Lenovo IdeaPad 15.3" Slim 3, Ryzen 5 7535HS, 8GB, 512GB SSD, Luna Grey

The Ryzen 5 7535HS is fine, but 8GB of RAM at the 21st percentile will frustrate you within a year. Gaming score of 16.5/100 means the 'gaming laptop' label is pure marketing fiction. At USD 660 it's a decent budget buy, but at USD 900 or European prices, look elsewhere.

The Ryzen 5 7535HS is a capable 6-core, 12-thread chip with a 4.5GHz boost clock. In our database it lands at the 56th percentile for CPUs, which means it's about average for a modern laptop. That's not a knock. For everyday tasks, web browsing, Office apps, and light photo editing, this chip handles things without breaking a sweat. The 8GB of DDR5 RAM is the bottleneck. At the 21st percentile, it's well below what we'd want to see in 2025. Windows 11 alone will eat 4-5GB, leaving you with barely enough headroom for a dozen Chrome tabs and Spotify. The 512GB NVMe SSD sits at the 52nd percentile, which is fine. Load times are quick, and 512GB is enough for most people unless you're hoarding games or raw video.

The integrated Radeon 660M graphics are where the marketing falls apart. At the 58th percentile for GPUs, it's technically middle of the pack, but that's among all laptops including budget machines. For actual gaming, our score of 16.5 out of 100 tells the real story. You'll get playable frame rates in esports titles at 1080p low settings, but anything more demanding will struggle. The 15.3" IPS panel with 300 nits brightness and 45% NTSC color coverage is average. It's fine for documents and Netflix, but don't expect vibrant colors for photo or video work.

Stacked against the competition, the IdeaPad Slim 3 15 struggles to justify itself. The Apple MacBook Pro M5 absolutely demolishes it in every category that matters, CPU, GPU, screen, and battery life, though it costs significantly more. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA-U9321TB offers a better display and more RAM in a similar price bracket, making it the smarter buy for most people. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition has a superior screen and build quality, and the HP OmniBook X Flip 14-fk0033dx brings better portability and a touchscreen. Even the MSI Creator A13V, which is aimed at creators, has a dedicated GPU that makes this IdeaPad's integrated graphics look sad. The one area where the Lenovo holds its own is reliability, at the 81st percentile, but that's not enough to overcome the RAM and GPU deficits.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map. In the US, you'll find it between USD 660 and USD 900 across two listings. That's a USD 240 spread for the same laptop, which is wild. If you're buying in the US, shop around and don't pay a cent over USD 700 for this config. The European pricing is a different story entirely. EUR 1,890 to EUR 2,069 in Spain, France, and Italy is frankly absurd for 8GB of RAM and integrated graphics. At that price, you're in MacBook Air territory, and the MacBook will run circles around this thing. The GBP 1,405 UK price is similarly rough. If you're outside the US, this laptop makes almost no sense at these prices.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15 lands in a weird spot. It's got a Ryzen 5 7535HS, a 6-core chip that sits at the 56th percentile in our database, and 8GB of DDR5 RAM that's down at the 21st percentile. That RAM number is the one that'll bite you first. The 512GB NVMe SSD is solid, right around average, and the 15.3" IPS display is fine for everyday use but nothing special at the 54th percentile.

Here's the thing: the marketing copy calls this a gaming laptop. It is not. Our gaming score for this machine is 16.5 out of 100. That's not a typo. The integrated Radeon 660M graphics will run Fortnite and Valorant at low settings, but calling this a gaming laptop is like calling a bicycle a motorcycle because it has two wheels. For business and student use, it scores 55.6 and 54.5 respectively, which is more honest territory.

Skip this if you do any real gaming, despite what the listing says. The 16.5/100 gaming score and integrated Radeon 660M graphics won't give you a good experience in anything beyond esports titles at low settings. Skip it if you multitask heavily. 8GB of RAM at the 21st percentile will have you closing tabs and apps constantly. Skip it if you need ports. One USB-C port and an HDMI at the 26th percentile means dongles for days. And if you're in Europe or the UK, skip it on price alone. EUR 1,890 for this config is a bad joke.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15 is a decent budget laptop that got dressed up in gaming clothes it can't fill. The Ryzen 5 7535HS is a solid chip, the SSD is quick, and reliability scores are genuinely good at the 81st percentile. But 8GB of RAM in 2025 is a dealbreaker for anyone who multitasks, and the gaming score of 16.5 out of 100 should be printed on the box in big red letters. If you can find this in the US for around USD 660, it's a reasonable student or office machine. At USD 900 or the European prices, walk away. There are better laptops for less money.