Lenovo - IdeaPad 3 15" Laptop - Intel Core i3-1005G1 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Platinum Grey

This laptop is fairly priced normally, but if you can get it on sale it's simply the best value available right now in a new laptop. I picked mine up a couple days ago for $299.99 and at that price, there is nothing that can compare with it (new). You can read about the specs elsewhere so I won't bother to address here. Instead I'll try to add some observations as I think of them that I hope will still be useful. First, Lenovo reps will always jump into these comments and question sections to tell us that "this model is not user upgradable. A certified technician must do all of the work, so as to not void the warranty." While it may void the warranty, it is not true that the model is not user upgradable. In fact, this laptop is particularly easy to open up, and the RAM, SSD, WIFI card and battery are all upgradable/replaceable. RAM comes dual channel, with 4GB soldered and 4GB replaceable (see photo). Lenovo states that the replaceable slot can take up to 8GB, but many people are reporting they've stuck 16GB in there and they're getting all 20GB total. I happened to have an extra 8GB stick of DDR4 2667MHz available, so I pulled out the 4GB and threw that in there for a total of 12Gb, and that's working perfectly. Also, as I read through some of the Lenovo reps' answers to questions, I see there is quite a bit of incorrect information. For example, the laptop DOES have a media reader (SD card) and the display is 1920x1080 (FHD) IPS, *NOT* a TN 1366 X 768 (HD) screen, as stated by a Lenovo rep in answer to a question on this site. Anyway, at this price, there is really little for me to complain about. Yes, I wish it had a backlit keyboard, and yes I really wish it had a USB-C port (which is a ridiculous omission here towards the end of 2020), and perhaps some of the plastic (eg, the bottom panel could look less cheap...but for $299.99 I'm willing to overlook such things. The laptop works perfectly well (even with the stock 8GB RAM) for all of the tasks you are likely to do with a sub-$500 computer (office apps, media consumption/streaming, even light gaming as the integrated G1 graphics on the Ice Lake i3 are also good enough to handle some decent games at over 60fps also [e.g., CS:GO, Dirt Rally] if you play with settings/resolutions.) It also has a decent keyboard, with nice spacing between keys, and a numpad (which is not a given these days, even on 15" laptops). The keystrokes are a little shallow, but all in all it's a good typing experience. The audio on this laptop is surprisingly good. It gets pretty loud compared to many laptops (especially ones this inexpensive), and distortion-free, though it's by no means any kind of audiophile experience. Play with the Dolby settings and EQ and and you can settle in to sound that you like. One downside for me is the SD reader; I like to keep a 400GB Micro SD card loaded with music in my laptops, since I am constantly listening to tunes on the go and want to be able to do that anywhere without worrying about streaming and internet connectivity. And while I can certainly still do that with this laptop, the SD cards do not sit even close to flush with the side of the laptop, they protrude quite a bit. WIFI is an Intel AC 9560 card, and I'm getting great speeds with no complaints. For anyone upgrading the SSD or starting off with a clean install of Win 10, do go to Lenovo's site and download "Lenovo Utility." Among other things, this is the application that will then allow you to easily switch the BIOS system performance modes (thermal profiles - Intelligent Cooling [15W TDP], Battery Saving [12.5W TDP] or Extreme Performance [25W TDP]) via Fn +Q. I would recommend this laptop even at full price, but if you can get it on sale, it's a fantastic deal.

The over all performance of the laptop is great for the $300.00 Black Friday cost. I don't regret buying. Mostly used for web surfing and some remote desktop connections to other PCs. There was almost no bloat at all! Couple Lenovo utilities, some ID Theft protection offer, and McAfee anti-virus and that was about it. If I had paid full price I would have been happy as well. I did take it out of S Mode and upgraded to Pro in case I need to play around with Hyper-V or Sandbox. It does have an interesting feature; when the laptop is turned off and you press any key a battery graphic shows up showing the remaining charge. Not sure how useful that is but I think its an interesting feature. Keyboard and track pad are decent. No complaints. They seem solid, keyboard has decent travel, The NVMe SSD is as "SKHynix HFM256GDHTNI-87A0B." Certainly not fastest SSD but OK performance, The LED panel is a "AUO B156HAN02.1." It is not IPS as noted the Lenovo rep in a few replies to questions here. Its an "a-Si TN" panel. Granted, I would say a good TN panel for sure but you need to use Intel Display app to tweak the colors and contrast. Its better than the typical TN panels used in the Dell's and HP's I have recently owned. Max brightness is what I would I would consider a bit low. Battery, when in a more conservative mode seems to be about 3 to 4 hours. This was not the extreme battery saver mode and the brightness on the screen was at max. I rated this laptop 5 stars because the value is really good!

I have been eyeing a laptop to replace my Dell which was bought in 2016 (with a 4gb RAM). When I saw this deal, I know I have to get it. This Lenovo laptop is lightweight, slick design, and run fast (which is expected with a 8gb RAM). The graphic quality and sound quality are great. I am not a gamer and this laptop is mainly used for school related work which brings me to the next point. I have to switch out of the S mode because I have to install other programs/software such as Google Chrome and WebEx. Overall, I am happy with the purchase and I think this is the best deal for $300.

This is a great laptop if you can get for 299.99. Once you get it, make sure you upgrade the RAM by getting a 16 GB 2666 Mhz (PC4 21300) SODIMM stick. Even though Lenovo's website show that max RAM is 12GB, you can upgrade up to 20 GB (4GB is already built in). I mainly use this computer for light gaming (emulation), internet surfing, and office suite application. So far, I did not have any issues with the computer.

Probably the BEST DEAL I have ever found on a laptop. I bought the same model and not a week let found it even less expensive, so I bought this one and returned the other. Not one problem. A couple freebies and more points. This is a great laptop for almost anything! I highly recommend this make and model!!

It’s cool to see a fairly new laptop with these specs be this cheap, for everyday tasks this thing is amazing, I’m pretty sure you could run some light gaming on it as well, (Minecraft csgo etc) overall I’m pretty satisfied

The keyboard has comfortable big keys for me to use. I love that the best. I have in complaints this item is easy to use and light weight and portable

The actual computer was not the slightest bit durable. Would not recommend for anyone that planned on flying with it, transporting it to and from work; the plastic pieces broke (shell case, display frame) during a security check for carryon luggage. Also the non backlit keyboard was a bummer that had no solution. Splirge anothed $50 for a better model