Intel Core 5 120U performance debut: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 laptop review
The IdeaPad Slim 3 series carries some of the least expensive laptops in Lenovo's expansive portfolio. The budget offerings come in cheaper than the IdeaPad Slim 5 or IdeaPad Slim 7 series to be ideal for younger students who may not need the bells and whistles commonly found on pricier Yoga or ThinkBook alternatives.
Our unit in review is a middle configuration with the Raptor Lake Core 5 120U and 1080p IPS touchscreen for $$690 or under $500 on sale. Cheaper options come with the Core 3 100U and 1080p TN display while the higher-end option comes with the Core 7 150U. There are no higher resolution or Meteor Lake options to keep prices low.
Competitors in this space include other affordable 15-inch multimedia laptops like the Acer Aspire 3 A315, HP 250 G9, Asus VivoBook S15, or Dell Inspiron 15. The 16-inch version of this model with a similar aesthetic sits one tier higher called the IdeaPad Slim 5 16.
More Lenovo reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Version | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72.2 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 Core 5 120U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.6 kg | 17.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.1 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 02 / 2023 | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 R5 5625U, Vega 7 | 1.6 kg | 19.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 75.2 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 12 / 2023 | HP 250 G9 7N029ES i3-1215U, UHD Graphics 64EUs | 1.7 kg | 19.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.9 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 02 / 2024 | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 i9-13900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.6 kg | 19 mm | 15.60" | 2880x1620 | |
| 75.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2023 | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z R5 7520U, Radeon 610M | 1.8 kg | 18.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F R7 5700U, Vega 8 | 1.6 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Case — Fingerprint Magnet
There are a few visual differences between the 2024 and 2023 models. Firstly, the speaker grilles on the bottom cover of the 2023 model have been moved above the top row of keyboard keys adjacent to the Power button. Secondly, the ventilation grilles on the bottom panel have been redesigned with diagonal holes. And lastly, the perimeter around the keyboard is slightly different and more visually defined. Otherwise, the chassis is largely identical year-over-year as the changes are mostly superficial without improving the original quality or rigidity of the build.
Since the chassis is predominantly plastic, the base and lid would flex noticeably more than on a predominantly metal Yoga Pro or ThinkBook. Hinge rigidity is also just average as the lid would teeter for a while when adjusting angles or when using the touchscreen. These attributes are common on budget models where a luxurious experience isn't priority.
The system is 2 mm thinner than last year's version which is actually enough to make it thinner than most other affordable 15-inch laptops including the HP 250 G9, Acer Aspire 3 A315, Asus VivoBook S15, and the Dell Inspiron 15 5515. Weight and footprint are otherwise very nearly the same and so the new model doesn't feel more portable in practice.
Connectivity
Port options remain the same which isn't a bad thing as they are still competitive against others in this price range. Keep in mind, however, that 4K monitors are only supported up to 30 Hz via the HDMI 1.4 port and so we recommend using USB-C when possible.
SD Card Reader
The integrated SD card reader is faster than most others in this price range. Transferring 1 GB of images from our test card to desktop would take about 12 seconds compared to over twice that on Dell Inspiron 15 5515 or HP 250 G9.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
Communication
The Realtek RTL8852BE comes standard for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. There are no Wi-Fi 6E options to save on costs. Transfer rates are otherwise steady for a reliable experience.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
Webcam
While some configurations may include a 2 MP webcam, our unit comes with an older 1 MP sensor only. A physical privacy shutter comes standard while IR is not an option.
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by 10 Torx screws for relatively easy servicing. There's not much to upgrade once inside as the system supports only one SSD while both the RAM modules are soldered. This is a departure from the 2023 design where RAM was upgradeable as shown by the comparison shots below.
Sustainability
The packaging is mostly cardboard albeit with polyethylene foam protection and wrapping made of 90 percent ocean-bound plastic.
Accessories And Warranty
There are no extras in the retail box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The usual one-year limited warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices — Not Very Clicky
Keyboard
Key feedback is on the spongier side especially for the Enter and Space keys which are normally louder and firmer on other laptops. The typing experience is somewhat unsatisfying as a result even when compared to competing models like the Asus VivoBook S15 or Dell Inspiron 15. The softer feedback here is quite noticeable after having just reviewed the Framework Laptop 13.5 and its firmer keyboard keys.
Note that the keyboard backlight is optional and so some configurations may lack the feature.
Touchpad
The clickpad is relatively small at 10.5 x 7 cm whereas pricier laptops like the Inspiron 16 Plus have larger 11.5 x 8 cm clickpads. Gliding is stickier than usual on the smooth Mylar surface, but it's not difficult to become accustomed to. Clicking, however, is on the shallow and spongy side.
Display — Avoid The Base TN Option
There are three display options to choose from:
- 1920 x 1080, TN, 250 nits
- 1920 x 1080, IPS, 300 nits
- 1920 x 1080, IPS, 300 nits, touchscreen
All options are limited to ~60 percent sRGB colors and a native refresh rate of 60 Hz. There are no high-end panels as to be expected for a laptop in this segment, but we still recommend avoiding the base TN option even for budget-conscious buyers. The touchscreen option is also questionable as the lid tends to teeter whenever one taps the screen while the lack of glass protection means the touchscreen can be more easily damaged.
The IPS panel on our test unit appears to be the the same one as found on last year's IdeaPad 3 15ABA7. Contrast and response times are decent for a budget display, but the limited color space will turn away more serious graphics editors.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 340.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1134:1 (Black: 0.3 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 5.01 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.83}
calibrated: 1.93
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 3.6 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5.1}
40.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
58.3% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
39.5% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2.18
CCT: 7176 K
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 LEN156FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6", 60 Hz | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 Lenovo LEN156FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6", 60 Hz | HP 250 G9 7N029ES CMN1538, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6", 60 Hz | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 Samsung SDC4180, OLED, 2880x1620, 15.6", 120 Hz | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z AUO B156HTN06.1, TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6", 60 Hz | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F BOE NV15N4V, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6", 60 Hz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -3% | 10% | 120% | -7% | -7% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 39.5 | 38.2 -3% | 43.3 10% | 99.93 153% | 36.6 -7% | 36.58 -7% |
| sRGB Coverage | 58.3 | 57.3 -2% | 64.8 11% | 100 72% | 55 -6% | 54.37 -7% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 40.8 | 39.5 -3% | 44.7 10% | 95.52 134% | 37.8 -7% | 37.79 -7% |
| Response Times | 18% | -13% | 92% | 8% | -59% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 27.4 ? | 27 ? 1% | 31.9 ? -16% | 2 ? 93% | 38.05 ? -39% | 44 ? -61% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 19.9 ? | 13 ? 35% | 21.6 ? -9% | 2 ? 90% | 9.07 ? 54% | 31 ? -56% |
| PWM Frequency | 240 | 1250 ? | ||||
| Screen | -19% | -2% | 200% | -65% | 6% | |
| Brightness middle | 340.2 | 333 -2% | 281 -17% | 370.4 9% | 199 -42% | 251 -26% |
| Brightness | 310 | 312 1% | 257 -17% | 376 21% | 190 -39% | 241 -22% |
| Brightness Distribution | 81 | 82 1% | 82 1% | 96 19% | 79 -2% | 87 7% |
| Black Level * | 0.3 | 0.31 -3% | 0.16 47% | 0.02 93% | 0.31 -3% | 0.23 23% |
| Contrast | 1134 | 1074 -5% | 1756 55% | 18520 1533% | 642 -43% | 1091 -4% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.01 | 5.39 -8% | 4.7 6% | 1.51 70% | 10.4 -108% | 5.14 -3% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 18.23 | 19.18 -5% | 18 1% | 2.89 84% | 21.6 -18% | 18.41 -1% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.93 | 4.77 -147% | 3.7 -92% | 3.36 -74% | 4.25 -120% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.6 | 3.56 1% | 3.6 -0% | 2.1 42% | 11 -206% | 1.08 70% |
| Gamma | 2.18 101% | 2.47 89% | 2.2 100% | 2.2 100% | 2.196 100% | 2.43 91% |
| CCT | 7176 91% | 6290 103% | 7267 89% | 6536 99% | 11602 56% | 6534 99% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 37.79 | |||||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 54.37 | |||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -1% /
-10% | -2% /
-1% | 137% /
167% | -21% /
-42% | -20% /
-7% |
* ... smaller is better
The display does not come calibrated at factory. Nevertheless, average grayscale and color deltaE values aren't bad at 3.6 and 5.01, respectively. Calibrating the panel ourselves would improve the values down to just 0.6 and 1.93, but colors at higher saturation levels will still be very inaccurate due to the aforementioned narrow color space. Even so, we recommend applying our calibrated ICM profile above to get the most out of the display.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 19.9 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 11 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 8.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 41 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (20.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 27.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 12.5 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 35 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.1 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8327 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Outdoor visibility is decent under shade which is uncommon on budget laptops. The 300-nit display is slightly brighter than most in this price category while the matte panel helps to reduce glare as well. You'll still want to avoid brighter conditions or direct sunlight which will instantly wash out the screen.
Performance — New CPU Name, Old CPU Performance
Testing Conditions
We set Windows and Lenovo Vantage to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below. Owners should become familiar with the Vantage software as it is the control hub for Lenovo-specific settings, updates, and warranty claims.
Processor
The Core 5 120U is essentially a rebranded Core i5-1335U as they share the same number of cores and threads, cache sizes, TDP, integrated GPU, and underlying Raptor Lake architecture. Clock rate targets are slightly different, but those are always at the mercy of the manufacturer cooling solution rather than what Intel writes on its specifications. Case and point, the Core i5-1335U in the Samsung Galaxy Book3 15 is consistently faster than the Core 5 120U in our Lenovo in all multi-thread benchmarks since our Core 5 120U would throttle more readily by as much as 22 percent after just one run of CineBench R15 xT.
The strength of the Core 5 120U lies in its single-thread performance where the CPU outperforms pretty much any laptop in this price and size category. Keep in mind that there is no AI acceleration; you'll have to upgrade to the IdeaPad Pro series with Meteor Lake CPUs for such a feature.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15, i7-1255U -2! | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book3 15, Core i5-1335U -2! | |
| Asus VivoBook 15X OLED M3504YA -2! | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 -2! | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F -2! | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ALC6 -2! | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z -2! | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ITL05 81X80074GE -2! | |
| Asus Vivobook 15 F512DA-SH31 -4! | |
| Geekbench 6.4 / Multi-Core | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Geekbench 6.4 / Single-Core | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
Stress Test
The CPU would boost to 3.3 GHz, 50 W, and 96 C when initiating Prime95 stress. After just a few seconds, however, this would drop to just 1.8 GHz and 20 W in order to maintain a cooler core temperature of 67 C. The limited Turbo Boost sustainability aligns with our CineBench R15 xT loop results mentioned above and it suggests that the CPU could have potentially performed better with a larger cooling solution.
Running other demanding loads like Cyberpunk 2077 shows CPU temperature plateauing at 70 C which is likely the imposed manufacturer ceiling. A similar test on the IdeaPad Slim 5 16IRU9 would result in similar temperature readings.
| Average CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 45 |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.0 | -- | 67 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 1.1 | 800 | 67 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress | 0.7 | 1100 | 69 |
System Performance
PCMark results are better than expected particularly in the Essentials subtest where our system is neck-to-neck with the Core H-powered Asus VivoBook S15. The advantage can be partly attributed to the 5200 MHz RAM which is relatively fast for a budget laptop. However, the Lenovo underwhelms in the Digital Content Creation subtest due to its slower Iris Xe G7 80 EUs iGPU.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (n=1) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 6029 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Core 5 120U (n=1) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals minor DPC issues and 7 dropped frames during a 60-second window when playing 4K60 video. While the former is not unexpected, the latter is disappointing to see from a Raptor Lake-U CPU where 0 dropped frames should be the norm. The dropped frames manifest as stutters when streaming 4K content.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Our unit ships with the Samsung PM9C1a MZAL81T0HDLB instead of the Micron 2450 on last year's IdeaPad 3 15ABA7. The Samsung drive offers over 2x the transfer rates at almost 6200 MB/s, but this rate will throttle down to just 2500 MB/s after just a few minutes of stress as shown by the graph below. For the target audience of casual multimedia usage scenarios, however, this should not pose any issues.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The Iris Xe 80 EUs is about 20 percent slower than the Iris Xe 96 EUs more commonly found on Core i7 laptops. It hasn't aged very well and so users shouldn't expect most games to run at playable levels on this Lenovo. While upgrading to the Core 7 150U configuration will boost the graphics, it's not nearly enough to make a real difference on today's games. Much faster Arc 8 options are instead reserved for the costlier IdeaPad Pro series.
| Power Profile | Graphics Score | Physics Score | Combined Score |
| Performance Mode | 4651 | 15732 | 1490 |
| Balanced Mode | 4652 (-0%) | 13124 (-17%) | 1241 (-17%) |
| Battery Power | 4639 (-0%) | 16649 (-0%) | 1438 (-3%) |
Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode impacts processor performance as shown by our Fire Strike results table above. Otherwise, full performance is attainable on battery power.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 6033 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 19150 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 4203 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1496 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 -1! | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES -3! | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F -4! | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z -2! | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| HP 250 G9 7N029ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F | |
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z | |
| Far Cry 5 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 | |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands | |
| 1280x720 Lowest Preset (DX12) | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (38.1 - 55, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset (DX12) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (19.8 - 30.3, n=9) | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset (DX12) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (15.3 - 23.9, n=8) | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (DX12) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (10.2 - 14.7, n=8) | |
| 1920x1080 Badass Preset (DX12) | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (8.1 - 11.4, n=6) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Baldur's Gate 3 | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset AA:SM | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (18.1 - 20.5, n=3) | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset AA:SM | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (12.3 - 19, n=4) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset AA:T | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (9.41 - 14.8, n=4) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (20.2 - 26.5, n=3) | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (11.5 - 17.2, n=4) | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (9.32 - 13.7, n=4) | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (7.59 - 12, n=4) | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (6.65 - 10.6, n=4) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 | |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 103.1 | 91 | 22.3 | 9.55 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 105 | 76.5 | 57.2 | 51.9 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 37.7 | 20.6 | 14.8 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 34.9 | 25.9 | 24.2 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 42 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 84.7 | 35.9 | 28.5 | 22.8 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 24.7 | 18.8 | 12.3 | 9.5 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 40.1 | 35 | 25.9 | 19.4 |
| Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 13.1 | 10.8 | ||
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 14.9 | 11.7 | 10 | 8.52 |
Emissions — Loud under Load
System Noise
The cooling solution utilizes a thicker cooper heat pipe than the outgoing design. Last year's model would get quite loud when running demanding loads like games and the 2024 design is unfortunately no different despite the internal changes. Additionally, the fan tends to react quickly to increasing CPU loads and so fan pulsing is noticeable during everyday use. In fairness, we observed similar results with the competing HP 250 G9 and Asus VivoBook S15.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 22.9 / 22.9 / 27 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 42.4 / 43.7 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 22.9 dB(A) | ||
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Core 5 120U, Samsung PM9C1a MZAL81T0HDLB | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 Vega 7, R5 5625U, Micron 2450 512GB MTFDKCD512TFK | HP 250 G9 7N029ES UHD Graphics 64EUs, i3-1215U, SK hynix HFS512GEJ9X125N | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i9-13900H, WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00 | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z Radeon 610M, R5 7520U, Micron 2450 512GB MTFDKBA512TFK | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F Vega 8, R7 5700U, Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -9% | -5% | -7% | 3% | 0% | |
| off / environment * | 22.9 | 26 -14% | 24.3 -6% | 25.3 -10% | 21.05 8% | 25.4 -11% |
| Idle Minimum * | 22.9 | 26 -14% | 24.3 -6% | 25.3 -10% | 26 -14% | 25.4 -11% |
| Idle Average * | 22.9 | 26 -14% | 24.3 -6% | 25.3 -10% | 26 -14% | 25.4 -11% |
| Idle Maximum * | 27 | 26 4% | 28.2 -4% | 25.3 6% | 26 4% | 25.4 6% |
| Load Average * | 42.4 | 46 -8% | 45.2 -7% | 43.5 -3% | 36.22 15% | 34 20% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * | 43.7 | |||||
| Load Maximum * | 43.7 | 47.9 -10% | 45.2 -3% | 50.75 -16% | 35.67 18% | 40 8% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 45.2 | 36.1 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures are warmer on the left half of the chassis than the right. The hot spot on the keyboard can reach 40 C when running demanding loads which is noticeable but never bothersome in practice when running less demanding tasks like browsers or Excel. Alternatives like the HP 250 G9 or Acer Aspire 3 A315 can get even warmer on average, but their hot spots are more toward the rear where skin contact is reduced.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 39.6 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.4 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 39.2 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.3 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 31.3 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 29 °C / 84.2 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.7 °C / 83.7 F (-0.3 °C / -0.5 F).
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 Intel Core 5 120U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | HP 250 G9 7N029ES Intel Core i3-1215U, Intel UHD Graphics 64EUs (Alder Lake 12th Gen) | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 Intel Core i9-13900H, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, AMD Radeon 610M | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -2% | 4% | -42% | -24% | -14% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 39.6 | 41.1 -4% | 35.1 11% | 51.5 -30% | 44.4 -12% | 39.4 1% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 43.4 | 42.3 3% | 44.8 -3% | 62.4 -44% | 63.6 -47% | 45.4 -5% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 26.4 | 26.8 -2% | 25.7 3% | 41.7 -58% | 30.8 -17% | 33.2 -26% |
| Idle Bottom * | 27.6 | 28.6 -4% | 26.5 4% | 37.2 -35% | 33.2 -20% | 35.1 -27% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 30.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 86% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 9% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 74% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 21% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Consumption is very similar to laptops running on the Core i5-1335U such as the ThinkPad L14 G4 due to architectural similarities with our Core 5 120U. Perhaps more notably, our system demands slightly less power than the AMD-powered IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 when running games and yet it can still offer 20 to 40 percent faster graphics performance over the Radeon RX Vega 7. Even though both GPU solutions are slow, Intel at least has the upper hand when it comes to performance-per-watt.
We're able to record a maximum draw of 70 W from the small (~10.8 x 4.5 x 3 cm) 65 W barrel adapter when the CPU is at 100 percent utilization. This rate is only temporary as shown by the graphs below.
| Off / Standby | 0.21 / 0.51 Watt |
| Idle | 4 / 6.5 / 6.9 Watt |
| Load |
45 / 69.9 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 Core 5 120U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Samsung PM9C1a MZAL81T0HDLB, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 R5 5625U, Vega 7, Micron 2450 512GB MTFDKCD512TFK, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | HP 250 G9 7N029ES i3-1215U, UHD Graphics 64EUs, SK hynix HFS512GEJ9X125N, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 i9-13900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00, OLED, 2880x1620, 15.6" | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z R5 7520U, Radeon 610M, Micron 2450 512GB MTFDKBA512TFK, TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F R7 5700U, Vega 8, Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -12% | 6% | -63% | 22% | 7% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 4 | 5 -25% | 3.6 10% | 5.73 -43% | 3.33 17% | 3.8 5% |
| Idle Average * | 6.5 | 8.7 -34% | 7.8 -20% | 14.5 -123% | 5.74 12% | 6.6 -2% |
| Idle Maximum * | 6.9 | 9.1 -32% | 8.1 -17% | 15.6 -126% | 6.46 6% | 8 -16% |
| Load Average * | 45 | 41 9% | 34.7 23% | 40.5 10% | 29.1 35% | 33.4 26% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * | 36.2 | |||||
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * | 39.4 | |||||
| Load Maximum * | 69.9 | 55.7 20% | 44.6 36% | 94 -34% | 42.62 39% | 54 23% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 41.9 | 34.9 | 74.9 | 20.5 | 33.6 |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
Runtimes are only decent with the small 47 Wh battery pack. We're able to record almost 7 hours of real-world WLAN browsing compared to 9+ hours on the older IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 or Acer Aspire 3 A315 each running on competing AMD hardware.
Charging from empty to full capacity takes about 90 minutes. The system can also be recharged via third-party USB-C AC adapters and so we expect Lenovo to drop the proprietary AC barrel charging port on future revisions of this model.
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9 Core 5 120U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, 47 Wh | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ABA7 R5 5625U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | HP 250 G9 7N029ES i3-1215U, UHD Graphics 64EUs, 41 Wh | Asus VivoBook S15 K5504 i9-13900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 75 Wh | Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z R5 7520U, Radeon 610M, 40 Wh | Dell Inspiron 15 5515-H8P8F R7 5700U, Vega 8, 54 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 4% | -14% | 76% | 30% | 54% | |
| Reader / Idle | 1162 | 1302 12% | ||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 419 | 584 39% | 361 -14% | 510 22% | 582 39% | 627 50% |
| Load | 91 | 56 -38% | 209 130% | 110 21% | 144 58% | |
| H.264 | 664 | 537 | 600 | 645 | ||
| Witcher 3 ultra | 142 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — A Good Option If You Can Find It On Sale
The IdeaPad Slim 3 15 doesn't offer anything particularly outstanding, but that's ok for a budget laptop. It's most disappointing aspect is arguably the Core 5 120U CPU as it's a rebranded Core i5-1335U retailing for higher prices. It's therefore recommended to look at laptops from 2023 like the IdeaPad Flex 5i 14 or Acer Swift Go 14 running on the older Core i5-1335U since performance will be essentially the same. The saved funds can instead go towards upgrades that are more perceptible or significant like OLED or additional RAM or storage.
The Latest Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15 may have a new processor, but its performance is all too familiar. Models from yesteryear with 13th gen Core i5 CPUs can offer the same performance or more features for around the same price.
There are some aspects of the Lenovo that could be improved upon without needing to increase the price. The keyboard and clickpad could be made less spongy while the hinges could be stiffer to better support the touchscreen. Swapping out the AC adapter port for a second USB-C port would also improve quality of life when traveling. These changes would make the model easier to work on for the target audience of home or school users.
Price and Availability
Amazon is currently shipping the IdeaPad Slim 3 15IRU9 for $690 USD. Other retailers like Micro Center may have the exact same configuration on sale for under $500.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15IRU9
- 07/04/2025 v8
Allen Ngo
Total Sustainability Score: More articles related to this device
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Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
Price comparison
