The keyboard feels fantastic to type on and doesn’t create tiredness, the monitor is crisp and offers plenty of space for multitasking, and the touchpad is big and quick. Despite being 720p, the webcam’s video quality is really good, and it has a wide range of ports, including two USB-Cs that enable Thunderbolt 4 and an HDMI port. Simple jobs like web browsing, text formatting, and spreadsheets can be handled by its Intel i5-1155G7 CPU and integrated graphics, but they aren’t the best for long-term, intensive workloads like video editing or AAA gaming because they throttle dramatically when under stress. Our LG Gram 17 has a 512GB hard drive, an Intel Core i5-1155G7 processor, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, and 8GB of memory. Additionally, the laptop can be set up with a Core i3-1115G4, i5-1135G7, i7-1165G7, or i7-1195G7 CPU. As long as there aren’t too many processes running at once or there aren’t many programmes that use multiple threads, the Core i3 can handle the majority of typical productivity activities. Otherwise, a Core i5 or i7 is preferable because they have twice as many cores and threads and would perform more smoothly.
Design
Two things stood out to us as soon as we got our LG Gram 17 (17z90p) out of the packaging. First, the weight—or rather, lack of weight. Despite its enormous size (380.2 x 260.1mm / 14.97 x 10.24 inches), it is surprisingly light, so it doesn’t feel like it could be a powerful computer. Additionally, it is flat. The top of this laptop, which is constructed of a magnesium alloy used in military aviation and is 17.8 mm thin, is so mathematically rectangular (due to a “hidden hinge” that makes it appear almost borderless) that it appears startlingly two-dimensional when viewed from above. Given this and the gadget’s small weight, opening it with one hand isn’t something you’d anticipate being able to do. However, that was pleasingly feasible for us as long as you lift from the dead Centre. When that happens, a stunning screen is displayed to you. Its mix of size and a colorful, high-resolution display truly made you say, “Wow.” The keyboard is not end-to-end below that; in fact, it only occupies around 36% (10.5 x 34 cm) of the total space (26 x 38cm). However, it is backlit and full size. The keys have single letters printed in distinct block capitals and are large, evenly spaced, and easy to see. There is also a number pad. Additionally, the power button has a fingerprint scanner that performed well in use. The keys’ flat surfaces and 1.65mm of key travel result in a pleasing tactile click. Additionally, they operate quite quietly, which was a pleasant surprise. The arrow keys are a little too narrow and not really designed for gaming, which is our main complaint. The touchpad, meanwhile, measures a generous 8 x 13 cm and once more provides a pleasing click. For the record, this has been scaled down from the previous version’s 16:9 ratio to 16:10, which translates to 11% greater surface area. In contrast to other smaller trackpads we’ve tried, the effect is that moving your cursor around the huge screen is lovely and smooth and causes less hand fatigue.
Keyboard and touchpad
The LG Gram 17’s huge size provides it with enough of room for a complete keyboard with a number pad and a sizable touch pad. However, LG could have placed these much more effectively. To fit the trackpad with nearly an extra inch of buffer space on either end of the trackpad, the keyboard is so far up the base that typing on it requires a significant reach. Our forearms end up resting on the edge of the laptop rather than comfortably resting our palms there, which rapidly gets uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this is the case, as typing on the keyboard would otherwise be enjoyable. LG has implemented key switches with a noticeable pop and 1.6mm travel. Although it’s still simple to type quickly, mistakes made by light touches on the keys are far less common. The keyboard has white backlighting for good viewing in low light, and the legend for the secondary uses of the keys is also illuminated. The touchpad on LG devices is also a fantastic utility. There is plenty of room for multi-finger movements, scrolling, tapping, and swiping. We have enough room to spread out and can easily fit four fingers on. Although we saw many instances where it seems to be confused with two-finger scrolling, since it seems to register as a swipe and merely moves the cursor rather than scrolling, most of the time it functions without any problems. also you can check our article on LG Gram 17 review.
LG Gram 17 review: Display
The LG Gram 17 (17Z90Q) has a gorgeous 17-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) display with tiny bezels that give the impression that the screen is much larger than it actually is. You won’t have any trouble using this Gram on the go because it isn’t a touchscreen and the colors seem accurate. While the 350 nits of brightness listed by LG for this display are respectable for an ultraportable, they fall short of that of devices like the Dell XPS 17 (504 nits), the MacBook Air M2 (489 nits), or even the Dell XPS 15 OLED (382 nits). With a Delta-E score of 0.25, its color reproduction in other areas is quite good, achieving 172.1% of the sRGB color spectrum and 122.3% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (100% is the most accurate) (closer to 0 is better). Compared to two other recently introduced 17-inch 4K laptops, the LG Gram 17 offers higher color saturation than the Dell XPS 17 (120% sRGB/85.1% DCI-P3) and the Alienware m17 R5 (107.5% sRGB/76.2% DCI-P3).
Audio
The LG Gram 17 has two 1.5W stereo speakers that blast music at a respectable volume from the bottom and back of the laptop. We were impressed by how loud the Gram is when we turned the volume up to its maximum, but the high end distortion and tinny sound make it something you’ll only want to do if there’s a neighbor you want to scare away. The speakers on the Gram are decently clear, although they’re not the best for listening to music. When you turn the volume up far enough, the laptop begins to sound less like an entertainment system and more like a set of thin speakers imprisoned inside a matte black plastic box. Bass is essentially nonexistent. The vocals came through loud and clear when we played LL Cool J’s “Going Back to Cali,” but the percussion hits sounded like a buzzer going off.
LG Gram 17 review: Graphics
Demanding graphical tasks, like playing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, were less impressive with integrated Iris Xe graphics. Our 30-fps threshold was not met by the Gram, which could only sustain 24 frames per second. This is not a video game console. Using the identical Intel Iris Xe graphics, the Galaxy Book Pro ran the same game at a faster 27 frames per second. The Gram 17 got a score of 4,733 on the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark, which is just higher than the 4,728 average for premium laptops. With a comparable processor and integrated graphics, the Galaxy Book Pro scored substantially better, 5,575. The XPS 17 earned a significantly higher 11,801 thanks to its discrete Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU.
Performance
We’ve been using the LG Gram 17 (2022) as our main computer for a few weeks now, and we can say that it works excellent if you only need a huge, portable screen for checking email, writing stories, and doing other tasks. The Gram performed an excellent job with my habit of opening 20+ Chrome tabs, and no matter how many tabs we opened or how many windows we started for Twitch streams, YouTube videos, and Spotify, this laptop and its 16GB of RAM never hitched or stuttered. The Gram proved to be a quick ultraportable when put to the test in our testing, lacking much muscle for demanding graphics work. Notably, the Geekbench 5.4 multi-core CPU benchmarking test yielded a decent 7,511 score for our LG Gram 17 review device with its Intel Core i7-1260P CPU. It’s fine, but not outstanding. It’s a score in the Centre of the pack for an Intel Core i7-1260P, which is near the top of the company’s mid-range laptop CPU lineup. They are designed to strike a compromise between performance and power consumption, which is why the more potent Intel Core i7-12700H CPU inside the Dell XPS 17 we just reviewed performs better in the Geekbench 5.4 multi-core CPU test. Same chip maker, same chip generation, but two distinct CPUs with two different power levels. you will learn our article on LG Gram 17 review. Naturally, a larger, heavier laptop is needed to accommodate the cooler requirements of the more potent 12th Gen Intel Core i7 -H CPU (as opposed to the -P CPU in the LG Gram 17). As a result of the Gram’s Core i7-1260P CPU’s lower power requirements, LG may have been able to make this laptop as thin and light as it is. Our Gram 17’s 1TB NVMe SSD is quite quick; we clocked it processing 25GB of multimedia files at a reasonable pace of 1,684.6 MBps. That is almost as quick as the more expensive 17-inch computers, the Dell XPS 17 (1,765.5 MBps) and Alienware m17 R5 (1766.7 MBps).
LG Gram 17 review: Battery life and heat
In our benchmark testing, the LG Gram 17’s battery life comfortably registered hours in the double digits, making it the true star of the show. At 50% brightness, the laptop’s screen lasted 13 hours and 48 minutes during our PC Mark 10 battery test. It’s safe to claim that the LG Gram 17 battery will allow you to use the device for an entire work or school day without the need to plug it in, however actual battery life will likely vary based on the kind and number of programmes you’re running. The laptop is also fantastic for video. The battery lasted an astounding 12 hours and two minutes before needing to be recharged when we looped a 1080p video at 50% brightness. Once more, mileage will depend on how many processes are operating in the background. The LG Gram 17’s exceptional battery life will enable you to keep yourself entertained with movies and shows for a considerable amount of time if you’re on the go. The LG Gram 17 will ultimately need to be charged, so the incredibly quick USB-C charging connections come in handy. When hooked into the wall with the USB-C charger that included with the laptop, the laptop was fully charged from empty in little under two hours. The Gram 17 kept comfortably below our comfort threshold of 95 degrees Fahrenheit. 15 minutes of watching a full-screen HD video later, we took temperatures in several locations on the laptop, beginning with the touchpad, which registered a comfortable 82 degrees. The bottom and keyboard, meanwhile, reached 93 and 94 degrees, respectively.
Configuration options
Currently, the LG Gram 17 costs $1,799 or £1,599. This can be compared to other LG Gram series models. The LG Gram 17 model from last year costs $1,749 / £1,549. That laptop used Intel CPUs from the 10th generation, so the price difference you pay for the LG Gram 17 goes toward the additional processing power offered by the Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU. There are many LG Gram 17 configurations available. A 512GB SSD configuration is available for $1,749/£1,549/AU$2,999, which is a little less expensive. It may be better for you if you don’t work with files with enormous sizes to use this model, which is the only one available to Australians. It’s difficult to recommend the laptop at that price with such a limited amount of capacity, unless you’re intending on augmenting it with external storage devices. One LG Gram 17 option has a 256GB SSD, which costs even less at $1,699 / £1,499 However, if size is an issue for you, the LG Gram 16 will be a more cost-effective and small choice. The LG Gram 16 is a more economical option and offers the same 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, and 1TB SSD for $1,299/£1,249/AU$2,799 as the LG Gram (512GB in AU). If the reduced screen size is not a concern for you, it is a substantial savings.
Conclusion
The LG Gram 17 defies convention by offering a huge 17-inch screen, a complete keyboard, a numeric pad, and performance that just won’t quit. Most of the lightest laptops are little, 13-inch devices. The latest model improves on last year’s model with a 12th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and battery life that lasts longer than 20 hours while still being the lightest 17-inch laptop you can buy. It’s simple to call this our favorite big-screen ultraportable laptop when you add a few updated features, like a 1080p webcam. The Gram outshines certain persistent small issues because it effectively conveys its key selling advantages of durability and lightweight. One of those is a keyboard layout that can be challenging to get used to. For instance, the one function key is too distant from the most important function row buttons, making it difficult to adjust the volume with one hand, and the num lock is too easy to unintentionally click because it is directly close to backspace.
