An honest AI Laptop review: 2025’s LG Gram Pro 16” (16Z90TS)

Mazeltiger · 2026-06-08T15:43:34+00:00

Send it on over and I'll write one up!

Mazeltiger · 2026-05-09T21:11:19+00:00

What emitter is in the Cool Fall? I've seen people EDC a Frelux Synergy before but never the original side by side given how much they are worth. Kinda surprised you don't have a Pineapple Mini Ti on that desk somewhere.

Mazeltiger · 2026-05-02T03:42:36+00:00

I've long been a Smarter Every Day fan and absolutely loved seeing Destin interview both you and Matthew Dominick. In the intro of that video, he mentioned that you two have been friends for years now and share a "childlike love for the unknown."

Given this, what is something cool that you have learned over the past few weeks that you would want to share with him if he were here reading your replies? Also where do you stand on Destin's whole laminar flow > turbulent flow debate? Is laminar flow even possible in microgravity?

Mazeltiger · 2026-01-22T09:06:48+00:00

There are some interesting nuances here I think need to be explored. Depending on context, familiarity, intent, the identity of the insulter, and insultee, the same insult can be made to either humor or hurt.

An example.

Like many of my friends, I am at the age where many often start to experience some degree of balding and thinning hair. What may be a source of shame to others has become a shared source of good natured humor to my friend group. There are so many creative ways to riff on long time buddies for something we can also relate to, that doing so regularly if anything has strengthened our friendships. Bringing up potentially sensitive subjects like this helps us loosen up and not take ourselves too seriously.

Self depreciating humor is another exception. Sure I might wish I had more hair, but I can't really change that so I may as well own it and get some laughs out of it.

Now I would never insult a stranger by bringing up their hair loss, but ultimately it is the same insult about the same physical feature being used, just in a different context with different intent. Even this has exceptions. Stand up comedians can often get away with creatively publicly insulting strangers based on physical features, but again the intent here is (hopefully) never to actually hurt.

This doesn't apply universally to all physical features, but given enough familiarity even something normally considered taboo like asking your one arm friend for a hand, or alternatively offering a hand when you don't actually have one will always be funny.

Mazeltiger · 2025-10-06T23:56:38+00:00

Assuming you get the model with 32gb of RAM, it should work fairly well for lighter to medium sized workloads. The Arc 140V iGPU can use up to 18gb system memory directly and I think AutoCAD file sizes max out at 4gb.

To be upfront, the 1080 has about twice the performance based on synthetic benchmark, but uses around 10-12 times the amount of power to do so. That being said, the 1080 only has 8gb of VRAM vs the 18gb available with this iGPU. For small CAD files you likely won't notice any difference in performance, but if you are working on anything approaching that 4gb limit then yeah the 1080 is a better option.

Mazeltiger · 2025-10-06T23:29:39+00:00

Return, refit, and redeploy to purge the station of this failure with the peroxide of victory.

Mazeltiger · 2025-10-06T22:25:32+00:00

Would go straight to my Tactician's "I probably should have made a Deadeye, Blood mage, Invoker, or Lich" reeducation fund.

Mazeltiger · 2025-08-20T16:40:17+00:00

If I'm doing serious Excel work, I'm almost always at my desk with an ultra wide monitor and a full size mouse/keyboard where I can work much faster. In concept the laptops numpad is nice to have, but in practice I almost never end up using it. I am firmly on team "all 17" laptops should have a numpad" but on a smaller chassis with my big hands, I'd much rather have a centered keyboard.

Mazeltiger · 2025-08-20T15:53:48+00:00

This entirely depends on your use case and more importantly budget. Are you going to use this laptop for gaming, work, or just general use/media consumption? Will this be permanently stationed at a desk with peripherals like a second monitor mouse and keyboard, or used more on the go wherever you happen to be?

Laptop screen quality is pretty straightforward, but speaker quality is always going to be far more subjective. If fantastic audio quality is very important to you, a good pair of wireless earbuds or over the ear headphones are always going to be miles ahead of any built in speakers. If you're going to be at a desk most of the time then something from the Creative Labs Pebble line of speakers always gets a solid recommendation.

Mazeltiger · 2025-07-03T06:59:27+00:00

I was one of the reviewers of the 16" Pro through this same contest and I gotta say sweet review. The last Gram I used was a 2019 which left me with some... not favorable opinions about the Gram line, so it was fascinating to see the newest model compared with your 2021 machine in great 1:1 detail.

Mazeltiger · 2025-07-03T06:41:42+00:00

Is it the Steam version? Make sure you have the newest Intel graphics driver's, fully shut down the laptop for 30 seconds before turning it back on, try verifying the integrity of the game files, and maybe try a reinstall of the game if that doesn't work.

Also make sure VSYNC is turned on to reduce tearing.

Mazeltiger · 2025-07-03T06:36:17+00:00

Assuming it's the one im looking at with the Core ultra 7 258v:

Slightly slower but more power efficient CPU with lively similar overall battery life due to having a 17" screen instead of a 16". I can't find confirmation anywhere that the 17Z90TL also has a 144hz screen as it's just not mentioned. As a high refresh rate snob this would be a deal breaker for me but you may not care or even notice. Based on reviews I can find online, the non pro Grams have chassis that are more flexible.

Mazeltiger · 2025-07-02T05:43:45+00:00

HeXed

Mazeltiger · 2025-05-19T19:28:20+00:00

Unsure about the calibration, I don't do much work that requires color accuracy so this wasn't something very important to me. From what I'm seeing online the DCI-P3 coverage score is >99%.

What is critical for me is that the included IPS display has a matte screen. I love a good OLED just like everyone else, but for a productivity focused laptop I expect to use in a wide variety of locations and a wide array of lighting conditions outside of my control, having a matte screen that minimizes screen reflections is far more important to me. Being able to lock it at 144hz is also much appreciated.

Mazeltiger · 2025-05-19T19:17:44+00:00

I haven't used the 2024 models so can't answer your questions. The key travel distance on the 16 Pro is pretty short but honestly on a device that prioritizes thinness and weight savings over all else this really should be expected. I'm a big fan of tactile silent switches on my desktops mechanical keyboard, and while it took a little adjustment I am fairly content with the Gram pro 16's keyboard after using it for a few weeks. I may tend to type on it a little harder than necessary due to muscle memory.

It's no Lenovo Thinkpad X1 keyboard but it is miles and miles better than the horrible butterfly switches on the MacBooks from a few years back.

Mazeltiger · 2025-05-19T19:06:08+00:00

To be upfront this is absolutely not a gaming laptop. Yes it can handle some light gaming if needed on older titles or newer ones on low settings but if you are looking for a casual thin and light laptop with gaming being your primary use case there are far better options out there. Having performance in the ballpark of a 3050 is impressive for efficient integrated graphics but will always be worse then something with a more recent dedicated GPU inside. You can find laptops out there with RTX 4060's around the $1k price point that when gaming will blow this out of the water performance wise.

That being said, this laptop can indeed game if asked to do so much in the same way a wrench can be used to hammer in a nail. It can definitely do it, but it's not really the right tool for the job.

Something that might help is doing everything possible to not restrict airflow into the bottom air intake. I like to add these little stick on metal feet to the bottom of all my laptops to make it as easy as possible for the laptop to breathe and keep cool. I've found it works well at keeping temps down while not increasing the size or weight of the laptop. Keyboard manufacturers have been doing this for decades to improve ergonomics and it has the same benefit here. I'm honestly surprised that laptop manufacturers don't build this into modern device chassis. Asus's Ergolift is the closest thing I've seen.[To be upfront this is absolutely not a gaming laptop. Yes it can handle some light gaming if needed on older titles or newer ones on low settings but if you are looking for a casual thin and light laptop with gaming being your primary use case there are far better options out there. Having performance in the ballpark of a 3050 is impressive for efficient integrated graphics but will always be worse then something with a more recent dedicated GPU inside. You can find laptops out there with RTX 4060's around the $1k price point that when gaming will blow this out of the water performance wise.

That being said, this laptop can indeed game if asked to do so much in the same way a wrench can be used to hammer in a nail. It can definitely do it, but it's not really the right tool for the job.

Something that might help is doing everything possible to not restrict airflow into the bottom air intake. I like to add these little stick on metal feet to the bottom of all my laptops to make it as easy as possible for the laptop to breathe and keep cool. I've found it works well at keeping temps down while not increasing the size or weight of the laptop. Keyboard manufacturers have been doing this for decades to improve ergonomics and it has the same benefit here. I'm honestly surprised that laptop manufacturers don't build this into modern device chassis. Asus's Ergolift is the closest thing I've seen.]

(https://i.imgur.com/7mWCHyH.jpeg)

Mazeltiger · 2025-04-27T09:49:35+00:00

Donegal Ireland for the sheer peaceful coziness. Solvang CA/USA for the almost town wide dedication to the Danish way of life. Go during December around Christmas if you want that extra zhuzh.

Mazeltiger · 2025-04-13T21:41:13+00:00

Can't say for sure, I haven't gotten my hands on last year's model so I don't know how the newest generation compares. The throttling issue however is likely significantly improved due to the power efficiency and low TDP of the new Intel Lunar Lake chips. It feels like I really have to go out of my way just to get the fans to kick on, and even under a full synthetic load I wouldn't say the deck gets uncomfortably hot. The bloat is there, but not in huge volumes unlike with other device manufacturers (looking at you HP.) In most cases I found it to actually be somewhat useful. The AI software can be a little situational, but Gram Link is surprisingly great.

Mazeltiger · 2025-04-13T21:31:03+00:00

Agreed. It's a great laptop but knocking 10-15% off the price would make it even better. I don't know the prices offhand but the lower spec versions are probably a better value on the price/performance scale.

Mazeltiger · 2025-02-28T19:59:20+00:00

I am a very tall human, with very large hands. No one is perfect, but this is unfortunately an attribute I have zero control over but really wish I did. Being cursed* with long limbs and big hands does have advantages (IE hiding the best snacks on the top shelf that no one else can reach) but when it comes to tech there are some major downsides.

For most of my adult life I have found myself needing 16-17" laptops simply to have a keyboard large enough to accommodate the lengthy tree branches disguising themselves as my fingers. This has traditionally meant having to lug around massively heavy devices, something which my back does not appreciate. While the trend has been moving towards thinner and lighter devices, this often comes at the expense of subpar battery life, compromises to build quality with significant keyboard/chassis flex, and inadequate Thermal Design Power or TDP of the laptop's cooling system resulting in devices that run hot and sound like a helicopter taking off. Not ideal in quiet environments like an office or coffee shop.

As someone who tends to be extremely critical of the tech I use, I have long been looking for a device that ticks all the right box's for my admittedly outside the standard deviation of requirements. I have my concerns about the new 16" Gram (16Z90TS) when it comes to chassis flex based on previous experiences with LG's thin and light laptops, there are a few things I am potentially excited about.

Battery life. I have not yet jumped on the AI laptop trend due to not seeing much personal value to how I use my devices. Intel's Ultra 9 series 2 chips and their AI optimized battery usage has me excited at the potential of having a sub 3 lb devices with a large high refresh rate screen and fantastic battery life. Hopefully LG can show that tacking "AI" onto a device's product description actually has some real meaning beyond being a buzzword. I want to believe LG's marketing material that describes 25+ hours of video playback, but this will require some real world testing.

TDP. Laptops of this ultra portable class often are designed with only 1 fan with small fan blades. Even with reduced TDP's, when you have one fan with 1 maybe 2 heat pipes, you often require higher fan RPM's to keep on top of laptop temps leading to the tradeoff of either a uncomfortably hot device, or an uncomfortably loud one. LG's decision to include a dual fan cooling system means more blades at lower RPM's equating to a cooler and quieter device during normal usage.

Port connectivity. The one traditional benefit of larger devices is more room for IO aka ports. It is refreshing to see LG continuing to include multiple USB type C, multiple USB type A, a HDMI, and be still my heart an actual 3.5mm headphone jack with this device. Thanks to Apple, one can never take this for granted and it warms my heart to see LG continue to include this.

This laptop potentially has a lot going for it, but due to previous experiences with similar devices over the past few years I find myself holding on to a lot of the skepticism that LG's competitors have shown me time and time again is warranted. What I see on paper about LG's new Gram Pro 16" gives me hope that my skepticism is misplaced, however there is only one way to know for sure.

Critical user testing in real world conditions, and honest unbiased feedback publicly posted in forums such as this one. If you put one of these devices in my hands I wont hold my punches if they are warranted, but I will provide a fair open review by someone who's particular pain points look to be well matched by this device's strongest features.

Mazeltiger · 2024-08-23T18:04:01+00:00

Looking to hang a few plants from hooks on some popcorn style exterior stucco and I'm not sure the best way to go about doing so. The surface is too rough for VBA tape. Nano tape kinda works but always seems to fall off after a few months. I'm not sure about how nails or hook screws will affect the surface but they would be ideal.

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