Lenovo ThinkPad 14" L14 Gen 2 Black 2021

The port selection is the real star here, beating out 91% of laptops. But you're making a big trade-off, as the CPU and screen both sit in a disappointing 23rd percentile. If you need 32GB of RAM and a ton of ports for under $400, this refurbished ThinkPad is a niche but sensible pick.

Let's be real about the Core i5-1135G7. It's a 4-core chip from a few generations back, and it shows. Our benchmarks place it in the 23rd percentile for CPU performance, which is pretty underwhelming. It'll handle Word, email, and web browsing without breaking a sweat, but don't expect to crunch large datasets or render video quickly. The integrated Iris Xe graphics are middle of the pack, sitting at the 45th percentile. It's fine for streaming and light photo editing, but the gaming score of 15.8 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know about playing anything beyond Solitaire. The 32GB of DDR4 is the real saving grace here, giving you plenty of headroom for multitasking that the processor might otherwise choke on.

Stacked against something like the Apple MacBook Air M4, the ThinkPad gets absolutely smoked in CPU and GPU performance, not to mention screen quality and battery life. The M4 Air is in a different league, but it also costs a lot more. The HP OmniBook X Flip and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition are similarly in another tier of performance and price. Where the L14 Gen 2 fights back is with its port selection and RAM capacity at a much lower cost. You're trading raw power and a premium display for a keyboard with actual travel and a port for every dongle you don't want to carry. It's a classic case of old-school practicality versus modern efficiency.

Pricing on this refurbished model is all over the place, ranging from $320 to $500 depending on the vendor. At the low end, you're getting a lot of RAM and storage for the money, even if the processor is dated. At $500, it's a tougher sell when you can find newer, more powerful machines on sale. If you're hunting for a deal, stick to the lower end of that spread. The 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD config is the one to look for, it's the only thing that makes this laptop a compelling value proposition against newer budget options.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is a bit of a mixed bag, but it nails the basics for office work. Our data puts its port selection in the 91st percentile, which means you're getting Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, USB-A, and HDMI all in a 1.59kg package. That's a rare combo these days. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD in this config are both solidly above average, landing in the 69th percentile each. You won't be hurting for memory or storage space with a dozen Chrome tabs and a few spreadsheets open.

Anyone who values a good screen or snappy performance should look elsewhere. The display is a major letdown, landing in the 23rd percentile, so it's not bright or color-accurate enough for creative work. If you do anything beyond basic office tasks, the CPU will frustrate you. And if you need all-day battery life without hunting for a power outlet, this isn't the laptop for you. Modern ultrabooks with more efficient ARM or newer x86 chips will run circles around it in both performance and longevity.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is a purpose-built machine for a specific person: someone who needs a cheap, durable laptop with tons of ports and enough RAM to multitask heavily, and who doesn't care about a dim screen or snappy performance in demanding apps. The CPU and display are genuine weak points that you'll feel every day. But if you can snag the 32GB model for around $320, it's a fair deal for a secondary workhorse or a student on a strict budget who lives in Excel and Word.