Deal | Budget Lenovo IdeaPad 3 gaming laptop with 120 Hz display, Ryzen 5 CPU, and GeForce GTX 1650 graphics is down to just $636 USD

Lenovo is currently hosting a sale on the IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptop for $130 off the original launch price. Applying 'EXTRAFIVE' at checkout will knock off another 5 percent for a final price of $636.49 before taxes. The deal is notable for its 1080p 120 Hz IPS display whereas other gaming laptops in this price range would come with 60 Hz panels only.

There are, of course, plenty of cut corners. The first is the limited 8 GB of RAM which is far too low even for a budget gaming laptop. This is fortunately upgradeable and so it shouldn't be seen as a deal breaker. The second drawback is the cheap plastic chassis which separates this inexpensive IdeaPad 3 from the pricier IdeaPad 5, IdeaPad 7, or the Legion series.

The last drawback users should keep in mind is the display. Though 120 Hz and IPS are great, Lenovo is not explicitly advertising the response times or color coverage of the panel. It's very likely that response times are slow and that colors are just 45 percent of NTSC compared to 72 percent or higher on most mid-range Ultrabooks. Ghosting may be an issue for when playing fast-moving competitive titles.

See our review on the Intel version of the IdeaPad Gaming 3 to learn more about the chassis and its features. The AMD version that's on sale shares the same design as the Intel version.

• 6-core AMD Ryzen 4600H CPU
• 15.6-inch 1080p IPS, 120 Hz
• 8 GB DDR4-3200
• 256 GB PCIe SSD w/ 1 TB HDD
• GeForce GTX 1650 (GTX 1650 Ti +$50)
• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen. 1, USB-C, HDMI 2.0, RJ-45, 3.5 mm combo audio
• 359 x 249.6 x 24.9 mm
• 2.2 kg