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The Lenovy Y40 is jampacked with premium features not usually seen at its entry price. Compared to others in the 14-inch arena, it also represents a good value for those looking to dip their feet into gaming and save some money while doing so.
We liked
The Lenovo Y40 is an attractive, 14-inch budget gaming option that's fast in most general and multimedia tasks. Not to mention that the machine simply feels good to use. Lenovo's peerless attention to detail in the design does not go unnoticed. From the classy clamshell design to the amazing keyboard, I love the way it looks and wouldn't be afraid to show it off in public.
This laptop has more than just looks, though. It's a fairly powerful machine capable of providing a smooth experience, whether you're watching movies, listening to music or playing casual games.
I also like that the Lenovo Y40 stays cool under pressure. Its fans run cool and don't get too hot to the touch, even while gaming. The speakers are out-of-this-world good, too. To put it in perspective, I've heard much worse standalone 2.1 systems than these gumdrop-sized speakers.
We disliked
Frankly, the Lenovo Y40 doesn't deserve the moniker of "high-performance gaming notebook." Packing dedicated AMD graphics should be a laptop's highlight, but dealing with the AMD driver system was a pesky drag.
The machine simply doesn't possess the "set it and forget it" luxury common in most gaming laptops. Each game will require constant adjustments and tweaks to its settings, all with the hope of squeezing out just a few extra frames per second.
Controlling the trackpad is more cumbersome than it should be, failing to match the quality of the amazing keyboard. Finally, the screen is too dim at any other level than maximum, which makes conserving battery life a challenge.
Final verdict
With understated features aplenty packed into its hood, the Lenovo Y40 impresses with its sleek design and premium build quality for the price. The Y40 might be the crowning victor among multimedia laptops, but Lenovo is pushing this as a gaming laptop, which simply won't do.
If you buy this laptop to play the latest games, you will be frustrated and disappointed with its poor performance. The Y40 is too pricey to fully recommend as a budget multimedia machine, and simply isn't punchy enough to be a sufficient mobile gaming rig.
In the rare case that your needs fall smack dab between multimedia and gaming, the Lenovo Y40 might serve you well. Otherwise, opt for a more focused machine.
