Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Review: A 14-Inch Laptop Under $1000

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Lenovo IdeaPad 5: At First Glance

Every student or low-income earner needs a good laptop for office or schoolwork. However, laptops can really be an expensive investment for people with very tight budgets.

Thankfully, there are many laptops in the market today that cater to this specific demand, such as Chromebooks. Meanwhile, Chromebooks are not the only devices that meet these needs; other laptops with mid-range specs as well.

Sadly, these laptops often have poor build quality, usability, and delivery, which makes them undesirable to those who need fast-performance laptops. Also, most times, they are usually heavy to carry around or have mediocre keyboards.

However, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 offers so much for just $769.00 (Price as of April 2022 when I wrote this review). That said, please read on to find out what the laptop offers in design and performance.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5: Design, Dimension, and Weight

For design, Lenovo adopted a clean and minimal design for the IdeaPad 5. Specifically, its design is quite straightforward and simple.

In fact, its branding is also very minimal, with a small Lenovo logo on the laptop’s lid. Although there’s nothing particularly eye-catching about it, the laptop’s simplicity is something a lot of people will like.

For build material, you can find some models of this laptop with a chassis built of aluminum. Meanwhile, you can also find some models of this laptop built with plastic.

However, the metallic-built models of this laptop are more sturdy than the plastic-built models.

For color options, this laptop is available in three color options which are Platinum Gray, Graphite Gray, and Light Teal.

Furthermore, the laptop has a very wide hinge that is relatively stiff when closing and opening the lid. Talking about opening the lid, doing that reveals the laptop’s 14-inch display.

The laptop has narrow bezels around the display and a 720 HD resolution webcam at the top bezel. Unfortunately, this webcam’s image quality is not as good as you would expect.

Also, note that the webcam does not have facial recognition technology for Windows Hello facial recognition login. Nevertheless, the webcam can serve the purpose of video chats and conference calls.

Now, let us proceed to the display and discuss its resolution and its other display features. Concerning that, the laptop comes with two resolution options.

There is a model with an HD (1366 x 768 pixels) resolution and another model with an FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution. Comparatively, the FHD resolution offers a better display quality than the HD resolution because it has more pixels.

However, the FHD resolution display is more energy-consuming. Meanwhile, my review model comes with an FHD resolution, and the display contents are satisfactorily sharp and crisp.

Furthermore, the display on my test model has an IPS panel. For clarity, an IPS panel means an in-plane-switching panel, and it is popular for having the best color and viewing angles.

An IPS panel provides better viewing angles than the other major types of display panels, such as VA (vertical alignment) and TN (twisted nematic).

Hence, with an IPS panel, you will have a clear view of the display from any angle you view it. Additionally, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5’s display has an anti-glare coating which simply means that it has a matte surface.

As a result of that, you will not notice any form of light reflection when using the laptop to work in bright areas or outdoors. To add to that, the laptop’s display also has 300 nits of brightness which I find disappointing.

This is because the display brightness is less than the 350 nits category average for laptops of this class. Hence, using the laptop under direct sunlight is not very pleasing.

Another unfortunate thing about the display is that it is not a touchscreen. Therefore, if you are looking for a laptop that you can navigate the screen by sliding your finger through, then you should look elsewhere.

Now that we have talked about the Lenovo IdeaPad 5’s display, let us now talk about the palm rest. The palm rest is made of plastic and this gives it a cheap feel.

On the palm rest, you will find a standard Lenovo keyboard and trackpad. The layout of the keys is not too different from what you will find on other Lenovo laptops.

However, Lenovo has replaced the arrow keys with PgUp/PgDn/Home and End keys. Whereas most other 14-inch notebooks have an extra column at the right end of the keyboard for the PgUp/PgDn/Home and End keys.

Moving on, although the keyboard is backlit, it is quite unfortunate that the backlight does not have an amazingly bright illumination. The LED light creeping from under the keycaps is somewhat dim, but they are uniform.

Also, Lenovo gave the CapsLock and Numlock keys dedicated LED indicators. Proceeding to the trackpad, it is plastic, has an average size, and makes a rattling sound when tapped.

However, it tracks well, handles all the finger gestures well, and registers decent clicks. In the aspect of biometrics, there is a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button above the keyboard.

The fingerprint reader is useful for logging into Windows quickly and securely.

Proceeding to the speakers of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5, there are two 2W up-firing stereo speakers with Dolby audio. These speakers are amazingly loud; as a matter of fact; they perform better than you would expect from a laptop at this price.

Additionally, the speakers deliver a sound that is fairly balanced and has some bass.

Thus, the speakers are suitable for watching YouTube videos or any TV show. Still, if you desire more thundering sound, then you can use a pair of headphones or external speakers.

Next up are the ports and connectivity of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5. When it comes to ports, Lenovo offers what most basic users need on this laptop.

Speaking of which, there are 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports and 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port which serves as a DisplayPort 1.4 and for Power Delivery. Also, Lenovo provides one HDMI 1.4b port, one Headphone/microphone combo jack, and an SD card reader.

Sadly, the laptop does not feature an RJ-45 (Ethernet) port or Thunderbolt port. Having talked about wired connectivity, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is well-grounded in terms of wireless connectivity as well.

Specifically, this laptop supports Bluetooth versions 5.0 or 5.1. It also supports WiFi 6 802.11ax or 802.11ac. 

Finally, before we complete this design section, let us consider the weight and dimensions of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5. If you recall correctly, I mentioned earlier that some models of this laptop are built with metal; such models weigh 1390 g.

Meanwhile, some models are built with plastic and such models weigh 1380 g. Thankfully, both models are lightweight enough to be carried around in a backpack.

Coming to dimension, the 1380 g model has a dimension of 321.5 x 211.5 x 16.9 – 19.1 mm (W x D x H). Meanwhile, the 1390 g model has a dimension of 321.5 x 211.5 x 17.9 – 19.9 mm (W x D x H).

Again, both models are portable. For this reason, the laptop can be taken to lectures regularly without stress.

In comparison, the ASUS VivoBook S14, which is also a 14-inch laptop, weighs 1400 g and measures 324 x 213 x 15.9 mm (W x D x H).

In conclusion, the design of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 has more good sides than downsides. Hence, it deserves a rating of eight out of ten in this review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5: Processor (CPU) Performance

For processing tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 utilizes an octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800U. For better comprehension, an octa-core processor is a processor that has eight processor cores.

These eight cores have the ability to work independently on different tasks. Hence, an octa-core processor will offer faster performance and handle multi-tasking better than processors with fewer cores.

To add to that, the AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor has a 1.80 GHz base frequency and 4.20 GHz boost frequency. Not only that, but it also has a cache memory of 8 MB.

Considering its processor specs, I am sure that the laptop can execute almost every task you aim at it with relative ease. However, let us see its processing ability by considering its Cinebench R20 benchmark test result.

Before we proceed, note that the Cinebench R20 benchmark test evaluates the overall processing power of a computer. To achieve this, the Cinebench R20 assesses the performance of the processor cores.

Hence, the Cinebench R20 gives two results – the single-core test result and the multi-core test result. The single-core test determines the processing power of a single processor core.

Whereas the multi-core test determines the processing ability of all cores (eight cores in this instance). Also, note that a higher score means better processor performance in the benchmark test.

From the test results, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 recorded 478 points in its single-core test. Meanwhile, on the multi-core test, it scored 3154 points.

In comparison, the Lenovo 330S recorded 389 points in its single-core test. Meanwhile, in the multi-core test, it scored 1128 points.

You should be aware that the Lenovo 330S uses an Intel Core i7-8550U processor, which has four cores.

To conclude this section, I would say that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is a great performer. Thus, I rate it eight out of ten in this review section.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5: Memory (RAM) Performance

Coming down to memory, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 uses a DDR4 with a frequency of 3200MHz. The memory is soldered to the motherboard which means that it is not removable nor upgradeable.

For memory capacity, the least you can get on this laptop is 4 GB, while the maximum you can get is 16 GB. As you probably know already, the larger the memory size, the more your laptop can boot faster and multitask.

Therefore, it is important to buy this laptop with a memory configuration that will suit your needs.

Coming to performance, with the least memory capacity supported – 4 GB – you can conveniently open up to 10 Chrome tabs at the same time. You can also work on spreadsheets while these tabs are opened.

However, to achieve more, then it is best to purchase the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 with a larger memory capacity. For instance, if you work with video editing apps a lot, then you need to purchase the model of this laptop with 16 GB of memory.

At this point, let me share the performance of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 with the 4 GB memory on a PCMark 10 test. In case you are wondering what PCMark 10 is, it is a benchmark test that evaluates the memory performance of a computer.

Also, a higher score on the PCMark 10 test means the memory performance will be better. Speaking of scores, in this test, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 scored 4,811 points.

Comparatively, the Lenovo 330S, which uses 4 GB DDR4 memory, offered a lesser performance with a score of 3,609 points.

From the result above, the Lenovo Ideapad 5 has proven capable of performing multi-tasks for both office and school. Therefore, I will be rating it seven out of ten in this section of the review.

Lenovo Ideapad 5: Storage Options and Performance

In the aspect of storage, Lenovo made the Ideapad 5 available in an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage. For storage capacity, this storage drive is available in 512 GB.

Impressively, the laptop comes with a single SD card reader for storage expansion purposes. Performance-wise, the SSD is popular for being speedy.

Now let us confirm the storage performance of this laptop on the CrystalDiskMark benchmark. For better understanding, a CrystalDiskMark benchmark is a test tool that calculates the read and write speed of the storage.

For simplicity, “read” speed tells how fast your computer opens files, while “write” speed determines how fast your computer can save a file. Additionally, higher read and write speeds in the CrystalDiskMark test signify faster storage speed.

Proceeding to the results, the Lenovo Ideapad 5 had 2452 MB/s as its sequential read speed. For its sequential write speed, it had 2834 MB/s.

Meanwhile, one of its competitors – the Lenovo 330S – had a sequential read speed of 885.6MB/s and a sequential write speed of 158.2MB/s. However, note that the Lenovo 330S has 1 TB SATA HDD storage.

Asides from the impressive storage performance of the Lenovo Ideapad 5, I am particularly impressed by the available SD card slot for storage expansion. Therefore, I will be rating it nine out of ten in this section of the review.

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Lenovo Ideapad 5: Graphics Card Performance

When it comes to graphics, this laptop features an integrated AMD Radeon graphics card. This GPU has a turbo frequency of 1750 MHz, and it has no dedicated VRAM (video RAM).

Well, I am not surprised at the absence of a VRAM (video RAM) because the Lenovo Ideapad 5 is not entirely designed for gaming. When using this laptop to play Fortnite, it produces about 40-50 fps but fluctuates most of the time.

However, using it to play Minecraft works better. So, it is clearly possible to play some light games on this laptop.

However, you should not expect very high performance when playing these games. For performance confirmation, let us check the result of this laptop in a 3DMark 11 test.

3DMark 11 is a benchmark test used to assess the general graphics performance of a computer. Additionally, a high score on the 3DMark 11 test shows better graphics performance.

That said, in this test, the Lenovo Ideapad 5 scored 5257 points. In comparison, the Lenovo 330S scored 7,512 points with its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card.

In conclusion, the focus of the Lenovo Ideapad 5 is not gaming, but it still managed to play some light games. For this reason, I rate the laptop seven out of ten in this section of the review.

Lenovo Ideapad 5: Battery life and Performance

Recall that in the design section, I stated that there is a Lenovo Ideapad 5 that weighs 1380 g and another that weighs 1390 g. Well, another factor that contributes to their differences in weight is the battery they carry.

The 1380 g model of the Lenovo Ideapad 5 comes with a 44.5 Wh Li-polymer battery. Meanwhile, the 1390 g model comes with a 56.5 Wh Li-Polymer battery.

For battery life, the 44.5 Wh Li-polymer battery is advertised to last for up to 11 and a half hours. Meanwhile, the 56.5 Wh Li-Polymer battery is advertised to last for up to 13 and a half hours.

To confirm this claim, I will focus on a model of this laptop with a 56.5 Wh Li-Polymer battery. For confirmation, I will consider a battery test carried out by ultrabookreview.com.

In the battery test, the laptop lasted for 7 hours when used to edit texts in Google Drive at 60% screen brightness, and Wi-Fi turned ON.

Also, it lasted for 9 hours when used to watch a full-screen 1080p resolution video on YouTube at screen 60% screen brightness and Wi-Fi ON. For a laptop of its price, the battery performance is quite decent.

In comparison, the Lenovo 330S in the web-surfing battery test lasted for 5 hours and 50 minutes. Note that the Lenovo 330S uses a 52.5 Wh Li-Polymer battery.

I can’t exactly tell the battery life of this laptop model with a 44.5 Wh Li-polymer battery. However, I am very sure it won’t last as long as the models with the 52.5 Wh Li-Polymer battery.

In conclusion, judging from the test result, it is safe to say that the Lenovo Ideapad 5 has impressive battery life. Therefore, I have decided to rate it eight out of ten in this section of the review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Lenovo got nearly everything right with the 14-inch IdeaPad 5. As a matter of fact, this laptop has the same feel and almost the same performance as more expensive laptops.

Furthermore, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch is portable and lightweight; it also feels sturdy and has a great keyboard. Sadly, the keyboard’s backlight is dim, and the keys are plastic.

In addition to that, the display contrast is not as good as I expected, and the brightness is on the low side too. In the aspect of connectivity, it offers a decent number of ports but lacks Ethernet and Thunderbolt ports.

Coming to performance, the laptop has good battery life, and it also does well everywhere else except for intensive gaming and complex photo-editing. Nevertheless, I recommend the Lenovo Ideapad 5 to anyone who is on a budget and doesn’t care much about gaming.

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