Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G2 ITL Black 2021

For $429, this refurbished ThinkBook packs a ridiculous 24GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, making it a multitasking monster for the price. The 11th Gen i5 CPU is just average and the 1080p screen is a letdown, but you won't find better specs for less. It's the ultimate budget workhorse, as long as you don't need to game or edit photos.

The i5-1135G7 is a familiar face from Intel's 11th Gen lineup, and it's perfectly adequate for the machine's intended purpose. With 4 cores and 8 threads, it handles multitasking in Windows 11 Pro without breaking a sweat, especially when paired with that generous 24GB of RAM. In our database, this CPU sits right in the middle of the pack, meaning it's about average for a laptop. You won't be waiting on basic applications, but you'll notice the age if you try to push it with video editing or large code compiles.

The integrated Radeon Graphics are a bit of a surprise, landing in the 97th percentile for GPU performance. Now, before you get too excited, that ranking is within the integrated graphics category, not against dedicated gaming cards. What it means in practice is that this iGPU punches well above its weight for light photo editing, streaming, and even some very casual gaming at low settings. It's a nice bonus that makes the system feel snappier in graphically intensive desktop tasks compared to other integrated solutions from that era. Just don't confuse a high percentile here with gaming prowess; our gaming score for this config is a rough 20.9 out of 100.

Stacked against the competition, the ThinkBook 15 G2 ITL is playing a completely different game than the Apple MacBook Air M4 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition. Those are premium, new machines with best-in-class displays and battery life that cost three to four times as much. The ThinkBook's real fight is against other sub-$500 laptops, where its 24GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are almost unheard of. An ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA will give you a gorgeous OLED screen and a much newer processor, but you'll pay well over $1,000 for the privilege. The HP OmniBook X Flip is a versatile 2-in-1 with a better screen, but again, it's in a totally different price bracket. If your budget is firm at under $500, this Lenovo simply out-specs everything else in its class on memory and storage.

At $429 for a refurbished unit, the value proposition is heavily tilted toward the RAM and storage. You're getting 24GB of memory and a 1TB NVMe drive in a package that costs less than most Chromebooks with half those specs. The ThinkBook's build quality and business-class features like the fingerprint reader and backlit keyboard add to the deal. The main risk is the unknown battery life and the mediocre screen, but if you're docking it at a desk most of the time, those become non-issues. For a budget office PC or a student laptop that needs to last a few years, the price-to-spec ratio here is hard to beat.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G2 ITL is a refurbished workhorse that makes a strong case for itself at $429, especially if you need a lot of RAM and storage on a budget. The standout spec here is the 24GB of memory, which lands in the 59th percentile for laptops in our database. That's more than enough to keep dozens of browser tabs and a few hefty spreadsheets humming along without a stutter. The 1TB NVMe SSD is another highlight, sitting in the 81st percentile. You're getting double the storage of most new laptops at this price point, and it's fast NVMe storage, not a sluggish eMMC drive.

But you're making clear trade-offs for that value. The 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 is a solid but aging processor, landing in the 45th percentile. It'll handle everyday office work and video calls just fine, but don't expect it to tear through heavy data crunching. The 15.5" 1080p display is the real weak spot, sitting in the 23rd percentile. It's a basic 60Hz panel that gets the job done for documents and email, but it's not going to win any awards for color accuracy or brightness. This is a machine built for getting work done, not for looking pretty while doing it.

Skip this if you care even a little about display quality or battery life. The screen is one of the weakest we've seen, landing in the 23rd percentile, which means it's dull and likely washed out. If you're a student who needs to work in bright cafes, a photographer, or anyone who watches a lot of media on the go, this panel will disappoint you daily. Similarly, if you need all-day battery life away from a charger, the unknown battery situation on this older Intel platform is a gamble you probably shouldn't take.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G2 ITL is a no-nonsense work laptop for people who care more about having 50 tabs open than a pretty screen. The 24GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are the stars of the show, making this a fantastic value for office work, research, and general multitasking. You're sacrificing display quality and cutting-edge CPU performance, but at $429, those are reasonable trade-offs. If you need a dependable desktop replacement that'll stay on a desk most of the time, this is a smart buy. If you're a creative professional or need all-day battery life away from an outlet, you'll need to spend significantly more.