

Open the lid and you'll encounter a bit more excitement. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. (The 2-watt JBL speakers, which are paired with a 3-watt subwoofer, have no trouble pumping out good sound for gaming, music, or videos.) When the Y700 Touch is closed, the only flashes of color come from the raspberry speaker grilles located on either side of the hinge. Like the Ideapad Y700-17 ($799.00 at Lenovo) (Opens in a new window), its practically identical larger sibling (1.1 by 16.66 by 12 inches, 7.9 pounds), it has a shiny lid that sports isolated ridges on the left and right and a tight but faint crosshatch pattern that projects the image of armor without going too far the company's glossy logo, in the upper left, keeps the identification strictly low key. To start with, thin isn't really its thing although it's not overly bulky, measuring 1.02 by 15.23 by 10.9 inches (HWD) and weighing 6.4 pounds, it's also not especially compact. Its black paint job aside, the Y700 Touch doesn't actually look much like a traditional Lenovo laptop. And given its excellent battery life, you don't need to be chained to a power cable to reap the benefits. The 15-inch Ideapad Y700 Touch (starts at $729.99 $1,299 as tested) shows the company's proficiency in this area, and though it's saddled with an aging graphics card, it nonetheless succeeds as a solid, respectable midrange gaming laptop that delivers the basic goods with a handful of nonessential frills.

