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The question I kept coming back to while testing the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 was, what makes a great budget laptop?
Compromises are inevitable when trying to get the lowest price, but what makes those trade-offs a worthy exchange for affordability? The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 attempts to answer this question, balancing a sub-$1,000 price with surprisingly strong performance. There are still compromises, though, and they may or may not be deal-breakers. More on that later.
I have plenty of experience trying to get the best laptop I can for under $1,000. It’s no easy task. The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 might be on your shortlist if you're also in this camp. Budget buyers can’t afford to waste their money on a laptop that doesn’t offer good value, though, so you should know a few things before buying this particular 2-in-1.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad, either. Does it balance its pros and cons well enough to be a great budget option? Here’s a look at the numbers.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 starts at just $752 and comes in two colors: Luna Grey and Cosmic Blue. The base configuration includes an AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS CPU, AMD Radeon 760M integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.
Our review unit includes the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU, AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The CPU and storage are both upgradeable, and you can choose either chassis color for any configuration. For additional costs, you can also upgrade to Windows 11 Pro (rather than Windows 11 Home) and add Microsoft productivity software, like Word or PowerPoint.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 with lid open seen from the back on a white table
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 has a fairly standard design that’s hard to go wrong with. Our review unit is in Cosmic Blue, a dark metallic navy blue. I like the look of this color, although I would have preferred for the keyboard to match.
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 measures 12.32 x 8.94 x 0.7 inches and weighs 3.54 pounds. It could be lighter but easily fits into any standard laptop backpack.
As its name suggests, the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 is a convertible that can be used in laptop or tablet mode. If you want to take notes by hand or draw, you can flip the IdeaPad into tablet mode. There isn’t a stylus in the box, but the IdeaPad is compatible with the Lenovo Digital Pen 2, which only costs $37 extra.
Two features I love about the otherwise basic design are the top-firing speakers on the keyboard deck and the built-in webcam shutter. All of Lenovo’s recently released laptops have included a built-in webcam shutter, and I’m glad to see that IdeaPad is no exception. It’s a convenient privacy feature that I’d love to see on more laptops. As for the speakers, top-firing is my preferred layout since it makes for a better movie-watching experience compared to bottom-firing speakers.
Another notable feature is the built-in fingerprint reader. It’s compatible with Windows Hello, so you can sign into the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 without typing in a password.
Close up of the ports on the right side of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1
Close up of the ports on the left side of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 has a good variety of ports. On the right edge, there are two USB Type-A ports, a microSD card slot, and the power button. On the left side, there’s an HDMI port, two USB Type-C ports (one for charging), and a headphone jack. That was plenty of ports for my needs, but if you want to expand your port selection, see our guide to the best USB Type-C hubs or docking stations.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 laptop with lid open showing a soccer match
One of the first things I noticed about the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 was the display quality. It’s noticeably duller than most other laptop displays I’ve used, with colors that appear washed out or undersaturated.
This showed in our test results, too. The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 only covered 43 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, less than half of the mainstream laptop average of 89 percent. That’s also significantly lower than the Acer Swift Go 14 (78 percent) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (73 percent).
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 also struggled in our screen brightness test. Its average brightness was 288 nits, almost 100 nits less than that of the Acer Swift Go 14 and just over half of that of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, which averaged 567 nits.
The keyboard on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 seen from above on a white table
I had high hopes for the keyboard on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 since Lenovo laptop keyboards have been among my favorites in the past. However, the IdeaPad’s keyboard doesn’t quite match the typing experience of the Lenovo Slim 7i or Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x. The keycaps are a smooth silver plastic with minimal key travel, so the typing experience feels flatter and hollow compared to Lenovo’s other offerings.
While the keycaps are smaller than I prefer, I could still type smoothly on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1. On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 94 words per minute with 97 percent accuracy. That’s on par with my laptop average of 90 wpm with 97 percent accuracy but well below my score on the Lenovo Slim 7i (102 wpm, 100 percent accuracy) and the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (105 wpm, 100 percent accuracy).
So, while the tactile feedback from the keys could be better, they perform relatively well. The keyboard also includes all the main bonus keys most users want, such as a full function row with pre-assigned media keys, arrow keys, and a dedicated Copilot key.
The touchpad offers similar performance with good responsiveness but lackluster feedback when clicking. It performed just fine for me, though, and never lagged or felt sluggish.
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1's audio quality is solid thanks to the top-firing speakers, which create a sort of “mini theater” effect when watching movies or playing games. During my testing, I never had to turn the volume up past 60 percent. The speakers captured dialogue, music, and background noise well in games and videos.
Music also sounds good on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1. Highs, mids, and lows are fairly balanced, although I would have liked the bass to be a tad punchier. However, the vocals sound great. Lead singer Conor Mason’s voice sounded even better than usual in Nothing But Thieves’ uplifting hit “Overcome.” The speakers seemed to handle rock better than pop, though. I noticed Taylor Swift’s vocals sounded good in “Maroon,” but the song’s bass got lost in the IdeaPad’s speakers.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 running Enshrouded (Keen Games) next to a white game controller
I’ll admit, the gaming experience on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 surprised me. It’s no gaming laptop, but it delivers stronger gaming performance than I would expect from a laptop at this price point. The AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics kept up reasonably well in our benchmark tests, scoring 7851 on the 3DMark Fire Strike test and averaging an admirable 48 fps in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm.
The Acer Swift Go 14 scored about 200 points higher on the 3DMark Fire Strike test, but the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 scored higher than its rivals overall.
For a sub-$1000 laptop, the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 is a surprisingly capable laptop for casual gaming. I played Once Human, Enshrouded, and Tales of Kenzera: ZAU on it and had a good experience with all three. I averaged 30 fps in Once Human, 21 fps in Enshrouded, and an impressive 60 fps in Tales of Kenzera.
When I booted up Enshrouded, I got a warning that my device’s specs were below the recommended minimum, but the game was completely playable. The only quirk I noticed was certain animations or effects sometimes failing to load, such as the colorful ripple produced by spells or teleportation.
All three games, particularly Enshrouded and Tales of Kenzera, have rich, colorful graphics. The underwhelming display quality on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 rendered them fine but with less vibrancy than I’ve seen on most other laptops. I also noticed the keyboard deck getting quite hot, especially in Once Human, but mainly along the top edge where the keyboard deck meets the hinges.
Close up of the Lenovo logo on the keyboard deck of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 kept up reasonably well in our overall performance benchmarks, handily surpassing our mainstream laptop averages across the board. It scored 2,481 on the Geekbench 6 single-core test and 11,209 on the multi-core test. It couldn’t keep pace with the Acer Swift GO 14 or Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 in the multi-core benchmark, but the IdeaPad’s score is still well above the category average of 9,910.
Similarly, the Idea 5 2-in-1 took about one minute longer to finish the HandBrake video transcoding test than the Acer Swift Go 14 or Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. However, the IdeaPad’s time (6:17) is still much faster than the category average (8:05).
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 might not be the best laptop on the market, but it’s far from the worst
This is what one would expect from a sub-$1000 laptop. The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 might not be the best laptop on the market, but it’s far from the worst and powerful enough for everyday tasks.
I used it as my main device for a couple of days for everything from word processing to photo editing in Adobe Express and casual gaming. It never seemed to lag or lose steam, at least not noticeably. Web browsing with numerous tabs open was smooth, and load times were never overly long.
Battery life is one area where the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 falls short. It lasted less than seven hours in our battery test, far below the Acer Swift Go 14 (8:25) and less than half as long as the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (15:44). Unfortunately, you will probably need to bring a charger with you if you want to get through a full day on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1.
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Close up of the webcam on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1
I wasn’t expecting much from the webcam on the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1, which basically met those expectations. The video quality was noticeably grainy and seemed to struggle capturing light and background details more than some other laptop webcams I’ve tried. The mic quality was decent, though. So, you could use the built-in webcam for everyday video calls without any trouble, but you may want to invest in one of the best webcams if you want higher-quality video.
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 manages heat fairly well in everyday tasks like web browsing and word processing but can get quite hot under stress. In our thermal tests, the touchpad averaged 77.5 degrees. The highest temperature we recorded was 93 degrees in the center of the underside of the keyboard deck.
I also noticed the top edge of the keyboard deck getting hot to the touch while running games, particularly while I was playing Once Human. The keyboard deck got warm during my daily use, but never uncomfortably so.
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 includes Lenovo’s standard 1-year limited warranty. If you want additional protection, you can extend it or upgrade your service through Lenovo Premium Care.
The IdeaPad comes pre-loaded with a handful of standard Windows 11 apps including Microsoft Edge, the Xbox app, a trial version of Microsoft 365, and Lenovo Vantage, which is where you can find all of your device, warranty, and troubleshooting info. A preview of Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant also comes ready to go (although you can turn it off in your device settings if you prefer not to use it).
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The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 laptop with lid open on a white table
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 offers solid performance at an affordable price but compromises on battery life and display quality. Some users won’t mind those trade-offs, but they’re important to note especially the sub-8-hour battery life.
Considering it costs less than $1000, the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 delivers surprisingly strong performance, even in gaming. It might not be competing with a true gaming laptop, but it can manage casual gaming well. It keeps up with everyday tasks like web browsing and word processing with ease. This combination of low price and relatively high performance makes the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 a good option for students or professionals on a budget.
The IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 isn’t perfect, though. You will need to keep a charger handy, and the lackluster display leaves something to be desired. However, there’s still a lot to love here, enough that those trade-offs could be worth it depending on your needs. If you want to compare the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 to more alternatives before adding one to your desk setup, see our guides to the best 2-in-1 laptops and the best laptops of the year
