Lenovo V14 14" G4 IRU Business Black 2023

A monster CPU in a bargain-bin body. Buy it only if you need cheap, portable processing power and have an external monitor waiting.

The processor is the one thing that genuinely surprised us. In our database, that i7-13620H sits in the 72nd percentile, which is well above average for this class of machine. It chews through browser tabs, office apps, and even some light photo editing without breaking a sweat. But that's where the good news ends. The 8GB of RAM is a massive bottleneck, landing in the 13th percentile. You'll feel it the second you have more than a dozen Chrome tabs open. And the integrated Intel UHD Graphics are a weak spot, sitting in the 33rd percentile. Forget gaming, this thing scored a 10.7 out of 100 in our gaming suitability test. It's strictly for work, and even then, only the kind that doesn't need a good screen.

The Lenovo V14 G4 IRU doesn't really compete with the sleek ultrabooks like the MacBook Air M4 or the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro. Those are in a different league for screen quality, battery life, and overall polish. A more realistic fight is with something like a used business-class ThinkPad or a budget ASUS. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA will give you a vastly superior OLED screen and better build quality, but you'll pay for it. The Lenovo's only real trick is that powerful i7 processor in a cheap chassis. If raw CPU speed for spreadsheet crunching is your only priority, it's a unique option. For everyone else, a laptop with a better screen and more RAM is the smarter buy.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map, with a spread of over $8,700 between vendors. That's absurd. At the low end around $419, you're getting a lot of CPU muscle for the money, but you have to accept some serious compromises. At anything close to the high end, you're being robbed. If you can snag it for under $500, it's an interesting, if flawed, budget workhorse. Just know you'll probably want to spend another $30 to add a second stick of RAM yourself.

The Lenovo V14 G4 IRU is a classic case of a laptop with a split personality. On paper, that 13th Gen Core i7-13620H processor is a beast, the kind of chip you'd normally find in a much pricier machine. But then you look at the rest of the spec sheet and it's like someone raided the parts bin from 2015. 8GB of single-channel RAM, a dim TN display, and integrated graphics that struggle with anything beyond spreadsheets. It's a workhorse CPU trapped in a budget body, and that mismatch defines the entire experience.

If you care even a little bit about screen quality, battery life, or gaming, this isn't the laptop for you. Go find a used Lenovo ThinkPad with a 1080p IPS display or spend a bit more on an ASUS Zenbook. You'll lose some raw CPU power but gain a machine that's actually pleasant to use all day.

The Lenovo V14 G4 IRU is a one-trick pony. That trick is delivering a high-performance Core i7 at a potentially very low price. If you're a student or office worker on a strict budget who lives in Excel and doesn't care about screen quality, it's a unique value. For literally anyone else, the terrible display, soldered-on 8GB of RAM, and weak battery life make it a tough sell. You're better off with a more balanced machine, even if it means stepping down to a Core i5.