Help me decide between two Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 models

djdelarosa25 · February 27, 2022

Hi! My brother's laptop just died, and we need to buy him a new one. He'll be taking up civil engineering next semester, so he's gonna need a decently powerful one for CAD and all that stuff. Our budget is 50,000 PHP (approximately 1000 USD). As much as we would like to get him thin and light device, it seems like beefy hardware at this price range is only offered by gaming laptops (the Acer Swift X isn't officially available in my country). My mom doesn't wanna buy online and so I looked around at a local computer shop. They have Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 models, and two particular ones fit our budget. Here are their specs:

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15ACH6

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15IHU6

They're mostly the same in terms of specs except for the processor, graphics, and screen. The cheaper model (by about 100 USD) has a 120 Hz 250 nit screen that is 45% NTSC (I don't know what that means but I'm sure it has poor sRGB coverage as well), a Ryzen 5 5600H, and a GTX 1650. The more expensive model has a 165 Hz 300 nit screen that is 100% sRGB compliant, a weaker(?) i5-11320H, and an RTX 3050.

I don't know anything about engineering programs, but from what I've read, CAD relies more on CPU power, which the cheaper model has an advantage. However, I've also read that the Intel model has slightly better single-core performance, which is more suited for CAD stuff. But, the AMD CPU is more efficient it seems. Other than that, the display and GPU are a win for the more expensive model, though my brother doesn't play demanding games (only Genshin Impact and CS:GO) and he doesn't care about visual quality and all that. I also doubt he'll make use of the 100% sRGB screen since he doesn't do photo or video editing. It is a bit brighter, though. But for 100 USD more, they do seem worth it. What do you guys think?

SavageNeo · February 27, 2022

while the ryzen 5 5600H is better, the rtx 3050 in the intel laptop is much better than the 1650.

So i would get the rtx 3050 laptop.

Also just to add, might be worth your time to watch a couple laptop undervolting tutorials, so you can have lower temps, more battery life and better performance.