Faisal Ghaffar 
Google decided to make gaming Chromebooks by partnering with laptop makers, but it did not happen at an opportune time. In late 2022, the company rolled out the first models, only a few months before it cancelled its in-house cloud gaming service, Stadia. It might have seemed like the end of gaming Chromebooks even before they really began, but the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook from Lenovo proves otherwise.
Design and build
When it comes to looks, you cannot tell that the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is designed for gaming. Its exterior is simple grey plastic and there is a contrasting matte strip to add some elegance. Putting aside looks, you will find that the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is quite modern. The bezels surrounding the display are very slim, so you have a 16-inch, 16:10 display panel.
In terms of measures, the Lenovo device is about 14-inch wide, 0.8-inch thick and less than 10-inch deep. While it may not be small, the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is certainly compact. The build quality is a tad disappointing because every surface is made of plastic, but this is not surprising, considering the price tag.
There are two USB-C ports supporting DisplayPort Alternate Mode that can be used to connect to external displays and Power Delivery that supports fast charging. There are also two USB-A ports, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card reader.
Display, audio and webcam
With a 16-inch display and an aspect ratio of 16:10, the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is one of the biggest ChromeOS devices that you will find. A 60Hz refresh rate and 1920×1200 panel marks the entry-level model, but you can get an upgrade with a refresh rate of 120Hz and resolution of 2560×1600. There is no OLED, but IPS LCD is used due to which you get mediocre image quality. The colors may be attractive and the brightness reasonable, but the contrast ratio is unimpressive.
Nonetheless, the display is still quite impressive as opposed to other cheap gaming laptops out there. It looks great whether you are writing documents and browsing the web. It has an anti-glare and non-gloss finish, which is also helpful. When it comes to audio, there are built-in speakers in the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook and they are an excellent addition for its price.
They fire upwards, so the sound is clear rather than muffled. The volume might be adequate, but they add the oomph when it comes to movies and music. There is a 720p webcam above the display, which is quite basic. The colors and brightness are acceptable, but video is lacking in detail. It does come with a physical privacy shutter, which blocks the camera completely. The microphone is also above average quality, as it offers good clarity and volume.
Specs and performance
The Intel Core i5-1235U powers the IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook, which belongs to the 12th-gen range that was introduced last year. The processor is modest, as it has 10 cores, eight for efficiency and the rest for performance. It comes with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is great. You can stream any cloud gaming title quite easily on the device, but this does not apply to Android games. It does have impressive connectivity, thanks to Wi-Fi 6E standard and Bluetooth 5.1.
The Verdict
With a price tag of just $569.99 and a large battery, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook is an impressive option for cloud gaming and day-to-day productivity.
