By We evaluated a $769 model of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, a 15-inch low-cost touchscreen laptop that is sold at Costco. Although I usually like Lenovo laptops, this one falls short of my expectations. Although this laptop has a good design and good construction, it seems like so many compromises have been made, and the cost has increased enough that the final product isn’t very good. For the following reasons, this type of product makes “budget” seem like a caution.
Specification
There is an Intel Core 5 210H CPU in the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3. Despite being an Intel Core (Series 2) processor, this one is built on Raptor Lake hardware from the previous year rather than Lunar Lake technology from this year. For Copilot+ PC features and other AI tasks, you won’t find a neural processing unit (NPU) here. Additionally, you won’t find the significantly enhanced integrated graphics and increased power efficiency that Lunar Lake provided here.
- 15IRH10R is the model number (83K4000RUS).
- CPU: 210H Intel Core 5
- Memory: DDR5 16 GB
- Intel Graphics is the graphics/GPU.
- NPU: Not present
- Display: 15.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS screen with touch screen and refresh rate of 60 Hz
- 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD for storage
- The 1080p webcam has a physical privacy shutter.
- One USB Type-C (5Gbps), two USB Type-A (5Gbps), one HDMI 1.4, one combination audio jack, one SD card reader, and one power connector are among the connectivity options.
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6
- Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition using an infrared camera
- Capacity of battery: 60 Watt-hours
- 13.52 x 9.43 x 0.74 inches in size
- 3.59 pounds in weight
- MSRP as tested: $769
Design and build quality
The laptop has a really good design. It has a smooth plastic construction rather than a metal chassis, yet it feels fine and doesn’t feel squeaky or low-quality. The color “Cosmic Blue” is a pleasant dark shade that seems more blue in the light. It has a contemporary Lenovo design that closely resembles more expensive Lenovo laptops.
Although I require both hands to open the laptop, the hinge seems sturdy and can be turned 180 degrees to lie the machine flat. The design is entirely functional. It doesn’t appear inexpensive. There are a few popups straight out of the box because this is a low-cost consumer laptop, but you can disable McAfee antivirus, for instance, and ignore the other alerts. These contribute to the low cost. Out of the box, it’s a pain, but it’s okay.
Display and Speakers
The poorest feature of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is its 15.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS display. It appears quite dark on paper at 300 nits of brightness. However, the display seems abnormally dim, and the colors seem pretty drab as well. Even after turning it up to full brightness, I still feel like I could use more brightness. Yes, the anti-glare coating is effective. At this scale, though, a higher resolution would be preferable, or at the very least, a panel with better contrast and more vivid colors. This display’s 60Hz refresh rate is also a little low-end, but that’s the least of my worries.
This laptop has a touch screen, which naturally functions well. Having a touch screen is always convenient. There are also issues with the speakers. The audio quality is a little tinny, and they are rather quiet. When I review laptop speakers, I listen to Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Steely Dan’s Aja on Spotify. The bass in Get Lucky and the instrument separation in Aja were both abnormally poor for laptop speakers. Although the design and construction quality are superb, this laptop is still quite affordable.
Connectivity
For a low-cost laptop, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 does contain a respectable number of ports. This device features a full-size SD card reader and a USB Type-A connection on the right side. Lenovo has a power connector on the left side (unlike many other laptops, this one does not charge via USB-C), a second USB Type-A port, an HDMI 1.4 out port, a USB Type-C port, and a combination audio jack. It’s good to have an SD card slot, many USB Type-A connectors, and HDMI out.
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are supported by this device; Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 are not future-proof. Even though many people may find this sufficient, it all seems a little low-end given how many laptops now come equipped with Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, HDMI 2.1 out, and Thunderbolt 4.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 – Everyday Laptop – Lightweight – Windows 11-15.6″ FHD – 8GB Memory – 256GB Storage – AMD Ryzen 3 7320U – Arctic Grey
Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 works well for daily activities such as online browsing, Office application use, Spotify music listening (with headphones), and other standard Windows desktop applications. This Intel Core 5 210H processor is more than adequate for standard Windows desktop operation, even though it isn’t a speed demon.
Cinebench R20 is then used. This benchmark, which emphasizes total CPU performance, is substantially multithreaded. CPUs with more cores have a significant advantage because it is massively multithreaded. This multi-threaded score of 3,270 was generated by the IdeaPad Slim 3. Unless you have a demanding and multithreaded CPU-heavy workload, the Intel Core 5 210H’s eight cores (four performance cores and four efficiency cores) didn’t yield impressive results on our multithreaded benchmark.
We also use Handbrake to run an encode. Although it runs for a long time, this benchmark is also significantly multithreaded. Under load, many laptops choke and slow down, requiring the cooling system to kick in. This machine’s Intel Core 5 210H completed the encoding operation in 2,330 seconds, or almost 39 minutes. That’s a long time, but once more, if you want to run demanding, CPU-intensive tasks, this isn’t the type of system you should get.
A graphical benchmark is then run. Even though this laptop isn’t meant for gaming, it’s still a good idea to see how the GPU functions. We use the GPU performance-focused graphical benchmark 3Dmark Time Spy. This system was significantly hampered by Meteor Lake’s integrated Intel Graphics. This is three to four times slower than contemporary laptops with Intel Lunar Lake’s Arc graphics chip, as indicated by its 3Dmark Time Spy score of 1,164.
This outdated platform is a significant disadvantage if you wish to run a GPU-intensive application or play games occasionally. Overall, the IdeaPad Slim 3’s performance isn’t particularly impressive, even though it performed admirably when running standard desktop apps. While the low integrated graphics performance is a pain, the multithreaded performance isn’t very important in this case.
Conclusion
“Who is this for?” is a question I like to ask while reviewing laptops. There is generally someone who will enjoy a laptop, even if it doesn’t make sense for most people. However, I find it difficult to understand the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3. If you don’t look too carefully at the specs, it has a good design and build quality, decent desktop performance, and a better-than-average port variety.
However, $769 seems too pricey for a laptop that doesn’t truly stand out. I believe I could understand the case for this computer if the display were more appealing or, at the very least, less boring. Both cheap laptops, which are significantly less expensive, and laptops in the same price range that provide a superior experience are visible when I look at PCWorld’s list of the best laptops.
However, it will work fine if you don’t need a lot from your PC and you find this on sale for less. However, given its retail price, I am unable to suggest the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3.
