So, if you bought a new gaming laptop in the past few years, you’ve probably gotten a lot out of it. But how much further can you push it past the new mark? This is the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 years later. And just as the name suggests, if you buy this thing, minimum 3 years on a due. On your screen right now are the raw stats of my laptop, which we’ll further dive into in a moment.
Exterior and Portability
Taking a look at the exterior, this laptop still looks pristine. No bumps, bruises, literally one tiny hair scratch from the last review, but that’s it. Now, this wasn’t just by happen stance. I took an active role in protecting this laptop, such as keeping the fabric that goes inside of it to protect the screen and also using a carrying sleeve when I travel. But because of all that effort, wow, this is still a new looking laptop.
With an almost 16-in screen, the Idea Pad is definitely sizable, yet it still fits in its sleeve and my backpack just fine. Weight is a non-issue for me. I’ve taken this thing out of my back for miles without too much agony. But for most of you, don’t do that. For the regular commute, this laptop is just like any other.
Connectivity and Input Experience
Taking a look at the sides of the device, the connectivity is good. It has a mix of USBA ports and a USBC port. The only issue I have with this laptop is that I feel it needs one more USBA on the left side. You see, I can connect my mouse. I can connect my microphone, but I can’t connect anything else, which yeah, there is the one USBC port, but that’s taken up by my headphones. So, an additional USB port would have been nice for other peripherals.
But taking a look at the inside, gosh, that keyboard is still so great. Most laptops around this age would find some problems with their keyboard, such as maybe getting a key jammed or a chip getting in there, but no, nothing. This keyboard is simply incredible. Really tactile and a joy to type on. Great stuff, Lenovo.
Going further down, the trackpad is only okay. I feel as though every time I use it, it’s just overly sensitive and I click on things needlessly. But since it’s a gaming laptop, you’re most definitely going to use a mouse anyway. So, not too much of an issue there, though. Something to consider if you ever find yourself without a mouse.
Display Quality and Brightness
Moving up, the screen looks great if you play in a dark environment. Every time I play, especially when I get off work during the golden hour of the sunset, that is really tough. I can’t see what I’m doing. This is a common complaint with this laptop. It’s screen brightness, which is funny because when in dark lighting, I love the look of the display. High refresh rate, good colors, beautiful all around, usable, but best to keep in the shade.
Performance and Storage Capabilities
Performance-wise, the laptop still does well 3 years later, but it was and still very much is a budgetoriented laptop. So, it didn’t perform the absolute best back in the day, though it still holds up now. I can still play all the games I want to play with this machine, and since I upgraded the RAM, it’s even more capable of doing what I need it to do. I can play on it, record on it, stream on it, etc. It’s quite capable.
Now, storage-wise, I probably should have upgraded that, too. 512 GB, that’s not great. I can only download a few games at a time on this thing. And they’re definitely not the most AAA titles out there all the time. So, if you get this laptop at this moment in time, make sure you have some storage handy, whether it’s an external drive or you actually manually get in there.
But here’s one reason why I didn’t upgrade the storage. My bootup time. This laptop beats literally everyone. It loads up so incredibly fast when I turn it on. It’s actually incredible. I don’t know if I got super lucky with the aging of this thing or it’s because I actually don’t like to customize or download a ton of stuff on my devices, but this thing boots up so fast. Honestly, faster now than before. I’m really impressed by that. And it makes playing and recording on it seamless.
Battery and Final Verdict
Battery life-wise, yeah, we don’t need to talk about that with a gaming laptop. It’s not great, but it lasts for some time while gaming. Just don’t expect to be playing on this thing in battery mode for too long. It doesn’t last more than 3 to four hours for me.
Since the last time I made a review on this laptop, I noted that there’s still value in this little thing, and I still believe that. Should you get it at full price? Probably not. A good sale here and there, though, that’ll do you well. And these things are always on sale, and you can find a well-maintained one elsewhere. So, definitely take a look at that.
But for me, yeah, I have noticed a little bit of aging due to me pushing this laptop with consistent recording and streaming. But truthfully, it’s still good at what it does. Do I wish there was another USBA? Yes. And do I wish it had the newest specs? Yes. Do I wish the trackpad was better? Yes. But is it still good? Yes. This thing has survived the test of time and enabled me to start my other channel using solely this laptop for gaming. So, because of that, I say well done, Lenovo.
If you were to take me back to February 2022 and I had the same budget for a gaming laptop, I 100% would go back and buy this thing again. It’s been reliable, dependable, no nonsense, and unproatic. I couldn’t be happier. And that was my three-year review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, a long-term relationship that has survived a lot. I couldn’t be happier with it as I look forward to my new one, but I’ll still keep this around for a little while longer. Check out the affiliate links down below for this laptop and its reliable alternatives that should satisfy your needs. And without further ado, my name is Cirus. That’s spelled like Cyrus, notic rooster. Just tag the tur. Thank you very much for reading and have a wonderful day.
