Lenovo debuts sub-$1,000 IdeaPad L340 Gaming line for low-glow gamers

Lenovo finally launches its own everyday-gamer laptop line with the IdeaPad L340 Gaming, a variant of its budget thinnish-and-lightish 300 series with discrete graphics. It joins Acer Nitro, Dell G series, HP Pavilion Gaming, Asus X series and more in the ever-lengthening line of companies to expand beyond their traditional gaming lines.

In this case, it means a slim black slab with blue accents and illumination, in 15- or 17-inch models, starting at $870 and $920, respectively. 

Inside you'll find up to a Core i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1650 and a 16GB Intel Optane option, among other things.

IdeaPad L340 Gaming Specifications

	15 inch (15IRH)	17 inch (17IRH)
Screen	15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 45% NTSC (39% sRGB) in IPS 250 nits or TN 220 nits	17.3-inch 1,920 x 1,080 IPS 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) 300 nits or 60% NTSC (52% sRGB) TN 220 nits
Processor	Up to Core i7-9750H	Up to Core i7-9750H
Graphics Processor	GeForce GTX 1650	GeForce GTX 1650
Memory	Up to 16GB DDR4	Up to 16GB DDR4
Storage	Up to 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD, 16GB Optane	Up to 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD, 16GB Optane
Networking	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) 1x1 or 2x2, Bluetooth 4.2	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) 1x1 or 2x2, Bluetooth 4.2
Connections	2 x USB-A 3.1 (5Gbps), 1 x USB-C 3.1 (5Gbps), 1 x HDMI 2.0, Ethernet, combo audio	2 x USB-A 3.1 (5Gbps), 1 x USB-C 3.1 (5Gbps), 1 x HDMI 2.0, Ethernet, combo audio
Size	14.3 x 10.0 x 0.9 in / 363 x 255 x 24 mm	16.3 x 11.2 x 1.0 in / 413 x 285 x 25 mm
Weight	4.8 lbs/2.2kg	5.5 lbs/2.5kg
Starting price	$869.99	$919.99
Availability	May 2019	May 2019

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How did Lenovo manage to price the L340 Gaming so low with that hexacore i7? By using the ultra-blech narrow-gamut (39% sRGB), dim, TN-technology displays like the one we disliked in the Legion Y530. The 17-inch model's base option has a slightly bigger gamut, but probably not enough to make a difference and it's still dim.

They will also offer an easy way to switch between "Quick" and "Quiet" modes, which is likely a manual discrete vs. internal GPU setting to control Nvidia's Optimus technology.

The company has also taken the opportunity to refresh its Legion Y-series gaming laptops with options for the new Core i5 and i7 and Nvidia graphics.

In addition to the ninth-gen and latest Nvidia bumps, it also gets better display choices, because as I mentioned earlier, the Y530's display was really not good.

Legion Y540 quick specs

	15-inch	17-inch
Display	1,920 x 1080 IPS at 144Hz, 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) 300 nits, 60Hz 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) 300 nits, 60Hz 45% NTSC (39% sRGB) 250 nits	1,920 x 1080 IPS 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) 300 nits 144Hz or 60Hz
Processor	Core i7-9750H or i5-9300H	Core i7-9750H or i5-9300H
Graphics processor	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB, 1650, 1660 Ti, RTX 2060	GeForce GTX 1650, 1660 Ti, RTX 2060
Starting price	$1,209.99	$1,269.99
Availability	late June	late June

The Legion Y740 also updates with an i7-9750H, but the 15-inch model gets a display-option update: a 1,920x1,080 144Hz IPS display with 100% sRGB color, G-sync and 500-nit brightness.

Finally, the Legion Y7000, Lenovo's basic gaming laptop, looks like the 15-inch will get the same processor and display options as the Y540 15, and the same GPU choices with the exception of the GTX 1050. The Y7000p is the Optane-optional model with some other slight configuration differences.