Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-In-1 First Impressions

This has been an unusually busy summer for PC makers, thanks in part to the broader industry push to capitalize on AI. And while many of us are understandably excited by Copilot+ PCs and a coming generation of even more powerful AI PCs, most buyers have more pragmatic concerns. And there is great value to be had in the PC market today.

Case in point, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1. It’s available in both Intel and AMD variants, but I specifically signed up for this review because Lenovo offered the AMD version: I don’t have enough experience with AMD-based laptops, but what I’ve seen is overwhelmingly positive.

The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 is a 14-inch convertible laptop that’s available in Luna Grey or the striking Cosmic Blue delivered with the review unit. Prices start at just $600, which is incredible given the component baseline here: An AMD Ryzen HS-series processor, AMD Radeon 700-series mobile graphics, 16 GB of 6400 MHz LPDDR5x RAM, 512 GB of M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC SSD storage, and a 14-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a standard 60 Hz refresh rate, and multitouch, smart pen, and low blue light capabilities, that throws off 300 nits of brightness.

That $600 configuration includes an AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS processor and AMD Radeon 760M graphics. But you can upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor and Radeon 780M graphics for about $75. There’s no configure-time RAM upgrade, but moving up to a 1 TB SSD adds just $32. So a fully maxed out IdeaPad 5 will set you back about $690, or about $730 if you want Windows 11 Pro too.

At these prices, Lenovo had to cut corners somewhere, and I suppose the display is the obvious choice, though I find it to be perfectly adequate for productivity work and, as I discovered to my delight, game playing as well. There’s no display upgrade to be had, which I’m a little surprised by. And I did run into a weird problem in which Windows detected the native resolution of the panel (well, the active signal mode) as 3840 x 2400 for some reason.

There’s a fingerprint reader on the wrist rest but no facial recognition capabilities, which is acceptable at this price point.

And while the expansion capabilities are many, they’re not fully up-to-date with modern standards. There are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C ports (with DisplayPort and Power Delivery capabilities) on the left, alongside a full-sized HDMI 1.4b port.

And there are two full-sized USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a microSD card reader, and a combo microphone/headphone jack on the right. All meet that same adequate bar, and help Lenovo meet the low price point.

The IdeaPad delivers a full-sized keyboard with two levels of backlighting, but also with an auto mode that many much more expensive PCs lack. It provides the familiar Lenovo look, with scalloped keys in a gray color that provides a nice visual contrast with the more deeply colored body. But the typing experience is just average and the key presses are almost annoyingly loud, with a cheap plastic feel and sound.

The touchpad has the same loud, clacky sound and feel, but it seems fine in use. It’s on the large side, but I’ve not needed to disable three- and four-finger gestures, which I take as a good sign.

Connectivity follows a now familiar pattern: It’s modernish, with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. The webcam is Full HD (1080p), which makes sense for this price range, and it has a manual privacy shutter. And thanks to the processor’s built-in 16 TOPS NPU—this is a basic AI PC that doesn’t meet the Copilot+ PC requirements—it even supports basic Windows Studio Effects.

The PC is a bit thick and heavy at 12.32 x 8.94 x .70 inches and 3.3 pounds. I don’t have a read on the battery life yet, but it hasn’t triggered any early alarms, so perhaps it will surprise me.

Overall, the IdeaPad 5 seems to work just fine for the typical productivity tasks I engage in. And I’ll be working on my summer programming project in Visual Studio 2022 soon. But it blows past the adequate and enters into a rarefied place of wonder and beauty in one unexpected area: Videogames. It can play videogames. And not just play videogames. It excels at doing so.

I mentioned this in A Few Thoughts on Portable PC Gaming (Premium) last week, but thanks to its powerful AMD innards, the IdeaPad 5 can run games from Doom (2016) to the latest Call of Duty title at native resolution and 60 FPS. This is astonishing to me, if only for the size and price of this laptop. It’s no Ultrabook, but you can’t beat this combination of attributes. There is something special happening there.

Helping matters, this budget laptop also delivers Dolby Atmos immersive sound via two 2-watt upward-firing speakers. Nice.

I’ll test more games, of course. I mean, someone has to do it. But so far, this seems like an impressive system, especially at this price point. And not just for gaming.

More soon.