Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15.6" 2025, Ryzen 7 5825U, 8GB, 512GB SSD, Abyss Blue

The Ryzen 7 5825U is a great chip, but 8GB of RAM and a bottom-tier display drag this laptop down. At $699, it's hard to recommend unless you specifically need Windows 11 Pro and the bonus dock set. Most buyers should spend a bit more for 16GB of RAM and a better screen.

The Ryzen 7 5825U is the star here. Eight cores and solid integrated Radeon graphics put this thing in the 97th percentile for GPU performance among laptops we track, which is honestly surprising for a budget machine. But that 8GB of RAM is a bottleneck. It sits in the 14th percentile, meaning most laptops we test have more memory. You'll feel it when you have 20 Chrome tabs open and try to launch anything else. The 512GB SSD is fine but nothing special, landing in the bottom half of our storage rankings. For everyday tasks like email, docs, and streaming, it'll cruise. For anything heavier, that RAM ceiling hits fast.

Against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the IdeaPad gets smoked on build quality and display, though it likely costs less. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus and Acer Predator Helios are gaming machines with way more RAM and better screens, but they're also much pricier. The MSI Prestige is a closer match for productivity, and it typically comes with 16GB of RAM, which makes a real difference. The MacBook Pro M5 is in another universe entirely. The IdeaPad's GPU percentile is impressive, but that's mostly because integrated Radeon graphics in a budget laptop is a rare combo, not because it'll actually game like a dedicated GPU.

At $699 USD, this is a tough sell. The processor and graphics are great for the price, but you're getting a screen that's a weak spot and RAM that'll frustrate you within a year. The dock set adds maybe $40-50 of value, but it doesn't fix the core issues. If this were $549, it'd be a different conversation. At $699, you're paying for a good CPU wrapped in compromises.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is a weird mix. You get a Ryzen 7 5825U, which is a genuinely capable 8-core chip, but then Lenovo pairs it with just 8GB of RAM and a display that lands in the bottom quarter of our database. It's like putting good tires on a car with a cracked windshield.

The bonus dock set is a nice touch, especially the 128GB of extra storage. But the core laptop itself feels unbalanced. Strong processor, weak screen, and RAM that'll have you closing browser tabs like it's 2015.

Skip this if you're a student, our student score is 39.3 out of 100, which is one of the weakest we've seen for that use case. Also skip it if you keep lots of apps open at once, 8GB of RAM will drive you nuts. And if you care about screen quality for photo editing or watching movies, this display is a letdown.

This is a laptop for someone who needs a decent CPU for light work and doesn't mind closing tabs to manage 8GB of RAM. Students should look elsewhere, our student score for this thing is 39.3 out of 100, which is rough. If you're a casual user who wants Windows 11 Pro and a bonus dock set, it's passable. But most people will feel the RAM pinch within months.