Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Review: Best Budget Laptop For Students
Choosing the right laptop for students can be challenging as you expect the full top specs at a restricted budget. No doubt the budget-range laptops have upgraded themselves today. But when it comes to providing the best value for your money, can we vouch for Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i? Let us find out.
When you look for an excellent budget-range laptop in the market, you will encounter a sea of computing devices from multiple brands that sport mostly similar specs. But Lenovo stands out in this crowd with its expertise in consistently delivering the best specs at low cost. Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i is the brand’s another good launch that proves to be one of the good buys.
The price of the Lenovo Ideapad 10th gen i3 laptops starts under Rs. 30,000. The two versions have a screen size of 15.6 inches and 14 inches. However, here we will talk about the Ideapad slim 3i laptops with the 11th gen intel core i3 processors, as many of you would like an upgraded processor.
Explore More: Latest core i3 11th generation laptops
Popular Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Models
Type 1 — (Core i5 11th Gen / 15.6 inches)
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Core i5 11th gen (8 GB/256GB SDD/15.6”)
Model No: 82H801CSIN | Price: Rs. 50,549 | 415+ Bought Recently
Type 2 — (Core i5 11th Gen / 14 inches)
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Core i5 11th gen (8 GB/512GB SDD/14”)
Model No: 82H700KTIN | Price: Rs. 53,800 | 442+ Bought Recently
Type 3 — (Core i3 11th Gen / 15.6 inches)
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Core i3 11th gen (8 GB/256GB SDD/15.6”)
Model No: 82H802FAIN | Price: Rs. 39,780 | 25+ Bought Recently
Type 4 — (Core i3 11th Gen / 14 inches)
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3i Core i3 11th gen (8 GB/256GB SDD/14”)
Model No: 82H700KAIN | Price: Rs. 43,990 | 167+ Bought Recently
Design and Build
Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i is an aesthetically appealing laptop that you will instantly fall in love with at first sight. The gorgeous metal finish body with an arctic gray colour gives it a premium look. You can also choose from the other colour variants, including abyss blue, sand, and galaxy blue. You may expect an extremely slim and compact laptop at the sight of the name Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i. Even though it is primarily true, it is not the thinnest laptop at the price point. However, it is a compact laptop to carry around. It offers a better typing position with a design that grows slimmer as it moves away from the hinge. The keys on the keyboard are well spaced and the trackpad supports all the hand gestures. The keyboard type is non-backlit. But it is not a problem, considering the budget.
Display
It has an elegant screen with a decent display. The two variants come with a 14-inch and a 15.6-inch screen. Even though the brand claims ultra-thin bezels on all four sides, the upper and lower bezels catch your attention. However, the two-sided bezels are pleasantly sleek. Regarding display, it is pretty good for typical work days and educational purposes. Both the 15.6-inch and 14-inch laptops come with a TN FHD display with 220–250 nits brightness and anti-glare technology. For the price range, these specs are worth the buy. Although the pixels and colours come out better in the 14-inch variant, the screen might not be the ideal choice for consuming multimedia or for gaming. The laptops target the students and professionals that need a decent laptop at an affordable price. So, if that is what you are looking for, this one does a great job.
Explore More: Latest Lenovo laptops at best prices
Performance
The fine-tuned melange of the 11th gen Intel core i3 processor, 8 GB DDR4 RAM, and an SSD memory offer a buttery smooth multitasking experience. It is your best bet when you need a laptop for work that requires moving back and forth on multiple tabs, spreadsheets, documents and more. There are many other devices in the market with similar specs, but it provides a 1 TB HDD storage instead of SSD. But this device has privilege over them as they lag in faster software access. A 256 GB SSD works faster than a 1 TB HDD storage. The 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD combination will equip your mobile computing device with everything it needs to accomplish. But if you like, you can further expand the RAM and storage in the future to 16 GB and 512 GB, respectively. The device supports hybrid storage, enabling HDD and SSD storage to co-exist on one laptop.
Battery Performance
Lenovo does not make any fancy additions to the Ideapad slim 3i to make the specs look good on paper. The FHD TN display and Intel core 3i processors will aid you in your jobs and yet do not consume a lot of battery. So, be assured of a laptop with a good battery backup. Depending on your usage, the battery lasts up to 6–8 hours which is suitable for the price range.
Connectivity
The Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i sports 6 ports. The 3 USB ports, an HDMI port, a card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack. Although it lacks a LAN port, it supports wireless connectivity with WIFI 6.
Read More: Best Gaming Laptops Under Rs. 70,000
Audio System
The bottom-firing 1.5 W stereo speakers are quite efficient. If you are a music lover, you would love the addition of Dolby Audio. But the listening experience with headphones is still the best.
Warranty
Lenovo offers 2 years onsite warranty on Ideapad slim 3i series laptop. But you can also avail a year of additional extended warranty, 3 years of premium care and accidental damage protection by paying a small extra amount during the purchase.
Final Verdict
Lenovo Ideapad slim 3i is an affordable laptop that gets its fundamentals right, and that is why it will make you want to own it. Its build and design are definitely a charm, and the SSD storage is an addition to why you should like this computing machine. The 14-inch and 15.6-inch laptops weigh 1.4 kgs and 1.6 kgs, respectively, making them perfect picks for portability. However, the webcam is not as good as it could have been. But considering the price range, there is hardly anything that you can complain about the device. It is undoubtedly one of the best laptops for students. Do you agree with us? Let us know in the comment.
