LG gram 17 review: good overall package in a weak case?
A TEST REPORT from Felix Reitmaier 
on July 09, 2020, 15:00 | 🔥 popular | Write a comment
At the beginning of May, LG announcedto want to bring three new notebooks to Germany and Austria with the LG Gram series. In the last few weeks I was able to test the largest of the three models with the LG gram 17. You can find out how the gram 17 performs in everyday life in the following review.
Jump to section
Design and workmanship
The LG gram models all come in a simple silver magnesium housing. There is only a small, minimalist LG gram logo on the outside, which draws attention to the name of the gram 17.
Picture: TechnikNews
LG produces the Gram models primarily from magnesium. The disadvantage of magnesium is that it often feels like cheap processed plastic. For this reason, the housing of the gram 17 is also very unstable in many places. In this way, the housing can be clearly dented with little effort. Even in the area of the display you can bend the housing cover with little effort. As a result, when using the gram 17, there is always the feeling that something could break. Magnesium does have one advantage, however, as it is quite light. The gram 17 weighs only 1350 grams.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard of the LG gram 17, on the other hand, is convincing. The typing experience is very pleasant due to the short key travel typical of notebooks. Thanks to a two-level keyboard illumination, you can always see all keys even in the dark. Unusual for notebooks is the built-in number pad, which is mostly known from desktop keyboards. The power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor is also located on the edge of the number pad. Overall, the touchpad is only average. It reacts reliably to most inputs. There are, however, much more precise touchpads. Above all, the click feeling is disappointing; the low resistance of the case means that you sink a few millimeters into the case with every click. The case does sink in when typing on the keyboard, but the deep sinking in when clicking on the touchpad is much more uncomfortable.
-
- Picture: TechnikNews
-
- Picture: TechnikNews
Connections
LG has installed a large number of connections in the Gram 17. In addition to three USB 3.0 ports, there is also a connection for micro-SD cards and audio devices. Either the HDMI or Thunderbolt 3 port can be used to connect external monitors. The advantage of the Thunderbolt 3 connection is that it not only transmits the image signal, but also data and power. This means that you can even charge the LG gram 17 with just one cable and also connect it to a monitor and USB devices.
Picture: TechnikNews
Display
At 17 inches, the display of the gram 17 is larger than average for a notebook. The resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels. This gives you at least a pixel density of 178 PPI. The color reproduction of the gram 17's IPS panel is convincing overall. colors and contrasts profitting of the non-reflective display in the gram 17.
Otherwise, however, it is a shame that LG does not rely on an anti-glare display. Especially in direct sunlight, you can hardly see what is shown on the display.
Picture: TechnikNews
Specs and performance
LG offers the Gram 17 in various powerful configurations. LG uses the Intel i17-7G1065 in the more powerful gram 7. It has four cores, each of which can clock up to 3,9 GHz. LG relies on the im Proprocessor built-in Intel Iris Plus graphics unit. The RAM is 16 GB and the built-in SSD is 1 TB.
| LG gram 14 | LG gram 15 | LG gram 17 | |
| Display | 14 inch | 15,6 inch | 17 inch |
| Proprocessor | Intel i5-1035G7 | Intel i5-1035G7 | Intel i5-1035G7 Intel i7-1065G7 |
| graphics unit | Intel IrisPlus Graphics | Intel IrisPlus Graphics | Intel IrisPlus Graphics |
| random access memory | X | X | X X |
| Storage | 256GB (M.2 SSD) | 512GB (M.2 SSD) | 1TB (M.2 SSD) |
| Battery | 72 watt hours | 80 watt hours | 80 watt hours |
| RRP | 1149 Euros | 1249 Euros | 1399 Euros 1649 Euros |
Picture: TechnikNews
Battery life
The battery in the LG gram 17 is above average with 80 watt hours. The battery life is therefore also quite good. The lightweight can withstand simple everyday tasks without Probleed through eight hours. When using more complex ProHowever, as expected, the runtime then drops quickly with more grams. You can then charge the LG gram 17 either with the supplied power adapter at the mains connection or with a USB-C cable at the Thunderbolt 3 connection. It is a pity that the charging process takes significantly more than two hours.
Conclusion
The LG gram 17 was able to convince in many areas review. The larger size of the 17 inch display compared to 13 inch models is very pleasant in everyday life. The notebook also scores well in terms of performance. Thanks to the many different connection options, you are also very flexible on the move. Another big plus is the battery life. Thanks to the 80 watt hour battery, the gram 17 lasts longer than average. I was particularly disappointed with the workmanship of the gram 17. The magnesium housing not only feels extremely cheap, it is also very unstable. If you can live with this poor workmanship, you will get a really decent notebook for 1399 or 1649 euros.
