A laptop as unique as you are
This Lenovo IdeaPad 3 from our Basics & Budget line is a one-off. We’ve fully refurbished it with a brand-new screen and new casing, so it’s technically 100% sound and scratch-free, with a distinctive colour scheme: business grey on the outside, stylish burgundy inside. This eye-catcher is excellent for schoolwork, admin, Netflix, photo editing and lighter games like Minecraft, Roblox or The Sims.
Simply a snappy machine: with a bit more punch
No dawdling: thanks to the AMD Ryzen 5 processor and the fast 256GB NVMe SSD, it boots straight up. Where most laptops in this price range have 8GB of memory, this one has 12GB of RAM. You notice that immediately when you have lots of tabs or programs open at once. And thanks to the Radeon Vega 8 graphics card, this laptop does more than just word processing.
Honest about the battery
We don’t like surprises after the fact. Because this is an honest, refurbished laptop, the battery has already clocked up some hours (wear level approx. 22%).
Upgrade tip: Are you often on the move or do you hate cables? Then tick the “New battery” option. We’ll fit a brand-new battery for you straight away. You almost double your range to a comfortable 4 hours. That turns this bargain into a machine that feels like new for years again, without having to recharge halfway through the day.
Lenovo is a Chinese brand that took over IBM's PC division in 2005 and has since been the worldwide market leader in laptops. Their best-known range, the ThinkPad, dates back to the IBM era and is a symbol of ruggedness, reliability and business functionality: sturdy casings, comfortable keyboards (with TrackPoint) and a strong focus on security and manageability. This line is popular with companies, freelancers and students looking for a laptop that lasts and can handle intensive use.
On the other hand, Lenovo offers the IdeaPad series, aimed at consumers and students. These models are usually lighter, more affordable and a little more focused on design and ease of use, but sometimes lack the business sturdiness of ThinkPads. The price-quality ratio is generally sharp, although build quality and finish vary by model and price range.
To be fair, Lenovo also has its downsides: on the cheaper models the finish can sometimes feel a bit cheaper, and in the past the brand was criticised for pre-installed software that wasn't always wanted (bloatware). That has improved in recent years, but it's still worth paying attention to which model you choose.
The Lenovo IdeaPad series is developed for consumers looking for an affordable laptop for everyday use. Compared to the business ThinkPad line, IdeaPads are lighter, often more sleekly designed and aimed at tasks such as browsing, emailing, word processing, streaming and school assignments.
The strong points of IdeaPads are their low entry price and the wide variety of sizes and specifications. Whether you're looking for a simple laptop for basic use or a slightly more powerful model with more memory and storage: the IdeaPad line offers plenty of choice in the entry and mid-range segment.
There's a flip side to that versatility, though: build quality varies by model. While some IdeaPads are surprisingly solid, cheaper versions feel a little more fragile than business laptops. For intensive or professional use a ThinkPad may therefore be the better choice. For study, home use and light office tasks, however, IdeaPads are a good value-for-money option.