Of those 2, that particular Lenovo is leagues better than the HP option. That said, neither are amazing choices. $300 doesn't buy you a whole lot of laptop, and you'll really feel it's age in just a couple years

Lenovo has better specs which is what I usually go for. I have a thinkpad myself with a similar layout, but just a personal warning/critique.

I HATE Lenovo's left-sided trackpad and the keyboard numpad. It feels so awkward IMO. Maybe it's cause I'm used to 14 inch HPs/13 in Macbook Pros but yeah, just saying.

If you have to choose between the two I would go with the Lenovo for sure. I know this isn’t possible for everyone, but I would definitely look into expanding that budget some more. Once you hit the 600 dollar range you’ll really start getting more bang for your buck when it comes to laptops! Always try to stay above 16GB of DDR4 RAM! Hope this helps

RAM is king, so I would personally go for the laptop with 20GB of RAM but both will be perfectly fine for school work. You just want to stay away from Chromebooks and anything with less than 16 gigs of RAM. Not all laptops these days are upgradeable when it comes to RAM, so it's important to be above 16 GB for quality of life.

I have both (not these particular laptops, but both brands), and I love and prefer Lenovo by far. The HP is my backup (my Lenovo is currently in Texas getting repairs because my dog cracked my screen and broke a hinge), and I'm not a fan. It seems slower and clunkier. If you can expand your budget to $600, you will get a laptop that will last you a bit longer. If you can't expand your budget, the Lenovo is still your best bet.

Lenovo ThinkPads are great for schoolwork

Buy none. If in USA, buy this one

Buy this laptop from Costco.

https://www.costco.com/ASUS-Vivobook-S16-16%22-OLED-Copilot+-PC---Powered-by-AMD-Ryzen-AI-9-365-Processor---1TB-SSD---Windows-11.product.1940380.html

$900 plus taxes - comes with 2 years of warranty. Real Macbook killer.

Bluetooth Version Bluetooth 5.3

Brand ASUS

Color Silver

Delivery Type Warehouse Pick-up

Features Backlit Keyboard

Features Bluetooth

Features Integrated Webcam

Features Wi-Fi

Memory (RAM)32 GB

Memory Card Slot1x SD Memory Card Reader

Mode lM5606WA-IS99

Number of Audio Ports 1x Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack

Number of HDMI Ports1x HDMI 2.1 Output

Number of Thunderbolt Ports-

Number of USB-A Ports2 Ports (2x USB-A 3.2)

Number of USB-C Ports1 Port (1x USB-C 4.0)

Operating System Windows11 Home

Processor AMD Ryzen AI 9 365

Processor Brand AMD

Screen Resolution 3200 x 2000

Screen Size 16 in.

Special Offer McAfee Total Protection 1 Year

SSD Size 1 TB PCIe NVME 4th Generation

Storage Drive Type SSD

Webcam Resolution 1080p

Wireless Networking Wi-Fi 6E

What else you want? Metallic body, Oled screen, sound hinge, very light weight-around 1.6 Kg, solid speakers, enough ports, very good battery life(easily 7-9 hours), enough memory, light games, very good for work and students, enough ports(no need to have dongle), silver color(not getting finger prints), screen size is also very good, cooling is very good(understand that Asus optimized it a lot during the last 10 months-vents are improved), storage can be increased though memory cannot, Processor has NPU also, wifi and bluetooth are very stable.

If you don't like Windows 11, well you can install dual boot Ubuntu Linux. Understand - one need to have Windows to run everything. Better to upgrade PCIe NVME to 2 TB and have dual boot Ubuntu Linux 24.x LTS along with Windows 11. This will easily last 5+ years.

Don't go for HP if you want your hinges to last.

Think pads for work/study all day

HP. Lenovo Ideapad purchased December 2023 backlit LED failed in July 2025, out of 1-Year Warranty. HP and Apple hardware issues are rare. For example, I am typing this post on a 2015 HP Zbook 15 laptop and have had zero hardware issues with it (had 3 year warranty). AVOID LENOVO.

TBH, as long as you don't run extensive programs and open many tabs simultaneously, the difference is hardly noticeable. Intel chips on the Ideapad platforms are a little more expensive, though not by much. If you're starting college, I strongly suggest you buy a newer laptop with 13th gen chips and DDR5 RAM. With that said, have you checked out Lenovo's LOQ line? They offer some excellent budget options as well and are more geared toward gaming and kinds of stuff.

get the LOQ, they're the newer version of the ideapad gaming 3

I have been researching the same question. I have to say I am working on an older HP pavilion (which is dying) and I must say that the build quality was sturdier in the past - heavier, but with zero flex anywhere. Overall, I think the build quality between your choices is equivalent - both are better the non-gaming pavilions and cheaper non-gaming ideapad 3s and 5s. I think the Lenovo has a better keyboard, the keys have slightly curved indents, which are very comfortable. HP's keys are flat and personally I can't look at green keys all the time. Both laptops are upgradeable, but I think Lenovo is a bit better because for your 2nd drive, you can choose between 2.5 ssd (which I can steal from my old computer for free) or add an NVMe. With HP, the 2nd drive must be a 2.5. Both run dual channel 3200 ddr4 sodimm RAM, so that's the same. Both have similar flex resistance in the keyboard area - decent, not great, but better than non-gaming Pavilions and IdeaPad 5s as I mentioned above. Cooling isn't a serious issue for either laptop. In the r/Lenovo subreddit, there are some examples of Lenovo bios upgrade and hinge issues, but it looks like they are mostly related to the legion 5. That said, I might still push the budget a little and go for the legion 5 because my use is not gaming, but for office work, photoshop and illustrator work and I am thinking about future video editing. In that respect, the screens are adequate, but at 45% NTSC and 250 nits both, not the best, especially if you game. The legion 5 can be had with 60hz, 120hz, and 144hz screens and the 60 & 144 can have nearly 100% sRGB color gamut @ 300 nits (120hz is 250 nits). As to the R7 4800H, I've seen some reviews that say the R5 4600H is a better match for the 1650ti - and a little cheaper, as well. Additionally, I think the 2021 Lenovos are going to upgrade the graphics from the 1650ti. I am not sure about the HPs. I hope this helps you decide.

Both these are excellent products with R7 4800h. When comparing both of these, it really comes down to preference and availability. If that's covered and you can readily buy any of these, then compare the screen refresh rate. As you have esports title enlisted, higher will be better.HP has a model with the R7 and 144 Hz with 1650ti, while lenovo will be with R7 and up-to 120 Hz with 1650ti.If you have the option to buy HP with 144Hz, go for it.Battery backup is similar in both, along with similar thermals. The lenovo has two m.2 pcie nvme slot with option for 2.5'' HDD/SSD slot, while HP has 1 m.2 and HDD/SSD slot.HP comes with SD card slot[big], Lenovo does not.HP has one 2.0 USB + one 3.x USB while lenovo has two 3.x USB.Rest is same with same screen brightness and NTSC.
Also ideapad has privacy shutter for web cam.

i will go with Lenovo because of several reasons :

• better USB design, more USB port on left while HP only provide one USB port on left and rest on right (not comfortable for right hand user)
• much cheaper (up to $50) so basically if HP is 800 USD then lenovo only 750USD
• better keyboard experience (HP keyboard too cramped and arrow pad is too small)
• better gaming software (HP doesn't have any gaming software while lenovo has vantage)

Does it have to be one of those options, if not, then We need more information in order to be able to help, for example, which country are you going to buy from and is battery life or screen quality a concern? And what’s your budget?

Any one of your devices would be great! If you prefer a stylus, definitely go with the Flex 5 or x360. The IdeaPad 3 is a great buy for general use. Honestly, of you want the best bang-for-the-buck, (and your schools allows it), then maybe a Chromebook would be a good fit!

What's the specs bruv

We can't answer the question without knowing the specs

Intel EVO, 8g ram, 256 ssd.
GTF out of there

Dont even bother. Get something with at least I5, 16gb ram, 512 ssd

AT LEAST.

What major are you studying?

Don't get 8 gb version. Believe me is a cut on the price but it will be a pain in a couple of months if you work study on it. Even 16gb can be slow sometimes

8 gig of ram and 256 ssd, get something with at least 16 and 512

Hle if ur going in college and will only code and will not play games then I suggest u go with book 3 base or book 4. See u can even play gta 5 and all I have played on my book 3. But see I am not hardcore gamer i mostly code on my laptop and I am also in college and since u have said u will buy a tablet better don't go for 360.

See I have i7 book 3 just see that laptop and off course u must go with 512 SSD.

See this book 3 will give u premium feel. Yes u will get many suggestions of those high end specs laptop under the same price of book 3 or 4 but for college I feel go with book3 or 4 i7 variant and premium feel

What digital art program will you mainly use? Maybe pick one based on the recommended specs. Also, try to find a laptop with better igpu. In case you want to explore 3d modeling. Vroid, blender, etc. Or even rigging.

there is nothing 'gaming' about this laptop. the 7520u is from late 2022, its zen2 architecture and is not great for real gaming. its ok for simple and non-demanding games. its great for outlook, google chrome, word, excel, openshot, gimp, audacity, etc.

its not a slow machine, but in my area, 460usd for this is not a go-out-and-grab-it price. i can pick up a relatively new 5800u / 6800u machine for the same price, which is a zen 3 and handle mid level game.

Try and get something with an AMD 780M, or even one gen older 680M iGPU. You'll have to search the CPU of each model you're looking at to find the iGPU it has. The 6/780M iGPUs are good enough for light gaming etc, and you can get a good deal on sale or a refurb if you look around. But make sure it has at least 16GB of RAM minimum (preferably more), as the iGPU relies on RAM for video memory.

On god don't i have one and it is absolute trash even for some tasks

how much