable, but they could have made it better with wider spacing. Centered beneath the space bar is a large clickpad, which offers Windows 10 gesture support, but isn’t ideal for actual gaming.
Verdict
The Lenovo Y70 (80DU00ESUS) is much more than a general use laptop, it’s a real gaming machine. The GeForce GTX960M card takes gaming to a notch higher for an avid player, high settings and resolution with AAA games, that is. The 17.3″ Full HD display offers a great gaming environment, and the strong trio of i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 256GB SSD make sure that the general feel of this laptop will be smooth and lag-free.
If this is all you need, then the Lenovo Y70 should be at the top of your shopping list, but if you need more, then the Alienware 15 (ANW15-5357SLV) and the ASUS ROG G751JL are more recommendable options as they offer a cool gaming design, more gaming power and enough room to grow as you sharpen your gaming skills.
Our Pick
