Comparison Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IAU7 [3 15IAU7 82RK00S0RA] vs Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15IAU7 [1 15IAU7 82QD0097RA]

The maximum brightness that a laptop screen can provide.

The brighter the ambient light, the brighter the laptop screen should be, otherwise the image on it may be difficult to read. And vice versa: in dim ambient light, high brightness is unnecessary — it greatly burdens the eyes (however, in this case, modern laptops provide brightness control). Thus, the higher this indicator, the more versatile the screen is, the wider the range of conditions in which it can be effectively used. The downside of these benefits is an increase in price and energy consumption.

As for specific values, many modern laptops have a brightness of 250 – 300 nt and even lower. This is quite enough for working under artificial lighting of medium intensity, but in bright natural light, visibility may already be a problem. For use in sunny weather (especially outdoors), it is desirable to have a brightness margin of at least 300 – 350 nt. And in the most advanced models, this parameter can be 350 – 400 nt and even more.

The contrast of the screen installed in the laptop.

Contrast is the largest difference in brightness between the lightest white and darkest black that can be achieved on a single screen. It is written as a fraction, for example, 560:1; while the larger the first number, the higher the contrast, the more advanced the screen is and the better the image quality can be achieved on it. This is especially noticeable with large differences in brightness within a single frame: with low contrast, individual details located in the darkest or brightest parts of the picture may be lost, increasing the contrast allows you to eliminate this phenomenon to a certain extent. The flip side of these benefits is an increase in cost.

Separately, we emphasize that in this case only static contrast is indicated — the difference provided within one frame in normal operation, at constant brightness and without the use of special technologies. For advertising purposes, some manufacturers may also provide data on the so-called dynamic contrast — it can be measured in very impressive numbers (seven-digit or more). However, you should focus primarily on static contrast — this is the basic characteristic of any display.

As for specific values, even in the most advanced screens, this indicator does not exceed 2000: 1. But in general, modern laptops have a rather low contrast ratio — it is assumed that for tasks that require more advanced image characteristics, it is more...reasonable to use an external screen (monitor or TV).

The result shown by the laptop processor in the Passmark CPU Mark test.

Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that is more detailed and reliable than the popular 3DMark06 (see above). It checks not only the gaming capabilities of the CPU, but also its performance in other modes, based on which it displays the overall score; this score can be used to fairly reliably evaluate the processor as a whole (the more points, the higher the performance).

The presence in the laptop of at least one USB-C connector with support for Alternate Mode.

In accordance with the name, Alternate Mode is an alternative mode of operation of the Type C connector, when not USB, but other connection interfaces are implemented through it. The specific set of such interfaces may be different, it should be specified for each model separately. The most typical example is Thunderbolt v3 (see above), such a connection, by definition, works through a USB-C hardware connector. The Thunderbolt specification also includes DisplayPort support, but this video output can be implemented via USB-C and independently, without Thunderbolt functionality. Also, the list of the most popular Alternate Mode options includes HDMI — both in its classic form and in the "mobile" version of MHL (the latter, however, is more typical for smartphones and other handheld equipment than for laptops).

The maximum number of monitors that can be connected to a laptop at the same time and shared.

Simultaneous connection of several screens allows you to expand the visual space available to the user. For example, it can be useful for designers and layout designers when working with large-format materials, for programmers to separate tasks (one monitor for writing code, the second for searching for the necessary information and other auxiliary purposes), and for gamers-enthusiasts — to ensure the maximum immersion effect.

The capacity of the complete laptop battery in watt-hours.

Higher capacity allows the laptop to work longer on a charge, all other things being equal. However, keep in mind that the actual battery life will depend not only on the characteristics of the battery, but also on the power consumption of the laptop itself — and it is determined by both hardware characteristics and installed software. Therefore, only models with similar characteristics can be compared with each other according to this indicator. And if you need a “long-playing” laptop, you should choose it not by battery capacity, but by directly stated operating time.

As for watt hours, this is a less popular unit of capacity than milliamp hours, but more physically correct: it accurately describes the amount of energy stored by a battery. Thanks to this, in terms of capacity in Wh, it is possible to compare batteries with different nominal voltages (whereas this is not allowed for mAh — additional calculations must be carried out using special formulas). At the same time, Wh can be easily converted to mAh if the battery voltage is known: for this, the capacity in Wh must be divided by the voltage and multiplied by 1000.