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What we think
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Updated January 12, 2024·
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is a budget-friendly option, suitable for basic tasks like web browsing, document editing, and media playback, with modest storage and memory. It can handle everyday work but may struggle with more demanding applications due to its entry-level processor and integrated graphics. The display's resolution is lower and less crisp when compared to higher-end models. On the other side, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" comes at a higher cost but offers significantly better performance with a powerful processor, dedicated graphics card, and more memory, catering to gaming, video editing, and other intensive tasks. It has a higher quality display with better resolution, ideal for crisp visuals in gaming and multimedia. If portability is important, both are fairly similar in size and weight, though the Legion Slim 7 is slightly heavier. Battery performance will vary with usage, but the Legion Slim 7's higher-end components may lead to shorter battery life compared to the simpler configuration of the IdeaPad 3. In summary, choose the IdeaPad 3 for budget-conscious, basic use, and the Legion Slim 7 for superior performance in gaming or creative tasks, keeping in mind the higher cost and potentially shorter battery life. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
- The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has no clear advantages over the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6".
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good for software development
- Good for content creation
- Good overall display quality
- Good overall build quality
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.2
7.7
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3, with a basic Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM, is equipped for everyday tasks, offering a lower-resolution TN screen and moderate battery life, making it a fair choice for general use and enhanced portability due to its lighter weight. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 boasts a more powerful AMD Ryzen 7 processor with 16GB of RAM, combined with a high-resolution IPS display and superior battery capacity, contributing to a better overall user experience suitable for more demanding general use, albeit at the expense of being slightly heavier.
Gaming and AI
5.8
7.4
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.8
7.8
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
6.3
7.7
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.3
7.5
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
5.2
7.7
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has a lower resolution and brightness, which makes text less sharp and colors less vivid, affecting everyday tasks such as browsing or document editing. For engineering and design, the same screen's limited color coverage fails to deliver the precision required for color-critical work. The Legion Slim 7, while offering better resolution and color accuracy for productivity and professional tasks, lacks a high refresh rate, which is crucial for smooth visuals in gaming and 3D applications.
Battery
5.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
6.5
7.6
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$360
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has a price of $360 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" costs $1,200.
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Key similarities
Portability
Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" | Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$360 | $1,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | May 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.78'' | 14'' x 9.9'' x 0.69'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.75 lbs | 4.19 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.26" | 14.02" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.98" | 9.92" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i3-1115G4 | AMD Ryzen 7 5800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 1 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 9 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 35 Wh | 71 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | TN | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 165Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 220 nits | 350 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 9.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 0 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | February 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is an enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU. Lenovo's office all-rounder easily handles office and internet applications as well as modest games - the Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM make this possible. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The emission values are okay, but the noise emissions should be lower under medium to full load. The relatively light notebook (approx. 1.6 kg) achieves practical battery runtimes of about 10 to 11 hours."
Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
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NotebookCheck
Benjamin Herzig | November 2022
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" or the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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