Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
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GENERAL USE: Fair—6.9/10
GAMING/AI: Fair—6.2/10
ENG/DESIGN: Fair—6.5/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Fair—6.7/10
CONTENT CREATION: Fair—6.8/10
PORTABILITY: Good—7.0/10
BATTERY: Good—7.0/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Fair—6.7/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Fair—6.9/10
SIZE: 15.6"
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 is a laptop that offers good general use and gaming capabilities at a lower midrange price. It has a decent processor and graphics card suitable for playing games and handling everyday tasks. The screen is a 15.6-inch IPS panel providing clear images with a high refresh rate, enhancing gaming and video experiences. It is not very light but should be portable enough for occasional transport. Battery life is moderate, suggesting you may need to stay close to a power outlet during long sessions. The laptop has a full-size backlit keyboard with a number pad and a good port selection including Ethernet and HDMI, but no Thunderbolt support. It's designed with a gaming appearance and released in late 2021, indicating relatively recent hardware. Its sound and webcam quality is good, while the build and heat management are fair. If gaming and general use are your priorities and you're okay with the weight and average battery life, this laptop could be a suitable choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Evaluation
Pros
- Affordable gaming laptop
- Decent performance for general use
- High refresh rate screen
- Good portability for a gaming device
- Backlit keyboard with number pad
Cons
- Basic build quality
- Mediocre battery life
- Limited RAM and storage
- Modest screen color performance
Ratings by Category
Keyboard Quality:4.4
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Build Quality:4.1
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability.
Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify.
Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
Battery Life:4.0
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
Portability:4.0
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
General Use Screen Quality:4.0
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Operating Noise:4.0
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
General Use:3.9
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
The most important factors in this score include CPU performance, amount of RAM, screen quality, storage, and battery life.
Keyboard quality, speaker quality, low fan noise, heat management, and to a lesser extent webcam quality are all moderately important factors for this score.
Content Creation:3.9
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, and video editing work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Software Development:3.7
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Engineering & Design:3.5
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 offers adequate CPU and GPU performance for 3D rendering and complex calculations often required in engineering disciplines, but its RAM and screen color accuracy—which include lower Adobe RGB coverage—are not optimal for high-fidelity design work where color precision is paramount.
Gaming & AI:3.3
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability as well as AI performance, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
While performance (especially graphics performance) is the most important factor determining this score, we also give modest weight to screen quality, heat management, keyboard quality, and storage.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $670 | ||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | ||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 9.9'' x 0.95'' | ||
Weight | 4.96 lbs | ||
Width | 14.16" | ||
Depth | 9.92" | ||
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 5600H | ||
RAM | 8 GB | ||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | ||
RAM Slots | 2 | ||
Storage | 256 GB | ||
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | 6 Hours | ||
Battery Capacity | 45 Wh | ||
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | ||
Display Technology | IPS | ||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | ||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | ||
Display Brightness | 292 nits | ||
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score  | 7.2/10 | ||
Portability Score | 7/10 | ||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | ||
Premium Business Laptop | No | ||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | ||
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | ||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.8/10 | ||
Webcam | 720p | ||
Fingerprint Reader | No | ||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | ||
Number Pad | Yes | ||
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | 2 | ||
USB-C ports | 1 | ||
USB-C Charging | No | ||
Display Outputs | 1 | ||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | ||
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Florian Glaser | October 2022
"The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 is one of the most powerful RTX 3050 Ti laptops. If you disregard the mediocre quality of the case in terms of the material and workmanship, Lenovo has created a successful budget gaming laptop with the IdeaPad Gaming. Thanks to high TDPs and constant performance development, the Core i5-12500H and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti are able to show their full power, while in contrast, the (mostly slower) competitors deliver a better battery life. However, hardly any of the alternative laptops are able to reach the image quality of the Gaming 3. Most of the competitors are left behind in terms of the color space and brightness."
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