Lenovo V14 G4 IRU

A shockingly fast CPU trapped in a budget body with a terrible screen and not enough memory. Buy it only if it's dirt cheap and you're handy with a screwdriver.

The Lenovo V14 G4 IRU is a classic case of a laptop with a split personality. On one hand, you get a genuinely powerful Intel Core i7-13620H processor that punches well above what you'd expect in a budget-minded chassis. On the other hand, Lenovo paired that chip with a dim, washed-out TN display and a paltry 8GB of RAM. It's like putting a sports car engine in a car with bicycle tires. The core experience is fast for office work and multitasking, but the screen and memory hold it back from being a true all-rounder.

The biggest surprise here is the CPU. That 10-core i7-13620H is a beast for this class of machine, landing in the 72nd percentile of all laptops we've tested. It chews through spreadsheets, browser tabs, and video calls without breaking a sweat. But the 8GB of single-channel DDR4 RAM is a bottleneck you'll feel immediately. It sits in the 14th percentile, and it shows. Open more than a dozen Chrome tabs and you'll start seeing slowdowns. The integrated Intel UHD graphics are fine for desktop work and streaming, but don't even think about gaming. Our gaming score for this thing is a brutal 12.6 out of 100. It's strictly a work machine.

Pricing on this model is all over the map, with listings ranging from $450 to a frankly absurd $9649. At the low end, around $450, you're getting a lot of CPU power for the money, but you absolutely need to budget for a RAM upgrade. At anything over $600, just walk away. You can get a laptop with a better screen, more RAM, and longer battery life for the same cash. The best deal we spotted was on Newegg, so start your hunt there if you're set on this model.

The V14's biggest problem is that for a little more money, you can get a laptop that doesn't make these compromises. The Apple MacBook Air M5 is in a different league for screen quality and battery life, though it costs more. A more direct Windows competitor is something like the ASUS ProArt PX13, which offers a vastly superior OLED display and better build quality. Even a mid-range Dell Inspiron will give you an IPS screen and 16GB of RAM out of the box. The Lenovo only makes sense if you find it at a steep discount and are willing to crack it open to add RAM yourself.

If you care at all about screen quality or need a laptop that lasts a full workday on battery, this isn't it. The 38Wh battery and dim TN panel are deal-breakers for students and road warriors. Go get a MacBook Air or a Dell XPS instead. Even a used business laptop with an IPS screen will be a better daily companion.

The Lenovo V14 G4 IRU is a frustrating machine. The processor is a standout, but the screen is one of the worst we've seen in this category, and the 8GB of RAM is a deal-breaker for anyone who multitasks. If you're a tinkerer who can find this for under $500, doesn't mind upgrading the RAM, and will mostly use it docked to an external monitor, it's a quirky, powerful little workhorse. For everyone else, the compromises are too big to ignore. You're better off spending a bit more on a laptop that's good out of the box.