Argos has launched its Big Red Sale. Now, I've seen loads of 8GB laptop deals there, but as always, I'm begging you to avoid them. The low cost isn't worth the frustratingly sluggish performance. 16GB memory is plenty for day-to-day office multi-tasking without breaking the bank. And of all the ones in the Argos sale, I've 100% choose the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3.
• Best for: Remote workers and students who want good general performance for productivity tasks like running office software, browsing, and streaming.
• The deal: The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is now £664 (was £829) at Argos with code RED20, so 20% off or just shy of £166.
• Why we like it: This laptop comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD. When we tested this machine, we found it "fairly portable for its size, is attractive enough, and has enough performance for most people’s day-to-day needs. With its low price, it’s a great value for those that just need a Windows computer."
Why we recommend it
We scored the attractively designed IdeaPad Slim 3 4 stars in our review.
This isn't a juggernaut workstation for 3D rendering, gaming, video editing and running a zillion LLMs all at once. And it's not meant to be.
As we found during our tests: "What it needs to do and does well enough is handle day-to-day tasks such as browsing, streaming, emails, word processing, and the like.
It's a reliable 16-inch laptop that in our tests delivered good overall performance for those who just need a decent Windows laptop for work. "good performance for day-to-day use."
Price context & historical value
There are plenty of 16GB laptop deals at Argos (you can check them out here), but this IdeaPad Slim 3 is the pick of the bunch thanks to the decent specs and real-world performance tests we've put it through. For comparison, it's just £24 more than the same model with 256GB SSD storage. That's half what you're paying for here.
The closest cheaper alternative in the sale is this Ryzen 5-powered 15.6-inch HP laptop, priced at £569 (was £579). But having owned several HP and Lenovo laptops over the years, I prefer Lenovo's overall build quality and performance. Personally, I'd choose the IdeaPad over it every time, but the specs are good enough too.
Should you buy it?
✅ Buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 if...
You work from home and need a laptop that's well-specced for general daily business tasks.
❌ Skip the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 if...
You want a powerhouse machine for demanding workloads. It's not built for it.
