PowerVR Chromebook Lenovo 100E Chromebook 2ND Gen 81QB000AUS Laptop Review
The Lenovo 100E Chromebook costs about $51, and you get exactly what you pay for: a painfully slow processor and not enough RAM to function properly.
Overview
This is a Chromebook, and a very basic one at that. It's built for one thing: getting online and doing simple tasks in a browser. Think checking email, watching YouTube, and maybe some light Google Docs work. That's its entire world. Don't expect it to be anything more. It's small, it's cheap, and it runs Chrome OS. That's the pitch.
Performance
The MediaTek MT8173 processor is slow, landing in just the 2nd percentile. That means it's slower than almost every other laptop out there. The 4GB of RAM is also in the 0th percentile, which is as bad as it sounds. It will struggle if you have more than a few browser tabs open. The GPU is actually okay for a Chromebook, sitting in the 54th percentile, but that just means it can handle basic video playback. Gaming is a non-starter with a 1.5/100 score.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- It's extremely compact and portable. 98th
- It's very cheap to buy. 91th
- Boots up fast thanks to Chrome OS and the SSD.
- The GPU is decent enough for basic media.
Cons
- The 4GB of RAM is cripplingly low.
- The 16GB storage is almost unusably small. 2th
- The low-res 11.6-inch screen is poor. 3th
- The processor is painfully slow for any real work. 4th
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| CPU | Mediatek MT8173 |
| Cores | 2 |
| Frequency | 2.1 GHz |
Graphics
| GPU | 4 GB |
| VRAM | 4 GB |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 4 GB |
| RAM Generation | DDR4 |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 11.6" |
| Resolution | 1366 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi | WiFi 5 |
Physical
| Weight | 1.2 kg / 2.7 lbs |
| OS | Chrome OS |
Value & Pricing
At around $51, the value proposition is simple. If you need a disposable, ultra-budget device for a single, simple web-based task, it's technically a computer. For anyone else, it's a terrible value because it's so limited. You'll outgrow its capabilities instantly. Spending even $100 more would get you a vastly better used Chromebook.
Price History
vs Competition
Don't even compare this to the MacBook Pro or gaming laptops like the Legion Pro 7i or MSI Vector. That's like comparing a bicycle to a sports car. A more relevant comparison is against other budget Chromebooks, and it still loses. Its 4GB RAM and 16GB storage put it at the absolute bottom of the barrel. Even older used models typically offer 8GB RAM and 64GB storage for a similar price, making them a much smarter buy.
| Spec | PowerVR Chromebook Lenovo 100E Chromebook 2ND Gen 81QB000AUS Laptop | Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M5, Silver) | ASUS ROG Zephyrus ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K OLED 120Hz Gaming | Lenovo Legion Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 Intel Laptop, | MSI Creator MSI Creator M14 A13V A13VF-081US 14" 2.8K Laptop, | HP ZBook HP 14" ZBook Ultra G1a Multi-Touch Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Mediatek MT8173 | Apple M5 | AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series | Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Intel Core i7 13620H | AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 385 |
| RAM (GB) | 4 | 32 | 32 | 16 | 32 | 32 |
| Storage (GB) | 16 | 4096 | 1000 | 1024 | 2048 | 1024 |
| Screen | 11.6" 1366x768 | 14.2" 3024x1964 | 14" 2880x1800 | 16" 2560x1600 | 14" 2880x1800 | 14" 2880x1800 |
| GPU | 4 GB | Apple (10-Core) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | AMD Radeon |
| OS | Chrome OS | macOS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home (MSI recommends Windows 11 Pro for business) | Windows 11 Pro |
| Weight (kg) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| Battery (Wh) | - | 72 | - | 80 | - | 74 |
Verdict
Only buy this if your budget is absolutely locked at $50 and you need a screen with a keyboard to access a single website or web app. It's suitable for a dedicated kiosk or a child's first, strictly supervised device. For any student, business, or general use, it's a hard pass. You will regret it.