Review: LG gram 17 (2020) is still the biggest, boldest Ultrabook around
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
While Ultrabooks are the most popular laptop designs, the market for 17-inch laptops is an increasingly niche one. Indeed, if you want a 17-inch Ultrabook, there is only one choice on the market with LG’s gram 17. Luckily, it’s also an excellent laptop, too, with few compromises. Packing a 16:10 17-inch display in effectively a 15-inch notebook that weighs just 2.95lbs (1.35kg) is an impressive feat.
In 2019, I called the gram 17 one of my favorite laptops, period. For 2020, LG is back, and while this unique beauty remains mostly the same, the minor changes bring nothing but improvements too. Here’s why if you like big screens the gram 17 is still an outstanding choice.
Huge but not heavy
LG gram 17 (2020)
Bottom line: Not much has changed for the 2020 LG gram 17. It’s still the largest (and also one of the lightest) laptops on the planet with Ultrabook specs and performance. This year, though, LG has added 10th Gen Intel, Iris Plus graphics, and two fast SSDs to make it that much better. All-day battery life helps too.
Pros:
- Excellent 16:10 “2K” display
- Superlight
- Good port selection
- Outstanding battery life
- Improved SSD and graphics
Cons:
- Wasted space on the keyboard deck
- No discrete NVIDIA GPU
No jibber jabbing
LG gram 17 2020 – What’s new
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
- DDR4-3200 (up from 2400)
- Wi-Fi 6
- NVMe PCIe SSD (up from SATA)
- 1TB storage (up from 512GB)
- 10th Gen Intel (vs. 8th Gen)
- Iris Plus graphics instead of UHD 620
- 80WHr battery (up from 72WHr)
- 2.98lbs (1.35 kg) vs. 2.95 lbs (1.34 kg)
I’d file these under expected upgrades for any laptop in 2020, but some of them go much further than others like that storage upgrade. LG, for some reason, used slow SATA storage in last year’s model. For 2020, the company not only switched to PCIe NVMe, but it went with arguably one of the best and fastest options with Samsung PM981.
Faster RAM, Wi-Fi 6, and even a slightly larger battery all add up to an overall more performant system, and it shows in benchmarks.
Faster, newer
LG gram 17 specs and features
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Category | XX |
---|---|
Processor | 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 (up to 3.9GHz) |
RAM | 16GB DDR4 3200MHz One 8GB (On Board) One 8GB (User upgradable) |
Storage | 1TB (2x 512GB) PCIe NVMe |
Display | 17-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 aspect Glossy, non-touch |
Graphics | Intel Iris Plus |
Ports | Three USB-A 3.1 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 HDMI 1.4 microSD card reader 3.5mm audio jack |
Audio | Dual 1.5W speakers DTS X:Ultra |
Wireless | Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 2×2 Bluetooth 5.0 |
Camera | Front-facing 720p |
Keyboard | Backlit with number pad |
Touchpad | Precision |
Biometrics | Fingerprint reader for Windows Hello |
Battery | Four-cell 80WHr |
Weight | 2.98lbs (1.35 kg) |
Dimensions | 15.0 in x 10.3 in x 0.7 in (381 mm x 267 mm x 17.8 mm) |
Chassis | Magnesium Alloy MIL-STD 810G |
OS | Windows 10 Home |
Full HDMI 1.4 is always lovely to have a laptop this size for plugging to external monitors or TV and LG tosses in an RJ45 Ethernet adapter in the box too for even more connectivity.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Near-2K and sharp
LG gram 17 a near perfect display
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
LG gram 17 is still the largest (and also one of the lightest) laptops on the planet with few challengers.
Screen brightness is up slightly to 410 nits this year versus just nearing 400 nits last time. Color accuracy is also just a hair better with 99 percent sRGB, 75 percent AdobeRGB, and a respectable 78 percent DCI-P3.
The display is still slightly glossy, and there is no touch. While touch would have been fun, the added weight and cost would have lessened the impact of the gram 17 being so light. Because it’s not a touch screen and lighter, opening the lid with one-hand is a breeze.
The bezel is thin and proportional with a matte finish. LG, though, is missing on the trend of doing edge-to-edge glass found in more premium designs.
The top-mounted web camera is also quite decent, excelling at video calls (but just being OK for photos).
Excellent typing and mousing
LG gram 17 keyboard, trackpad, and audio
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
As I noted last year, there is nothing remarkable looking about the keyboard designs of LG, and yet they work very well. I find myself typing very fast with few mistakes on this laptop, which is hugely satisfying. Part of that may be due to the ample space for my hands, but it’s also a testament to LG that they can make a great keyboard despite the fierce competition.
Where things are still disappointing are the speakers. LG puts just two of them on the bottom edge. Because the gram 17 is so large, those speakers easily clear your legs when using it in your lap. LG also includes DTS:X Ultra software to handle virtualization. It seems obvious though that LG could put those two speakers on the top deck, or even have a quad-array instead of just two on a laptop this size.
Source: Windows Central
This is still an Ultrabook
LG gram 17 power and performance
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Thanks to fast RAM and a dramatic increase in storage drive performance (500 MB/s to almost 3,500 MB/s is a massive jump), the gram 17 handles productivity and even light media editing functions with ease.
CPU
Geekbench 5.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
LG gram 17 (2020) | i7-1065G7 | 1,208 | 3,349 |
LG gram 17 (2019) | i7-8565U | 1,130 | 3,023 |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | i7-1065G7 | 1,202 | 3,600 |
Surface Pro 7 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,205 | 4,852 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | Core i5-1035G7 | 1,177 | 4,413 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Ryzen 5 | 769 | 2,720 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,209 | 3,571 |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | Core i9-9980HK | 1,176 | 7,624 |
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1 | i7-8565U | 1,111 | 2,965 |
CPU
Geekbench 4.0 benchmarks (higher is better)
Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
LG gram 17 (2020) | i7-1065G7 | 5,523 | 15,061 |
LG gram 17 (2019) | i7-8565U | 5,161 | 13,370 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Ryzen-5 | 3,985 | 12,079 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | i7-1065G7 | 5,727 | 19,593 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | i5-1035G7 | 5,265 | 17,345 |
Surface Laptop 2 | i5-8250U | 4,203 | 13,233 |
LG gram 15 (2018) | i7-8550U | 5,033 | 12,906 |
Samsung Notebook 9 Pro 15 | i7-7500U | 4,431 | 8,669 |
Huawei MateBook 13 | i7-8565U | 5,336 | 17,062 |
Huawei MateBook X Pro | i7-8550U | 4,706 | 14,342 |
PCMark
PCMark 10 Express
Device | Score |
---|---|
LG gram 17 | 4,157 |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | 4,415 |
Surface Pro 7 (i5) | 3,992 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 (AMD) | 4,006 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (7390) | 4,427 |
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1 | 3,764 |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | 5,521 |
Dell Precision 3541 | 3,906 |
The PCMark 10 Express test measures how well a laptop handles several everyday tasks. The LG gram 17 does OK but is nothing exceptional.
Cinebench
Cinebench (R20) (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Range |
---|---|---|
LG gram 17 | i7-1065G7 | 1,079 to 1,199 |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,361 to 1,400 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Xeon E-2276M | 2,686 to 2,701 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | Core i5-1035G4 | 1,584 to 1,606 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,703 to 1,745 |
Repeatedly running Cinebench R20 can determine how well a laptop stands up to sustained load.
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)
Device | Read | Write |
---|---|---|
LG gram 17 (2020) | 3,477 MB/s | 2,900 MB/s |
LG gram 17 (2019) | 536 MB/s | 500 MB/s |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | 2,028 MB/s | 806 MB/s |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | 2,338 MB/s | 1,583 MB/s |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | 1,641 MB/s | 1,025 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | 3,416 MB/s | 3,016 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | 3,567.23 MB/s | 2,813.25 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad P52 | 3,120 MB/s | 1,551.5 MB/s |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | 3,000 MB/s | 2,796 MB/s |
MSI PS63 Modern | 3,300 MB/s | 1,875 MB/s |
.
Battery life is very good though thanks to the slightly larger 80WHr battery. Achieving ten hours in real-world usage is realistic, though if you’re pushing graphics and the CPU eight hours is more likely.
Finally, for charging you can use the Type-C port, but LG includes a 65-watt barrel charger in the box. While there is no rapid-charging like other laptops it gets a decent charge rate in about an hour.
You need big, get this
LG gram 17 is still a unique and awesome laptop
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
I’m personally a fan of the gram 17 as I love using it as my “big” option on trips when I need more screen and power than the Surface Pro X. That makes it easy to recommend as I use this laptop a lot. There’s just nothing else like it on the market. It’s so light it feels like a dummy unit, and yet it is MIL-STD-810G rated for durability.
LG is still king of the 17-inch Ultrabooks.
LG could make the gram 17 even better by improving some minor things. Edge-to-edge glass for the display would look more premium than a matte bezel (and an anti-reflection coating wouldn’t hurt). Two more speakers could make this a real multi-media machine. And while not everyone would need a more powerful discrete GPU LG could at least offer one as a higher-priced model for those who do. MSI has had luck combining a U-series processor with a real NVIDIA graphics card – why can’t LG? Video pros would love such an option (and even some casual gamers).
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
But if you like the phrase “go big or go home” then the gram 17 is your best choice right now. Last year I said I was fascinated with gram 17, and that is still true in 2020.
Super large, super light
LG gram 17
There’s nothing quite like the LG gram 17
LG took its 13-inch gram and blew it up to a 17-inch laptop, but at less than three pounds, this giant is as light as a feather. The incredible battery life, excellent ports, and standard Core i7 processor make it perfect for productivity, but not great for heavy-lifting due to the lack of a discrete GPU.
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