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MagyarLenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH review: Ryzen 5000 laptop with large 120 Hz LCD
Traditionally, laptops with a 15-inch display have always been the most popular models in the consumer segment. The large display offers a lot of space for documents, games, and multimedia content; at the same time, large laptops are often potentially more powerful. However, there's a new trend in 2021: Together with the shift from 16:9 to 16:10, display sizes have increased from 15.6 inches to 16 inches. An example of this is the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH.
This isn't the only trend that the Lenovo laptop has adopted. AMD processors have created hype in the laptop market since the release of the Ryzen 4000 series, and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH features the latest Zen 3 processors - the "ACH" in the model number stands for "AMD Cezanne-H". With the powerful H processors and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, the Lenovo laptop targets the multimedia market.
Possible contenders in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.1 % | 09/2021 | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH R7 5800H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | 2 kg | 17.5 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 81.2 % | 06/2021 | HP Pavilion 15-eg i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450 | 1.7 kg | 17.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 83.2 % | 06/2021 | Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 i7-11370H, GeForce MX450 | 1.7 kg | 16 mm | 15.60" | 3200x2000 | |
| 84.5 % | 11/2020 | Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) R5 4600H, Vega 6 | 1.7 kg | 16.9 mm | 16.10" | 1920x1080 | |
| 83.4 % | 12/2020 | Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T i7-1165G7, GeForce MX350 | 1.8 kg | 16.1 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Case: Lenovo IdeaPad with dark aluminum case
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH doesn't stand out much from many other Lenovo laptops in the IdeaPad series in terms of design. The slight reverse notch in the area of the camera, which is convenient for opening the lid, the wide hinge, and the vertically aligned Lenovo logo on the right edge of the palm rest - typical design features of modern Lenovo laptops. The case comes entirely in the "Storm Gray" dark gray color, and the color of the keyboard is matching as well. The only color contrast is offered by the metallic bezel surrounding the Lenovo logo, with the exception of the sticker parade on the left of the touchpad. All in all, it's a modern, minimalistic design.
The use of aluminum ensures a high-quality feel; plastic is only found in the area of the display bezel and the hinge. The fact that this is not CNC-machined aluminum is noticeable in the display area, though. While the base unit is very resistant to torsion, the screen can be twisted a bit. On the other hand, the cover responds well to pressure applied on the screen's back, since there are no noticeable effects on the display. The keyboard and palm rest can't be pressed in, and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH's workmanship is flawless.
The screen can be opened with one hand, but only up to an opening angle of 160 degrees. In a shaky environment, the display wobbles a bit, which doesn't look very sophisticated, but it's not dramatic either.
With its 16-inch display in the 16:10 format, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH is longer than the competition, but slightly less wide in return - particularly compared to the Honor MagicBook Pro 16. Among the multimedia laptops in our comparison, the Lenovo laptop also has the heaviest weight.
Connectivity: Lenovo laptop with SD card reader
Interestingly, the chosen GPU configuration of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH makes a difference when it comes to the ports. The variant with a dedicated GPU, like our test device, has a proprietary slim-tip charging port on the left side. Models without an Nvidia graphics chip have an additional USB-C port in its place. The Lenovo laptop can also be charged via the USB-C port available here.
The connections meet our expectations for a multimedia laptop, and we especially like the full-size SD card reader and the HDMI port. It's a pity that Thunderbolt isn't supported, but this is due to the AMD platform being used.
SD card reader
None of the comparison laptops has a full-size SD card reader. Although the card reader in the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH can't fully accommodate the cards, its mere presence is a big advantage - even though the Lenovo laptop's reader only provides average speeds.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (17.6 - 205, n=66, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH (AV PRO V60) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (16.8 - 266, n=62, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH (AV PRO V60) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
Communication
Although Lenovo can advertise its IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH with "Wi-Fi 6", not much remains of that in reality: The Realtek 2x2 module installed in the Lenovo laptop disappoints with low transfer rates that lag far behind current Intel solutions.
Webcam
The 720p webcam that's placed above the LCD of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro delivers below-average image quality, a typical flaw for most laptops. However, it's sufficient for video calls, at least in good lighting.
Accessories
The package of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH only contains a 135-watt power adapter with a slim-tip connector. No other accessories are included.
Maintenance
A total of nine TX5 screws hold the bottom cover in place along with some clips. The screws don't remain in the case, so you have to be careful not to lose them. It's best to use a plastic spudger tool to loosen the clips, but a credit card or a plectrum could do the trick as well.
To our disappointment, we only found a few upgradeable components on the inside of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH. Users can upgrade the M.2-2280 SSD and M.2-2230 Wi-Fi module pretty easily, but RAM is completely soldered. Other maintenance options include replacing the internal battery and cleaning the cooling system.
Warranty
A 24-month bring-in warranty is about standard for a consumer laptop like the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH. Interestingly, Lenovo also offers warranty extensions for this model at an extra charge, with the maximum possible being 48 months with on-site service.
Average input devices: Lenovo laptop
Keyboard
Like the great majority of Lenovo laptops in this size category, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH also has a number pad. As a result, the keyboard is shifted a bit to the left. Furthermore, some keys, such as the Enter key, could perhaps be a bit wider in the absence of the number pad. For users who enter a lot of numbers, the number pad can be extremely useful. Having the option to get the Lenovo laptop without the number pad as well would be ideal, though.
The two-stage backlight keyboard with its rounded keys delivers a good typing experience. The Lenovo IdeaPad isn't top of the line, and the keyboard certainly doesn't come close to a Lenovo ThinkPad, but you can still enter longer text without problems. The pressure point could be a bit more defined, and the travel is quite short as is common nowadays.
Touchpad
A large plastic touchpad serves as the sole mouse replacement. At 12 x 7.5 cm, it's larger than the touchpads in Lenovo's ThinkPad series, for example. It's a ClickPad with classic mechanics, which means that it can only be clicked in the lower area.
There's nothing to complain about when it comes to the software implementation. The touchpad responds to gestures perfectly with the Windows Precision driver, and the mouse pointer can be controlled accurately. We aren't particularly impressed with the hardware itself; the plastic surface doesn't feel very high quality, and the same is true for the click mechanism. It's a good touchpad, but clearly not premium hardware.
The 120 Hz 16:10 display is the highlight of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH
If you buy the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH, you don't need to worry too much about which display to choose. The Lenovo laptop is only available with a 16-inch WQXGA LCD (2560x1600). The IPS display is matte, is supposed to deliver 350 cd/m², and it's a non-touch LCD. Nevertheless, there are two LCD options because Lenovo offers the AMD IdeaPad with a 60 Hz panel as well as a 120 Hz monitor. Otherwise, the key specs are identical.
Our test device comes with the 120 Hz variant - this is noticeable in everyday use when you sroll or drag windows across the desktop because of the additional smoothness, and you also benefit from the doubled refresh rate in games. Fittingly, the display has fast response times. The Lenovo laptop's display is also convincing in other respects: The advertised brightness value is exceeded by around 25 cd/m², as the display emits around 375 cd/m² of brightness.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 394 cd/m²
Contrast: 1234:1 (Black: 0.32 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 1.1
ΔE Greyscale 3.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
73.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
71% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.12
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH IPS LED, 2560x1600, 16.00 | HP Pavilion 15-eg Chi Mei CMN1523, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 IPS, 3200x2000, 15.60 | Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) N161HCA-EA3, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.10 | Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T Panda LM156LF-5L04, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -38% | -5% | -13% | -44% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 71 | 42.9 -40% | 66.7 -6% | 67.5 -5% | 39.01 -45% |
| sRGB Coverage | 99 | 64 -35% | 96.3 -3% | 69.7 -30% | 58.5 -41% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 73.3 | 44.4 -39% | 68.5 -7% | 69.7 -5% | 40.33 -45% |
| Response Times | -67% | -143% | -106% | -170% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 16.4 ? | 22.8 ? -39% | 34.8 ? -112% | 37.6 ? -129% | 38 ? -132% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 8.8 ? | 23.6 ? -168% | 24 ? -173% | 25.6 ? -191% | 27 ? -207% |
| PWM Frequency | 24940 ? | 26320 ? 6% | 25250 ? 1% | ||
| Screen | -67% | -47% | 33% | -77% | |
| Brightness middle | 395 | 294.3 -25% | 312 -21% | 337 -15% | 287 -27% |
| Brightness | 375 | 251 -33% | 298 -21% | 312 -17% | 261 -30% |
| Brightness Distribution | 90 | 76 -16% | 87 -3% | 89 -1% | 84 -7% |
| Black Level * | 0.32 | 0.26 19% | 0.18 44% | 0.2 37% | 0.51 -59% |
| Contrast | 1234 | 1132 -8% | 1733 40% | 1685 37% | 563 -54% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.6 | 4.08 -57% | 5.39 -107% | 0.8 69% | 4.72 -82% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 5.4 | 19.49 -261% | 9.95 -84% | 1.1 80% | 17.94 -232% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.1 | 3.7 -236% | 3.15 -186% | 0.7 36% | 3.74 -240% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.4 | 3 12% | 6.3 -85% | 1 71% | 2.2 35% |
| Gamma | 2.12 104% | 2.21 100% | 2.192 100% | 2.2 100% | 2.51 88% |
| CCT | 6140 106% | 6616 98% | 7473 87% | 6538 99% | 6758 96% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 69 | 63.8 | 37 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 96 | 99.5 | 58 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -57% /
-61% | -65% /
-52% | -29% /
-4% | -97% /
-83% |
* ... smaller is better
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH's color reproduction is a bit too out of the box as we measured with the CalMan software and the X-Rite i1 Pro 2 colorimeter. Calibration with the colorimeter and the X-Rite i1Profiler software was able to eliminate the color tint, bringing color reproduction close to ideal. There's some room for improvement when it comes to the contrast, since it only deserves a score of "good" and not "very good" with a ratio of 1,234:1.
The color-space coverage is good too. Due to the nearly full coverage of the "small" sRGB color space, the majority of colors are displayed correctly in everyday use, and simple image editing is possible.
Starting at 200 cd/m², you can say that a display is minimally suitable for outdoor use. Since the panel installed here goes a step further with 375 cd/m² and has a matte surface at the same time, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH can be used outdoors without issues. If possible, you should avoid exposing the panel to direct sunlight.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 4.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 4.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 19 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 16.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 10 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 25 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 24940 Hz | ≤ 50 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 24940 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 50 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 24940 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
As is typical for an IPS-type panel, the viewing-angle stability is flawless.
Strong performance with AMD Cezanne-H and Nvidia Turing
There are three different processors in the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, the Ryzen 7 5800H, and the Ryzen 9 5900HX. In some configurations, Lenovo doesn't provide a dGPU to accompany these powerful AMD CPUs; consequently, the AMD Radeon iGPU serves as the graphics chip - but in most cases, a dGPU is likely to be on board, either the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 or the RTX 3050. The DDR4-3200 RAM is soldered in all configurations, and there are variants with 8, 16, and 32 GB of memory. A single M.2-2280 SSD is used as the mass storage device.
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H is a Zen 3 processor of the Cezanne H-series that features eight cores and 16 threads. As an H-series CPU, this processor has a typical TDP of 45 watts, with a maximum clock speed of 4.4 GHz (base clock rate of 3.2 GHz). In our CPU Benchmarks article, you can compare the Ryzen processor with other current processing chips.
The processor's maximum consumption is 57 watts, but this is the case for only a few seconds. In the long run, the AMD Ryzen processor consumes a stable 35 watts. With these rates, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH is clearly the fastest multimedia laptop in the test field, at least when all cores are under load. If only one core is loaded, the laptops with Intel CPUs have the edge.
We noticed a limitation of the CPU's performance on battery power. Without the power adapter connected, the CPU performance was about 14% lower.
Cinebench R15 Multi endurance test
Cinebench R20: CPU (Single Core) | CPU (Multi Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average of class Multimedia (878 - 2110, n=99, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (1294 - 1441, n=29) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4624 - 30789, n=101, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (8812 - 13214, n=29) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (341 - 812, n=97, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (502 - 560, n=30) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (1783 - 11768, n=97, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (3430 - 5020, n=31) | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Multimedia (142.6 - 308, n=99, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (209 - 234, n=29) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Multimedia (785 - 4703, n=106, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (1487 - 2119, n=28) | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (107 - 662, n=95, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (237 - 340, n=29) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (3398 - 7163, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (5038 - 5632, n=29) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (20166 - 119900, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (45773 - 59986, n=28) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Multimedia (926 - 2342, n=100, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (1336 - 1505, n=28) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Multimedia (3828 - 23059, n=100, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (6551 - 9062, n=28) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4.99 - 30.5, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (11.6 - 16.1, n=29) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (47.4 - 113, n=29) | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (6.7 - 84.9, n=92, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (0.511 - 0.559, n=28) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (0.3826 - 0.723, n=90, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System performance
For a laptop with these components, the system performance in PCMark is slightly below average. Nevertheless, that's enough for the laptop to place itself at the top of the test field. There's absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH's system performance in everyday use.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4635 - 8670, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (5862 - 6217, n=2) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average of class Multimedia (8480 - 12420, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (10001 - 10031, n=2) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (8218 - 9225, n=2) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (5845 - 11186, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4688 - 13548, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (6650 - 7048, n=2) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5862 points | |
Help | ||
DPC latencies
Unfortunately, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH struggles with high DPC latencies. A network driver is apparently the culprit here.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage
A 512 GB M.2-2280 SSD from Micron is used as the mass storage device in this model. It's a fast NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD that has minor weaknesses when it comes to 4K writing. However, this is unlikely to be noticed in everyday use.
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV | HP Pavilion 15-eg Samsung PM991 MZVLQ1T0HALB | Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G | Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G | Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8 | Average Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | 7% | -46% | 42% | -3% | -8% | |
| Seq Read | 2643 | 2030 -23% | 1972 -25% | 2749 4% | 1754 -34% | 2300 ? -13% |
| Seq Write | 1510 | 1003 -34% | 981 -35% | 2348 55% | 1567 4% | 1550 ? 3% |
| 4K Read | 42.86 | 46.74 9% | 55.8 30% | 44.22 3% | 53 24% | 45 ? 5% |
| 4K Write | 85.5 | 164.2 92% | 133.5 56% | 140.5 64% | 167.9 96% | 106.6 ? 25% |
| 4K-64 Read | 768 | 1098 43% | 1277 66% | 1450 89% | 586 -24% | 676 ? -12% |
| 4K-64 Write | 1983 | 891 -55% | 313.9 -84% | 2346 18% | 858 -57% | 1616 ? -19% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.103 | 0.053 49% | 0.15 -46% | 0.079 23% | 0.097 6% | 0.059 ? 43% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.101 | 0.062 39% | 0.513 -408% | 0.027 73% | 0.038 62% | 0.1807 ? -79% |
| Score Read | 1075 | 1348 25% | 1530 42% | 1769 65% | 815 -24% | 952 ? -11% |
| Score Write | 2220 | 1155 -48% | 546 -75% | 2721 23% | 1182 -47% | 1877 ? -15% |
| Score Total | 3797 | 3149 -17% | 2819 -26% | 5376 42% | 2421 -36% | 3290 ? -13% |
* ... smaller is better
Continuous load read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 is the least powerful GTX chip of the "Turing" generation. In this case, it comes with 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory, and the 896 shader units have a maximum clock speed of 1,155 MHz. Comparisons with other graphics chips are possible using our GPU Benchmarks table.
Lenovo allows the GTX to consume around 30 watts. To put this in perspective, the TGP (Total Graphics Power) for the newer Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, which is also available in the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH, is reported to be 35 watts. In order to show the 3050's potential, we included the Acer Nitro 5 in our comparison; it's 48% to 61% faster.
Compared with the average results of all GTX 1650 laptops, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH performs below average. It's about 12% behind the average. Still, this is enough to rank at the top of the affordable multimedia laptops. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU with an Intel Tiger Lake CPU and a GeForce MX450 GPU is 16% to 33% slower, depending on the 3DMark test.
When the power adapter is not plugged in, GPU performance drops by around 19%.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 11801 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 7763 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 3362 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
The Nvidia GTX 1650 allows the Lenovo laptop to display modern games in Full HD even at very high detail levels. However, this GPU isn't sufficient for 4K gaming or VR, but casual gamers and users with Full HD displays will definitely be well served here.
Even under continuous load, the graphics chip is able to deliver its performance without major fluctuations.
| The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (11.2 - 290, n=92, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Nitro 5 AN517-53-54DQ | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (45 - 70.4, n=29) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 | |
| HP Pavilion 15-eg | |
| Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 | |
| Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T | |
| Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) | |
The Witcher 3 FPS diagram
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 171 | 162 | 91.7 | 44.9 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 175 | 58 | 32.7 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 128 | 122 | 112 | 108 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 97 | 84.6 | 70 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 191 | 73.8 | 59.4 | 49.9 |
| F1 2020 (2020) | 178 | 86.5 | 68.7 | 48.3 |
Emissions: Performance leads to loud fans in the Lenovo laptop
Noise emissions
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH shows two faces when it comes to fan noise. When there's no load, it remains completely silent. Under load, however, the Lenovo laptop quickly revs up - even during the medium load test, which was performed in the Lenovo Vantage software's "Intelligent Cooling" performance mode, the fans operated at a very audible 41.3 dB(A). In the stress test and using the Vantage mode "High Performance", the cooling system was several levels louder with a maximum of 52.93 dB(A) - so if you want to play games on the Lenovo IdeaPad, you'll have to take the noise into account, as it can be quite annoying.
At least we didn't notice any coil whine in our review sample.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 24.04 / 24.04 / 24.04 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 41.3 / 52.93 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24.04 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
The IdeaPad barely warms up during typical office use, which we simulate using our idle test. Another typical scenario is gaming, which is simulated with The Witcher 3. We measured a maximum of 45.2 °C (~113 °F) here, but only at a hotspot in the rear section. Things look similar in the stress test: The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH heats up evenly at the top and bottom. The maximum measured value is around 52 °C (~126 °F). This is alarmingly high, but you normally shouldn't come into contact with the hotspot at the back of the case.
No CPU throttling was detected during the stress test, since the processor can consume 32 watts on a continuous basis. This might not be enough to maintain the maximum clock rate, but the base clock speed can be sustained. If there's throttling, it's in the graphics chip: Here, the clock rates of 870 MHz are below the base clock speed. Nevertheless, the throttling observed in the extreme stress test scenario won't have a negative impact on everyday use. Moreover, the 3DMark test that was run directly after the stress test produced a normal result.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 51.9 °C / 125 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 51.5 °C / 125 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.7 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 33.9 °C / 93 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.2 °C / 86.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-1.4 °C / -2.6 F).
Speakers
No matter what multimedia task is at hand - sound is likely to play an important role. This makes it all the more disappointing that the internal speakers of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH are so poor - their maximum volume is low, and bass is also completely absent. Therefore, you should resort to external speakers or headphones by all means.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (68.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.2% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 77% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 18% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 61% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 33% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (74 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.6% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 69% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 23% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 54% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 39% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy management: Lenovo laptop with good battery life
Energy consumption
Powerful components, a high-resolution LCD panel - this sounds like a recipe for high power consumption. Indeed, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH does consume a bit more power than the competition with more frugal internals.
The difference is particularly striking under load. The maximum consumption is 128 watts - pretty much within the range of the 135-watt power adapter.
| Off / Standby | 0.076 / 0.241 Watt |
| Idle | 5.7 / 9.3 / 11 Watt |
| Load |
83.4 / 128.7 Watt |
   
| |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH R7 5800H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV, IPS LED, 2560x1600, 16.00 | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 i5-11300H, GeForce MX450, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ, IPS, 2560x1600, 16.00 | HP Pavilion 15-eg i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ1T0HALB, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 i7-11370H, GeForce MX450, Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G, IPS, 3200x2000, 15.60 | Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) R5 4600H, Vega 6, WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.10 | Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T i7-1165G7, GeForce MX350, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | Average of class Multimedia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 15% | 19% | 9% | 35% | 39% | -3% | -15% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 5.7 | 5 12% | 4.9 14% | 6 -5% | 4.2 26% | 3 47% | 4.96 ? 13% | 7.29 ? -28% |
| Idle Average * | 9.3 | 9 3% | 7.9 15% | 9 3% | 8.4 10% | 6.4 31% | 8.61 ? 7% | 11.8 ? -27% |
| Idle Maximum * | 11 | 9.4 15% | 14.2 -29% | 12 -9% | 9.7 12% | 7.9 28% | 14.8 ? -35% | 14.6 ? -33% |
| Load Average * | 83.4 | 71 15% | 64.3 23% | 74 11% | 39.5 53% | 59 29% | 81.7 ? 2% | 77.7 ? 7% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 94.4 | 72.4 23% | 55.6 41% | 70.7 25% | 39.1 59% | 48 49% | ||
| Load Maximum * | 128.7 | 99 23% | 65.4 49% | 91 29% | 67.1 48% | 68 47% | 131.9 ? -2% | 121 ? 6% |
* ... smaller is better
Energy consumption during The Witcher 3 / Stress test
Battery life
In our comparison of multimedia laptops, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH has the battery with the highest capacity; the internal battery holds 75 watt hours. The battery life in the Wi-Fi test with a display brightness of 150 cd/m² is impressive, since the Lenovo laptop achieves over 12 hours. You should be careful when you increase the display brightness, though - there's a drastic reduction to around 7 hours in the Wi-Fi test at full brightness.
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH R7 5800H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, 75 Wh | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6 i5-11300H, GeForce MX450, 75 Wh | HP Pavilion 15-eg i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450, 41 Wh | Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 i7-11370H, GeForce MX450, 70 Wh | Honor MagicBook Pro (AMD) R5 4600H, Vega 6, 56 Wh | Asus VivoBook S15 S533EQ-BQ002T i7-1165G7, GeForce MX350, 50 Wh | Average of class Multimedia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -15% | -37% | -38% | -14% | -33% | -4% | |
| H.264 | 623 | 625 0% | 323 -48% | 633 2% | 710 ? 14% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 754 | 543 -28% | 396 -47% | 493 -35% | 619 -18% | 504 -33% | 572 ? -24% |
| Load | 101 | 84 -17% | 74 -27% | 70 -31% | 74 -27% | 97.7 ? -3% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict: The Lenovo IdeaPad looks good but doesn't sound very good
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH proves that the 16:10 format is no longer limited to high-end laptops. The 16-inch monitor with high WQXGA resolution, good quality, and fast response times is probably the centerpiece of this multimedia laptop, and it makes it ideal for gaming as well as watching movies.
Admittedly, games in particular require performance - and the IdeaPad can also deliver that with its AMD Ryzen and Nvidia GeForce components. Important in this context: The AMD model tested here is significantly faster than the Intel variant, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU. However, the higher performance also has a price: The fans, which weren't quiet in the Intel model, are clearly even louder under load here; so much so that they can be described as annoying. In return, the AMD version runs less hot, and the battery life is better as well.
The completely soldered RAM is unusual for such a large laptop. And the poor internal speakers are unusual for multimedia laptops - it's clear that Lenovo cut some corners here, making an external solution a must.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH forms a great symbiosis with the combination of a Ryzen 5000 CPU, the 16:10 aspect ratio, and an affordable price.
That is the biggest weakness of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH, which otherwise shows what a good multimedia laptop in the budget category should look like. In particular because of the very good display, but also because of the performance, we give it a recommendation.
An alternative is the RedmiBook Pro 15 with its great 3:2 LCD, but it can only be purchased from a Chinese online store. The Honor MagicBook Pro is also similar to the Lenovo laptop, but it's equipped with a 16-inch LCD in the 16:9 format - this can be an advantage when watching movies, but it's a drawback in office applications and when browsing the web.
Price and availability
At the time of writing, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH is listed as "Coming soon" in the manufacturer's online store. Alternatively, you can also wait for it to be available on Amazon or newegg, for example.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH
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08/30/2021 v7
Benjamin Herzig
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