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Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook 8 GB RAM

Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook with 8 GB RAM for $449.99

I haven’t seen too many retailers selling the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook with 8 GB of RAM here in the US. When I have, the price has been $499.99, the same as Lenovo charges for direct sales. So it caught my eye today that Costco is offering a $50 savings on this configuration. If you’re a warehouse member, you can nab the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook with 8 GB RAM for $449.99.

Not only do you get double the memory of the base $379.99 model at this price, but you also get bumped up from an Intel Celeron to a Core i3.

Even better, you go from 64 GB of eMMC storage to 128 GB of faster PCIe SSD storage. All of those upgrades are easily worth the $70 premium over the base configuration, in my opinion.

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I first looked at this device back in June and I was generally impressed with performance of the 4 GB model, saying:

I don’t use benchmarks for my buying decisions but for what it’s worth, the $849 Pixelbook Go I reviewed last year scored lower in some of the same tests, which is interesting. I’m chalking that up to the Go having an 8th-generation chipset while this Lenovo unit has newer 10th-generation silicon inside. Also, the base clock speed of the Core i5 in the Go is 1.3GHz, while the Core i3 I’m using now runs at 2.1GHz.

I like the 1080p 13.3-inch display, WiFi 6 support that offers great connectivity speeds with my WiFi 6 router, the physical webcam cover, above-average backlit keyboard, and the trio of USB ports.

About the only thing I didn’t like was the large power brick but that’s a small concession I’d be willing to make for such a great value. Oh and don’t expect super loud sound out of the 2W speakers either.

I should note that although I haven’t experienced any issues with the 360-degree display hinges, some readers have reported that theirs broke.

I don’t know if that’s a widespread issue but I did search for this problem in various user reviews on retailer sites. I only found a few such instances, however it’s worth mentioning.

Also worth noting is that Costco offers a 90-day return policy on this convertible Chromebook, which is a nice little insurance policy in case of any issues in the first three months.

Here’s a rundown of what you get for your $449.99:

CPUDual-core Intel Core i3-10110U Processor (2.1 GHz / 4.1GHz)
GPUIntel Integrated UHD Graphics
Display13.3-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 touchscreen,
16:9 aspect ratio, 250 nits brightness
Memory8 GB DDR4-2600MHz memory
Storage128 GB PCIe SSD,
microSD card slot for expansion
ConnectivityWiFi6 (802.11ax, 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5.0
InputSpill-resistant backlit keyboard, USI stylus (optional) support,
720p webcam with physical privacy shutter
Ports1 USB Type-A, 2 USB Type-C,
headphone/microphone combo jack
Battery51 WHr, expected run-time up to 10 hours
Weight2.97 pounds
SoftwareChrome OS automatic updates through June 2028

For the price, you’re getting a solid mid-range Chromebook at not much more than an upgraded entry-level configuration.

Based on my usage of the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook, it should easily meet the needs of typical Chromebook usage when it comes to browsing and Android apps. Probably even the occasional Linux app or two from time to time.

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author avatar
Kevin C. Tofel

2 thoughts on “Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook with 8 GB RAM for $449.99

  1. Got the i5 of this and it can handle anything, playstore apps, linux apps, 20+ chrome tabs, for the price best Chromebook ever had. Fans comes on once a day maybe, not for long. I’d buy an i7, 16gb ram Chromebook but doubt it would give much better performance, only reason for getting that would be future proofing.

    Am sure the i3 model must be pretty special too, doubt anyone would regret it.

  2. One big unanswered question. Does this Chromebook use the same exasperatingly buggy communications chip that makes the Lenovo Chromebook Duet such a total disaster trying to stay connected to Wifi? It even flakes out maintaining a reliable connection to a USI stylus. It would definitely be a classic case of “throwing good money after bad”, if this is the case, no matter how big a discount is being offered. Lenovo is notoriously unconcerned with service after the sale across all of their product lines.

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