Lenovo ThinkPad 14" E14 Gen 5 Black 2023

The ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 is a social proof champion, landing in the 95th percentile for popularity, but its performance is just average. The Core i7 CPU only hits the 43rd percentile, so don't expect a speed demon. It's a fantastic, lightweight business machine if you can find it for around $999, but the screen's weak color gamut and the wildly variable pricing are major catches.

Let's talk about that Core i7-1355U. In our database, it lands in the 43rd percentile for CPU performance. That's firmly average for a modern laptop, which means it'll chew through Office apps, dozens of browser tabs, and video calls without breaking a sweat. But don't expect it to blaze through heavy video edits or compile massive codebases. The integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics are also middle-of-the-pack, sitting at the 48th percentile. You can forget about gaming on this thing, our scoring puts it at a brutal 17.5 out of 100 for that use case. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM is a bit of a letdown at the 38th percentile, it's enough for now, but DDR5 would have been a nice future-proofing touch. The 512GB SSD is exactly average for storage speed, landing in the 52nd percentile. It's a consistent, no-surprises performer for everyday work, just don't mistake the 'i7' badge for workstation-class power.

Stacked against the competition, the E14 Gen 5 is a study in trade-offs. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition will give you a far superior display and a more premium build, but you'll lose the ThinkPad's legendary keyboard and port variety. An ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 will absolutely demolish it in GPU and gaming performance, but it's a different beast entirely, aimed at gamers. The real alternative is something like an MSI Prestige, which often packs a more powerful CPU and a better screen into a similarly portable package for a comparable price. The ThinkPad's main selling point is its reliability and that fantastic port selection, you're choosing practicality over raw performance or a stunning display.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map. We're seeing a wild $710 spread across vendors, from $999 all the way up to $1709. At the low end, around a grand, this is a compelling deal for a portable business laptop with a great keyboard and tons of ports. But if you're staring down the barrel of that $1709 price tag, you need to run, not walk, in the other direction. At that price, you're stepping into territory occupied by machines with vastly superior performance and displays. The sweet spot is definitely on the lower end of that range, so shop around before you click buy.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 lands in a weird spot. It's got the social proof, sitting in the 95th percentile for popularity, and the port selection is a standout at the 91st percentile. But under the hood, the performance numbers tell a different story. The Core i7-1355U is a solid mid-pack performer, but it's not the 'lightning fast' powerhouse the marketing copy wants you to believe. You're getting a well-built, lightweight business machine with a sharp 16:10 display, but you need to know exactly what you're buying into.

If you do any kind of creative work that demands color accuracy, you should skip this. The 45% NTSC screen is a dealbreaker for photo or video editing. Gamers should also look elsewhere, the 17.5 out of 100 gaming score speaks for itself. And if you're a power user who needs to crunch through heavy renders or local AI models, the mid-pack CPU and lack of a discrete GPU will leave you frustrated. This is a machine for words, numbers, and web apps, not pixels and polygons.

The ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 is a purpose-built machine that knows its audience. It's not trying to win any benchmark wars, and it shows. The CPU and GPU are strictly average, and the screen's color gamut is a letdown for anyone outside of a spreadsheet. But for a student or business user who needs a lightweight, durable laptop with a fantastic keyboard and every port they could ask for, it's a solid choice. Just make sure you snag it at a price closer to $999. Paying anything more than that is a mistake, given the mid-range performance you're getting in return.