[Video Review] Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i 15 – can it disrupt the budget gaming market?


Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (15", 2021) in-depth review

Pretty much every manufacturer is trying to bring the power of gaming to the masses. Ultimately, there are two ways to do that. Either you make one of your existing notebooks less powerful, and cheaper to make, or you make an entirely new product. In the case of Lenovo, they chose the second option two years ago, and they have ever since tried to perfect their product.Now, it is available in both Intel and AMD configurations, with the former being designated by an "i" inside of the name. Hence, the laptop for review today is the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (15", 2021). It is the result of ma[...]

Pros

  • Great price/performance ratio
  • Sleek design and lid, which is easy to open
  • Great keyboard with an optional RGB backlight
  • Two M.2 slots (or one M.2 + 2.5-inch SATA)
  • The display doesn't flicker at any brightness level (LEN156FHD (LEN9052))
  • 2.5-inch SATA drive mounting accessories inside the box

Cons

  • Lacks an SD card reader and Thunderbolt support
  • Covers only 53% of sRGB (LEN156FHD (LEN9052))
  • GPU gets quite toasty
  • Battery discharges during gaming in Performance mode

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (15", 2021) - Specs

  • LEN156FHD (LEN9052)
  • Color accuracy  5.3  4.1
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 4000GB SSD
  • M.2 Slot
  • 1x 2242 M.2 PCIe x4 + 1x 2280 M.2 PCIe x4  See photo
  • RAM
  • up to 64GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro, No OS
  • Battery
  • 45Wh, 3-cell
  • Body material
  • Plastic / Polycarbonate
  • Dimensions
  • 359.6 x 251.9 x 24.2 mm (14.16" x 9.92" x 0.95")
  • Weight
  • 2.25 kg (5 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 2x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • HDMI
  • 2.0
  • Card reader
  • Ethernet LAN
  • 10, 100, 1000 Mbit/s
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.0
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Web camera
  • HD
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Microphone
  • Speakers
  • 2x 2W, Nahimic Audio
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments