Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 review: Enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU

[Redaktion]

Lenovo's office notebook offers a strong Ryzen 5 APU, moderate emissions and good battery runtimes. Another positive aspect: USB-C power delivery is supported.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-IdeaPad-3-15ABA7-review-Enduring-office-notebook-with-a-powerful-Ryzen-APU.695675.0.html

[NikoB]

In my country, this version is sold for about 600 euros. But no one buys it, it has been lying dead weight on the shelves for a long time, the price has been lowered, but still they do not buy it. For a simple reason - RAM is monstrously slow even in dual-channel mode (hello, the slow memory controller even in Zen3) by the standards of even DDR4 3200 (the norm should be at least 43-45GByte/s). And expanding the memory over 16GB in dual-channel (even in such a slow mode) is impossible due to the idiocy of Lenovo with 1 memory slot, unlike the Acer Aspire series 2022, which is sold for the same money with 2 M.2 2280, 2 memory slots, many times more cool ports version with TB4 for Intel version, and a much cooler screen (for +150 euros for 2.5k screen). The only downside of the Acer Aspire is the broken idiotic numpad version, which eliminates fast blind typing and navigation with it and the idiotic power button in the same place. But the IP3 doesn't even have a keyboard backlight...

Today, a laptop, especially for 800 euros without 32GB of RAM in fast dual channel mode, is simply ridiculous for the buyer. Even ordinary buyers have already realized this, so such items are dead weight in warehouses.

Requirements for a modern business laptop:
1. 2 ram slots with easy expansion up to 64GB, 2 M.2 2280,
2. A screen of at least 2.5k@144Hz (and better than 4k@120Hz in general in all laptops from 900 euros) with a contrast of 1500: 1 matte or semi-matte, with 100% sRGB and a response of no more than 7ms on G2G / B2W,
3. 2-3 usb-a 3.2 Gen 2 ports, plus a mandatory TB4/USB40 port, plus RJ45 from 2.5Gbps for fast connection to office servers and home NAS, plus HDMI 2.1 (full at 48Gbps) to support external monitors and projectors/ 4k@120Hz TV with HDR/30bit in 4:4:4 mode,
4. A full-fledged keyboard with a stroke of 1.8mm - a full numpad for the width of the keys, a full height row for Esc, F1..F12. No stupid gag with the Enter key - standard in 2 rows. Be sure to backlight customizable both in bios and in OS by shutdown time (or without shutdown, if the owner so desires). Push-button RGB is highly desirable in older business lines, plus a separate power button outside the keyboard
5. Maximum increase in severity and efficiency of the cooling system in 15.6+. The minimum noise, at the maximum impulse load of the processor - a priority.
In surfing, video and office, the fans should not be audible from 50cm or off in a balanced profile.
6. The laptop must have S3(STR) Suspend to RAM mode, with minimal consumption. Waking up on the keyboard (except for special combinations) and on the mouse, opening the screen lid should be disabled in OS and bios.

And of course, the power supply of the laptop should be either at the back or on the side with an angled connector that does not stick out to the side and does not prevent the right-hander (or left-hander) from using the laptop reclining on the couch. Down with these moronic and easily breakable usb-c in the only power option!

Best laptops by power options in business series 2022 - G8 4/85x series
and Acer Aspire 5 - it is almost the best in terms of the number and composition of ports, as well as the best screen for minimal money. It's a pity that Acer has been killing sales itself for years, making an idiotic keyboard with a damaged numeric keypad and a power button inside it. But they could just install a keyboard like in the Legion series to increase sales 10 times...

Here is the "gentleman's" set of characteristics of a modern 15.6+ business laptop, which the population will buy for work. It is work, and not use as a system unit in the case of poor 12-14 "models. And use at home on sofas and beds as a multimedia model.

As soon as Acer put a normal, full-fledged keyboard in the Aspire 5 (just copying the version from the Legion series) and Lenovo will have no chance to sell their Ideapad lines on the market...

Sales of Lenovo have already collapsed so much, tk. the former leadership in the sector is apparently already behind, judging by the lines of 2022 and especially 2023...

[NikoB]

This laptop can't even be connected to 4k TV/projectors or an HDR enabled 4k monitors, despite the fact that the 5625U(Zen3) natively supports HDMI 2.0b and DP1.4b - Lenovo claims only infamous and antique in 2022 and even more so in 2023 - DP1.2 on usb-c and HDMI 1.4b only. It full shame.

Lenovo marketers simply ordered the engineers not to bring them outside and block them in bios, lowering the version of the native protocol of the integrated video card in the SoC, unlike Acer, where everything works as it should with both AMD and Intel versions.

[Mike_14]

The CPU doesn't support PCIe 4, so it doesn't matter that the SSD is PCIe 4. Lenovo themselves say so on their psref.lenovo website (I'm not allowed to post the whole link) and you can see on the AMD amd-ryzen-5-5625u website the same info.

[Badger]

@NikoB, If the Ryzen laptop is so bad, why is it topping the performance and battery charts?

[NikoB]

What nonsense are you writing? I didn't say that the 5625U is bad, I said that all its advantages are deliberately turned off by Lenovo marketers in this model.

There is no support for 32 and 64GB of memory in fast dual-channel mode, there is no HDMI 2.0b, there is no port for DP1.4b. Those, no HDR support on TVs/monitors/projectors. There are no 10Gb/s usb-a/c ports, there is no mandatory support of RJ45 for office, although all this is built into the SoC.

In fact, this craft is meaningless from the point of view of the effective use of SoC resources at the disposal of developers.

It's impossible to even view photos and videos on it, and it's easy on an $80 smartphone because this smartphone will have 90% sRGB, while this disgrace only has 55-56%.

Other than a laptop option for a secretary working in an office with text and numbers, it is no longer good for anything. But then it's too expensive...

It is disgusting as an all-purpose home or office laptop.

[peja]

in my country its 376 euro. come with 36.7wh battery and additional 2.5 drive compare to this version