Lenovo B50-30 review

Can this impressive £199 laptop trump pricier rivals?

Lenovo B50-30
The B50-30 doesn't look or feel like a laptop that costs less than £200

TechRadar Verdict

A bargain basement option that's got enough power to cope despite obvious budget cuts elsewhere.

Pros

  • +

    Comfortable and sensible keyboard

  • +

    Subtle and smart design

  • +

    Bargain price

Cons

  • -

    Sluggish performance

  • -

    Poor low-resolution screen

  • -

    Average battery life

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Lenovo has designed this laptop for low intensity tasks, so we expected it to arrive with a budget price – but we didn't expect it to cost just £199 (about $334, AU$360). That makes it one of the most affordable notebooks we've reviewed.

That eye-catching price undercuts every rival. We thought the Toshiba Satellite C50 was cheap, but it costs £240 (about $403, AU$435), and HP's Pavilion TouchSmart 15-n070sa costs a comparatively stratospheric £350 (about $589, AU$634).

The Lenovo doesn't look like such an affordable portable. The matte plastic exterior is subtle, and the metal-effect logo along with the green dotted power button look smart. It's plain, but it's not nasty.

Lenovo B50 keyboard

There are some neat aesthetic touches here

The B50 trades blows with rivals in terms of its dimensions, too: the 2.15kg weight (about 4.7 pounds) is less than both competitors, and the B50's 25mm-thick (about 0.98 inches) body sits between the thinner HP and chunkier Toshiba. It's thin and light enough to carry day-to-day, although we'd always use a protective sleeve – the plastic looks smart, but it's flimsier than the HP and Toshiba laptops.

Impressive ergonomics

Despite the low price, Lenovo has included a good keyboard. It's a Scrabble-tile unit with a numberpad and a sensible layout, and it's comfortable to use – the keys have good travel, and their action is responsive and soft. It's as good as anything else we've typed on at this price, including the Toshiba.

Lenovo B50 keyboard 2

This laptop's keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience

The trackpad is reasonable. It's a little larger than the Toshiba's effort, and the buttons require light touches and little pressure to use. More expensive laptops have better ergonomics than the Lenovo – we'd prefer a snappier typing action and firmer buttons – but there's enough quality here to get work and web browsing done without difficulty.

The sub-£200 Lenovo is powered by an Intel Celeron N2830, which uses the same Bay Trail architecture that's included in modern Atom chips. Its two cores are clocked between 2.16GHz and 2.41GHz, and the chip has a basic Intel HD Graphics core that runs at a top speed of 750MHz.

Cut corners

This is where the Lenovo's budget bites. Its two rivals use mid-range AMD Kabini APUs. They're both clocked to slower speeds than the Lenovo's Intel silicon, but have four cores and more cache. It's the same story in graphics, where the AMD chips have lesser clock speeds but a more impressive Radeon architecture.

Lenovo B50 trackpad

The trackpad is a light touch affair

There's just 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk, and networking is restricted to a single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi chip alongside Bluetooth 4.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. There's one USB 3.0 port around the Lenovo's edges, but the interior is more impressive – there's a spare memory socket, and the main components are all accessible.

TOPICS

Mike has worked as a technology journalist for more than a decade and has written for most of the UK’s big technology titles alongside numerous global outlets. He loves PCs, laptops and any new hardware, and covers everything from the latest business trends to high-end gaming gear.

Latest in Pro
cybersecurity
What's the right type of web hosting for me?
Security padlock and circuit board to protect data
Trust in digital services around the world sees a massive drop as security worries continue
Hacker silhouette working on a laptop with North Korean flag on the background
North Korea unveils new military unit targeting AI attacks
An image of network security icons for a network encircling a digital blue earth.
US government warns agencies to make sure their backups are safe from NAKIVO security issue
Laptop computer displaying logo of WordPress, a free and open-source content management system (CMS)
This top WordPress plugin could be hiding a worrying security flaw, so be on your guard
construction
Building in the digital age: why construction’s future depends on scaling jobsite intelligence
Latest in Reviews
The player holding a Shard Card in Fragpunk.
Competitive shooter Fragpunk wowed me with its game-changing Shard Cards, but I can't stand the aggressive monetization
Xiaomi 33W 10,000mAh Power Bank leaning on plinth on desk with pink background
I wouldn't take the Xiaomi 33W 10,000mAh Power Bank on extreme adventures, but it's great for my basic traveling needs
VQ Cath Kidston 5,000mAh Power Bank leaning on plinth on desk with pink background
The VQ Cath Kidston 5,000mAh Power Bank is one of the most stylish batteries I’ve seen, but it’s too slow for the price
Atomfall
I survived Atomfall’s testing countryside and became an ethically murky mercenary
TinEye website
I like this reverse image search service the most
Epos Expand Vision 5 Bundle main image
I tested the Epos Expand Vision 5 Bundle - read why this video conferencing solution is recommended