Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" Laptop, 14.0" FHD 1920 x 1080 Display, AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics, Narrow Bezel, Windows 10, 81W0003QUS, Abyss Blue

It is very difficult to find a good laptop under $500, but this is a solid sub-$500 choice. I have owned this laptop for 3 years and haven’t noticed any issues with it. I have been able to run Steam and play games on this laptop with little to no issues. It isn’t a gaming laptop, but games are definitely playable and it seems to be able to handle most games with the occasional lag. This laptop is great for basic use and school or work use. It is a relatively fast laptop, especially for the price.The screen took me a while to get used to, though I am not sure if this was just my own personal issue or if the screen just takes time to get used to. Eventually I did get used to the screen. It is not a touch-screen laptop, which is what a lot of people might want. But, despite it not being touch-screen, it is still a really nice laptop.In terms of aesthetics, the color isn’t quite like what is pictured. It’s a much darker blue, more like navy blue. The laptop is pretty thin and isn’t too heavy, which makes it good for travel.

This is probably the best value for the money laptop I could find after extensive research. Sure, there's been deals with other laptops with an AMD 3500u inside but that was before the pandemic + prices have gone back up to normal.Now, the laptop. For $450, you're getting the AMD 3500u with the included Vega 8 GPU, 8GB RAM, 256gb SSD. The screen itself is nothing to die for. It's 1080p 60hz, and you definitely have to adjust the viewing angle sometimes because it can be too overexposed or too underexposed when viewing from extreme angles but it's a good screen in the endThe magic of this laptop comes from the price point vs. performanceThe 3500u totally demolishes any intel equivalent laptops at this price range out of the water, and the fact that it is an APU that comes with Vega 8 graphics is a godsenda i5 8250u (the price equivalent of the amd 3500u) with it's integrated graphics does half of the performance in games that the Vega 8 achieves, this can mean the difference between viewing a powerpoint presentation and getting a consistent and playable frame-rateTake GTA V for example. The Vega 8 achieves for me 1080p 35-45FPS with all "Normal" settings, and 720p 50-70FPS. The intel equivalent will only run you up to 720p 35-45FPS. Don't even try 1080p, at only 15-25FPS.Rocket League at 720p performance settings on the i5-8250u? 40-60FPS. Try 70-80FPS on the 3500u/Vega 8 combo.Fortnite? (yes I know) - 720p 35-45FPS on the 3500u. Try 20-30FPS on the i5-8250u.Enough gaming. Battery is fine on light workloads, and it charges super quickly. Like others have noted, some of the information on this amazon listing is wrong so do your research!Either way, I'm really happy with this laptop. Definitely is a good machine at a good price point. Great for work and for some light games. I would definitely recommend this laptop as well if you want to gift it to a child/teen for school + knowledge that it can run titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, etc and are on a budget.

I was looking for a reasonably priced laptop with decent CPU speed, 1920/1080 screen resolution, Windows 10 Home edition, good looks, solid feel. Debated between 15" and 14" screen and decided against 15" because I do not need the number keys on the right of the keyboard and the extra weight that comes with the larger laptop. Windows 10 S was a non-starter because it limits the apps to the Microsoft store only. Windows Home edition requires 8 GB of RAM for optimal performance. As of January'20, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 was the best option for me.After a week with the laptop, I think it was reasonably fast for browsing out of the box and on the slow side for running PC apps. Out of the 8 GB RAM, it turned out that 2.2 GB was reserved, leaving only 5.8 GB available. Task Manager showed that RAM was becoming a bit of a bottleneck, so I upgraded the 4 GB removable memory card (the other 4 GB are soldered onto the motherboard) to an 8 GB card and the difference in speed was astounding - browsing is noticeably faster and the PC apps that I run take half the time to boot up and to run identical functions. If you are upgrading, know that memory speed (frequency) on this CPU is limited to 2400 MHz. Interestingly, the factory card that came out of the laptop was rated at 3200 MHz to allow overclocking. I put in a 2666 MHz card, but it will run at 2400 MHz anyway.Other positives with this laptop are that it has one of the best keyboards I have seen anywhere - with oversize keys and just the right amount of resistance. it would have been perfect for me if it weren't for the lack of keyboard illumination. It also has a fairly quiet fan that you barely hear even in a quiet room. The laptop weighs only 3.3 lbs and feels light. I love the blue cover finish and it has a solid feel all around. Narrow screen bezel is great. Camera shutter is a nice feature. Screen hinge is very solid.On the downside, the screen colors and contrast are underwhelming and I spent a lot of time tweaking the graphics card to improve them. It made a noticeable difference but there is still a bluish hue that simply refuses to go away without a significant impact to contrast and clarity. The screen is also not bright enough to use outdoors and it has a very narrow viewing angle. The touchpad makes some clunky noises and overall is not very responsive. It does take some getting used to but seems to be getting a bit better with gradual use.Overall, this is a a very good sub-$500 laptop, best I could find for that price and great value for the money. Definitely upgrade the memory card to 8 GB. Also, worth comparing this laptop to the Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, which is a viable option if you are looking for a 15" screen. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a big step up in processing power and overall specs but the Acer Aspire 5 comes with a bigger screen with better clarity, illuminated keyboard, and costs over $100 less. With a memory card upgrade ($60 for an 8 GB card to 12 GB total) and a free OS upgrade to Windows 10 Home edition, the Acer is a good alternative if you are willing to upgrade it.