I was going to say that. This machine looks perfect. It also has a big battery due to the larger footprint despite the thin chassis. Way outside my budget but whenever I need a laptop I'll seriously entertain it.
Battery is rather small actually. 72 Wh is the same battery LG uses in Gram 13 with FHD screen. 17" QHD will easily double the power consumption, so assume around 5-6 hours on the Gram 17. Which is still the best in the 17 laptop category in history upto now.
Oh dang didn't even notice that. At 17 inches the 1440 res might even be usable at 100% scaling. Would have even gotten one if it had Raven Ridge or an MX150.
Looks pretty good. Thin, but thick enough for real full-size USB 3.0 ports (3 of them to boot).
Bottom of the laptop looks kind of barren. Probably could've utilized more of the space for an even larger trackpad, although I personally use a mouse all the time anyways. Would've also preferred full-size SD card slot, rather than microSD.
That's a really lightweight laptop for its size. I prefer 11 - 14 inch screen sizes, but not everyone does so it is nice to see LG is offering options. The trackpad could do with a pair of physical buttons though. There are some situations where they would be helpful.
It is likely SATA for battery life, but every other 2018 Gram supports NVMe x4 SSDs and it's fairly easy to add or swap it out. Yep, they all have two m.2 slots, so you can have two separate SSDs on any LG Gram, though only one port is x4.
I have been using the 14" one the past week and it is very slick. I am impressed. Great laptop.
USB-C charging is supported, even this article mentions it.
It would be nice to see a more powerful, but still thin and light version. A Ryzen U APU or an MX150. Perhaps with a full size microSD card slot and an extra USB-A port, and a larger trackpad.
Wow.. put a nvme in this and a trackpad with real buttons, and make sure it runs quiet and cool - and I'll buy 2, so when the first one wears out I'll be protected against the fact that no one is making the laptop I want to buy.
You can add an NVMe SSD no problem. It's not that hard and fully support (x4). Note I said ADD, because there are two m.2 slots, though only one is x4, the other is x2.
I have a EVOC 1080 (Eurocom F5 Tornado) 15".. This thing is almost the exact same footprint as my 15. Granted my laptop has a 7700K and a GTX 1080. I have been wanting to switch out for something lighter and pair it with a Core X eGPU. This appears it's going to have TB3 on that thunderbolt port. This sounds like a REALLY good option.
Charging more than $1000 for a laptop in 2018 without 4 lanes of Thunderbolt 3 is ridiculous. In terms of actual performance, this offers little more than a $600 system with an AMD APU unless you give that option of external graphics.
the 15 inch Gram has a thunderbolt option, so maybe there will be one in 17 as well. Keep in mind the primary focus of this laptop line is to be as lightweight as possible, so it drops stuff that adds weight, including fans. This thing's CPU would over heat and throttle itself big time with a GPU or thunderbolt graphics added and used.
It's not going to throttle with TB3 added. It's also not going to throttle just because an eGPU is connected to a TB3 port. Depends on the game you are playing. At 15W TDP they should have PLENTY of room to put a decent heat management solution. Alas, if we're going by past performance with LG, the 16GB 15" Gram model with the TB3 port specifically, the heat management was extremely poor. Replacing the TIM helped quite a bit, but there was SO MUCH room for a bit larger heat sink and pipes that was wasted in the 15" model. I had never seen a more anemic heat sink than the one in the 15" Gram. Seeing how this 17" model has pretty much no extra features over the 15" it's probably almost all hollow inside given even the 15" had plenty of room to improve the heat management as it was.
I am going to quote Ars Technica, who says the 17" DOES have a TB3 port, this just got exciting..
QUOTE: The 17-inch LG Gram will include standard ultrabook specs: 8th-gen Intel processors, up to 16GB or RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. It will also have one Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to three USB-A 3.1 ports, HDMI port, microSD card slot, and an audio combo jack. An IR camera for Windows Hello isn't mentioned in LG's release, but the laptop will include a fingerprint reader (as the original Gram did). END QUOTE
So here's hoping, if it has 4-lane TB3 this will be a REALLY good ultrabook that could be paired with an eGPU for some good gaming. Lets just hope we can reapply TIM and try to keep the clocks on that 8565U from dropping much...
I wonder if they have a display model at Best Buy if they would let us install AIDA64 on there to see if that USB-C port is hiding some TB3 4-lane goodness.
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33 Comments
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asmian - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Nice to see some love for 16:10 display aspect ratios again. ;) Let's hope for more...niva - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
I was going to say that. This machine looks perfect. It also has a big battery due to the larger footprint despite the thin chassis. Way outside my budget but whenever I need a laptop I'll seriously entertain it.Prestissimo - Friday, January 11, 2019 - link
Battery is rather small actually. 72 Wh is the same battery LG uses in Gram 13 with FHD screen. 17" QHD will easily double the power consumption, so assume around 5-6 hours on the Gram 17. Which is still the best in the 17 laptop category in history upto now.Chaitanya - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Sadly its a LG laptop. Certainly nice to see old trend of 16:10 displays picking up some momentum.PaoDeTech - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Agree: 16:10 is better for productivity and web.HardwareDufus - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Couldn't agree more on the 16:10 ratio!bubblyboo - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Oh dang didn't even notice that. At 17 inches the 1440 res might even be usable at 100% scaling. Would have even gotten one if it had Raven Ridge or an MX150.StevoLincolnite - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Yeah. Would have been great if it had the Ryzen 2700U as an option.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
Damn...I really wouldn't mind seeing that panel in a machine that sacrifices light weight in favor of lower cost and better internals.JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Looks pretty good. Thin, but thick enough for real full-size USB 3.0 ports (3 of them to boot).Bottom of the laptop looks kind of barren. Probably could've utilized more of the space for an even larger trackpad, although I personally use a mouse all the time anyways. Would've also preferred full-size SD card slot, rather than microSD.
Sttm - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Looks good. Only wish it had a massive track pad... all that wasted space.PeachNCream - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
That's a really lightweight laptop for its size. I prefer 11 - 14 inch screen sizes, but not everyone does so it is nice to see LG is offering options. The trackpad could do with a pair of physical buttons though. There are some situations where they would be helpful.joelypolly - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
I wish it didn't have the num pad the the keyboard is centeredp1esk - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
I will buy it as soon as it becomes available. The only downside it does not support 5k display (according to Intel).nicolaim - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Quite appealing. Too bad the SSD is SATA and there are so few USB-C ports. Looks like no charging over USB-C either :(jmunjr - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
It is likely SATA for battery life, but every other 2018 Gram supports NVMe x4 SSDs and it's fairly easy to add or swap it out. Yep, they all have two m.2 slots, so you can have two separate SSDs on any LG Gram, though only one port is x4.I have been using the 14" one the past week and it is very slick. I am impressed. Great laptop.
USB-C charging is supported, even this article mentions it.
Tams80 - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
It would be nice to see a more powerful, but still thin and light version. A Ryzen U APU or an MX150. Perhaps with a full size microSD card slot and an extra USB-A port, and a larger trackpad.tipoo - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
A 17" that weighs less than a 13" rMBP is pretty mind blowing, and intriguing. But the prior models had some hinge issues, has that been redesigned?FrustratedTechy - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Wow.. put a nvme in this and a trackpad with real buttons, and make sure it runs quiet and cool - and I'll buy 2, so when the first one wears out I'll be protected against the fact that no one is making the laptop I want to buy.jmunjr - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
You can add an NVMe SSD no problem. It's not that hard and fully support (x4). Note I said ADD, because there are two m.2 slots, though only one is x4, the other is x2.iwod - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
Surely this 17" Laptop is roughly the same as some 15" Laptop in the pass due to thinner bezel?Edit: Turns out not true, all the 15" MacBook Pro from 2008 till now is still smaller than this one.
Given many users are now literally using MacBook as a Desktop anyway, I wonder how will a 17" MacBook Pro Sell?
hfm - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link
I have a EVOC 1080 (Eurocom F5 Tornado) 15".. This thing is almost the exact same footprint as my 15. Granted my laptop has a 7700K and a GTX 1080. I have been wanting to switch out for something lighter and pair it with a Core X eGPU. This appears it's going to have TB3 on that thunderbolt port. This sounds like a REALLY good option.hfm - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link
Er.. (ENABLE EDITING!) I meant to say "TB3 on that USB-C port"jay6rey8 - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
Charging more than $1000 for a laptop in 2018 without 4 lanes of Thunderbolt 3 is ridiculous. In terms of actual performance, this offers little more than a $600 system with an AMD APU unless you give that option of external graphics.jmunjr - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
the 15 inch Gram has a thunderbolt option, so maybe there will be one in 17 as well. Keep in mind the primary focus of this laptop line is to be as lightweight as possible, so it drops stuff that adds weight, including fans. This thing's CPU would over heat and throttle itself big time with a GPU or thunderbolt graphics added and used.hfm - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
It's not going to throttle with TB3 added. It's also not going to throttle just because an eGPU is connected to a TB3 port. Depends on the game you are playing. At 15W TDP they should have PLENTY of room to put a decent heat management solution. Alas, if we're going by past performance with LG, the 16GB 15" Gram model with the TB3 port specifically, the heat management was extremely poor. Replacing the TIM helped quite a bit, but there was SO MUCH room for a bit larger heat sink and pipes that was wasted in the 15" model. I had never seen a more anemic heat sink than the one in the 15" Gram. Seeing how this 17" model has pretty much no extra features over the 15" it's probably almost all hollow inside given even the 15" had plenty of room to improve the heat management as it was.I am going to quote Ars Technica, who says the 17" DOES have a TB3 port, this just got exciting..
QUOTE:
The 17-inch LG Gram will include standard ultrabook specs: 8th-gen Intel processors, up to 16GB or RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. It will also have one Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to three USB-A 3.1 ports, HDMI port, microSD card slot, and an audio combo jack. An IR camera for Windows Hello isn't mentioned in LG's release, but the laptop will include a fingerprint reader (as the original Gram did).
END QUOTE
So here's hoping, if it has 4-lane TB3 this will be a REALLY good ultrabook that could be paired with an eGPU for some good gaming. Lets just hope we can reapply TIM and try to keep the clocks on that 8565U from dropping much...
Calista - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
The march of progress.. The only 17" inch laptop I have had (a Core 2 Duo back in 2008) had a weight of 3,5 kg. This is more or less a third of it.Cheako6486 - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
According to FCC testing, the laptop comes with the same 72wh battery as previous generations. It may also be configurable with a 512 NVMe and TB3.Source: https://fccid.io/BEJNT-17Z990/Test-Report/DTS-Repo...
Ankou - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
Seems like once we pass 1,000 grams (1,330 grams here) the name LG Gram should change ;)hfm - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
I wonder if they have a display model at Best Buy if they would let us install AIDA64 on there to see if that USB-C port is hiding some TB3 4-lane goodness.Mejnour - Saturday, January 26, 2019 - link
With the 6 cores i7-8750H CPU and better SSD perfomance(200MBps) vs premium laptop average(500MBps) that would be a perfect laptop.Still interesting though
DigitalFreak - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
The Gram 17 has a single Thunderbolt 3 port that supports charging. The chip is the JHL6430, which is a single port, PCI-E x4 device.fazalmajid - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
I saw it at Costco for $1499, albeit with a 256GB SSD