LG Ultra PC – laptops with performance and value (first look)

28/06/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The LG Ultra PC laptop range is performance focused with AMD Ryzen 7000 processors and 16” FHD, 16:10 IPS displays – good work laptops.

They are more budget-friendly than the excellent OLED screen, Intel Evo-based Gram series, and as a traditional laptop style, offer an HDMI 2.0 port, microSD expansion, 2 x USB-A Gen 2×1 and 1 USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×1.

There are two Ultra PC variants:

$1499 16U70R-GAA53A AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, 16GB/256GB M2.2280 NVMe Gen3
$1999 16U70R-G.AA76A, AMD Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB/512GB M2.2280 NVMe Gen 3

From LG online and JB Hi-Fi.

Screen – Pass for office use

It is a 16” non-touch, matte, IPS, 300 nit/1000:1 contrast, 8-bit/16.7m colours, Standard Dynamic Resolution (SDR) with a 45% NTSC colour gamut (about 60% sRGB). Being 16:10, it offers a little more usable screen space.

It is acceptable for office use, but the colour gamut is not at creator level. The panel is LG Display LP160WU1-SPH1.

Dual M2.2280 SSD slots – Exceed and easy expansion

It has dual standard-size PCI NVME Gen 3 slots (3000MBps), so expansion is easy. A micro-SD slot makes storage expansion easy as well.

Memory – Pass

Both variants have 16GB of LPDDR4x 4266Mhz memory soldered to the motherboard.

Wi-Fi/BT – Pass

Uses an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 AX, 2.4/5GHz with a 160MHz band aggregation for a maximum of 2.4Gbps (combined upload and download) with the right router. BT is 5.1 for Windows fast pair and multipoint.

Battery – Exceed

Long life 72Wh batteries and 65W USB-C charger. It can use a 65W upstream charge via a dongle or USB-C PD 45W+ charger. Tests show a video loop (50% brightness/volume/aeroplane mode) at over 17 hours and around 3 hours under load.

Expansion – 1 x USB-C 3.2 port or charging and data/video/audio

Via the USB-C 3.2 5V/3A/15W Alt DP 1.4 using Dock or dongle and supports a 4K@60Hz external monitor. The HDMI 2.0 port also supports 4K@60Hz.

Speakers – Pass

2 x 1.5W DTS:X Ultra technology with 3D audio rendering via speakers and headphones. It has a 3.5mm 4-pole ear/mic port. Maximum volume is 80dB. It has no bass but balanced mids and highs, making it a bright vocal sound signature.