Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) review – how can it be so affordable?

Lenovo is riding the tide of affordable pro-ready notebooks. In fact, its brand identity makes it some sort of a pioneer in this sphere. As such, it has a reputation to defend, rather than develop.

The laptop we have in for a review is the IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022). As the name suggests, it is a 14-inch device made in 2022. It is also found under the name IdeaPad 5 Pro 14 Gen 7, or IdeaPad 5 Pro 14IAP7.

Regardless of what you call it, you can find it with Intel’s Alder Lake P-series processors. As you can see from our CPU Ranking, the Core i7-1260P and the Core i5-1240P sit pretty high in terms of performance.

Arguably the more interesting hardware option is the graphics choice. Lenovo offers the machine with integrated and dedicated GPUs, where the latter falls down to the GeForce MX550, and the RTX 2050. By itself, it features the first-gen Ray Tracing accelerators, but it was released a lot later than the entire Turing lineup of GPUs.

Let’s not get too carried away, though, because we have more things to discuss before we reach the performance tests. For instance, there is the display. You can choose between 2.2K and 2.8K IPS panels. The unit with the higher resolution also comes with a 90Hz refresh rate, which can be tuned down to 60Hz too.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-ideapad-5-pro-14-2022/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14" , 2022) - Specs

  • AUO B140QAN04.0 (AUOC391)
  • Color accuracy  4.7  1.7
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 1000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 16GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro
  • Battery
  • 56.5Wh, 56.5Wh
  • Body material
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 312.2 x 221 x 15.9 mm (12.29" x 8.70" x 0.63")
  • Weight
  • 1.42 kg (3.1 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
  • 2x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • HDMI
  • 2.0
  • Card reader
  • SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC
  • Ethernet LAN
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.2
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • FHD with IR, Fixed Focus
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Microphone with Noise Cancellation, Support for Lenovo Voice Assistant/ Amazon Alexa
  • Speakers
  • 2x 2W Stereo Speakers, Dolby Atmos
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

All Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″ , 2022) configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

Inside the packaging, we found some paperwork and a 100W USB Type-C charger.


Design and construction

Depending on the graphics card choice and the touchscreen availability of your IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022), it will weigh from 1.42 kg to 1.52 kg. Its thickness will always be 15.9mm, which makes it one of the thinnest machines in its class.

In terms of structural support, we can say that the base is rather rigid. However, the lid is a bit too flexy, despite the use of the same aluminum material, found on the base.

Its lid can be opened with a single hand. This action would reveal thin bezels all around the 14-inch display. In addition, the top one houses a Full HD Web camera and an IR face recognition scanner.

Looking at the base, we see a power button, which is separated from the rest of the keyboard. Its lonely existence is complimented by two speaker cutouts, which surround the keyboard. Unsurprisingly, the key travel is long, while the feedback is clicky. Well, clicky AND quiet, which is impressive.

Furthermore, the unit features a backlight, which makes nighttime use far more comfortable. Plus, the Mylar surface on the 69 by 104mm touchpad offers a very smooth finish, while the 90Hz display really shows how snappy this touchpad really is.

Now, last but not least, there is the bottom panel. Since the speakers are firing towards you, it is a lonely home to the ventilation grill. And the hot air is then exhausted through a vent in between the base and the lid.

Ports

On the left side, there are two USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 functions, an HDMI 2.0 connector, and an Audio jack. Then, on the right, you get two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, and an SD card reader.


Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance

To open this notebook, you need to undo 6 Torx-head screws. Then, pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool, and lift it away from the chassis.

Inside, we find a 56.5Wh battery pack. Unfortunately, it lasted us only 6 hours of either Web browsing or video playback. To take it out, unplug the connector from the motherboard and undo the three Phillips-head screws, keeping it attached to the device. After that, untangle the speaker cable from the bottom of the battery.

Here, we find up to 16GB of LPDDR5 memory soldered to the motherboard with no option for upgrades. On the bright side, there is one M.2 PCIe x4 slot for Gen 4 SSDs.

The cooling setup comprises two heat pipes shared between the CPU and the GPU, as well as one pretty large fan. The VRMs are also taken care of.


Display quality

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) in the configuration we tested has a 90Hz WQXGA+ IPS panel – AUO B140QAN04.0 (AUOC391). Its diagonal is 14-inch (35.6 cm), and the resolution is 2880 x 1800 pixels. The screen ratio is 16:10, and we are looking at a pixel density of – 242 ppi, and a pitch of 0.1 х 0.1 mm. The screen turns into Retina when viewed at distance equal to or greater than 36cm (14″) (from this distance one’s eye stops differentiating the separate pixels, and it is normal for looking at a laptop).

The viewing angles are excellent. We offer images at 45° to evaluate image quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

We measured a maximum brightness of 479 nits in the middle of the screen and 450 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of 10%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen is 6290K – slightly warmer than the optimal for the sRGB standard of 6500K.
In the illustration below you can see how the main display performs from a uniformity perspective. In other words, the leakage of light from the light source.

Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work. The contrast ratio is very good – 1490:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 97% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results in factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) with the default settings – left, and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile – right.

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 25 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)’s display doesn’t use PWM to adjust its brightness at any point. This means it is comfortable for long gaming sessions without harming your eyes in this aspect.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Gloss level measurement

Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 70.3 GU).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) configurations with 14″ WQXGA IPS AUO B140QAN04.0 (AUOC391).

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)’s Dolby Atmos speakers produce a crisp sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/5-series/ideapad-5-pro-14iap7/downloads/driver-list

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This machine’s 56.5Wh battery pack lasts for 6 hours and 5 minutes of Web browsing, or 6 hours flat of video playback.


CPU options

This laptop is currently offered with the Core i5-1240P or the Core i7-1260P.


GPU options

Graphics-wise, your choices include the integrated solution, the GeForce MX550 with 2GB of GDDR6 memory, or the GeForce RTX 2050 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory.


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS297 fps211 fps125 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS176 fps148 fps108 fps

[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)

Your Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) can be Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we’re yet to see a notebook that couldn’t be made more powerful through modifications. And have you seen the most popular search on Google related to “how to make my …”? No? OK, here it is:

As you see, having a faster laptop is more important than having more hair.

Well, the main issue here is that there are thousands of advices on the Web. Some work, some don’t. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are safe, and some are risky. If only there could be an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested guide by a proven organization, right?

That’s what we’ve done. We have hundreds of laptops scattered in our office, and we’ve spent a whole year testing different optimizations. We’ve chosen the ones that really make a difference, that are easy to implement without expert skills, and that are safe for your laptop in the long term.

🚀 What’s the performance boost I could expect?

There’s no general answer but we’ve reached more than 30% GPU Performance boost on some models, while typically it’s between 10% and 20%. You could always go beyond but we want to be sure that our advice will keep your laptop on the safe side in the long term. But you want to get the absolute maximum? We’ll show you how, and then it’s up to you.

We even set several World Records on 3DMark, one being our first Max Out for a specific laptop model – MSI Katana B13V.

We’d be happy to compete with YOU on the 3DMark rank lists, and see what YOUR laptop can do using our guide!

📦 What’s included?

📖 Our eBook includes All the tools you need, along with an Easy-to-follow guide for hassle-free:

GPU Performance boost by vBIOS replacement, Overclocking, and Undervolting
⚙️ Checking the hardware components and finding if you could get a significant boost by upgrading some of them
💾 Installing a clean Windows OS, with all the base settings you need
📋 Software optimization steps that really give a performance boost
Building a RAID Storage configuration for doubling sequential read/write speeds or protecting your data
🎯 Display Profiles bundle for a panel of your choice, enhancing the display for accurate colors, better experience, and protection of your eyes

🎁 To receive the Display Profiles bundle as a gift, simply email us your panel model through our “Contact Us” form.

💵 What is the price?

R&D on laptops isn’t easy nor cheap, especially when you’re not using cherry-picked review samples but real units instead. Our idea is to reinvest the profits from the sales back in our laboratory. However, we also want to make it a killer deal for everyone who is planning or has already spent on a gaming laptop, as this product would significantly boost the performance per dollar they get.

[eBook Guide] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance

✖ But if these optimizations are easy, why don’t manufacturers do them?

There are a lot of reasons for the manufacturers to put boundaries on your machine, locking part of its performance:

📊 Market Segmentation: To create different product tiers, manufacturers often limit performance. This allows them to target various market segments and price points, encouraging consumers to pay more for higher-performing models.
❓Unknown Potential: Each unit’s performance varies. Checking each one individually isn’t feasible.
🏢 Regulatory Compliance: Certain regions have regulations regarding energy consumption, and manufacturers often place some boundaries to fit all standards.
🏭 Supply Chain Constraints: Limitations are imposed due to the current availability of components.
🫰 Cost-effective solutions: Often, less popular but important details are overlooked. For example, better RAM types can boost performance by up to 30%, but many users ignore this, and many online stores don’t even provide that info.
🔒 Security concerns: Many protections impact performance while being negligible for regular users. However, manufacturers don’t know if their laptops will be purchased by individuals or large corporations, so they can’t disable these features by default.

 

Not a bad performance bump in terms of Storage Speeds:


What are the default apps that impact performance the most?

What to do when RAID drives don’t show up?
How to optimize Windows further for maximum FPS gain in games?

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power

Intel Core i5-1240P (28W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)3.07 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 78°C @ 64W1.77 GHz @ 1.58 GHz @ 69°C @ 28W1.77 GHz @ 1.59 GHz @ 64°C @ 28W
Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 32.65 GHz @ 2.40 GHz @ 71°C @ 51W2.56 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 81°C @ 48W1.85 GHz @ 1.64 GHz @ 66°C @ 29W
Acer Swift 3 (SF314-512)3.11 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 72°C @ 63W2.64 GHz @ 2.36 GHz @ 77°C @ 48W2.16 GHz @ 1.82 GHz @ 75°C @ 34W
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3402)2.47 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 65°C @ 43W2.44 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 83°C @ 43W1.96 GHz @ 1.75 GHz @ 75°C @ 30W
MSI Prestige 14 (A12M)3.18 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 71°C @ 64W2.22 GHz @ 1.97 GHz @ 73°C @ 37W1.79 GHz @ 1.69 GHz @ 81°C @ 31W
Lenovo Yoga 7i (14″, 2022)3.30 GHz @ 2.56 GHz @ 76°C @ 64W2.95 GHz @ 2.38 GHz @ 90°C @ 53W2.13 GHz @ 1.82 GHz @ 68°C @ 31W

The IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) runs pretty well in the first section of this test. This ensures a fast day-to-day experience with most of the tasks in hand. However, using it for video editing will make it drop the clock speeds pretty quickly, thus lowering the general performance of the device.

Real-life gaming

NVIDIA GeForce MX550GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (Max fan)
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)1260 MHz @ 69°C @ 28W1260 MHz @ 72°C @ 28W
HP Pavilion Plus 14 (14-eh0000)1441 MHz @ 74°C @ 30W1436 MHz @ 74°C @ 30W
HP 15 (15-dw4000)1309 MHz @ 73°C @ 30W300 MHz @ 55°C @ 16W
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 11245 MHz @ 73°C @ 30W1277 MHz @ 77°C @ 30W
Dell Latitude 15 55311517 MHz @ 74°C @ 35W1529 MHz @ 75°C @ 35W

In this case, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 (14-eh000) runs at significantly higher clock speeds, while drawing only 2W more from the wall.

Comfort during combined load

On the bright side, the lenient approach of the cooling system results in low noise levels and not-too-high external temperatures.


Verdict

There is one area where we were the most disappointed – battery life. Even when we used the 60Hz display mode, we barely got 6 hours of Web browsing or video playback on a single charge. This means that the IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022) will definitely not last you through an entire workday on a single charge.

It would be best to carry the 100W USB Type-C power adapter with you. On the other hand, it is a sufficiently big unit, which will fast charge your other PowerDelivery-enabled devices.

Another disappointment runs around the memory. It is not only soldered to the motherboard, ergo non-upgradeable, but it also has a maximum capacity of 16GB. Well, on the other hand, you get one M.2 PCIe x4 slot for Gen 4 SSDs.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (14″, 2022)’s touchscreen IPS panel has a WQXGA+ resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a very good contrast ratio. It features a high maximum brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate, which makes the user experience pretty smooth. In addition, the backlight doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment.

Thankfully, the 97% sRGB color coverage is paired with an accurate color representation, mainly because of our Gaming and Web design profile. This lets you use the device for professional color-related work, which basically justifies the “Pro” moniker in the name.

Essentially, you can effortlessly edit photos on this little notebook. What will make it even easier for you, is the SD card reader on the right side. Furthermore, the laptop comes with a decent port selection, which includes an HDMI 2.0 connector, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, two USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, and more.

Sadly, there is no Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, which may be missed by some users. However, we should keep in mind that the MX550 and RTX 2050 are good GPU options if you were willing to plug in an external GPU.

We can confidently say that we’re happy with the cooling, as are we with the keyboard and the touchpad. Its IR face recognition works well, while the Full HD Web camera definitely presents itself as an upgrade over the conventional HD cameras.

At the end of the day, it is tough to recommend this laptop. It is really good, but you need to make some sacrifices in order to fully enjoy it. The ASUS Vivobook Pro 14X OLED (N7401) is slightly more expensive, but a fairly better choice for this class.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-ideapad-5-pro-14-2022/

Pros

  • Reasonably performance
  • No PWM (AUO B140QAN04.0 (AUOC391))
  • Good build quality
  • Decent input devices
  • Populous I/O which includes an SD card reader
  • IR face recognition camera
  • 97% sRGB coverage and accurate color representation with our Gaming and Web design profile (AUO B140QAN04.0 (AUOC391))
  • High-resolution display options with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 90Hz refresh rate)


Cons

  • No Thunderbolt
  • Unimpressive battery life
  • Memory is soldered to the motherboard (max 16GB)

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