Lenovo IdeaPad 14" 82LV0075US, Celeron N4500, 4GB, 128GB eMMC, Cloud Grey

A $309 laptop with a bottom-of-the-barrel CPU and 4GB of RAM. The screen is nice, but everything else is a slow-motion sigh.

The Celeron N4500 is dead last in our CPU database, and you'll feel it everywhere. Opening apps takes patience, multitasking is basically a myth, and Windows 11 on 4GB of RAM means constant swapping to that sluggish eMMC drive. The one bright spot is the 14-inch display, which lands in the 91st percentile for this category. It's still a 1366x768 TN panel with 220 nits, so don't get too excited, but at this price, a screen that doesn't make you squint is a small win. The Intel UHD Graphics 600 is fine for video playback and that's about it.

Stacked against the competition, the IdeaPad 1 14 doesn't just lose, it gets lapped. The Apple MacBook Pro MWP72LL/A and HP OmniBook X Flip are in a completely different universe of performance and price, so that's not a fair fight. The more relevant comparison is against refurbished ThinkPads or older Dell Latitudes in the $300 range. Those give you an i5 or i7, 16GB of RAM, and an SSD for the same money. Even the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA, while pricier, makes this Lenovo look like a toy. If you can stretch your budget even $100, you'll get dramatically more laptop.

At $309, this is a tough sell. You're getting a machine that struggles with basic multitasking and has storage that fills up after a few Windows updates. The included Microsoft 365 subscription softens the blow a bit, but you can find refurbished business laptops with far better specs for similar money. If you absolutely need a new laptop under $350 and only check email, this works. Otherwise, save your cash.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14 is a $309 laptop that feels like it's fighting for its life just booting Windows 11. The Celeron N4500 sits at the absolute bottom of our CPU rankings, 4GB of RAM is barely enough for a browser tab or two, and the 128GB eMMC storage is slower than a hard drive from 2012. But here's the thing: the screen is surprisingly decent for this price, and if you need a cheap machine for email and light web browsing, it technically works. Just don't expect it to do much else.

If you plan to do anything beyond checking email, writing in Google Docs, or watching the occasional YouTube video, this isn't it. Go get a refurbished ThinkPad T480 or Dell Latitude 7490 instead. You'll get an actual SSD, double or quadruple the RAM, and a CPU that doesn't cry when you open Settings.

Skip it unless you have no other choice. The IdeaPad 1 14 is a machine for people who need the absolute cheapest new laptop and only do one thing at a time. The screen and reliability are decent, but the CPU, RAM, and storage are so weak that the whole experience feels like punishment. Buy a refurbished business laptop instead and thank yourself later.