Lenovo Flex 5 14" 2020, Ryzen 5 4500U, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Grey

A budget 2-in-1 with a great storage combo and a touchscreen that's actually good for drawing. But the aging CPU and dim screen make it a tough buy at full price.

The Ryzen 5 4500U is a six-core chip that was solid in its day, but our database puts it in the bottom third for CPU performance among laptops. It'll chew through Office work and browser tabs without much drama, especially with 16GB of RAM backing it up. The integrated Radeon Graphics are fine for light photo editing or old games, but don't expect to run anything modern above low settings. The 1TB SSD is the real star here, sitting in the top 20% for storage capacity.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition runs circles around this thing for everyday productivity, with a brighter screen and a much more modern processor. If you need actual gaming power, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is in a completely different league, though it costs more. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is another strong alternative if you want a 2-in-1 that can actually game. The Flex 5 only wins if you specifically need a touchscreen laptop with a big SSD and don't care about raw speed.

At $1,200 USD, this is a tough sell. You're paying for the 2-in-1 form factor and the big SSD, but the CPU and screen are behind the curve. If you can find it on sale for a few hundred less, it becomes a much more reasonable budget business machine. As listed, you're better off shopping around.

The Lenovo Flex 5 is a 2-in-1 that gets the basics right but doesn't exactly light the room on fire. The headline here is the 16GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, which is a genuinely useful combo for a budget business machine. But the Ryzen 5 4500U is getting long in the tooth, and that 250-nit display is a reminder this is built for spreadsheets, not sunlit coffee shops.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop or anything with real CPU muscle, this isn't it. Go get an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or an HP OMEN Transcend 14 instead. And if you need a bright screen for outdoor work, the 250-nit display here will drive you nuts.

The Lenovo Flex 5 is a decent budget 2-in-1 for students or office workers who want a touchscreen and lots of storage. But at this price, the aging CPU and dim display make it hard to recommend over newer alternatives. Wait for a sale or look elsewhere.