Lenovo Y70 Touch

 By: Unknown    01.15  No comments

The Bottom Line

Jan 19 2015 - The Lenovo Y70 Touch is unique in that it is the only really affordable 17-inch gaming laptop that also features a touchscreen display. The system is relatively thin and offers a good level of gaming performance for its display. There are a number of issues that hold it back though. For instance, it has limited battery life and fewer peripheral ports than many of its competitors. In addition, the storage performance is lacking compared to many that now feature SSD. The biggest problem though is that feature wise it does not offer enough to distinquigh itself for the smaller yet equally capable Y50 Touch.

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• Lenovo

Pros

• Colorful Touchscreen Display
• Good Gaming Performance
• Well Priced

Cons

• Below Average Battery Life
• Limited Number of Peripheral Ports
• Storage Performance Restricted by Lack of Full SSD

Description

• Intel Core i7-4710HQ Quad Core Mobile Processor
• 8GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Memory
• 1TB+8GB Solid State Hybrid Hard Drive
• 17.3" WUXGA (1920x1080) Multitouch Display with 720p Webcam
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 Memory
• Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wireless, Bluetooth
• Two USB 3.0, One USB 2.0, HDMI< 4-in-1 Card Reader
• 16.64" x 11.44" x 1.02" @ 7.5 lbs.
• Windows 8.1

Review - Lenovo Y70 Touch

Jan 19 2015 - Lenovo's Y70 Touch is essentially a larger version of the Y50 Touch that I looked at six months ago. It takes the same concept of a compact and lightweight design but still offering performance. The system is thicker at just over an inch compared to the 15-inch model but it is still very thin for a 17-inch laptop. Weight is also much higher at seven and a half pounds which is also heavier than some of the other 17-inch thin laptops but this uses a metal frame construction for a bit better rigidity. It certainly is thinner than most gaming laptops but it seems quite big compared to the 15-inch version when the primary difference between the two seems to be just the screen size.

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Powering the Lenovo Y70 Touch is the Intel Core i7-4710HQ quad core mobile processor. This is a strong performance processor that has no problem with PC gaming and provides plenty of performance for those also looking to do demanding tasks like desktop video work. The processor is matched up with 8GB of DDR3 memory which provides a smooth overall experience with Windows. It would be nice to see it come with 16GB for those that might do more than just gaming as many of its primary competitors are now including that much.
One big difference between the Lenovo Y70 Touch and most of the other laptops in this price segment is the storage setup. Those systems looking for performance are using a solid state drive often combined with a second traditional hard drive. More affordable systems are using traditional hard drives. Lenovo instead uses a solid state hybrid drive. This tries to combine a one terabyte hard drive with a smaller 8GB SSD cache to add performance. The result is generally better than a traditional hard drive especially when booting up Windows or using frequently accessed programs but it still falls well short of a system based on a true SSD drive. Another disappointment is in the number of external peripheral ports. Most 17-inch systems are featuring three or even four USB 3.0 ports for use with high speed external hard drives but this one has just two. To keep this slim on the system, it also has removed the optical drive which is not as critical these days but something for some to consider.
One big difference with the Lenovo Y70 Touch is the inclusion of a 17-inch touchscreen panel which is practically unheard of with a gaming system. This is a nice addition as it does differentiate themselves from others but it does mean a slightly high power draw. In terms of the picture, the panel with is 1920x1080 resolution fares better than most. Brightness and contrast are very good with wide viewing angles. Color is also very good. The only downside is that the glossy coating for the touchscreen makes it more susceptible to glare and reflections particularly outdoors. In terms of the graphics, it is uses the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics processor. This may not have the gaming performance of the newer GTX 900M series graphics but it can play most games at full detail levels at hte panel resolution with acceptable frame rates.
Lenovo is generally known for some good keyboards and the Y70 uses the exact same layout as the Y50 model. This is good in the sense that the isolated keyboard offers a very comfortable and generally accurate experience. The problem is that the extra space of the 17-inch laptop deck is not used to try and expand on the smaller space for the numeric keypad or the shift and control keys on the right hand side of the keyboard. It does feature the same red backlight for those that tend ot use it in low light conditions. The trackpad is also the same size as the Y50 but looks smaller from the larger palm rest area. It features integrated buttons and handles both single and multitouch gestures just fine. Of course, there is the touchscreen as well which can be beneficial with Windows 8.
One downside to the thinner profile and lower weight is the reduction in the size of the battery. Lenovo uses the same four cell 54Whr capacity internal pack for the Y70 Touch as it did for the Y50. In digital video playback tests, this resulted in roughly three and three quarter hours. Now, when you compare this against other gaming specific laptops, it does just fine. The problem is that this is a more utilitarian laptop. This is a good several hours behind the Dell Inspiron 17 7000 Touch with its larger battery but also slower and more energy efficient CPU.
List pricing for the entry level Lenovo Y70 Touch laptop is $1400 but often the system is available for around $1200. This makes it extremely affordable. The primary competitors for this compact gaming laptop are the <a href="http://compreviews.about.com/od/deskreplace/fl/Acer-Aspire-V17-Nitro-Black-Edition.htm>Acerpire V17 Nitro Black and the iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 P670SE. Both of these are fairly compact with the Acer being almost a pound lighter while the iBUYPOWER is a fifth of an inch thicker. The main difference comes down to performance though. The iBUYPOWER system features a faster GTX 970M graphics processor for better gaming. Both also come with dedicated solid state drives for better storage performance. What they both lack though is the touchscreen that the Y70 Touch has and for a more affordable price..