Lenovo Ideapad 330 Review: A Basic Business Laptop for Home

The Lenovo Ideapad 330 is a simple laptop for those who don’t need or expect much. Previously, finding a budget-friendly laptop without horrendous performance was nearly impossible. Any of the options available to you were either hard to find in a store or well out of your desired price range.

Thankfully, things have changed. It’s easier than ever to find a laptop on a tight budget. Even if you’re stuck in the $500 range, there will be at least one option for you to explore.

The Lenovo Ideapad 330 is a nice starting point. It’s not very flashy, but it’ll get most jobs done right the first time. If you need old-school features like a built-in DVD player but don’t want something ancient, this is the way to go. Or, if you want to give something to your kid or elderly parents as a gift, something like this will surely be enough to put a smile on their faces.

Best for Business

Lenovo IdeaPad 330 15.6" HD Business Laptop

$562.00

• Intel Dual-Core i3-8130U
• 15.6” HD 1366 x 768 Energy-efficient LED backlight Display
• Intel UHD Graphics 620
• Comes with Windows 10

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11/27/2023 03:51 am GMT

Lenovo Ideapad 330: Overview

This average laptop is…good! It’s not super special, but it doesn’t have to be. There are aspects to it that make it worth checking out, though.

Release Date And Price

The Lenovo Ideapad 330 was a continuation of the brand’s popular series of laptops. It was released somewhere around 2017-2018, and currently, it retails for between $500 and $700. This is a bit steep for a budget-friendly and beginner-friendly option, but it’s got some potential regardless.

If you’re willing to spend a little more on the higher end of your budget, it’s worth considering. At the end of the day, it really just depends on what you need this laptop for. 

Different Models

Lenovo launched the very first Ideapad in 2008. At the time, it was innovative because practical, personal-use laptops were a newer concept. The laptop’s concept also stood out due to its large screens. People realized that laptops could do the same things as their giant, clunky desktop computers. This was the beginning of an era where it was more normalized to have personal and business-use technology that was meant to be on the go with you.

There isn’t just one Lenovo Ideapad, and there isn’t just one variation of the Ideapad 330. This system comes in more configurations than you could imagine: Pentium, Intel Core, and even AMD. None of them are going to really wow you in the performance department, but at least you have a little freedom in your choice of CPU, RAM, and storage configurations.

Features

This laptop is just as unique as the first series of Ideapad computers, but perhaps not in the same way! Instead, it embraces older technology integrated with newer features, letting you use things like DVDs and SD card slots without a dongle. These are some major selling points, too; while it could be viewed as “dated” technology, these pieces of equipment can be very helpful for remote work.

I remember the first time I saw a USB-C-only MacBook, and thought to myself “How is anyone going to get by without a bunch of ports and peripherals?” Well, it turns out most users manage just fine, but if you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way, the Ideapad is the laptop for you.

Specifications

Best Anti-Glare

Lenovo Ideapad 330 15.6" Anti Glared HD Premium Business Laptop

$341.99

• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 7th Generation AMD A9-9425 Processor
• Comes with Windows 10 Home 64-bit
• Ideal for home, students and business

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11/27/2023 04:12 am GMT

Lenovo Ideapad 330: Review

This laptop is great if you’re looking for something average to work with. It can do basic online tasks rather well, which most people need in a business laptop. Your experience with it will vary based on your expectations. If you’re seeking the world’s best laptop, look elsewhere. Otherwise, if you’re trying to find something that’s not too flashy, the Lenovo Ideapad 330 is perfect for you. 

Sometimes, it’s fine for a laptop to just be… okay. It’s neither amazing nor terrible, giving you a bit of comfort knowing that there won’t be much of a learning curve. There are some things where it is lacking, though, and you should consider these factors before you buy it since it’s still on the steeper side of the budget-friendly scale.

You can certainly find laptops under $300 that meet your requirements. So, why is this one still worth a bit more?

Design

It’s not flashy; there are no rainbow LED lights lining the keyboard, and it doesn’t use the latest OLED tech. Still, it’s sleek, perfect for a professional who needs to look put together. While plain, it’s not ugly–you could get away with putting a nice case on it and calling it a day. 

You get the tried-and-true keyboard and trackpad, with a handful of USB ports, ethernet, and HDMI along the side. The lid and texture are simple too: plain gray plastic or brushed metal, depending on which model you get.

Display

There’s a huge caveat for what could have been an amazing, budget-friendly screen display. The Lenovo Ideapad 330 features a nice, wide screen that looks like it’d be great to stream on. This is especially important because it features a relic: a DVD slot.

However, the display itself is rather dull, rendering it difficult to see in the sunlight. A laptop should make it possible for you to work from anywhere, but with this one, you are restricted to indoor environments only.

No, it doesn’t have the color quality of a MacBook, nor does it have the high refresh rate and resolution of a gaming laptop. But if you’re working on some documents, watching DVDs, or doomscrolling Facebook, this screen will satisfy your tired eyes just as well.

Performance

On one hand, if you get this laptop with an Intel Core or Ryzen processor, you’ll have one of the better ones. This processor is the industry standard, to the point where even the “technology illiterate” can recognize and appreciate its power. Just be careful to avoid lower-end models with Intel Pentium or AMD A processors (unless you get a screamin’ deal) because these CPUs might be underwhelming.

That said, the Lenovo Ideapad 330 is surprisingly fast. With all the other plain-jane features this laptop has, things like a decent SSD and RAM make a huge difference. Many of the Ideapad 330s you’ll see come with an SSD and 8GB of DDR4. If you see one marked as having an “HDD,” run the other way. These models will be noticeably slower than the SSD versions. 

The only major con with the laptop’s performance capabilities is that it’s limited to remedial tasks and wouldn’t be good for, say, gaming.

Software

The Lenovo Ideapad 330 comes with either Windows 10 or Windows 11. The latest editions of Windows OS are super impressive, even on simpler computers like this one. You wouldn’t need the world’s fanciest laptop to get the best experience from Windows 10. In fact, this is one of the top-selling points for the laptop.

Another thing you might not realize is that if a laptop is too old, it won’t be compatible with Windows 11. The good news is that even if you opt for a model that comes preloaded with Windows 10, you’ll still be able to upgrade to 11, since every CPU configuration available for this model is new enough to run the latest OS.

Battery

Unfortunately, the laptop’s battery is not great. It uses a Lithium Polymer battery, which is usually decent enough, but these ones don’t give you much time after the laptop is unplugged. At best, the laptop tends to last about 6 hours, but you should expect it to be closer to around 5, and that is under ideal conditions.

I’ve had this laptop in my shop for a while, and even though I didn’t put it through super rigorous testing, I found the battery life to run out around the 4-hour mark on tasks like web browsing or watching YouTube with the volume all the way up.

To avoid this, you can try to stay plugged in for most of the time you’re using it — but that kind of defeats the purpose of the laptop’s portability.

Best Premium Version

Premium Lenovo Ideapad 330 Laptop 15.6" Full HD

$533.12

• AMD 2500U quad-core 2.0 GHz processor
• 256GB SSD hard drive
• 15.6-inch Full HD IPS LED Backlit Display
• WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth and HDMI

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11/27/2023 04:27 am GMT

Lenovo Ideapad 330: Pros And Cons

Lenovo Ideapad 330: Is It A Buy?

Though this computer isn’t anything eye-catching off the bat, it’s still worth considering. Sometimes, technology can simply be “average” without it necessarily being a bad thing.

Buy It If…

…You’re on a budget but you need a laptop that is not a hunk of garbage. Small business owners would love this laptop. Since it’s designed for business, the tasks that it is capable of are probably things that you do every day.

For example, if you have a lot of spreadsheets to work on, this laptop is great for that. Or, if you’re answering an endless sea of emails, this laptop is your go-to. There are so many people who could benefit from a simple, straight-to-the-point portable computer.

Similarly, this could make a wonderful first computer for someone who hasn’t had any experience with laptops. Students would do really well with it because it’s designed for online tasks. Any online-based homework software works perfectly fine on this computer. Plus, students would likely benefit from the SD-card slot, since they tend to store a lot of files and transport them between classes.

The DVD player could also be extremely beneficial for parents who need to keep their kids occupied on the road. If you’re a frequent traveler, generally, the multipurpose entertainment value of this laptop is immense. While the world has seemingly forgotten DVDs, you don’t need to follow suit. 

Ultimately, this computer’s average performance and aesthetic are more of a good thing than a bad thing. It’s not going to rival a MacBook Pro, but you might not need that kind of performance level, anyway. Buy this laptop if you’re looking for something that will get the job done and last at least a few years. Additionally, if you can justify the higher price point of a “budget-friendly” laptop, this is a good option, too.

Don’t Buy It If…

…You have extremely high standards and a high budget to go with it. Anyone who has exceptionally high standards for their laptop will probably dislike this one. You might not be able to get past the dull screen or low battery life. Technology nerds who need the latest and greatest should probably avoid it.

Graphic designers and video editors are also not compatible with the Lenovo Ideapad 330. Remember, this computer was made to complete basic online tasks like emails or offline tasks like spreadsheets. It was not meant to help you develop a video game or build 3D models.

The computer’s storage is pretty good, but that alone won’t be enough to handle intense graphics-heavy work. Plus, the display is really rough on this computer, so you might not have a great time designing websites or even editing photos.

Gamers should avoid this laptop, too. It is absolutely not made for gaming. Usually, some “non-gaming” computers can be used as your rig, but not this one. It’s only a few years old, but its low specs and lack of a dedicated GPU make it difficult to play many current games. You could certainly fire up some Microsoft Solitaire, or log in to Facebook for a game of Candy Crush. But don’t expect GTA 6 to run on this.