Lenovo B50 Laptop Review: Pros Cons, Specs & More

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Lenovo B50 Laptop

Lenovo B50 Laptop

USD
9.1

Value for Money Score

9.3/10

Reliability Score

9.0/10

Performance Score

9.2/10

Specifications and Features Score

9.6/10

Design Score

8.5/10

Pros

  • In-Plane Switching (IPS) display
  • Awesome graphics
  • Speedy performance
  • Wonderful design
  • Perfect weight for portability

Cons

  • Wired keyboard and mouse
  • Some boaltware
  • Low battery
  • Not upgraded OS
  • Not available often

Verdict

From design to delivering performance, Lenovo B50 laptop gives you a good return on your investment. Its simple and uncluttered look easily picks up attention.

Lenovo has given it business-like elegance and seriousness that resemble the design of its popular ThinkPad series. The device is neither heavy nor very strong. However, it has enough strength to last for good many years.

Lenovo B50 Laptop & Variants Price

Introduction

Lenovo B50 is designed to give the best values for the buyers’ money. Though you have plenty of options for your requirements and affordability, only a few of those can justify your investment.

An array of salient and striking features makes the Lenovo B50 laptop a great delight for the users.

The system integrates 4th generation Intel i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB of Hard Drive, HD display and DVD drive.

All these features make it a stand-out piece at an unbelievably affordable price point.

If you are looking for a budget-friendly laptop for your daily works, this Lenovo B50 system will be a solid selection to fit your bill.

Lenovo B50 Laptop

Buy For: You can get a battery backup of up to 5 hours with this device. You will get an optical drive, which is very rarely found in the laptops of this generation.

Beware of: This product is very backdated. And the specifications of this laptop are not so strong. For casual uses it is good, but high-end users and those who want very fast processing from their system can avoid this deal.

Best uses for: daily home and office computing, basic gaming, entertainment.

The alternatives:

Specs:

  • Brand: Lenovo
  • Hard Drive: 500 GB
  • Hard Drive Type: Hybrid HDD with integrated SDD cache
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • RAM Type: DDR3
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-4030U
  • Processor Speed: 1.9 GHz
  • Graphics: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400
  • Battery: 5 hours
  • Screen Size: 15.6 in
  • Processor Brand: Intel
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.7 x 3.1 inches
  • Weight: 5.95 lbs
  • Operating System: Windows 7

Reliability

Lenovo is a brand to bond with! With every passing day, its reputation is touching a new height.

Lenovo is committed to making an optimum use of the latest technology to innovate new systems packed with more features.

The brand never fails to make sure that whatever coming out of their stable appeals to eyes and delivers decent amount of performance.

Though designed for daily work management, the laptop is a good fit for other purposes from gaming to entertainment. Its overall performance is quite satisfactory.

Given the components tossed under the lid, it is less likely to be the best deal as many notebooks are offering better spec charts and performance at lower prices.

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However, Lenovo B50 comes with Windows 7 OS and the feature makes it great especially if you consider its low price point.

Inclusion of some professional features has sweetened the deal and made it a perfect piece for use at workplaces.

Performance – Processing Power

The laptop gets it support from 4th generation Intel i3 processor. Yes, the most modern laptops come packed with more powerful processor but you must remember that this Lenovo version is engineered to serve your daily computing needs.

To make more space for saving documents, images, photos, videos, music and movies, Lenovo has installed a 500 GB HDD under the hood. Its spec chart includes a 4 GB DDR3 RAM.

The powerful primary memory in conjunction with Intel processor ensures quick boot, smooth running and reliable performance.

With Lenovo B50, you can enjoy standard display at 1366×768 pixel resolution. It is not touch sensitive and lacks wide viewing angles.

Lenovo B50 Laptop Display

The laptop screen has matte anti-glare finish and that is a welcome and rare feature.

The maker has packed the right kind of accessories with the laptop, such as a full-size keyboard and built-in DVD writer. In a nutshell, Lenovo B50 is a laptop made for both home as well as business users.

Driven by 4th generation Intel i3 processor, Lenovo B50 is an amazing performer to fulfill your daily needs both at home and office as well. This laptop is not meant for high-end professional apps and works.

Therefore, if your needs are limited to daily computing works, it will be a good fit for your purpose.

The laptop is not a slow runner. It never fails to deliver smooth performance with high consistency. The Intel processor and 4 GB DDR3 RAM make a good combination.

It facilitates multitasking. Even if multiple tabs are open, the system will continue delivering solid performance with effortless ease.

It allows you to run MS Office apps, browse web and do multimedia works without any hitch.

Benchmarks

CPU

1. According to Geekbench 5, a very popular benchmarking scale, the Intel Core i3-4030U’s single-core score is 419. And its multi-core score is 944.

The single-core score of this processor is better than Intel Core i5-4210Y’s score (416) and Intel Core i5-4300Y’s single-core score (466) is better than our Intel Core i3-4030U’s single-core score.

All of these processors are dual-core processors. In multi-core score, our Intel Core i3-4030U processor also beats Intel Core i5-4210Y (826). And it also beats Intel Core i5-4300Y’s multi-core score (719).

So if we compare these three processors, then we can conclude that our Intel Core i3-4030U processor is the most powerful. But considering the workloads of this generation, we can say none of them is the perfect fit; even these are backdated and none of them are capable of offering very fast processing.

2. Another popular benchmarking site is the CPU benchmark. According to this website, this Intel Core i3-4030U processor’s overall rank is 2220 and the ‘Average CPU Mark’ of this chip is 1869. The single thread rating of this processor is 1546.

3. On UserBenchmark, the ‘Average Bench’ of the Intel Core i3-4030U, is 48.4% and it has taken 835th place out of 1357 processors.

GPU

1. Videocard Benchmarks reports that the average G3D Mark of the Intel HD 4400 is 522. The ‘Average G2D Mark’ of this integrated GPU is 282. And its overall rank is 1274.

This is a very backdated integrated graphics card and it is not able to cope with the high graphical contents of this generation. As a result, it has taken the lowest position of all the performance-related charts on this website.

2. Based on the results of Userbenchmark, the Intel HD 4400 has an average bench score of 2.4%, and it has ranked 482nd out of 682 GPUs.

3. Using 3DMark, this GPU ranked 200, and the 3DMark Time Spy Graphics Score of this Intel HD 4400 is 152.

Design – Simplicity, Portability & Durability

Lenovo B50 laptop sports a simple design. Sans unnecessary bells and whistles, it sports a utilitarian look. In fact, like other models of Lenovo ThinkPad series, it offers business-class seriousness in design.

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Lenovo B50 Laptop Exterior View

The chassis is crafted of matte black plastics. With thickness of 1.1” and weight of 5.1 pounds, the laptop cum notebook offers decent amount of portability despite featuring a 15.6-inch display area.

It is usual for the users to have extra concern about durability of the product. The lightweight and low-priced laptop offers amazing durability despite having a plastic-made chassis.

It feels pretty strong. Your investment will pay off dividends for many years; that’s what Lenovo claims and we agree to.

Display – Neat & Nice

The laptop is fitted with a big 15.6-inch screen. With standard resolution set at 1366×768 pixels, the laptop offers clean and crispy display with a decent amount of detailing.

However, the laptop is not touch-enabled and that may sound a little bit awkward if compared to the industry standard.

But anti-glare finish feels like a welcome feature – it’s rare as well – and ensures that the images will not look hazy in broad daylight or whenever there is plenty of light around.

Wide viewing angles, which are a part of the IPS-powered panels, are missing and that is a drawback without any doubt. You are having the power to do all your work in details.

In fact this will be helping you in making your work much more impressive and perfect. But different people will be having variety in their thinking as 15.6 is not a big one to professional works.

Graphics Power

The device is not designed for multimedia works. That is why, the maker has not thrown any graphics processor to speed up image processing.

The processor is powerful enough to handle low to mid-level apps. It is also not an excellent fit for high-end games. Check out Lenovo B50 manual.

However, we must admit that whether you run low-to-mid range apps or play less memory-hungry games, it will produce a viewing experience full of delights.

Storage Parts

Lenovo B50 comes with a good amount of storage space. We are talking about its secondary memory used to save office documents, personal data, photos, movies, songs, YouTube videos and many more.

A HDD with a strong capacity of 500GB has been planted under the hood. It is, no doubt, a standard capacity.

That much of storage space facilitates multitasking without any glitch. Go on saving files (both words and images) and still, you will find may bytes unoccupied.

Power Consumption

With rising utility bill, being energy-efficient is a great feature of any system. This Lenovo laptop is not excessively power hungry. Once charged/recharged, it runs for five hours at a stretch.

Battery performance is not great but that much time is enough to do some important works if power suddenly goes off.

If you are travelling, it will give you support but then you may have to make haste to compete the most important works, as the battery will run out of its power in just 300 minutes.

This is not a credible point for this Lenovo piece in fact it is seen in it predecessors and its future generations that much better battery life is obtained. So it is necessary to go for a power bank as it is necessary.

Additional Specs

Let’s now turn our attention to some important accessories. First, we will talk about the keyboard. We have run a series of tests on the device to assess its performance. It offered us a nice typing feel.

The full-size keyboard has large keys with the right amount of space between them. The feature ensures a speedy and comfortable typing experience for the users.

Lenovo B50 Laptop Keyboard

The device is fitted with a built-in DVD writer. The most striking feature on the list of additional specs comes in form of twin stereo speakers that are mated with Dolby Advanced Audio v2 technology.

Lenovo B50 Laptop Speaker

In addition, it also comes with dual monitor connections via VGA and HDMI video outputs, a 720p HD webcam, a media card reader, three USB 3.0 connectors, Wi-Fi wireless, Bluetooth and Ethernet LAN.

Lenovo B50 Laptop Ports

To sum it up, it packs more than bare necessities to help you manage your daily chores.

What Do Other Experts and Users Think?

Lenovo has already made it clear in no uncertain term and tone that B50 is not built for everyone. The laptop is made only for those in search of a pocket-friendly laptop to do their daily works (not high-end works).

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From PCMAG personal interaction with many Lenovo B50 users, we can tell that they are appreciating both design and performance of this low-priced device.

The model being lightweight can be carried with convenience and the frequent travellers have liked this feature. One can easily sling the bag (laptop is within) on the back and travel easily.

If it comes to design, the buyers like the neat and nice look. The laptop features smart finishing and stylish look resembling the professional-type seriousness that is common to every version in Lenovo’s ThinkPad series.

The laptop is versatile, which means it is capable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously.

Multitasking laptop is the latest standard in the industry, as the users like the feature very much. The 4th generation Intel i3 processor is enough for doing low to mid-level works with ease.

Integration of huge RAM, standard HDD and fitting accessories has made Lenovo B50 a strong performer for daily works and that is what the users like most about it.

According to them, its performance is great, display is neat and storage space is massive.

Our Testing & Analysis Report

The single core performance of the processor of the Lenovo B50 laptop was found to be 419 on testing, while its multi-core score was found to be 944. With an average CPU Mark of 2220, the average bench score of this CPU was found to be 48.4%.

Our testing and analysis team also tested the graphics performance of the laptop and found that it was also not exceptionally good.

According to the Video Card Benchmarks reports, its G3D Mark is 522 and G2D Mark is 282. On Userbenchmark, its average bench score is 2.4% and on the 3DMark Time Spy Graphics test its score is 152.

All these are pretty low scores, indicating basic to moderate performance, within their respective limitations.

The display of the system was quite good and fared quite well in our color accuracy test. It displayed pretty bright and vivid images and the anti-glare property made the images visible clearly in almost all settings.

We typed a few documents on Word and found that the keyboard is quite satisfactory to type on.

Though a little bit extra actuation force was required, overall, we felt that it offered a reasonably good typing experience with a decent key travel. The touchpad allowed smooth and comfortable navigation.

As for the battery, in our rundown test it lasted for about 5 hours while using it for surfing the internet, watching a few videos on loop, and doing some basic computing tabs with a number of tabs open.

Questions & Answers:

Does the Lenovo B50 have a touch screen?

No, this elementary device doesn’t possess a touch screen.

Is it possible to upgrade Lenovo B50’s hard drive with an SSD?

Yes, it can be replaced with a 2.5 SSD drive

Does the Lenovo B50 have a DVD player?

Yes, in this device you can get an inbuilt optical drive.

Does this Lenovo B50 have an HDMI slot?

Yes, in this device, there is an HDMI slot.

Should you buy the Lenovo B50?

If you need a very basic level laptop and if your budget is very tight then you can consider this device. It is not a good choice for everyone. Its specifications are very backdated and it is not capable of fast processing.

Its GPU section is also week. Considering these aspects we can conclude that it is not a very good choice for this generation.

About Puja Chatterjee

AvatarPuja Chatterjee, a distinguished technical writer, boasts an extensive and nuanced understanding of computer technology. She is an esteemed graduate of the Bengal Institute of Management Studies (BIMS), where she honed her skills and knowledge in the tech domain. Over the span of more than 12 years, Puja has developed a deep expertise that encompasses not only technology writing, where she articulates complex technical concepts with clarity and precision, but also in the realm of client relationship management. Her experience in this area is characterized by her ability to effectively communicate and engage with clients, ensuring their needs are met with the highest level of professionalism and understanding of their technical requirements. Puja's career is marked by a commitment to excellence in both written communication within the tech industry and fostering strong, productive relationships with clients.

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Puja Chatterjee
Puja Chatterjee, a distinguished technical writer, boasts an extensive and nuanced understanding of computer technology. She is an esteemed graduate of the Bengal Institute of Management Studies (BIMS), where she honed her skills and knowledge in the tech domain. Over the span of more than 12 years, Puja has developed a deep expertise that encompasses not only technology writing, where she articulates complex technical concepts with clarity and precision, but also in the realm of client relationship management. Her experience in this area is characterized by her ability to effectively communicate and engage with clients, ensuring their needs are met with the highest level of professionalism and understanding of their technical requirements. Puja's career is marked by a commitment to excellence in both written communication within the tech industry and fostering strong, productive relationships with clients.
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