Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IIL05 - Review

The first thing that stands out about this laptop is its finish. As we can see, it has a very attractive brushed aluminum finish. If we touch it we will quickly notice that at least this version is not made entirely of aluminum, but is plastic. This allows to greatly reduce costs, since it is designed to offer a very reasonable price.

When we open the laptop we see a classic design keyboard that includes the numeric keypad. More and more 15-inch keyboards are incorporating it. The TouchPad also stands out, which is very soft to the touch and we will notice that the finger slides without major problems.

If we flip this Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IIL05 laptop we will find some interesting details. The first is that it has four large rubber feet to prevent it from moving while in use. In addition we find a large grill for the exit of hot air.

We see on the front two perforated areas in the lower bezel with small holes. These spaces are designed for the entry of cold air, which will be expelled through the lower area. Also indicate that if we want to change the SSD or expand the RAM, we must remove the lower part completely.

The power in this laptop is provided by the Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor. This 10th Generation Intel processor is characterized by being manufactured in the company's own 10nm lithography and is included within the Ice Lake family. It has a 4-core and 8-thread processor with a base frequency of 1.0GHz and that reaches 3.6GHz in Boost mode. This processor is complemented with 16MB of cache. The base TDP of this processor is 15W, although it allows raising the base frequency to 1.2GHz reaching 25W of TDP or lowering the base frequency to 700MHz with a TDP of 13W.

This laptop lacks dedicated graphics, as it is a solution that seeks to offer good performance at a reasonable price. The Core i5-1035G1 processor has an integrated Intel UHD graphics. This graph works at a base frequency of 300MHz and reaches 1.05GHz in Boost mode. Indicate that this iGPU supports resolutions 4096 × 2304 @ 60Hz by HDMI 1.4 and resolutions up to 5120 × 3200 @ 60Hz by DisplayPort

This Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IIL05 laptop is designed for office automation, training and everyday tasks. Hence, this laptop has 8GB DDR4 of RAM, in a 2x4GB configuration. One of the modules can be seen to be of SODIMM DDR4 design and the other of the modules is soldered directly to the motherboard. It seems that this second module is intended for the Intel processor iGPU.

Finally indicate that as a storage unit we have an M.2 NVMe SSD unit. Said storage unit has a 2242 form factor and a capacity of 512GB. We are talking about a large storage capacity that is based on the PCIe 3.0 interface. This offers us reading and writing speeds much higher than those offered by SATA SSDs.

The truth is that this Lenovo laptop has quite a few interesting points. As a highlight would be the weight, which is 1.85 kilograms. We are talking about a fairly low weight, although the laptop itself bulges more and seems heavier. It makes it so easy to transport that it is so light, something that has been achieved mainly because its casing is made entirely of plastic.

Another very curious aspect of this laptop is that it uses the FreeDOS operating system. Selling laptops in Spain without an operating system is not legal and to adjust the price as much as possible, this open source operating system is chosen. Installing Windows 10 and using it without a license is very simple, being able to download the operating system directly from the Microsoft website.

This laptop has a 15.6 FullHD (1920 × 1080) screen that would become the standard resolution today. Note that the panel of this laptop is TN type with a brightness of 220 nits. The type of panel is not one of the best that we can find in the market, but it allows to adjust the price of the laptop downwards.

On connectivity, this laptop is very well equipped. It has WiFi 6 and Bluetooth connectivity. Additionally, it has two USB 3.1 ports, a USB 2.0, an HDMI 1.4b port, a headphone jack and / or microphone and an SD card reader. For our liking, an RJ45 connector is missing, although nowadays it is rare is the place that does not have an accessible WiFi network.

We start at this point with a complete keyboard, as we have already highlighted previously. It has the usual function keys that allow you to perform quick actions such as volume or brightness control, disable the touchpad, switch to airplane mode, etc. Indicate that the keyboard is of the membrane type which makes it extremely silent.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IIL05 integrates a microphone and, how could it be otherwise, also a webcam. As indicated in the specifications, it has two microphones integrated into the system. Regarding the webcam, the truth is that it offers us a low-end solution. And it is that this integrated camera offers a resolution of 0.3Mpx.

Possibly one of the most negative details about this laptop is the battery. The laptop's battery is 45Wh, which is not bad at all. The battery is internal and inaccessible from the outside, making replacement difficult. But the positive part is that it is bolted to the chassis, something that allows it to be easily removed and replaced with a new one.