Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x overview: A no-nonsense Snapdragon X2 laptop computer

Finest Costs At the moment: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 5 lineup has by no means been the type to get your pulse racing. As a substitute, they’re sensible machines bought at an inexpensive worth, and as such they succeed or fail primarily based on the general value-per-dollar they supply. The IdeaPad Slim 5x does effectively on that account, offering good CPU efficiency and battery life for below $1,000.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Specs and options as-tested

The headliner right here is little question the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip. Snapdragon X2 is a brand new chip line from Qualcomm that has simply come to market, and the Snapdragon X2 Plus is especially unusual in the mean time. Most funds laptops with Qualcomm {hardware} are nonetheless utilizing the older Snapdragon X chip.

• Mannequin quantity: 15Q8Y11
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus X2P-42-100
• Reminiscence: 16GB LPDDR5X-9523
• Graphics/GPU: Qualcomm Adreno X2-45
• NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon NPU as much as 80 TOPS
• Show: 15.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS 120Hz touchscreen
• Storage: 512GB PCIe 4.0 stable state drive
• Webcam and microphone: 1080p webcam with IR digital camera, privateness shutter, twin array microphone
• Connectivity: 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB-C 10Gbps with DisplayPort 1.4 and 65 watts of Energy Supply, 2x USB-A with 5Gbps of knowledge, 1x 3.5mm combo headphone jack, 1x microSD card reader
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Home windows Howdy facial recognition
• Audio: 2x 2-watt speaker system
• Battery capability: 54.7 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 13.36 x 9.29 x 0.61 inches
• Weight: 3.28 kilos
• Working System: Home windows 11 House
• Value: $849.99 MSRP as configured

The specification sheet is in any other case pretty mundane. Lenovo offers 16GB of RAM, a 512GB stable state drive, and a 1920×1200 IPS show. Thankfully, the essential specs are mirrored within the laptop computer’s $849.99 MSRP. Because of elevated RAM and SSD pricing, that is cheap for a brand new Home windows laptop computer in 2026.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Design and construct high quality

Foundry / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x doesn’t make a powerful first impression. Quite the opposite, I doubt you would peg it as a Lenovo machine if not for the badge on the highest and the digital camera bump above the show. Many laptops from many producers provide the same silver colorway and strike the same profile on a desk.

Nevertheless, the main points favor Lenovo. The IdeaPad Slim 5x has a hinge that permits rotation again to virtually 180 levels, which is useful and never discovered on all comparable laptops. It’s a well-tuned hinge as effectively. It’s tight sufficient to remain closed in a bag, but additionally free sufficient to allow you to carry the lid with one hand. 

The chassis is aluminum on each prime and backside, which is a bonus for a laptop computer within the sub-$1,000 worth bracket, and the chassis feels inflexible when dealt with. It’s a slim laptop computer with a most thickness simply over six-tenths of an inch and it’s gentle at 3.28 kilos.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Keyboard, touchpad

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Lenovo offers the IdeaPad Slim 5x with a spacious keyboard. It doesn’t have a numpad, which implies the keyboard is centered and there’s loads of room for big keys. That is my desire, although customers who like having a numpad will need to look elsewhere.

Key really feel is nice. Keys activate with a taut motion and backside out with a crisp, although comfortable, click on. It’s nothing to put in writing house about, however the total typing expertise is nice. A white LED keyboard backlight is customary and offers loads of brightness.

The touchpad is a bit odd, nonetheless, for starters, the touchpad isn’t centered beneath the keyboard. That is uncommon for a laptop computer that lacks a numpad and undoubtedly feels bizarre below my fingers. The touchpad is fairly huge at simply over 5 inches, however a hair below three inches deep, so it may nonetheless really feel constrained when utilizing a two-finger scrolling gesture. A bodily click on motion is supported however feels low-cost and plastic-y. 

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Show

Foundry / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x I obtained for overview had a 15.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS show. It’s rated for a most of 400 nits, which it simply hits, and has a refresh fee of 120Hz.

It’s wonderful. This kind of mid-range IPS show has the good thing about good sharpness and readability, the latter due to a matte coat that diffuses glare on the show. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless not shiny sufficient to make use of outdoor comfortably on a sunny day, or in direct view of sunlit home windows. The picture seems vivid when displaying colourful content material however lacks distinction and element in darker scenes.

Surprisingly, the IPS show is a touchscreen. You wouldn’t know that by it, because it lacks the shiny coat that many touchscreens have, but it surely works no in a different way due to that. This isn’t a 2-in-1 machine, so you possibly can’t flip it right into a pill, however the touchscreen is useful for conditions the place you don’t need to use a keyboard—like for those who’re reclined on the sofa and watching YouTube.

Lenovo says it should provide a 2560×1600 OLED improve with a brightness of 500 nits and a refresh fee as much as 165Hz, however I wasn’t in a position to check it. I count on that may be a big improve by way of picture high quality.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Audio

Audio high quality is a perk for the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. The laptop computer has a pair of two-watt audio system that present crisp, loud audio on to the person’s ears. I used to be impressed by the audio system’ readability and talent to ship a little bit of low-end oomph when required. The audio system aren’t going to problem a MacBook Air, however they’re above common for an reasonably priced Home windows machine and pleasing to make use of in a variety of content material, from motion pictures to podcasts.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p webcam is discovered within the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x’s digital camera bump. The webcam’s picture high quality is mediocre. It’s clear in shiny lighting however grainy in a dim room. The digital camera additionally has a very huge default area of view. You possibly can hedge towards this with the AI framing function, which zooms in in your face, however this reduces the efficient decision. A bodily privateness shutter is included.

The microphone array captures clear audio, however the hole, distant sound frequent to laptop computer microphones is clear. On the entire, the webcam and microphone are adequate for a Zoom name however less than extra demanding duties.

An IR digital camera is included and offers help for Home windows Howdy login by way of facial recognition. It really works effectively in quite a lot of lighting situations. A fingerprint reader isn’t accessible.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Connectivity

Foundry / Matthew Smith

You’ll discover two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports lining the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x’s flanks, plus one HDMI 2.1 for video output, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a microSD card reader.

The USB-C ports can present as much as 10Gbps of knowledge and in addition help as much as 65 watts of USB Energy Supply, which is sufficient to cost the laptop computer (and the included charger makes use of USB-C). The USB-A ports present 5Gbps of knowledge. These are typical specs of a sub-$1,000 Home windows laptop computer. There are not any Thunderbolt or USB-4 information charges, and the USB information charges can be an impediment if you wish to join a variety of high-speed storage or have any plan to make use of an exterior GPU. It is a typical draw back for Snapdragon laptops and I can excuse it at this worth, although I at all times desire to see at the least one port with 40Gbps information. 

Wi-fi connectivity is nice with help for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. The Wi-Fi sign was robust throughout my time with the laptop computer.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Efficiency

Lenovo ships each IdeaPad Slim 5x (15Q8Y11) with a Snapdragon X2 Plus X2P-42-100. It is a lower-tier chip within the new Snapdragon X2 lineup. It has six CPU cores (down from as much as 18 within the flagship chip) and an Adreno X2-45 GPU. The Snapdragon X2 Plus performs pretty effectively, particularly in Arm-native benchmarks.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Let’s begin with Cinebench 2024, a CPU benchmark with an Arm-native model. Right here the Snapdragon X2 Plus proves fairly highly effective with a rating of 725. This may come as a shock provided that it solely has six cores—but it surely seems the cores are every fairly speedy, so it may finally defeat competitor CPUs with extra cores. It is a nice end result for the IdeaPad Slim 5x.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Our HandBrake check runs on an older model with out an Arm-native construct, and it offers a glimpse of what can occur when Arm-native software program isn’t accessible. The script is flipped and the IdeaPad Slim 5x finally ends up behind the pack. To be truthful, nonetheless, HandBrake does now embody an Arm-native construct, as do many productiveness apps.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Shifting on to 3D efficiency, the Snapdragon X2 Plus has an Adreno X2-45 built-in GPU. That is an entry-level GPU within the Snapdragon X2 line. It offers a big improve over the previous Adreno X1-45. It’s additionally typically aggressive with, or even perhaps a bit sooner than, AMD’s Radeon 860M graphics. 

Nevertheless, main Intel and AMD built-in graphics options stay far forward. I wouldn’t advocate the IdeaPad Slim 5x for those who’d prefer to play video games often. Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 chips with Arc B390 graphics are your best option for that, although most laptops with Arc B390 are at the least a number of hundred {dollars} costlier. 

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Battery life and portability

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x has a 54.7 watt-hour battery. That’s truly towards the smaller aspect for a 15.3-inch laptop computer; a variety of Home windows laptops of comparable measurement may have a 60 or 70 watt-hour battery. Nevertheless, the usage of a lower-tier Snapdragon X2 chip appears to assist take advantage of what’s within the tank.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

I noticed over 20 hours of battery life from the IdeaPad Slim 5x. Because the graph exhibits, this isn’t the very best that you could find from a contemporary Home windows laptop computer, but it surely’s nonetheless moderately good. Battery life this lengthy means you possibly can possible go two or three days between expenses for those who’re operating much less demanding apps.

Talking of charging, the laptop computer ships with a small 65-watt USB-C energy adapter. It’s not as small because the adapter HP ships with some OmniBook laptops, but it surely’s solely two inches in width and depth and an inch thick, so it’ll simply slot in virtually any bag that may maintain the laptop computer. The laptop computer has a speedy cost function that may present as much as three hours of battery life with a 15-minute cost.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: Conclusion

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x is a stable selection in order for you a primary, versatile Home windows laptop computer. It hits the candy spot in lots of respects. It presents good efficiency in most areas but it stays reasonably priced. The battery life isn’t the very best however nonetheless good, and the smaller battery possible contributes to the laptop computer’s slimmer measurement and decrease weight. It does have weaknesses such because the mediocre touchpad and unimpressive built-in graphics efficiency, however the total bundle is an efficient worth in your cash.