Lenovo IdeaPad 310 15.6″ Budget Laptop

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The Lenovo IdeaPad 310 is a middle-of-the-road 15.6-inch laptop for budget-conscious consumers. This plastic-topped notebook with simplistic design comes with various lower-end to upper-mid-tier component choices.

For the display, the 4.8-pound Lenovo IdeaPad 310 has a usual entry-level 1366-by-768-pixel glossy panel without IPS for wide viewing angles and without touch input support. The keyboard is also a common chiclet-style one without keyboard backlight. The trackpad has dedicated “click” buttons instead of those integrated in the surface.

Regarding internals, you can select the Intel Core 6th Generation i3-6100U and 7th Gen i3-7100U dual-core, 6th Gen i5-6200U and 7th Gen i5-7200U dual-core, 6th Gen i7-6500U and 7th Gen i7-7500U dual-core, AMD A10-9600P quad-core, and AMD A12-9700P quad-core processors. Although Intel’s chips have two cores instead of four, it doesn’t automatically mean they are slower than the AMD parts. Their performance is actually very close, with Intel’s i7 and i5 being the fastest among them, followed by the AMD A12, AMD A10, and Intel i3. They all belong to the mainstream laptop CPU category, meaning they are optimal solutions for the daily home and office computing chores, multimedia playback, and some casual gaming. Regarding system memory, the laptop uses DDR4 type. Offered capacities are 4GB, 8GB, and 12GB. Data storage options are a 1-Terabyte hard disk drive or a 256GB solid state drive. The former is needed if you want to store large file libraries on your laptop, while the latter is a better option if you prefer speed over capacity.

Here are some currently available models / configurations of Lenovo IdeaPad 310:

80SM003SUS – Intel Core i3-6100U CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, black – Price: ~$400
80TV00BJUS – Intel Core i3-7100U CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, black – Price: ~$450
80TV00BKUS – Intel Core i3-7100U CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, red – Price: ~$500
80SM0048US – Intel Core i7-6500U CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, black – Price: ~$600
80TV00Q3US – Intel Core i5-7200U CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, black – Price: ~$600
80TV00BHUS – Intel Core i7-7500U CPU, 12GB RAM, 1TB HDD, black – Price: ~$700
80TV00Q3US – Intel Core i7-6500U CPU, 12GB RAM, 256GB, black – Price: ~$700

These are available on Lenovo’s official store.

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Furthermore, the IdeaPad 310 has a built-in DVD burner drive, stereo speakers with Dolby Audio technology, a low-resolution 0.3MP web camera, 802.11AC Wi-Fi wireless and Ethernet LAN wired network connections, Bluetooth, one USB 3.0 port and a pair of slower USB 2.0 ports, HDMI external display output, a combo audio mic / headphones jack, and a multi-in-one media card reader.

The battery inside this laptop has a relatively low capacity of 30 WHr. Yet, Lenovo claims the battery can provide “up to 5 hours of video playback”, which is a decent battery life in this notebook category.

The laptop ships with Windows 10 Home operating system pre-installed.

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Specifications of the Lenovo Ideapad 310 15.6\\\\\\\"

Here are the specs of the Lenovo Ideapad 310 15.6\\\\\\\" with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand Lenovo
Screen Size 15.6-inch

This is by far the most popular laptop screen size. It provides a lot of screen real estate, while avoiding bulkiness of the 17.3" laptops.
Screen Resolution 1366x768 pixels HD

This is an entry-level screen resolution, oftentimes found on budget laptops. It doesn't deliver picture sharpness and space on the screen like the Full HD or higher resolution laptop displays do.
Touchscreen No

This laptop doesn't support touchscreen input.
Processor (CPU) AMD A10-9600P (older lower-mid-range processor)

AMD A12-9700P (older lower-mid-range processor)

Intel Core i3-6100U 6th Gen "Skylake" Dual-Core 2.3GHz 3MB Cache (User Benchmark CPU score: 36)

Intel Core i3-7100U 7th Gen (low-mid-range processor for home and office use, older model)

Intel Core i5-6200U 6th Gen dual-core 2.3-2.8GHz 3MB cache (older-gen mid-range CPU)

Intel Core i5-7200U 7th Gen (enables smooth everyday computing)

Intel Core i7-6500U 6th Gen (older upper-mid-tier home and office CPU)

Intel Core i7-7500U 7th Gen (older mid-range processor for home and office use)
Graphics (GPU) Intel HD 620 integrated graphics of 7th Gen Core i3, i5, i7 (for light gaming)

AMD Radeon R5 integrated graphics (only for lightest gaming)

AMD Radeon R7 integrated graphics (for very light gaming)
System Memory (RAM) Size 4GB RAM

4GB is a small RAM size for computing in 2023. For smooth operation of a laptop during everyday tasks, at least 8GB is recommended.

8GB RAM

The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users.

12GB RAM

12GB is greater than the recommended minimum of 8GB and enables very comfortable multitasking during everyday tasks. However, many games and professional software may require 16GB or more.
Data Storage 256GB SSD

256GB is a decent capacity. If you tend to download and store a lot of large files like movies and install many programs, 512GB or more is a better choice.

1000GB (1TB) HDD

1TB is an excellent storage capacity, but HDD is a slow type of storage.
DVD Optical Drive DVD writer
Keyboard & Input Non-backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad

The keyboard has a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard, but it has no keyboard backlight.

Touchpad with separate physical click buttons

The touchpad features physical left and right click buttons, as opposed to click buttons integrated into the touchpad surface.
Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers

As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.
Camera Front-facing web camera

Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This laptop is no exception.
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11AC

The 802.11AC is the previous-generation wireless networking standard. It's also known as Wi-Fi 5. 802.11AC is succeeded by 802.11AX Wi-Fi 6 with data transfer speed and multi-device connectivity improvements.
Ethernet Network Port Yes

This laptop has an Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE) No
Bluetooth Yes

This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports 2 x USB 2.0 + 1 x USB 3.0

A total of three full-size Type A USB ports.
Video Output Ports 1 x HDMI + 1 x VGA

HDMI is a widely used digital video output port. You can find HDMI-in ports on most computer monitors and TVs. VGA is an old analog type of video connectivity used on older computers, monitors, TVs, and projectors.
Media Card Reader SD card reader

The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Battery "Up to 5 hours" of battery life

30 Whr
Weight 4.8 pounds
Height 0.9"
Width 14.9"
Depth 10.2"
Windows Version Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home is aimed at the regular home and office computer users. Only select business users need the Professional edition. Windows 10 Home users are eligible for a free upgrade to the latest Windows 11 Home.
Warranty 1-year

A typical laptop warranty.

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User Reviews and Q&A on the Lenovo Ideapad 310 15.6\\\\\\\"

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the laptop. Thank you for your contribution.

Current rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  1. 5 out of 5

    Eric

    A10-9600p 12GB RAM Witcher 3 plays @ 1366×768 fair with motion blur set low. Fixes lag better than lowering resolutions. Medium textures and details.

    Dragon’s Dogma: Plays maxed out.
    Dragon Age:Origins: Plays maxed out.
    No Mans Sky: barely plays, but then it barely plays with good dedicated graphics on anything.
    Black Mesa: Plays well maxed settings.

    Very impressed for a laptop @ $350 off Amazon.

    Screen quality not so good, but with HDMI out you don’t have to look at it often.

    Sound output is both loud and clear. No rattles. Lacks bass like any 1″ x .75″ laptop speakers. Good imaging, which is helpful in games which offer direction queues, like Witcher 3.

    The 1TB drive is fair, but not fast. 5400RPM limits throughput, though it manages file copies often sustaining 130MB/s. An SSD would definitely help load times.

    The 12 GB of DDR4 is definitely helpful when the APU graphics need more than the 512MB of dedicated GPU video RAM. Had it been DDR3 it would not be acceptable.

    Runs fairly cool gaming or editing/encoding video. The fan blows (quietly) against the front of the lid, leaving dust bars if you are in a dusty area. It blows above the function keys that sit above the 4 through 7 keys (F5-F7) onto the screen side of the top that is mounted to recessed hinges.

    Wish it didn’t have a number pad on the right side… what a waste. If I wanted a dedicated number pad I would use either a USB number pad or a USB/Bluetooth full keyboard, which I do.

    All around good value.

    Lenovo supplies Windows 7 drivers if you hate Windows 10 as much as I do…

    Were it not for DX12 I would not run Windows 10.

    Shut off all non-essential windows services and background tasks for best performance.

    Worth every penny. Reliable/stable.

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