Lenovo Legion C530 Cube review: Budget gaming in an unusual case
Lenovo's Legion C530 Cube is a less expensive counterpart to the C730 Cube, coming at you with a similar pattern and construction but with fewer features and with some unlike hardware options. If you're looking to spend less than $i,000 on a pre-built gaming PC, the C530 tin be had in a couple of different configurations, with AMD RX 570 or NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics card (GPU) and Intel Cadre i5 processor (CPU). There are more expensive configs also available, with up to an Intel Core i7 CPU and NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU. I used the Legion C530 Cube for about a week to decide whether it'southward the correct PC for you and whether it's worth the money.
Pre-built gaming PC
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube
From $880
Lesser line: This compact PC is bang-up for anyone looking for upkeep performance, but it likely makes more than sense to cheque out the Legion C730 Cube if y'all need annihilation more.
Pros
- Easily accessible hardware
- Interesting blueprint
- Lots of ports
- Stays cool while nether load
- Handle on height for easy carrying
Cons
- Limited SSD options
- No USB-C or Thunderbolt 3
Almost this review
Lenovo supplied Windows Fundamental with a review unit of the Legion C530 Cube. This specific configuration has within an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8400 CPU, 8 GB of DDR4-2666MHz RAM, a NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and a 1 TB 7,200 RPM hard-deejay drive (HDD) coupled with 16 GB of Intel Optane memory. Expect to pay nearly $880 for this basic configuration, with prices ascent to near $one,250 for a model with Core i7 CPU and GTX 1060 GPU.
Run into at Lenovo
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube technical specifications
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 Home |
| Processor | eighth Gen Intel Core i5-8400 Up to 4.0 GHz Half dozen cores |
| RAM | viii GB DDR4-2666MHz |
| Storage | 1 TB seven,200 RPM HDD 16 GB Intel Optane |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti four GB GDDR5 VRAM |
| Motherboard | B360 chipset |
| Ports | Front: Ii USB-A 3.0 3.5 mm headset jack iii.5 mm mic in Rear: Two USB-A 3.ane (Gen i) 2 USB-A 3.ane (Gen 2) Two USB-A 2.0 HDMI DisplayPort DVI RJ45 Ethernet 3.5 mm sound |
| Wireless | Realtek 8822BE 802.11ac (2 x ii) Bluetooth four.2 |
| Keyboard | Included |
| Mouse | Included |
| Ability supply | 450 watts |
| Weight | From 19.8 pounds (eight.9 kg) |
| Dimensions | 9.09 inches x 13.07 inches x 9.53 inches (231 mm x 332 mm x 242 mm) |
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube pattern and features
Lenovo calls its Cube PCs "mini," though they do take a relatively big footprint and 19-liter capacity. The squat shape makes it look a bit less out of place compared to a standard belfry when sitting on elevation of a desk, but information technology won't seem off if you'd rather keep it below instead. Hardware is slotted on either side of the key motherboard, with a power supply and two trophy for HDDs on the left (only one is in use), with everything else, including GPU and CPU, on the right. The correct console has a pull-release that lets you easily and apace get within, and the left console has a couple of handscrews that have only a few seconds more to get by. If you like to tinker inside, checking on hardware and replacing parts, Lenovo made it about every bit easy as possible.
The C530 is using a motherboard with B360 chipset, a cheaper culling to the Z370 motherboard plant in the C730. There's no option for overclocking even with an appropriate CPU and it lacks some PCIe and SATA RAID back up, but it does support USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 ports for ten Gbps transfer speeds. At that place are two USB-A 3.ane Gen ii ports on the back of the PC, accompanied by ii USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 ports, two USB-A 2.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, RJ45 Ethernet, and a three.5 mm audio jack. Ports are like shooting fish in a barrel to reach and are spaced appropriately so that in that location'southward no interference when using multiple peripherals. For added convenience, the bottom front edge of the PC has two actress USB-A 3.0 ports and two 3.5 mm jacks for audio out and vox in. I but wish these PCs has some modernistic ports, similar Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C, for my newer peripherals.
I can see no deviation between this instance and the C730's case. It has an iron colour end to the metallic, there is circular grating on the front accompanied by a large Lenovo logo, and the top is clear plastic that helps show off the internal hardware. In that location's a chunky handle up meridian equally well that makes carrying this xx-pound block around much easier, and like the C730, information technology still looks very much like a deep fryer. The sides are solid metal, merely the rear is mostly venting to assist with airflow. While gaming, the rear fan, GPU fan, and CPU fan didn't get obnoxiously loud, and I could feel air moving through the PC and out the front end grating.
There is some built-in lighting here, but instead of fully customizable RGB through the Lenovo Vantage app, information technology's stuck on blood-red. As long as you don't mind the lack of customization, the lighting is bright and fills the instance, with the effect amplified by the top window and front grating.
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube gaming and VR
Lenovo gives y'all a few GPUs to cull from, starting with the budget NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti and continuing with mid-range AMD Radeon RX 570 and NVIDIA GTX 1060 options. Y'all can get a GTX 1060 model for less money here than you would with the C730, but it does come with a standard, non-K Intel i7-8700 CPU, less RAM, and a smaller SSD accompanying the main HDD. There's too the budget B360 motherboard that might make it the way of RAID enthusiasts and those into overclocking their hardware.
The baseline model I have with GTX 1050 Ti, Intel Core i5-8400 CPU, and 8 GB of RAM puts up boilerplate benchmark scores, coming in right nigh where information technology should. Those looking for a comfortable 1080p gaming feel with almost popular esports titles can get it here but don't await to get close to maxing out video settings for most modern games. For example, fifty-fifty with all settings on low, Battlefield 5 was relatively clunky during activity sequences and often dipped beneath an acceptable framerate.
3DMark
Time Spy (College is meliorate)
| PC | GPU | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | GTX 1050 Ti | 2,536 |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Tower | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 4,081 |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | iii,971 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 Tower | GTX 1060 (3 GB) | 3,621 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Tower | GTX 1070 | v,520 |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Tower | GTX 1080 | 6,774 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 | GTX 1060 | 3,469 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 | GTX 1050 Ti | 2,491 |
Final year's Legion Y520 with GTX 1050 Ti striking about the same score here, which is no surprise. Notice the difference between the 1050 Ti and 1060 with half-dozen GB of VRAM.
3DMark
Burn down Strike (College is better)
| PC | GPU | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | GTX 1050 Ti | 6,773 |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Tower | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | ten,694 |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 10,564 |
| Razer Blade fifteen | GTX 1070 | 13,560 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 Tower | GTX 1060 (three GB) | 9,078 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Tower | GTX 1070 | 13,172 |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Tower | GTX 1080 | xvi,996 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 | GTX 1060 | 9,017 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 | GTX 1050 Ti | half dozen,623 |
VRMark
Orangish Room (Higher is better)
| PC | GPU | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | GTX 1050 Ti | 3,947 |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Tower | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 7,023 |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 6,979 |
| Lenogo Legion Y520 Belfry | GTX 1060 (3 GB) | vi,234 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Tower | GTX 1070 | ix,028 |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Tower | GTX 1080 | ten,688 |
This PC is not marketed as being VR-set up, merely I ran the benchmark anyway. Y'all'll get away with some low-end action on Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive, simply for a true VR PC, look elsewhere.
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube general performance
Lenovo has limited its solid-land storage options to a 128 GB PCIe SSD, which is merely available in the upper configurations alongside a 1 TB 7,200 RPM HDD. Basic models come with the slow HDD coupled with xvi GB of Intel Optane retentiveness, which can be replaced with an SSD post-purchase (the stick is easily accessible with right panel removed). It would be nice to have more storage options at checkout, as I don't think many people would mind paying a scrap more for the performance of an SSD in the baseline models.
The six-cadre 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8400 puts upward impressive numbers, and if you're not into overclocking I don't think y'all need to go whatsoever college than this to keep upward with even a GTX 1060. This is certainly a gaming PC, but if you need something capable of handling a 24-hour interval's work when you demand to pay some bills, you'll have no problems.
CPU
Geekbench 4.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)
| Device | CPU | Unmarried core | Multi core |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | 4,758 | 17,409 | |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Tower | i7-8700K | 5,396 | 21,918 |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | i7-8700K | 5,381 | 22,015 |
| Razer Blade 15 | i7-8750H | iv,872 | 17,910 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 Tower | i5-7700 | 4,064 | xi,525 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Belfry | i7-7700 | 4,988 | 16,784 |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Belfry | i7-7700K | 5,484 | xviii,438 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 | i7-7700HQ | 4,697 | 14,810 |
| Lenovo Yoga 720 15 | i7-7700HQ | 3,784 | 10,255 |
This 8th Gen Core i5 CPU offers nigh the same operation equally 7th Gen Core i7 CPUs put up. I didn't have any problems multitasking and going most daily piece of work, including web browsing, discussion processing, and watching videos.
PCMark
PCMark Home Conventional 3.0
| Device | Score |
|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | 4,560 |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Belfry | 5,000 |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | 5,004 |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 Tower | 3,688 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Belfry | 4,296 |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Belfry | four,682 |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 | iii,599 |
The PCMark Home Conventional exam takes a bunch of your hardware and determines how well it works together while performing a number of everyday tasks. The C530 put upwards a respectable score hither, about reaching last year's high-cease Legion Y920 Tower.
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is meliorate)
| Device | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion C530 Cube | 931.0 MB/s | 159.9 MB/south |
| Lenovo Legion T730 Tower | 1,604 MB/s | 235.0 MB/s |
| Lenovo Legion C730 Cube | i,552.9 MB/south | 258.9 MB/s |
| Razer Blade 15 | two,722 MB/southward | 1,217 MB/s |
| Lenovo Legion Y520 Belfry | three,248.1 MB/s | 772.vi MB/s |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 Belfry | 3,326.nine MB/south | 1,225.6 MB/s |
| Lenovo Legion Y920 Tower | 3,291.6 MB/due south | 1,226.6 MB/s |
| Lenovo Legion Y720 | 1,642 MB/south | 789.7 MB/s |
The 7,200 RPM HDD did better than expected, only it doesn't come near other gaming PCs with performance SSDs. Intel Optane retention also gives information technology a boost, and I noticed fast Windows 10 boots.
Should yous buy Lenovo's Legion C530 Cube?
The Legion C530 Cube is Lenovo's attempt at reaching a wider audition with a scrap less money to burn, and in that respect, it succeeds. You tin pay hundreds less than the C730 for a PC that is physically identical, and you'll all the same get the performance needed to run most popular modern titles at 1080p. It'southward stocked with ports (though it would be dainty to see USB-C), it stays cool and quiet while running, and it looks cracking when lit upwards. Y'all tin get within without any tools, there's room for extra storage, and yous can replace most parts without much issue. If you need a budget pre-congenital, definitely consider the C530.
On the other hand, non-customizable RGB lighting and a motherboard without RAID or overclocking support is no incertitude a letdown for some, and the college-end hardware configurations might go out some scratching their heads (why does RAM drop downward to viii GB in the top model?). If yous demand better performance than the baseline Legion C530, consider jumping to the C730. The cost difference isn't huge, and the extra features, like Z370 chipset motherboard, overclockable hardware, and customizable RGB lighting, volition undoubtedly make it a better choice for many people.
Pre-congenital gaming PC
Lenovo Legion C530 Cube
Budget gaming in a compact example.
This gaming PC comes in a sturdy, meaty chassis with ample airflow, and it allows for easy entry and tinkering. Baseline models are set up to deliver a smooth 1080p gaming experience with most mod titles, and all models come up with a bones keyboard and mouse.
New ways to test
Minecraft Preview tin can now be downloaded and played on Windows
On Monday, Mojang Studios announced Minecraft Preview, a new Minecraft game that volition let players exam upcoming changes and updates before they release. Minecraft Preview volition eventually replace the current Minecraft: Boulder Edition beta program.
Infinite-saving PCs
The pre-built ITX PCs you lot should be buying right at present
Mini-ITX PCs are still a bit of a niche, simply there are a lot of great reasons to purchase one. If yous're in the market just desire to get someone else to build it for you, y'all're in luck; at that place are some great PCs from which to choose.
Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-legion-c530-cube-review
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