Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (14 AMD, Gen 8) review – good budget daily driver with some downsides
Verdict
Alright, folks, it looks like the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (14″ AMD, Gen 8) is a fair deal. Sure, its cooling isn’t the best of the best but that’s expected for the class. The plastic chassis is flexible but again, this is normal for an inexpensive 14-incher. On the other hand, the laptop is light and compact, so the portability is good.
Let’s get back to the cooling once again – it has just one fan and one heat pipe, the fan is noisy when the CPU is under long heavy loads (and the temperatures are going above and beyond the 80°C mark), but the processor’s performance is definitely there. The chip can maintain close frequencies to the other two laptops with the same CPU that we have tested so far. In terms of raw power, the laptop is doing a fine job.
The optional backlit keyboard is comfortable for writing because it has long key travel and medium clicky feedback. The touchpad is smooth and precise thanks to its Mylar surface. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader which is another optional feature. Speaking of options, the 720p camera has a shitter switch, but you can also pick the 1080p variant if you prefer a high-resolution picture while making video calls.
The optional 1080p 16:9 IPS display (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7)) has good viewing angles and contrast ratio, and it’s also PWM-free. This means you can use it for long hours of work without feeling negative effects such as eye strain and headache (as always, you have to take short breaks between the working sessions and you should sit in front of the laptop in a proper position). The sRGB color coverage is low but since we are talking about a budget machine that isn’t meant for color-related work, this isn’t a big issue.
The upgrade options are almost non-existent. The memory is soldered to the mainboard and there is just one M.2 slot compatible with the shorter 2242 Gen 4 SSDs. Due to the AMD processor limitations, the slot speed is downgraded to Gen 3 values. Speaking of NVMes, the one in our device has QLC memory, and the results in the benchmarks are normal. However, we like the fact that the SSD is well-cooled with the aid of a thermal pad placed beneath the unit – the maximum reached temperature during our testing is just 35°C! Keep in mind that the RAM of the 16GB variants is working in a dual-channel mode, while the 4GB and 8GB versions (like the one we have for the review) rely on a single-channel mode.
Last but not least, the battery life is good for a device with a 47Wh unit and Ryzen 7 7730U chip – 11 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing, or 9 hours and 5 minutes of video playback is a good result. At least for us, the port selection is above the average level for the class – two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, an HDMI 1.4 connector, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.2 support, an Audio jack, and an SD card reader. Not bad!
If you are an unpretentious user who is looking to buy a decent daily driver that isn’t expensive, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (14″ AMD, Gen 8) is one of the possible options if you can live with the noisy fan during heavy load and the flexible build. This machine can be the sweet spot for a lot of budget buyers thanks to its snappy performance, long battery life, good input devices, and optional PWM-free IPS display.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-ideapad-slim-3-14-amd-gen-8/
Pros
- Optional fingerprint reader
- Thin and light body
- No PWM (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
- Good viewing angles and contrast ratio (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
- SD card slot and good port selection
- Surprisingly snappy performance
- Long battery life
- Comfortable keyboard with optional backlight
- Smooth touchpad
- The Web camera has a shutter switch
- Good CPU frequencies and power limits during any kind of load
Cons
- Plastic build with mediocre quality
- Soldered memory and just one M.2 slot
- 52% sRGB coverage (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
- The NVMe of our laptop has QLC memory
- Noisy fan and high processor temperatures especially in long loads
Author: Nikolay Palaozov
Author: eng. Kroum NikolovHead of Engineering at LaptopMedia.com, inventor and innovator with 40+ years of experience in electronics and high technology.
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