Meet the $599 8-core AMD Ryzen laptop that's rewriting the rules of computing

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch laptop - $599.00 at Walmart
This Lenovo device is the cheapest AMD Ryzen 8-core laptop on the market by far, undercutting all the competition. For your money, you also get a 14-inch full HD IPS screen, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD - check it out.

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At only $599 at Walmart (even outside of Black Friday), the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is probably one of the best value for money laptops you never heard of when it comes to sheer performance for your hard-earned money.

(If you do not live in the US, check the deals we have listed at the end of this article)

You won't actually find a new (non-refurbished) desktop computer that will match it in terms of raw compute performance. That's because it houses an 8-core/8-thread AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor.

Not only is this the one of the fastest laptop processors on the market, it is also a very capable rival to desktop processors found in computers that retail in the same price bracket.

What else do you get for your money? Well, the IdeaPad 5 comes in a choice of three colours (depending on stock), a 14-inch full HD IPS display, 8GB of DDR4 memory (soldered), a 256GB PCIe SSD and a 57WHr battery that should last up to 14 hours.

What it demonstrates is that, unless you have a very specific use case for a desktop PC (e.g. you require a lot of ports or expansion capabilities), a laptop - despite having far more features - usually ends up costing less. Thank the laws of demand and supply and economies of scale for that.

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The processor has eight threads and seven GPU cores with a base clock speed of 2GHz, 12MB cache and a default TDP of only 15W. The graphics subsystem is not too shabby either, thanks to the integrated Vega GPU - great for anyone looking for a business laptop or mobile workstation.

A fingerprint reader is integrated with the power button and there's a privacy shutter to block the webcam when it's not in use. Small features like this could be a boon for small businesses and professionals looking for a powerful laptop that takes security seriously.

It is a shame, however, that it doesn’t include Windows 10 Pro, but you can always upgrade from Windows 10 Home (albeit at a cost). Connectivity and expansion capabilities include an SD card reader, audio connector, HDMI port, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, two USB ports and a USB Type-C that provides power as well.

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Bear in mind

• If this product is unavailable in your region, you may need to use a specialist parcel forwarding service to take advantage of the deal
• If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.