Lenovo ThinkPad 14" 20T6006XUS 2020, Ryzen 7 4700U, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Black

A budget ThinkPad with a good CPU and a bad screen. You can do better for the money.

The Ryzen 7 4700U surprised us a bit. Eight cores at 2GHz with a 4.1GHz turbo is plenty for multitasking and office work, and 16GB of DDR4 at 3200MHz means Chrome can eat all the tabs it wants. But the Radeon integrated graphics sit at the 43rd percentile, so don't expect much beyond light photo editing or very old games. The 512GB NVMe SSD is snappy for boot times, but it's middle of the pack for capacity these days.

Stacked against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the ThinkPad E14 looks dated. The Surface has a brighter, sharper display and modern Wi-Fi, though you'll pay more for it. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 absolutely destroys this thing in GPU performance if you need any graphics muscle, but it's a gaming laptop in a different weight class. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro is in another universe entirely on performance and battery, but it costs a lot more. For pure business use, the ThinkPad's only real edge is the keyboard and Windows 10 Pro.

At CAD 1,423, this is a tough sell. You're paying ThinkPad money for a laptop that cuts corners on the screen, wireless, and ports. The Ryzen 7 and 16GB of RAM are nice, but you can find better displays and newer connectivity for less. Unless you specifically need a ThinkPad keyboard and Windows 10 Pro, this isn't the value play it should be.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 is a business laptop that gets the basics right and not much else. The Ryzen 7 4700U and 16GB of RAM make it a decent workhorse for spreadsheets and email, but that 250-nit screen and Wi-Fi 5 feel dated for a 2021 machine. The one thing to know? It's a budget ThinkPad that trades the premium feel of its pricier siblings for a lower price tag, and you can feel where the corners got cut.

If you care about a good display, modern wireless, or any kind of graphics performance, this isn't it. Go get a Surface Laptop 7th Edition for a better screen and Wi-Fi 6, or a ThinkPad T14 if you want the real ThinkPad experience. This E14 is for people who only care about the keyboard and Windows 10 Pro, and even then, the price is hard to justify.

Skip it. The ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 has a solid CPU and plenty of RAM, but the dim screen, old Wi-Fi, and weak port selection make it feel like a 2019 laptop sold at a 2021 price. The 2/5 customer rating backs that up. If you want a business laptop, save up for a ThinkPad T-series or look at a Surface Laptop. This one isn't worth the compromise.