Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 14" HD Laptop I5-1135G1 CPU 256 GB

I bought the laptop about 3 months ago. It has been great for my use case which is programming with some gaming on the side.The screen is definitely the best part of the laptop. It's very sharp, color accurate, and 120hz so good for gaming as well.However, I've had a couple of issues with drivers and performance even after updating everything suggested from Lenovo Vantage and Windows. I've had to spend a good amount of time fixing some of them.First, I noticed the laptop randomly shuts down when on 'sleep' mode overnight. I initially set it to hibernate instead as a temporary fix but noticed that this isn't good as a long-term solution. So I read online that this can be fixed by downgrading the Realtek drivers to an older version. Following that fixed the ... MoreI bought the laptop about 3 months ago. It has been great for my use case which is programming with some gaming on the side.The screen is definitely the best part of the laptop. It's very sharp, color accurate, and 120hz so good for gaming as well.However, I've had a couple of issues with drivers and performance even after updating everything suggested from Lenovo Vantage and Windows. I've had to spend a good amount of time fixing some of them.First, I noticed the laptop randomly shuts down when on 'sleep' mode overnight. I initially set it to hibernate instead as a temporary fix but noticed that this isn't good as a long-term solution. So I read online that this can be fixed by downgrading the Realtek drivers to an older version. Following that fixed the issue for me but I'm surprised Lenovo hasn't addressed this issue and still suggests to update to the latest driver.Second, I had some performance issues with some games not working when using the 'Automatic Select' mode on Nvidia control panel. The only way I could fix this was by selecting 'Optimus' or 'Dedicated Graphics only' which I'm fine with but is kind've disappointing because I believe the Automatic Select mode saves a little more battery when compared to Optimus.Lastly, the palm rejection on the touchpad isn't very good. Many times, the touchpad would think I'm 'clicking' by tapping when I slightly move my hands, so I had to disable that functionality so that it only clicks when I fully press on it.Overall, the laptop isn't bad but Lenovo needs to address these issues as I've heard they're pretty common online. Luckily, I haven't had any issues with performance or battery life (about 4-5 hours on extreme performance mode) which is what I was mostly worried about. I think some of these issues may have also been because of Windows 11 but others are definitely an issue on the driver side.However, if I were to make the purchase again, I would probably spend $300-400 more and get the new Legion Slim 7 w/ WQXGA screen since it seems to be the better option overall and has more support.

Initially I was delighted with this computer, the specifications are brutal and give tremendous performance more than enough for work and daily use, what caught my attention the most was its anti-glare and 120 Hz screen, and I must say that the quality of the screen is excellent, its brightness level is adequate for indoors but not for outdoors, for that it is better to look for a 500 nits screen.After a few weeks I decided to install Steam to put this baby to the test, this computer was able to run H1Z1 (an old game and not so demanding) in maximum resolution (2.5k) and maximum settings and it was nice to see details that I never saw before. It is also worth mentioning that I had to connect it to the current because when it was disconnected the battery would drop ... MoreInitially I was delighted with this computer, the specifications are brutal and give tremendous performance more than enough for work and daily use, what caught my attention the most was its anti-glare and 120 Hz screen, and I must say that the quality of the screen is excellent, its brightness level is adequate for indoors but not for outdoors, for that it is better to look for a 500 nits screen.After a few weeks I decided to install Steam to put this baby to the test, this computer was able to run H1Z1 (an old game and not so demanding) in maximum resolution (2.5k) and maximum settings and it was nice to see details that I never saw before. It is also worth mentioning that I had to connect it to the current because when it was disconnected the battery would drop in a matter of minutes (approximately 30) and it would reduce the performance of the game.So everything was fine while gaming, until I took my headphones off and heard the excessive noise from the fans (my 8 year old Asus never made this level of noise even when gaming), then I touched the laptop and it was too hot, I opened the Lenovo Vantage app and it did indeed indicate that the battery temperature was 42 degrees Celsius. I decided to disconnect it and close the game until the temperature dropped, I have to mention that I did all the updates that the Lenovo Vantage application requested and also those of Windows itself, however the problem continued during the course that I continued testing it with the game that I mentioned, I ended up realizing that this computer does not have real gaming capabilities, I could have kept it for work use, but for that I would have bought a lighter laptop with better battery life, therefore I decided to return it. I have to say that Lenovo resolved me quickly through the chat to be able to make the return, they attended me very well.Best of all, thanks to this experience I learned that with a thin and relatively light laptop that has a dedicated GPU and a 120 Hz screen it is wrong to think that there will be no excess heat and poor battery life when playing demanding games. In my case, I'm going to get a desktop computer to play at home and have a lightweight laptop with long battery life for outings. But if you are definitely going to be gaming outside your home then look for a laptop that is designed for gaming but you have to understand that it is going to be heavier because it is going to need good ventilation and a bigger battery.

The case color is a very dark, dusky blue (Abyss Blue) and is very thin. The touchpad screen has a good feel to it, and the keyboard has an excellent feel, better than some other laptops of comparable price. It works very, very well with a Lenovo wireless RF mouse w dongle. The OS is Windows 11 Home, and it comes with the usual assortment of unnecessary (for most people) bells and whistles, which can be removed by the savvy user. I like the charging cord because it has an L-shape near the device connector, thus not causing you to need an extra 2" of room on the left just for the darned cord. The CPU is good for basic games and streaming video, and the 8 MB of RAM is sufficient if you don't tax it too much. If you want to have open programs, multiple browser tabs ... MoreThe case color is a very dark, dusky blue (Abyss Blue) and is very thin. The touchpad screen has a good feel to it, and the keyboard has an excellent feel, better than some other laptops of comparable price. It works very, very well with a Lenovo wireless RF mouse w dongle. The OS is Windows 11 Home, and it comes with the usual assortment of unnecessary (for most people) bells and whistles, which can be removed by the savvy user. I like the charging cord because it has an L-shape near the device connector, thus not causing you to need an extra 2" of room on the left just for the darned cord. The CPU is good for basic games and streaming video, and the 8 MB of RAM is sufficient if you don't tax it too much. If you want to have open programs, multiple browser tabs open and big downloading/streaming going on, you will need to add more RAM, which is doable on this model. Also, if you add a second RAM module, the memory becomes 'dual-channel' and that allows the CPU to upgrade its built-in video processing from Intel UHD to Iris XE. The boot drive is a Solid State Drive (SSD) and is basic entry level, only 256GB and not super fast. For plenty of storage, the machine also includes a 1-Terabyte SATA hard drive, not solid state. The RAM and the SSD can both can be upgraded after purchase, with the proper caution and know-how, and in my humble opinion, that will really get the best power and speed out of this machine for the money spent.I also really like the 'Novo Button'. It is a key located just to the right of the F12 key. It has a picture of a star with an 'S' on it. If you press the Start button and then press the Novo key right away, a 'Novo Button Menu' comes up. This menu allows you to enter the BIOS setup, enter the boot menu, enter a System Recovery mode, or just go to normal startup. This can be a real lifesaver if Windows has problems, especially System Recovery Mode!