The way in which LG has been treating its Gram line not too long ago takes the phrase “growth” to a brand new stage. On one finish of the spectrum, we now have the LG Gram Type, an ultrathin and ultralight product that places portability above all else. On the opposite, we now have the LG Gram Professional, which is extra targeted on energy and efficiency than LG has provided in an excellent whereas.
The 17-inch 3.2-pound $1,799.99-and-up (retail, although typically discounted) Gram Professional doesn’t essentially look or really feel a lot totally different than the common LG Gram 17 that I’ve reviewed roughly 7,000 occasions. It’s barely (barely) heavier than final 12 months’s 2.98-pound mannequin, nevertheless it provides the identical black and unobtrusive chassis, the identical clicky keyboard with a numpad, and the identical huge touchpad. The large distinction is that the LG Gram Professional comes with a discrete Nvidia GPU — in our take a look at mannequin, a last-generation RTX 3050.
Does this make the Gram Professional a gaming laptop computer? Completely the heck not. Nonetheless, it provides (in change for a number of the battery life and effectivity advantages that you’d normally anticipate from the Gram line) probably the most uncooked graphic energy that you will discover in a laptop computer of this measurement and weight.
How huge is the marketplace for one thing like that? Truthfully, I don’t know. The pitch for the common Gram 17 (or for one thing just like the Type) tends to be: “It lasts perpetually and weighs nothing, so you possibly can convey it all over the place you go.” The pitch for the Gram Professional is, as a substitute: “That, however with a discrete GPU, so you possibly can nonetheless convey it locations however not for fairly as lengthy.” I’m completely happy that LG has made one thing like this to point out off what may be carried out, however I’m extra enthusiastic about it as an idea than as one thing I feel it is best to exit and purchase.
(Fast apart: this laptop computer, so far as I’ve been capable of finding, is definitely simply known as the LG Gram 17 in all of its on-line listings. LG’s advertising group, nevertheless, has persistently referred to the machine because the “LG Gram Professional,” presumably to assist differentiate it from 17-inch fashions that lack an RTX GPU. I’m calling it the Gram Professional right here, however its exterior is functionally an identical to that of the common Gram 17.)
Efficiency
It’s a bit tough to contextualize any numbers we’d get out of the Gram Professional as a result of it doesn’t have a ton of competitors. There are only a few non-gaming 17-inchers on the market with discrete GPUs and none which are this gentle; we are able to look to fashions just like the Dell XPS 17 and the MacBook Air 16, however they’re much additional into the workstation class and in a distinct league on worth. A comparable XPS 17 can be a number of hundred bucks greater than this $2,299 take a look at unit; a MacBook Professional 16 specced equally can be effectively over $3,000.
Given how absurdly gentle the Gram Professional is (3.02 kilos is lighter than virtually all RTX units on the market of any measurement — not to mention 17-inch friends), my bar for giving its efficiency a passing grade is, in very scientific phrases: is it not a potato?
People, it’s not a potato. It’s not a standout graphic performer (particularly in comparison with the 16-inch MacBook Professional or, like, a gaming laptop computer), nevertheless it has some chops. Listed here are the outcomes I noticed. My take a look at unit (at present discounted to $2,099; Greatest Purchase has RTX fashions marked right down to as little as $1,599.99) has a Core i7-1360P, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage along with the RTX 3050 with 4GB of VRAM.
There’s a transparent delta in graphic efficiency between this and the Dell XPS 17 with an RTX 3060 that I beforehand reviewed. That system was shut to 2 minutes sooner on our export take a look at (and Premiere Professional, as a program, has gotten sooner at doing it since we examined the XPS) and managed a 70 p.c greater 75fps on Tomb Raider. That’s not even to speak of the 16-inch MacBook Professional with M2 Max, which is even additional forward on the graphics entrance. Once more, these aren’t strictly comparable merchandise — that is all simply as an instance how rather more energy is accessible from going a step up on Nvidia’s ladder.
There are a pair different issues to know right here. First, that is one thing you might not wish to use in your lap on a regular basis; the underside was toasty as I used to be going about my common (15 to 20ish tabs) Chrome workload on energy. Followers have been persistently audible throughout this time as effectively, although you possibly can bump them right down to low mode in LG’s Sensible Assistant software program to mitigate this.
Lastly, on the battery life, I averaged simply over eight hours. Now, in right now’s Intel panorama, that is truly a terrific rating. I’m so accustomed to testing big machines that die after lower than half a day that this lifespan felt like a luxurious. I bought this identical consequence from the smaller OLED LG Gram Type, and I praised it as a win.
However, the Gram Professional has each a a lot bigger battery and a a lot lower-resolution display screen than its 16-inch sibling. Battery life has been the LG Gram 17’s factor for the previous few years, and I persistently noticed over 12 hours out of final 12 months’s non-Professional mannequin. These are simply illustrations of how a lot effectivity the Gram Professional provides up in favor of a power-hungry RTX GPU.
The chassis
Should you’re accustomed to the LG Gram 17 line, you possibly can skim this part as a result of quite a bit is similar. For others, right here are some things to name out:
- Weight. If it hasn’t been apparent all through this assessment, the three.2-pound weight is the important thing to this machine. The Gram Professional is just not fairly the lightest 17-inch laptop computer you should purchase, nevertheless it’s actually shut (and something lighter is prone to be one other LG Gram). Having the ability to pack this as my private laptop in my backpack for the previous few weeks has been an actual deal with. It nonetheless takes up a good quantity of area, being a 17-incher and all, however carrying it does really feel such as you’re carrying nothing.
- Show. If there’s one other standout side of the LG Gram Professional, it’s the 2560 x 1600 (16:10) panel. It’s not an OLED such as you’ll discover on the Gram Type, nevertheless it has one other function that the Type and different Grams lack: variable refresh price. The display screen helps as much as 144Hz, and if you happen to flip VRR on, it’ll leap between 72Hz and 144Hz relying on the applying you’re utilizing. Such a excessive refresh price is probably a little bit of an oddity on this non-gaming machine, nevertheless it’s there for of us however. I personally most popular to remain on 144Hz as typically as attainable only for that candy, candy scroll. (Don’t fear: I didn’t do that throughout my battery runs.)
- Ports. You get two Thunderbolt, one audio jack, one HDMI, two USB 3.2 Sort-A, one microSD, and one safety lock. Exterior shows as much as 5K are supported, as are Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. No complaints. The facility brick can also be fairly compact and is a bit shorter than you may anticipate from this class as a consequence. Some reviewers have run into huge issues with this, although it was by no means a difficulty for me.
- Construct. This was the principle criticism I had about final 12 months’s LG Gram 17, and it stays right here. The chassis simply has a little bit of a plasticky really feel, which I don’t like to see when a laptop computer prices $2,000. There may be nonetheless important flex within the keyboard and display screen, and the bezels across the display screen are obvious. My take a look at unit’s keyboard, touchpad, and lid accrued fingerprints very simply, although the palm rests have been comparatively unaffected. Oh, and there’s a small quantity of display screen wobble — not sufficient to trouble me however in all probability sufficient to trouble a few of you.
The outlook
If LG had managed to cram, say, an RTX 3070 into this Gram Professional, the audience can be apparent: the cellular creator. The individuals who wish to render on planes or edit in espresso outlets and don’t wish to lug round a four-pound MacBook Professional 16 (or shell out the cash for one). This can be a substantial crowd — I hear from them on a regular basis.
With an RTX 3050, which is admittedly only a step above Intel’s present built-in graphics choices, the right purchaser is tougher to pinpoint. Somebody who actually desires to play League of Legends on an enormous display screen however not likely any trendy video games? People with some form of GPU load at work (however not a heavy one) who want to hold their laptop computer to and from the workplace and don’t have entry to an exterior monitor? I don’t know, perhaps these are the 2 teams.
However for just about everybody else, I see a daily non-GPU LG Gram (or a Type, if LG ever manages to repair the touchpad) as a greater buy. You’ll get a lower cost, higher battery life, and a fair lighter machine.
