Lenovo ThinkPad 12.5" X250 2019, Core i5-5300U, 8GB, 256GB SSD, Black

The Lenovo ThinkPad X250 is a compact, durable business laptop with a great keyboard and an SSD that keeps basic tasks feeling responsive. But its dual-core CPU, 8GB of non-upgradeable RAM, and low-res 1366x768 display make it a poor choice for anything beyond light productivity. At around CAD 533 refurbished, you're paying for ThinkPad build quality, not performance.

The Intel Core i5-5300U is a dual-core chip from 2015, and it shows. In our database, this CPU lands in the 21st percentile, which means it's slower than roughly four out of five laptops we've tracked. For a single browser window with a few tabs, it's fine. Open twenty tabs, a video call, and a couple of Office apps, and you'll feel the fans spin up and things get sluggish. The 8GB of RAM sits in the 13th percentile, so memory is tight by today's standards. You can't upgrade this thing much either, the X250 tops out at 8GB.

The 256GB SSD is the one bright spot in the performance story. It's not huge, storage ranks in the 16th percentile, but it's an SSD, so Windows 10 Pro boots in seconds and apps launch without the grinding wait you'd get from an old spinning drive. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 5500 is fine for pushing a 1366x768 display, but don't expect to play anything beyond 2D indie games or very old titles. Gaming on this machine scores a 7 out of 100 in our database, which is about as close to zero as it gets.

Compared to the Apple MacBook Air M4, the ThinkPad X250 is in a completely different universe. The MacBook Air has a vastly better display, a chip that's many times faster, and battery life that lasts all day. The X250's only advantage is price, and even that gap narrows when you factor in how much longer a modern laptop will stay useful. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition are similarly far ahead on screen quality, performance, and battery life. These are all machines that make the X250 feel like a relic.

The HP OmniBook X Flip and Acer Predator Helios Neo are also in our comparison set, and they highlight different trade-offs. The Predator is a gaming laptop that absolutely destroys the X250 in graphics performance, though it's much heavier and pricier. The OmniBook X Flip offers a convertible design and modern ARM-based efficiency. If you need a compact laptop and can stretch your budget, any of these competitors will serve you better for years longer. The X250 only makes sense if your budget is hard-capped and you prioritize the ThinkPad build quality above everything else.

At CAD 533 for a refurbished unit, the ThinkPad X250 is a tough sell in 2025. You can find newer refurbished laptops with Full HD displays, quad-core CPUs, and 16GB of RAM for not much more. The value here depends entirely on what you need. If you want a durable, compact Windows machine for writing, email, and light office work, and you specifically want that ThinkPad keyboard, it's not unreasonable. But if you're comparing against newer refurbished options or even budget Chromebooks, the X250 starts to look overpriced for what it delivers. The 4.8-star rating from a handful of buyers suggests people who buy it know exactly what they're getting, but the sample size is tiny.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X250 is a refurbished 12.5-inch business laptop from the mid-2010s that still pops up in listings for around CAD 533. It's the kind of machine people search for when they want a cheap, compact Windows laptop with a real keyboard and that classic ThinkPad durability. You get an Intel Core i5-5300U, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and Windows 10 Pro. Nothing flashy, but the bones are solid.

Is the Lenovo ThinkPad X250 good for everyday use? For basic tasks like email, web browsing, document editing, and light spreadsheet work, yes. The SSD keeps boot times snappy and the 8GB of RAM handles a handful of browser tabs without choking. But the 1366x768 display and aging dual-core CPU mean this isn't a machine for creative work or heavy multitasking. It's a budget workhorse, not a show pony.

Our database puts this laptop's compactness in the 96th percentile, which makes sense. It's small, reasonably light at 2.00kg, and easy to toss in a bag. Reliability also ranks well above average, which is what you'd expect from a ThinkPad. But the screen sits near the bottom of the charts, and the CPU, RAM, and storage are all well below modern standards. You're buying durability and portability, not performance.

Skip the ThinkPad X250 if you need a laptop for gaming, video editing, photo work, or anything that benefits from a sharp display. The 1366x768 screen is one of the worst in our database, and the integrated graphics are essentially useless for modern games. Also skip it if you like having lots of tabs open or running multiple apps at once, the dual-core CPU and 8GB RAM ceiling will frustrate you. If you want a compact laptop with a modern screen and all-day battery life, look at refurbished ThinkPad X1 Carbon models from a few years later, or consider a newer budget laptop from Lenovo, HP, or Acer. Your eyes and your patience will thank you.

Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X250? Only if you know exactly what you're getting into. This is a 2015-era business laptop with a great keyboard, solid build quality, and a display that feels genuinely dated. It's fine for writing, email, and light web browsing. It's not fine for gaming, photo editing, heavy multitasking, or anything that needs a decent screen.

If you're a student or someone who needs a cheap, durable laptop for basic tasks and you can find this for a good price, it'll do the job. But at CAD 533, we'd strongly recommend looking at newer refurbished options first. The ThinkPad X250 is a classic, but classics belong in museums, not on your desk in 2025.