Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook review

Google’s decision to partner with laptop makers on gaming Chromebooks couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The first models rolled out in late 2022, just months before Google cancelled Stadia, its in-house cloud gaming service.

That might sound like the end for gaming Chromebooks before they’ve even really started. But Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook proves the idea still has merit. From the bright display to the punchy speakers, this device has a lot to offer. Here’s our full review.

Design & build

• Simple, minimalist design
• Slightly flimsy build
• Decent port selection

You wouldn’t know the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is built for gaming by looking at it. The laptop is equipped with a simple grey plastic exterior, relying on a contrasting matte strip to liven things up.

I think it’s attractive, but it won’t make anyone do a double take. Lenovo could’ve easily labelled this an education or business laptop without any change to the design.

Looks aside, the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is a relatively modern device. It features impressively slim bezels around the display, helping keep the overall footprint relatively low for a 16in, 16:10 panel.

The laptop comes in at just over 14in wide, less than 10in deep and under 0.8in thick. It’s certainly not small, but more compact than many of the 15.6in laptops that were released just a few years ago.

The build quality isn’t quite as impressive, though. All the laptop surfaces are plastic (even though the lid looks like metal) and flex can be found in both the display lid and lower chassis.

None of this is a surprise given the laptop’s price point, but Lenovo’s competitors can do better. The Acer Chromebook 516 GE, for example, offers a partially aluminium chassis that feels more luxurious. 

This Chromebook leans into USB-C with two ports that support both Power Delivery fast charging and DisplayPort Alternate Mode for connecting to external displays. Either can be used for charging, data transfer or video input to a monitor.

A pair of USB-A ports are included, too, for use with older wired devices. A MicroSD card reader and 3.5mm audio jack round out the options. It’s a good range, although HDMI would’ve been nice.

Keyboard & trackpad

• Full-size keyboard and separate number pad
• Good travel, but not the most tactile
• Small but responsive trackpad

Lenovo puts the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook’s size to good use with a spacious keyboard. Alongside all the regular keys, you get a separate number pad on the right-hand side.

There’s plenty of key travel and room to comfortably type, but the keys feel a bit mushy and not particularly tactile. However, Google’s special row of Chromebook function keys are all here, providing easy access to functions such as volume, brightness and refresh within a web browser.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Keyboard backlighting is a classic gaming laptop feature, although it’s a bit more limited here. You can customise the colour of the backlight via Chrome OS’s settings, but there are only a handful of colours or a pre-defined rainbow option.

Still, this is a great feature given the laptop’s price. Most in this price range stick with a white keyboard backlight and no customisation.

A modest touchpad sits directly below the main keyboard. It measures 4.5in wide by 2.5in deep, which is definitely on the smaller side. While it feels responsive and never seems cramped, a little extra space would be appreciated – there’s certainly room for it.

You’ll also notice that the touchpad is significantly offset towards the left in an effort to keep it centred below the spacebar. Users with large hands should be wary, as this may mean your left hand ends up off the side of the palm rest.

Personally, I prefer the Acer Chromebook 516 GE’s approach, where it ditches the number pad entirely to focus on a centred touchpad and keyboard. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you value the number pad’s presence. 

Display, audio & webcam

• Solid 16in 120Hz IPS LCD display
• Impressive speakers
• 720p webcam could be better

The IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is one of the largest ChromeOS devices you can buy, featuring a 16in display with 16:10 aspect ratio.

While the entry-level model has a 1920×1200 panel with 60Hz refresh rate, the one I tested upgrades this to 2560×1600 and 120Hz. Both are IPS LCD rather than OLED, but have an anti-glare, non-gloss finish.

Unfortunately, image quality is mediocre. While you do get attractive colours and a reasonable maximum brightness of 350 nits, the display’s unimpressive contrast ratio takes away a lot of depth and drama from the image. Dark scenes often look hazy, with shadows lacking detail. 

Despite these flaws, the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook’s display is an improvement over most cheap gaming laptops, such as entry-level Acer Nitro 5 and Asus TUF Gaming A15. Windows gaming laptops in this price range tend to have a narrow, dull colour gamut and even lower contrast ratio.

The Lenovo’s 120Hz refresh rate is another advantage over the competition. It looks extremely smooth in games, but also enhances the day-to-day visual experience. Scrolling feels slick, while moving across apps and web pages feels extra responsive.

While the display is a perk, there is one big catch: not all cloud gaming services support 2,560 x 1,600 resolution at up to 120Hz. As far as I’m aware, Nvidia GeForce Now and Shadow Blade are the only widely available services that support this resolution and refresh rate. The laptop supports other game streaming services, but the image on these may appear softer than you’d expect.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Gaming aside, the display looks great when browsing the web or writing documents. Its sharp, bright image renders fine fonts with outstanding clarity, while the anti-glare coat takes the edge of harsh lighting. The size and tall aspect ratio of the display provides plenty of space for multitasking, too.

There’s more good news when it comes to audio – the laptop’s built-in speakers are great for the price. They’re upward-firing, meaning the sound isn’t at all muffled, and combine good stereo separation with a hint of oomph in music and movies.

The mid-range can still be muddy at times and volume is merely adequate, but the speakers are a cut above most Chromebooks and similarly priced Windows laptops. 

Above the display is a basic 720p webcam. Brightness and colours are acceptable, but video tends to look soft and lacking in detail. However, those concerned about privacy will be happy to see the inclusion of a physical privacy shutter that can completely block the camera.

The microphone quality is above average, with good volume and clarity. It’s unable to block out many loud or consistent background noises, but minor or occasional sounds aren’t a problem. However, it’s worth noting that the physical shutter doesn’t disable the microphone.

Unfortunately, biometric login (with your fingerprint or face) isn’t an option on this Chromebook. But that’s not a surprise, as not many Chromebooks choose to include this feature. You’ll be relying on a good old fashioned PIN or password instead.

Specs & performance

• Intel Core i5-1235U CPU
• Plenty of RAM and storage
• Excellent cloud gaming performance

The IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is equipped with Intel’s Core i5-1235U, a CPU from the 12th-gen range that arrived in 2022. With 10 cores (two performance, eight efficiency), it’s a modest processor compared to Windows gaming laptops, yet extremely powerful for a Chromebook.

Lenovo hasn’t compromised other performance specs, either. You get 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD in the US, with the UK model increasing the latter to 512GB.

That’s excellent for a Chromebook – even 256GB should be plenty for most people. In my experience, a 256GB SSD on a Chromebook feels similar to a 1TB drive on a Windows laptop, as the reduced storage space is offset by the fact most apps (including games) run in the cloud. 

Here’s how the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook fared in five browser-based benchmarks. 

• CrXPRT 2: 184
• Speedometer: 124
• Basemark Web 3.0: 1193
• Kraken: 502.7
• Jetstream 2: 211.928

These are strong scores that go toe-to-toe with other recent Chromebooks with Intel Core i5 processors, such as the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 and the Framework Laptop Chromebook. The Intel-powered Lenovo is a tad ahead of the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 with AMD Ryzen processor in most tests, though the benchmark results are close overall.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

But what about gaming? Games installed to the Chromebook don’t run well – or at all. Android games are technically available through via the Google Play Store using Android emulation, but demanding titles are out of the question.

During testing, Call of Duty: Mobile immediately crashed and returned me to the desktop. Genshin Impact launches fine and is vaguely playable, but looks terrible and is anything but smooth. Asphalt 8 is smooth enough to play but struggles with stuttering that takes away from the experience.

However, it’s a different story for cloud gaming. The IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook can comfortably stream almost any cloud gaming title at up to its full 2560×1600 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.

Using Nvidia’s GeForce Now‘s Ultimate tier ($19.99/£17.99 per month), which provides access to RTX 4080-class hardware, I ran Cyberpunk 2077 at 136 fps. This was with the Ultra detail and Ultra ray-tracing settings on, plus DLSS 3 enabled.

Even more impressively, this was while in a detached shed that’s 50ft and several walls away from my home router – I was totally reliant on the strength of the Wi-Fi.

IDG / Matthew Smith

That’s an amazing result. You’d have to spend thousands for similar performance from a Windows laptop that was playing the game locally.

I was equally surprised by how solid the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook’s Wi-Fi adapter performed in this situation. It’s a tough scenario, as the range between the router and the Chromebook results in just 90 Mbps of bandwidth and spotty latency, but the game felt smooth.

The catch? You’ll need to pay a monthly fee to access any cloud gaming service. You’ll also be limited to a smaller selection of games that they support. But if you can deal with those constraints, cloud gaming on this Chromebook is a fantastic experience.

Connectivity is impressive, with the laptop supporting both Bluetooth 5.1 and the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard (at the time of writing). That’s important for a gaming Chromebook – while Wi-Fi 6 is more than capable of handling cloud gaming, the extra bandwidth is never a bad thing.

I’m happy to report the laptop supports Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6E, which is the latest Wi-Fi standard. That’s important for a gaming Chromebook. Wi-Fi 6 is more than capable of handling cloud gaming, but extra bandwidth is never a bad thing.

Wi-Fi 6E also has an additional 6GHz band that may improve network reliability if you have numerous devices connected. You’ll need a Wi-Fi 6E router to take advantage of this, though. 

Battery life

• 71Wh capacity
• Impressive battery life

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook packs a large 71Wh battery into its large chassis. That’s a large capacity for a Chromebook, and pays off when you’re away from the power for a long time.

Using the CrXPT 2 battery life test, I recorded a very encouraging 15 hours and 56 minutes. It’s a great result, beating the likes of the Acer Chromebook Vero 514, Acer Chromebook Spin 514, and Framework Chromebook Laptop.

Of course, you’re looking at around half that of actual usage, and even less with lots of gaming. But it’s still a huge leap over Windows gaming laptops, which often struggle to hit five hours of battery life on a charge. Battery life is a key strength of the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook.

Price & availability

The price of the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook varies considerably depending on where you’re based.

In US, you can pay as little as $569.99, both via Amazon and eBay – the latter is via Antonline, a Lenovo authorised seller. That gets you an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

But in the UK, it costs £749.99 from Box, with Amazon and AO both even more expensive. The storage is doubled to a 512GB SSD, but all other specs are the same.

That makes it a premium Chromebook, yet one of the most affordable gaming laptops you can buy. Its most obvious rival is the Acer Chromebook 516 GE (from $649.99/£849.99), while the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 (from $499.99/£499.99) isn’t designed for games but can run them via the cloud.

Verdict

The IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is an impressive Chromebook for both day-to-day productivity and cloud gaming. There’s a lot to like here, including a bright, sharp display, good performance, great connectivity and excellent battery life.

Lenovo has made some design sacrifices, though, while the keyboard and webcam aren’t the best.

As good as this device is, Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE provides a slightly more well-rounded Chromebook gaming experience. But most people will be happy with either device, and the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is a fine second choice.

Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i5-1235U
• Memory: 8GB
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
• Display: 2560×1600
• Storage: 256GB SSD
• Webcam: 720p with IR
• Connectivity: 2x USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, 2x USB-A, 1x microSD card reader, 1x combo 3.5mm audio jack
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capacity: 71 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.04 x 9.96 x 0.78in
• Weight: 4.01lb (1.82kg)