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MagyarLenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 Review: Office laptop relies on AMD Ryzen 5 Barcelo-U
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 — a 17.3-inch office laptop — is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (Barcelo) and retails for about €729 at the time of testing. We have recently reviewed an almost identically equipped IdeaPad 3 15ABA7.
The 17.3-inch IdeaPad 3's competition primarily includes devices such as the Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA and the Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G.
Potential competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79.4 % | 03/2023 | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 R5 5625U, Vega 7 | 2 kg | 19.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 76.5 % | 05/2022 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W i7-1065G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | 2.2 kg | 21.4 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.7 % | 03/2021 | Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 i7-1165G7, GeForce MX350 | 2.2 kg | 19.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 |
Chassis and features: IdeaPad 3 17 offers USB-C power delivery
Lenovo relies on a plastic chassis that is available in Abyss Blue and Arctic Grey color options — our test unit is in the Arctic Grey version. A brushed look is simulated at the base of the unit and the back of the lid for a premium feel.
We did not notice any manufacturing defects, but the base and the lid are prone to excess flex. The screwed battery and other innards can be accessed after removing the bottom shell.
The Lenovo Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 comes with two USB Type-A ports (a USB 3.2 Gen1 and a USB 2.0) and a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C port, which also supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort-out. This makes for a total of two video-out options together with the HDMI port.
The full-size SD card reader's speed is about average when tested with our reference AV Pro 128 GB V60 SD card. One good aspect here is that the 0.9 MP (1280 x 720) webcam comes with a physical shutter.
The WLAN transfer speeds determined under test conditions (no interfering devices, router and laptop placed 1 m apart in clear line of sight) are good, but they are still a bit below what the Realtek RTL8852BE is capable of.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Office (8 - 82.7, n=49, last 2 years) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Office (25 - 90.5, n=43, last 2 years) | |
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Average of class Office (819 - 842, n=2, last 2 years) | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Average of class Office (47.8 - 1793, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average Realtek RTL8852BE (536 - 925, n=35) | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Average of class Office (883 - 972, n=2, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Average of class Office (104.2 - 1752, n=91, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average Realtek RTL8852BE (455 - 984, n=36) | |
Input devices: No keyboard backlight on the IdeaPad 3 17ABA7
Lenovo equips the IdeaPad 3 with a chiclet keyboard that is suitable for everyday use sans any form of backlighting. The flat, slightly roughened keys have a short travel, a clear actuation point, and acceptable resistance. The keyboard seems to flex slightly during typing, but it does not feel disturbing.
The 10.5 x 7 cm touchpad supports multitouch gestures, and the smooth surface makes gliding easy. It responds to corner input, has a short stroke, and provides a distinct pressure point.
Display: IdeaPad 3 with a 17.3-inch IPS screen
The 17.3-inch FHD IPS display offers a matte finish, sufficienctly high brightness, and absence of any PWM flickering.
However, it falls short of the ideal contrast target (> 1000:1). The competition seems to offer better values in this regard but falls behind in other aspects.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 78 %
Center on Battery: 345 cd/m²
Contrast: 455:1 (Black: 0.775 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.48 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 2.44
ΔE Greyscale 5.56 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
65% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
88.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
67.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.43
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 Lenovo LEN173FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W BOE NV173FHM-N49, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 BOE084E, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -38% | -37% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 67.8 | 39.53 -42% | 39.98 -41% |
| sRGB Coverage | 88.9 | 58.85 -34% | 59.3 -33% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 65 | 40.84 -37% | 41.3 -36% |
| Response Times | -135% | -37% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 10 ? | 22 ? -120% | 14 ? -40% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 6 ? | 15 ? -150% | 8 ? -33% |
| PWM Frequency | |||
| Screen | 10% | 31% | |
| Brightness middle | 353 | 269 -24% | 321 -9% |
| Brightness | 307 | 263 -14% | 282 -8% |
| Brightness Distribution | 78 | 88 13% | 81 4% |
| Black Level * | 0.775 | 0.3 61% | 0.36 54% |
| Contrast | 455 | 897 97% | 892 96% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.48 | 5.8 -6% | 4.3 22% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.13 | 18.46 -82% | 7.1 30% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 2.44 | ||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.56 | 3.64 35% | 2.26 59% |
| Gamma | 2.43 91% | 2.35 94% | 2.36 93% |
| CCT | 7582 86% | 6995 93% | 6650 98% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 38 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 59 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -54% /
-23% | -14% /
5% |
* ... smaller is better
The color accuracy is adequate for the asking price and target demographic. With a Delta E deviation of almost 5.5, the IdeaPad 3's display misses the ideal mark (Delta E < 3).
However, our calibration using CalMAN Ultimate from Portrait Displays and the X-Rite i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer reduces the Delta E to 2.4 and ensures a more balanced grayscale.
The IdeaPad 3 offers a relatively good color gamut coverage, which is not common for an office notebook. Although the laptop itself isn't made for creative workflows, it still shows a rich, colorful image. The Aspire 5 and VivoBook 17 cannot keep up in this regard.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 13 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 10 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 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 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 18 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 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 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The IPS panel offers relatively stable viewing angles and can be read from any position. The screen is also quite legible outdoors when the sun is not too bright.
Performance: IdeaPad 3 with a fast AMD Barcelo-U APU
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 offers enough computing power for office and internet applications as well for casual, non-intensive games. Lenovo uses AMD Barcelo-U APUs ranging from Ryzen 3 to Ryzen 7 options, which range in price between €500 and €900. Our present configuration is available for €729.
Test Conditions
Lenovo offers three performance modes with the IdeaPad 3. These can be switched via the Fn + Q key combination. We used High Performance mode for benchmarks while battery tests were performed using the Battery Saver mode.
| High Performance | Intelligent Cooling | Battery Saver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Limit 1 | 26 W | 19 W | 13 W |
| Power Limit 2 | 32 W | 25 W | 18 W |
Processor
The AMD Barcelo Ryzen 5 5625U is a six-core 12-thread processor with a 2.3 GHz clock that can boost up to 4.35 GHz. Our testing shows the CPU performing at expected average values.
In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Ryzen 5 5625U clocks around 3.5 to 3.7 GHz while the single-core test shows clocks ranging from 3.5 GHz to 4.35 GHz. These values reduce when on battery power.
The Cinebench R15 multi-core loop test shows a consistent turbo boost clock. On battery, the turbo boost drops to values just above the base clock.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
| CPU Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W -1! | |
* ... 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 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (8446 - 10645, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (763 - 24250, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (54270 - 67729, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (4027 - 102228, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (1807 - 2314, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (279 - 4442, n=119, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (67115 - 77047, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (8031 - 113016, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (8128 - 9146, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (404 - 14288, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (29835 - 37072, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (2054 - 54365, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (31782 - 91153, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (5226 - 147611, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (481 - 592, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (67.6 - 1018, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (4472 - 5653, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (432 - 12755, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Average of class Office (4814 - 48177, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (7138 - 14839, n=7) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
System Performance
The smoothly performing system is able to cope well with office and internet applications as well as with games at low settings as evidenced by good PCMark results. However, the provided single-channel 8 GB DDR4-3200 memory hinders the APU's full potential. We recommend installing another memory stick to enable dual-channel mode.
The transfer rates of the provided RAM module are on expected lines for DDR4-3200 memory. However, the competition is able to offer better values owing to their dual-channel configuration.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (5573 - 6025, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average of class Office (2325 - 7157, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (10033 - 10555, n=5) | |
| Average of class Office (5095 - 20841, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (8931 - 9462, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Average of class Office (3041 - 10198, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Office (1912 - 9056, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (4920 - 5944, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Average of class Office (348 - 1891, n=106, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (1220 - 1330, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (1305 - 1375, n=5) | |
| Average of class Office (393 - 1870, n=106, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Average of class Office (340 - 1982, n=106, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (1171 - 1358, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Average of class Office (258 - 2017, n=106, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (1103 - 1170, n=5) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5573 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Office (7158 - 88119, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (19943 - 34187, n=7) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average of class Office (7325 - 87297, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (22532 - 39612, n=7) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average of class Office (7579 - 94965, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (21512 - 33048, n=7) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (91.7 - 103, n=7) | |
| Average of class Office (44.3 - 188.3, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Average of class Office (330 - 29268, n=103, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Lenovo equips the IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 with an Intel PCIe 3 M.2-2280 SSD. The transfer rates are good, but the SSD shows some performance fluctuations due to thermal throttling.
Lenovo offers space to add a 2.5-inch SATA drive, but the necessary SATA connectors are not provided.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average Intel SSDPEKNW512GZL | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
* ... smaller is better
Dauerleistung Lesen: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The integrated Vega 7 iGPU can work consistently at its full potential (1,800 MHz) as show in The Witcher 3 test below. The IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 is not a gaming notebook, but it is capable of playing simple games at low settings.
The below average benchmark results are due to the single-channel memory. It is possible to get increased graphics performance by installing dual-channel RAM.
| 3DMark Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 -1! | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W -1! | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 3501 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 14104 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1766 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 751 points | |
Help | ||
| Blender | |
| v3.3 Classroom HIP/AMD | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (570 - 1215, n=12) | |
| Average of class Office (322 - 1215, n=18, last 2 years) | |
| v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
| Average of class Office (343 - 3786, n=109, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (556 - 878, n=24) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
* ... smaller is better
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Office | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 -3! | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| The Witcher 3 - 1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Average of class Office (8.4 - 177, n=104, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (25.5 - 105.8, n=50) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| GTA V - 1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x | |
| Average of class Office (7.47 - 171.4, n=102, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (38 - 123, n=33) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1280x720 Lite Quality | |
| Average of class Office (5.42 - 103.1, n=115, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (17.1 - 41.1, n=40) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Strange Brigade - 1280x720 lowest AF:1 | |
| Average of class Office (16.3 - 175.7, n=109, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (34.8 - 95.3, n=41) | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1280x720 low (fps_test=1) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Average of class Office (9.12 - 128.2, n=123, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (24.7 - 53.4, n=56) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 51.7 | 45.6 | 12.5 | 5.93 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 30.3 | 19.9 | 10 | 7 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 91.1 | 57.6 | 27.6 | 25.9 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 18.7 | 9.78 | 6.21 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 27.5 | 21.5 | 19.4 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 39 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.9 |
Emissions and Energy: IdeaPad 3 with moderate heat emissions
System Noise
When idling and during everyday operation (office, internet), the single fan usually remains silent. The fan can get very loud up to 47.6 dB(A) under medium to high loads (stress test, The Witcher 3), which is definitely on the higher side for an office notebook.
The Intelligent Cooling and Batter Saver profiles can ensure lower noise levels albeit at the expense of computing power.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 26 / 30.8 / 33.4 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 47.6 / 47.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 26 dB(A) | ||
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 Vega 7, R5 5625U, Intel SSDPEKNW512GZL | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i7-1065G7, Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AB | Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 GeForce MX350, i7-1165G7, WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-1T00 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 2% | 10% | |
| off / environment * | 26 | 29.6 -14% | 24.9 4% |
| Idle Minimum * | 26 | 31.4 -21% | 24.9 4% |
| Idle Average * | 30.8 | 31.4 -2% | 24.9 19% |
| Idle Maximum * | 33.4 | 31.4 6% | 27 19% |
| Load Average * | 47.6 | 36.1 24% | 44.1 7% |
| Load Maximum * | 47.5 | 40.1 16% | 44.8 6% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The IdeaPad 3 heats up only to moderate levels overall. The maximum temperatures (41 °C to 44 °C) are reached at four measuring points during the stress test. The values are otherwise generally low in everyday operation.
The stress test (a continuous Prime95 and FurMark load) represents an extreme scenario for checking system stability under full load. The CPU and GPU start the test with clocks of 4.2 GHz and 1,800 MHz, respectively. These values decrease over the course of the test.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.1 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.6 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.1 °C / 74 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 24.6 °C / 76.3 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(+) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (+3.1 °C / 5.6 F).
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 Intel Core i7-1165G7, NVIDIA GeForce MX350 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -5% | 8% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 43.1 | 40.2 7% | 35 19% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 43.6 | 47.9 -10% | 40 8% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 25.1 | 27.3 -9% | 25.6 -2% |
| Idle Bottom * | 27 | 28.9 -7% | 25.3 6% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
The stereo speakers sound decent, but they can hardly reproduce any bass.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (72 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 26.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 59% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 32% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 63% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 31% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (67.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.1% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (10.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.7% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 50% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 57% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 36% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Power Consumption
The energy requirement is on expected lines for the installed hardware. The Witcher 3 shows a fairly consistent power consumption whereas power draws during the stress test decrease over the course of the run.
The supplied 65 W power adapter seems adequate for the laptop's energy requirements.
| Off / Standby | 0.36 / 0.5 Watt |
| Idle | 5.1 / 8.3 / 9.6 Watt |
| Load |
33.6 / 51.9 Watt |
   
| |
Power Consumption: The Witcher 3 / Stress test
Power Consumption: External monitor
Battery Life
The IdeaPad 3 achieves a 6.5 hour-run time in our standardized WLAN test, which loads various web pages using a script. The battery life is nothing to write home about but is decent for the relatively low 38 WHr battery capacity.
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Average of class Office (300 - 1137, n=107, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 | |
| Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict: An upgrade for the home-office
With the AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, Lenovo does not have to use an older generation processor in the IdeaPad 3 17ABA7. The APU is good enough for the intended purpose for several years to come. However, the laptop needs dual-channel memory in order to realize its full potential.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 should find appeal on home-office desks and is well-equipped for such tasks.
Office, internet applications, and simple games do not pose major challenges for the hardware. The CPU and GPU can operate consistently at high clocks. Emissions are okay, but the high fan noise under stress can be bothersome.
The matte, vivid 17.3-inch FHD IPS display leaves a good impression for the most part save for the low contrast. Additionally, the keyboard is decent but unfortunately lacks backlighting. A good aspect of the IdeaPad 3 is that its USB-C port supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort-out. A decent battery life of under 7 hours in Wi-Fi browsing rounds off the package.
The Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G comes across as a good alternative to the IdeaPad 3 17. Unlike Lenovo's offering, the Acer scores well with keyboard illumination and a dedicated GeForce MX350 GPU (now, a GeForce MX450).
If you prefer a more compact solution, you should take a look at the largely identical IdeaPad 3 15ABA7, which also scores with significantly improved run times thanks to a larger 45 WHr battery.
Price and Availability
The tested Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7 is available at Notebooksbilliger.de for €749.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7
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03/09/2023 v7
Sascha Mölck
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of 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.
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