Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 14 Inch Touch FHD Intel Pentium, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, Chromebook – Storm Grey Laptop

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The newest chip is a Pentium processor but handily beats a Core i5 that’s two generations old. And it fares better against last year’s Core i3 mobile CPU as well. The sound quality on the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook Gen 6 is decent. It’s not the greatest but does offer plenty no matter what you’re playing. Since the speakers are front-facing, you’re getting the most out of the sound quality versus what you would if the speakers were at the bottom of the laptop.

For comparison purposes, I ran the same benchmarks on last year’s Flex 5 Chromebook with its 10th-generation Core i3. And mainly to see the progress Intel has made over the last few silicon iterations, I included my daily driver. That’s the Acer Chromebook Spin 13 with an 8th-generation Core i5 paired with 16 GB of memory. Again, this is a super simple test but installing development tools and testing how long it takes to compile code is likely beyond the scope of most Chromebook users. Should you buy the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook?On the right edge, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a rarity on ultraportable laptops these days, and handy for connecting one of the vast number of devices that haven't yet moved to USB-C. The right edge also hosts a full-size SD card reader and the Flex 5i's power button. Side-mounted power buttons are easier to use when the laptop is propped up like an easel, but be careful not to accidentally press the button when you grasp the Flex 5i on its sides. There are no Thunderbolt 4 ports, but we don't expect one at this price. (Photo: Molly Flores) The Flex 5i 14 isn't designed for more CPU-intensive tasks like 3D rendering in Maxon's Cinebench, manipulating images in Adobe Photoshop, or transcoding 4K video using the open-source HandBrake app. The last trial represented a particular challenge, with the Flex finishing in last place, though it was more competitive in the image editing and 3D rendering trials. Even after two weeks of using the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook, this little laptop continues to surprise me. My first impressions on it mostly discussed the design changes and high-level thoughts. Those haven’t changed. But I also made early observations about the 11th-gen Intel Pentium Gold processor, noting that it impressed me.

Performance from the 11th Gen Core i5 CPU is perfectly adequate for performing basic productivity tasks or streaming web videos. I never experienced even a hint of sluggishness while browsing with multiple tabs open or installing apps over the course of several days of testing. The generous 16GB of memory likely helps significantly in this regard; it's the same capacity we typically see in 2-in-1 laptops that cost twice as much. Obviously, gaming isn’t a focus for this laptop and our 3D benchmarks show that it doesn’t exactly excel in that department. But while playing Fortnite with no other players onscreen, the fps rises to 40-50, which looks OK on paper, but it fluctuates a lot and there are a lot of dropped frames. When things start to get heated the frame rate can drop to the low 20s, which would be considered unplayable by most people.Of the 155 products in the Laptops category, 125 were more expensive than LENOVO IdeaPad 5i 14″ Laptop and 23 were cheaper. Prices from Lenovo The overall quality of any product is important, but it’s especially important when you’re considering Laptops. You’re making an important investment in this product so you want to be sure that it’s going to be durable and serve its purpose for a decent length of time.