Among the plethora of new items showcased at the MWC 2022, Lenovo’s new IdeaPad Gaming caught the attention the most due to its outlook redesign added on top of the usual hardware refresh.
With 2 screen sizes available in 15-inch and 16-inch, the new Ideapad Gaming 3 (and 3i for that matter) is upgraded to meet the needs of youngsters in the modern era that seeks powerful hardware for both their academic and gaming needs. Featuring new color choices of Glacier White for that absolute clean look, everything is getting upgraded including a beefed-up WQHD+ display with a high refresh rate and color accuracy making it one of the most balanced and well-rounded laptops for both general and creative workload. Under the hood, there are options of either going for the 12th Gen Intel Core or the AMD Ryzen 6000 series mobile processor paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU that can handle any game of today’s age. It also has rear I/O ports that not many gaming laptops has which allows easier cable routing in the dorm and more ports = more accessibility and convenience!
Lenovo is also joining hands with Intel to provide an optional choice of equipping the IdeaPad Gaming unit with an Intel Arc GPU where it is more of an adventurous pick and less of a play-safe option. But anyway, the fans have been optimized to get more airflow while maintaining an acceptable noise level so your online class won’t get disturbed by the intensively spinning boys. As for the audio, it is tuned by the experts at Nahimic Audio 3D to give that immersive spatial output while the top-placed 1080p FHD webcam with privacy shutter (16-inch exclusive) will make sure you look nice and clean during Zoom calls and deter anyone from peeking into you, given that you actually slide and cover it properly. Additionally, Lenovo will be shipping a 3-month Xbox Game Pass with every unit sold that provides more than 100 titles fully accessible from start to finish during the subscription period and that’s what I call value as a heavy gamer myself.
Lastly, let’s finish off with a little spec check.
IdeaPad Gaming 3i (15”, 7) | IdeaPad Gaming 3i (16”, 7) | |
Display | Up to 15.6” WQHD IPS, 16:9, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, 350 nits | Up to 16” WQHD+ IPS, 16:10, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, 500 nits |
Processor | Up to 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H | |
Graphics | Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU (6GB GDDR6; Listed Boost Clock 1425MHz, TGP 105W) Intel Arc Graphics GPU (optional) | |
Memory | Up to 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 | Up to 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 |
Storage | Up to 1TB SSD PCIe NVMe (M.2) | |
Operating System | Windows 11 | |
Battery | 60WHr (4-cell) 45WHr (3-cell) Supports Rapid Charge (15 mins for 40% charge) | 71WHr (4-cell) Supports Rapid Charge Pro (30 mins for 50% charge) |
Connectivity | Up to Wi-Fi 6, starting from Bluetooth 5.0 | |
Ports | 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x Combo Audio Jack 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) (Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0) 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x Ethernet | 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x Combo Audio Jack 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) (Thunderbolt 4*, DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0) 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x Ethernet |
Audio | Dual speakers with Nahimic Audio | |
Colors | Glacier White, Onyx Grey | Onyx Grey |
IdeaPad Gaming 3 (15”, 7) | IdeaPad Gaming 3 (16”, 7) | |
Display | Up to 15.6” FHD IPS, 16:9, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, 300 nits | Up to 16” WQHD+ IPS, 16:10, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, 500 nits |
Processor | Up to AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with Radeon™ graphics | |
Graphics | Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU (4G GDDR6; Listed Boost Clock 1485MHz, TDP 85W) | |
Memory | Up to 32GB 4800MHz DDR5 | |
Storage | Up to 1TB SSD PCIe NVMe (M.2) | |
Operating System | Windows 11 | |
Battery | 60WHr (4-cell) 45WHr (3-cell) Supports Rapid Charge (15 mins for 40% charge) | 71WHr (4-cell) Supports Rapid Charge Pro (30 mins for 50% charge) |
Connectivity | Up to Wi-Fi 6, starting from Bluetooth 5.0 | |
Ports | 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) 1 x Combo Audio Jack 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) (DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0) 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x Ethernet | 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) 1 x Combo Audio Jack 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) (DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0) 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x Ethernet |
Audio | Dual speakers with Nahimic Audio | |
Colors | Glacier White, Onyx Grey | Onyx Grey |
Expected Pricing and Availability
At the near end of the announcement, Lenovo revealed the starting price for these IdeaPad Gaming laptops which will be EUR999 ~(RM4,658.02) for the 15-inch models inclusive of the 3 and 3i for both Intel and AMD variants while the 16-inch brothers will start at EUR1099 (~RM5,124.29). The earliest members will start shipping globally starting May 2022 with the rest of them coming in the subsequent months.
