The Lenovo IdeaPad S540 offers plenty of performance at a good price regardless of which version you buy. The S540-14IWL and -14API both cost around €800 (~$897) and are identical save for having different CPUs and GPUs.

On the one hand, the S540-14API offers better multi-core performance than the S540-14IWL thanks to its Ryzen 7 3700U processor. However, while the Radeon RX Vega 10 is powerful by integrated GPU standards, it falls short of the GeForce MX250 is in the S540-14IWL. The RX Vega 10 also lacks dedicated VRAM, using 2 GB of the 8 GB of RAM instead. Effectively, this leaves the S540-API with just 6 GB of RAM to the 8 GB in the S540-IWL, as the GeForce MX250 has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM.

The display has often been the weak point of recent AMD powered laptops that we have reviewed, and the S540-14API is no different. The device has a darker panel than its Intel-powered counterpart. Backlight bleed and PWM are not issues at least, which are both present in the S540-14IWL. However, both displays have strong delta E-2000 deviations, and small colour space coverages.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14IWL and -14API are both great 14-inch multimedia laptops. They are well-built, good value for money and will power through most tasks that you could throw at them. They both fall short of achieving top marks for different reasons though.

We liked the simple and elegant design though, which looks modern and understated. The aluminium chassis is sturdy too, as is the display lid. The IdeaPad S540 has a good selection of ports too, although the inclusion of the now outdated HDMI 1.4b seems short-sighted, as does the decision to omit DisplayPort or Thunderbolt support from the sole Type-C port. These changes, along with swapping the power connector for a second Type-C port would have futureproofed the S540 for at least the next two to three years.

Both devices have fast NVMe storage, which helps the system run smoothly. You can always switch the drive for a larger one, but 512 GB should be enough for most people. We like that Lenovo decided against including a 2.5-inch drive bay too, as this allowed them to include a plentiful 48 Wh battery. The S540-14IWL has better battery life than its AMD powered sibling, but both will last a full day’s use between charges.

Overall, hardly anything separates the S540-14IWL from the -14API. The NVIDIA GPU in the former delivers better gaming and graphics performance than the RX Vega 10 integrated GPU in the latter, while the Ryzen 7 3700U has the edge over the Core i5-8265U in multi-core tasks. Ultimately, it is a case of which matters more to you.