Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD laptop review: Upgradeability meets AMD Ryzen 5000
Lenovo's ThinkPad L series is somewhat overshadowed by the other ThinkPad series in public perception. This is no coincidence: The budget ThinkPad L series is primarily intended for large enterprise customers; consumer users are quite clearly only of secondary importance here. Consequently, the second budget series, the ThinkPad E series, is preferred by private customers. If higher quality is wanted, the popular Lenovo ThinkPad T series is the obvious choice in that case.
However, that doesn't mean that the ThinkPad L series is completely uninteresting. Especially now that Lenovo partially solders the RAM on the T series and the L series is also available with AMD Ryzen CPUs, the ThinkPad L15 and our present review unit, the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD, are attracting more attention. The ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is also one of the first 2021 ThinkPads with a Zen 3 CPU (Cezanne) that we can review.
Possible contenders in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.1 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD R7 PRO 5850U, Vega 8 | 1.7 kg | 20.4 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE R5 4500U, Vega 6 | 1.7 kg | 20.4 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 88.1 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450 | 1.5 kg | 17.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.7 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE R5 5500U, Vega 7 | 1.6 kg | 17.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.6 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2021 | Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N i7-10850H, GeForce MX250 | 1.5 kg | 21 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 83.3 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2021 | HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.4 kg | 19 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 |
Case: ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 with magnesium-reinforced plastic
The external design of the ThinkPad L series with the 14-inch display has, by and large, only been modified slightly since the ThinkPad L450 from 2015. The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is identical to the L14 2020; it's a traditional ThinkPad throughout: A black box with silver metal hinges, silver ThinkPad logos on the lid and palm rest, and the red TrackPoint in the keyboard - along with the red stripes on the TrackPoint buttons.
The ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is also a classic in terms of build and materials. The outer shell of the L series is traditionally made of simple PC/ABS plastic, and that's also the case with the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2. Something new compared to older L ThinkPads: The lid and palm rest are coated. You can still find roughened plastic on the underside and the display bezel.
A magnesium frame has been integrated into the ThinkPad's interior since the L14 Gen 1. In the past, this reinforcement of the case had been reserved for the T series. There is still one difference: Only the rear two-thirds of the case are reinforced with magnesium in the L14; the palm rest isn't supported by magnesium. Fortunately, it can't be pressed in anyway, just like the keyboard. The base unit can hardly be twisted, either - but the plastic display cover can, unfortunately. Even when you're opening it, there's visible flexing.
The hinges are no weak point. Although you can't open the monitor with one finger, it can be folded back to an opening angle of 180 degrees. The plastic lid only wobbles slightly in the presence of vibrations.
A trade-off that definitely has to be made with the Lenovo ThinkPad L series: Out of all the current 14-inch ThinkPads, the L14 Gen 2 is the model with the thickest, heaviest chassis. In addition, it is minimally longer and wider than the T and E series ThinkPads - the display bezel below the LCD is massive on the L14. The difference is even more pronounced in comparison to the Dell Latitude 5411 and the HP ProBook 440 G8. At any rate, maximum mobility is not the focus of the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2.
Connectivity of the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD: Wide range of ports and great maintainability
The L14 and L15 Gen 2 are among the first L series models with Thunderbolt 4 - but not the AMD variants. Our ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 has to make do with normal USB-C ports. Otherwise, there's a wide range of connections, with pretty much all the legacy ports that are still needed today. The only thing we would've liked to see is a full-size SD card reader. The positioning of the ports deserves some criticism - the RJ45 port on the left as well as the 3.5 mm output on the right are placed quite far to the front.
SD card reader
The microSD card reader that Lenovo places on the left side of the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 achieves an average result with the AV Pro V60 reference card. Dell shows how to do it better with the Latitude 5411, which was faster than the average as the only business laptop in the field.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD (AV Pro V60) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 (AV Pro V60) | |
| Average of class Office (22.7 - 198.5, n=34, last 2 years) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD (AV Pro V60) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 (AV Pro V60) | |
| Average of class Office (25 - 249, n=30, last 2 years) | |
Communication
In some cases, you might forget that the ThinkPad L series is intended for the budget segment. Wi-Fi is not an example of this; our test model includes a Wi-Fi solution from Realtek. The 2x2 RTL8852AE card achieves a weak result with a maximum of 855 MB/s compared with current Intel AX chips. The advantages over older AC cards are marginal; at least Bluetooth 5.2 is supported.
In addition to the Wi-Fi module, the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 also has a Gigabit Ethernet chip, also from Realtek. Furthermore, a WWAN module from Quectel is installed in our test device, which supports the LTE-A standard.
Webcam
The 720p webcam in the Lenovo ThinkPad laptop generates a blurry image with inaccurate colors. It's just about good enough for video calls.
Security
Besides the support for WWAN, the security features are one of the biggest differences compared to the also inexpensive ThinkPad E series. Lenovo gives the L series the full treatment that you would also find in a ThinkPad T14: A smart card reader, Kensington lock, fingerprint reader, infrared camera, ThinkShutter camera cover - business customers will probably only miss a few things here.
Accessories
Apart from the 65-watt charger with a USB-C plug, there are no other accessories in the box of the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2.
Maintenance
The ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is the laptop with the most modular design of all current 14-inch ThinkPads. Apart from the processor, none of the important components are soldered - WWAN, Wi-Fi, the M.2-2280 SSD, and the two SO-DIMM RAM slots, everything is unattached and upgradeable. In order to get to the interior of the Lenovo ThinkPad, you obviously have to remove the bottom cover first, which requires the removal of nine screws; the screws remain stuck in the case, so they won't get lost. Additionally, there are some plastic clips that are best opened carefully one at a time with a plastic spudger tool.
While that's not all that easy, removing the keyboard couldn't be easier: You have to unscrew two screws on the underside, and then you can remove the internal keyboard. Not only does this allow for repairs in the area, but it's also possible to switch to other keyboard layouts (QWERTY, for example).
Warranty
Cost-saving measure: Unlike the ThinkPad T series, the ThinkPad L series is always sold with just a one-year bring-in service warranty by default. Extending it to three to five years is possible, as well as on-site service and extras like accident protection - for an extra charge.
Input devices: Strong keyboard in the Lenovo laptop
Keyboard
Just last year, Lenovo modified the ThinkPad L series to have 1.5 millimeters of key travel. The backlit keyboard of the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2, which has the full standard width, can best be compared with the keyboard of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 or the X1 Carbon Gen 8 - a reduced travel, but still the the old key height. Overall, this keyboard meets our high expectations for a ThinkPad keyboard. Users who type a lot will enjoy the L14 Gen 2 - also because the keyboard doesn't flex. The magnesium reinforcement is definitely noticeable.
Touchpad
The touchpad is located below the keyboard, and it has to do without dedicated buttons. The surface is made of plastic - in this respect, there is no difference between the ThinkPad L, T, and E series. At 10 x 7 cm (~3.9 x 2.8 in), the trackpad has an adequate size, although it's not overly generous. Overall, the touchpad, which can be used as a ClickPad in the lower area, convinces with an accurate control of the mouse pointer and a high-quality, cushioned click mechanism. The touchpad implements gestures smoothly as well.
Lenovo places the iconic red TrackPoint prominently between the G/H/B keys. The three buttons between the touchpad and keyboard also belong to it. Pressing the TrackPoint allows the mouse cursor to be moved precisely and quickly without having to take your hands off the keyboard. The TrackPoint is superior to the touchpad especially for drag-and-drop movements.
Full-HD display of the Lenovo laptop is weak
Unlike the expensive ThinkPad X1 series for the premium segment, the ThinkPad L series retains the "old", narrower 16:9 format. The 14-inch displays available for the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 have two different resolutions. All the displays are matte:
- 1366x768 (HD), 220 cd/m², 45% NTSC, TN
- 1920x1080 (Full HD), 250 cd/m², 45 % NTSC, IPS
- 1920x1080 (Full HD), 300 cd/m², 45% NTSC, IPS, touch
- 1920x1080 (Full HD), 400 cd/m², 72% NTSC, IPS, low power
The monitor installed in this test device lives up to the advertised brightness value, since we measured 255 cd/m² as the average maximum value. This corresponds to the class of the budget business laptop and shows a clear difference compared to the higher-end T series. If possible, the low-power display with 400 cd/m² should be selected.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 278 cd/m²
Contrast: 842:1 (Black: 0.33 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.87, calibrated: 4.5
ΔE Greyscale 4.1 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
38.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
56.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
37.5% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.15
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD B140HAN04.0, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE N140HCA-EAC, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 LP140WF9-SPF2, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE NVM140FHM-N4V, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N AU Optronics AUO463D, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA AU Optronics AUO818B, VA, 1920x1080, 14" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 12% | 70% | 7% | 0% | -1% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 37.5 | 41.96 12% | 64.3 71% | 40.3 7% | 37.43 0% | 37.02 -1% |
| sRGB Coverage | 56.3 | 63 12% | 95.4 69% | 59.5 6% | 56.2 0% | 55.6 -1% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 38.7 | 43.37 12% | 65.5 69% | 41.7 8% | 38.67 0% | 38.25 -1% |
| Response Times | -16% | -31% | 10% | 30% | -14% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 36 ? | 42 ? -17% | 57.2 ? -59% | 35.2 ? 2% | 31 ? 14% | 43 ? -19% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 26 ? | 29.6 ? -14% | 26.4 ? -2% | 21.6 ? 17% | 14 ? 46% | 28 ? -8% |
| PWM Frequency | ||||||
| Screen | 22% | 56% | 23% | 6% | 3% | |
| Brightness middle | 278 | 259 -7% | 382 37% | 341 23% | 256 -8% | 253 -9% |
| Brightness | 255 | 244 -4% | 367 44% | 327 28% | 236 -7% | 230 -10% |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 92 7% | 88 2% | 90 5% | 86 0% | 82 -5% |
| Black Level * | 0.33 | 0.21 36% | 0.14 58% | 0.26 21% | 0.23 30% | 0.29 12% |
| Contrast | 842 | 1233 46% | 2729 224% | 1312 56% | 1113 32% | 872 4% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.9 | 4.3 27% | 4.2 29% | 5.1 14% | 5.76 2% | 5.35 9% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 20.2 | 17.7 12% | 7.9 61% | 17.6 13% | 20.65 -2% | 17.08 15% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 4.5 | 3.8 16% | 0.9 80% | 4.4 2% | ||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.1 | 1.5 63% | 5.4 -32% | 2.1 49% | 4 2% | 3.75 9% |
| Gamma | 2.15 102% | 2.04 108% | 2.31 95% | 2.11 104% | 2.52 87% | 2.48 89% |
| CCT | 7224 90% | 6609 98% | 7499 87% | 6755 96% | 6182 105% | 6446 101% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 40 | 60.6 | 36 | 35 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 62.9 | 95.4 | 56 | 55 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 6% /
14% | 32% /
47% | 13% /
18% | 12% /
8% | -4% /
-0% |
* ... smaller is better
Out of all the budget business laptops that we have tested, the display of the L14 Gen 2 has the lowest contrast value. We measured the monitor with CalMAN and the X-Rite i1 Pro 2, and we also calibrated it with the CalMAN Client. The colors were a bit too cool out of the box, which we were able to change with the calibration. However, colors aren't completely accurate even after calibration, which might be due to the very poor color-space coverage. At less than 60% sRGB, you can forget about any kind of image editing with the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2's panel.
Outdoors, the ThinkPad L14 2021's monitor benefits from the matte surface. Nevertheless, brightness is not high enough to actually be able to work comfortably in very bright environments.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 26 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 11 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 60 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 36 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 19 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 17 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 47 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.5 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8508 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
There's nothing to complain about when it comes to the viewing-angle stability of the Lenovo laptop's IPS display.
AMD Ryzen 5000 CPU performance dominates
Lenovo's specifications list five processors for the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD laptop: The AMD Ryzen 3 5400U and the Pro 5450U, the Ryzen 5 5600U and the Pro 5650U, as well as the AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U. With that, you can be sure that you're getting a Cezanne/Zen 3-based processor when you buy this Lenovo laptop. The Ryzen 3 have four cores, the Ryzen 5 have six, and the Ryzen 7 has eight CPU cores. The "Pro" variants are designed to compete with Intel's vPro and are especially intended for large enterprise customers.
The integrated AMD solution serves as the GPU for the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 in all cases. A big advantage of the L series: With two SO-DIMMs, RAM is completely upgradeable and replaceable; a maximum of 64 GB of DDR4-3200 is supported. The L14 Gen 2 AMD is always equipped with an NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD in either the 2242 or 2280 format.
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U is the fastest processor in the Ryzen Pro series for laptops. The Cezanne U chip is based on the Zen 3 architecture and it features eight cores (16 threads). The typical TDP of this CPU is 15 watts, with clock rates up to 4.4 GHz. You can compare this processor with countless other CPUs using our CPU Benchmarks article.
With its two copper heat pipes, the fan allows Lenovo to assign a TDP of 25 watts to the AMD processor. The processor can maintain this consumption consistently, with all eight cores reaching around 2.8 GHz. In terms of multi-core performance, the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is hard to beat - compared to the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U, its direct predecessor CPU, the difference in this discipline is small, but the single-core performance of the newer CPU is considerably better in return. Speaking of single-core: The latest Intel CPUs from the Tiger Lake U series have minor advantages only in this area.
A decrease in CPU performance on battery power was not found.
Cinebench R15 Multi endurance test
Cinebench R23: Single Core | 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 R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Office (229 - 766, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (543 - 558, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Office (590 - 8086, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (3184 - 3523, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average of class Office (618 - 1995, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (1401 - 1431, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Office (1577 - 20399, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (8201 - 9111, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (98 - 294, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (225 - 227, n=3) | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (246 - 3132, n=92, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (1398 - 1527, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Average of class Office (163 - 1956, n=91, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (331 - 364, n=3) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average of class Office (2972 - 6687, n=91, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (5050 - 5300, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (38553 - 45543, n=3) | |
| Average of class Office (7532 - 76886, n=92, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Office (510 - 2096, n=91, last 2 years) | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (1354 - 1448, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Office (1018 - 14192, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (5137 - 7039, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Office (1.72 - 22.4, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (9.89 - 11.6, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Average of class Office (31.3 - 129.6, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (49.1 - 51.9, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s-20UJS00K00 | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3-20TLS0UV00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U (0.536 - 0.557, n=3) | |
| Average of class Office (0.4098 - 1.135, n=88, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System performance
The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 performs outstandingly in PCMark 10, which is also in line with our impression in everyday use. This is a very powerful Lenovo laptop.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Office (2463 - 7578, n=81, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (5491 - 5933, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average of class Office (5575 - 20841, n=81, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (8772 - 10331, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (8967 - 9512, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average of class Office (3041 - 10415, n=81, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Office (2049 - 11108, n=81, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (5141 - 5938, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5690 points | |
Help | ||
DPC latencies
The ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 has no problems with DPC latencies, so that it can also be used for real-time audio applications.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage
The SSD in the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 has a capacity of 512 GB. The M.2280 SSD was manufactured by Western Digital. It's an NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD that delivers good performance - even if there are even faster SSDs, such as the Samsung PM981a in the ThinkPad T14 Gen 2.
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB | Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE SK Hynix BC711 HFM512GD3HX015N | Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N SK Hynix PC611 512GB | HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA Lite-On CL1-8D512 | Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB | Average WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | 48% | 12% | 2% | -94% | -2% | -5% | |
| Seq Read | 2693 | 2099 -22% | 2596 -4% | 2681 0% | 1681 -38% | 2247 -17% | 2506 ? -7% |
| Seq Write | 1456 | 2485 71% | 1460 0% | 1430 -2% | 210.1 -86% | 1079 -26% | 1655 ? 14% |
| 4K Read | 41.67 | 67 61% | 48.62 17% | 49.22 18% | 24.86 -40% | 42.52 2% | 42.2 ? 1% |
| 4K Write | 138.4 | 206.1 49% | 113.4 -18% | 118 -15% | 73.6 -47% | 129.1 -7% | 127.5 ? -8% |
| 4K-64 Read | 940 | 2029 116% | 1419 51% | 1139 21% | 291.5 -69% | 1316 40% | 1061 ? 13% |
| 4K-64 Write | 1933 | 2073 7% | 1840 -5% | 1488 -23% | 135.2 -93% | 1332 -31% | 1480 ? -23% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.114 | 0.039 66% | 0.049 57% | 0.057 50% | 0.078 32% | 0.086 25% | 0.1012 ? 11% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.027 | 0.018 33% | 0.032 -19% | 0.031 -15% | 0.152 -463% | 0.029 -7% | 0.03833 ? -42% |
| Score Read | 1251 | 2306 84% | 1727 38% | 1456 16% | 484 -61% | 1583 27% | 1354 ? 8% |
| Score Write | 2217 | 2527 14% | 2099 -5% | 1749 -21% | 230 -90% | 1569 -29% | 1772 ? -20% |
| Score Total | 4052 | 6039 49% | 4658 15% | 3895 -4% | 895 -78% | 3907 -4% | 3781 ? -7% |
* ... smaller is better
Continuous load read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
A Vega graphics chip is integrated into the AMD processor; in this case, it's the AMD Radeon RX Vega. However, the AMD GPU can't use its full horsepower in this case. This is due to the memory configuration. With only one SO-DIMM module, RAM only runs in single-channel mode. Since the iGPU doesn't have its own memory, it's completely dependent on the system memory - single-channel mode sacrifices a lot of performance in this case. The average performance of the RX Vega 8 is 14% to 19% higher in the 3DMark tests.
Fortunately, you can improve performance significantly by simply adding a second RAM module. This should also improve gaming performance a little. However, even with dual-channel RAM, the AMD GPU still continues to be a low-end performer. Modern games can be played at minimum detail settings at best.
GPU performance is not throttled when the power adapter isn't connected.
| The Witcher 3 - 1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 | |
| Average of class Office (12 - 106.3, n=46, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) (19.6 - 55.2, n=35) | |
| Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N | |
| HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 4386 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 2278 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 917 points | |
Help | ||
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 53.6 | 47.1 | 14.3 | 6.64 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 40.5 | 25.1 | 12.5 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 97.5 | 66.7 | 33.5 | 31.4 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 22.7 | 12.2 | 7.74 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 38.7 | 28.7 | 25.8 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 45.3 | 17.6 | 15.3 | 13.3 |
| F1 2020 (2020) | 60.1 | 27.6 | 21.9 | 15.6 |
Emissions: Ryzen 5000 keeps temperatures and fan noise down
Noise emissions
The fan remains silent during idle usage. Under medium load, which we simulate with 3DMark 06, the fan is practically inaudible at 26.81 dB(A). Only in the maximum load test with Prime95 and FurMark does the fan finally rev up to almost 38 dB(A), which is clearly audible. Nevertheless, it takes a while for the fan in the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 to reach this volume, since the active cooling is gradually increased over several minutes. All in all, the ThinkPad laptop's noise is very restrained.
We weren't able to detect coil whine in the L14 Gen 2.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25.08 / 25.08 / 25.08 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 26.81 / 37.99 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 25.08 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
The temperatures on the outer case of the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 reach a maximum of 45.2 °C (~113 °F) at the center of the bottom. This is warm, but not critical. The palm rest always remains cool, which means that you don't get sweaty hands when working with the Lenovo laptop.
In the CPU/GPU stress test, the processor can consistently consume 22 watts. The CPU temperature is constantly at 65 °C (~149 °F), and there are CPU clock rates of 2.8 GHz. Throttling is absolutely no problem in the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 42.1 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45.2 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.5 °C / 80 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 29 °C / 84.2 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (-1.4 °C / -2.5 F).
Speakers
Unlike the ThinkPad T14 Gen 2, the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 still has the speakers at the bottom. The stereo speakers are quite bad for listening to music; both bass and overall volume are lacking, and highs aren't very balanced, either. Even the speakers in the T14, which really aren't great, still have advantages.
A considerably better result can be achieved using the perfectly functioning 3.5 mm output.
Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (70.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.4% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (27% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 83% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 11% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 21%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 81% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 15% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (77.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.2% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (13.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 21%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 12% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 86% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy management: Battery life is a weak point in the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2
Energy consumption
We find the power consumption rates a bit too high for our taste when it comes to idle usage in particular. Lenovo should make improvements in this regard through a firmware update for the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2.
The USB-C power adapter delivers 65 watts, which is much more than the maximum consumption of 42 watts.
| Off / Standby | 0.53 / 0.88 Watt |
| Idle | 5.44 / 8.06 / 9.4 Watt |
| Load |
36.06 / 42.26 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD R7 PRO 5850U, Vega 8, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE R5 4500U, Vega 6, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450, Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE R5 5500U, Vega 7, SK Hynix BC711 HFM512GD3HX015N, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N i7-10850H, GeForce MX250, SK Hynix PC611 512GB, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Lite-On CL1-8D512, VA, 1920x1080, 14" | Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -1% | -28% | -11% | -53% | 19% | -11% | -8% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 5.44 | 4.4 19% | 3.8 30% | 3.5 36% | 3.1 43% | 4 26% | 5.24 ? 4% | 4.55 ? 16% |
| Idle Average * | 8.06 | 7.7 4% | 7.3 9% | 7.5 7% | 5.4 33% | 6.2 23% | 7.8 ? 3% | 7.5 ? 7% |
| Idle Maximum * | 9.4 | 8.9 5% | 11.2 -19% | 8.7 7% | 9 4% | 7.5 20% | 9.24 ? 2% | 9.03 ? 4% |
| Load Average * | 36.06 | 31.3 13% | 61.2 -70% | 43.6 -21% | 84 -133% | 34.7 4% | 44.5 ? -23% | 42.5 ? -18% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 26.1 | 33 -26% | 41.2 -58% | 42.2 -62% | ||||
| Load Maximum * | 42.26 | 50.6 -20% | 67.5 -60% | 55 -30% | 131 -210% | 34 20% | 59.2 ? -40% | 62.5 ? -48% |
* ... smaller is better
Energy consumption during The Witcher 3 / stress test
Battery life
The capacity alone makes it clear: Battery life is not the strong suit of the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2. With 45 Wh, the internal battery is the one with the lowest capacity among the current 14-inch ThinkPads. Just under 8 hours in the Wi-Fi test is a slightly below-average result that comes as a consequence of the lower capacity; only the HP ProBook 440 G8 performs slightly worse using a battery of the same size.
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD R7 PRO 5850U, Vega 8, 45 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen2-20W1S00000 i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450, 50 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G3-20Y7003SGE R5 5500U, Vega 7, 57 Wh | Dell Latitude 14 5411-WJ40N i7-10850H, GeForce MX250, 68 Wh | HP ProBook 440 G8-2W1G4EA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 45 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad L14-20U50003GE R5 4500U, Vega 6, 45 Wh | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 21% | 27% | 9% | 85% | 26% | 38% | |
| H.264 | 574 | 839 46% | 827 44% | 495 -14% | 746 ? 30% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 469 | 538 15% | 680 45% | 510 9% | 450 -4% | 487 4% | 642 ? 37% |
| Load | 77 | 78 1% | 71 -8% | 211 174% | 145 88% | 114.3 ? 48% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict: The L14 Gen 2 AMD is a great work device with a poor LCD
The ThinkPad L series has improved significantly over the years, and the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD is a prime example of this progress.
However, the process isn't finished yet. You can see this in the weak display, for example, which is suitable for office work but fails to meet our expectations otherwise. Lenovo has also cut corners when it comes to the Wi-Fi module, the speakers and the webcam, as well as the battery capacity. Due to the small battery, the L14 Gen 2 isn't as suitable for mobile use as the more expensive ThinkPad T series or the ThinkPad E14 Gen 3. In addition, the L14 Gen 2 has the heaviest weight among the 14-inch business laptops.
Besides the excellent performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 processor, the stable case with its outstanding input devices, and the comprehensive connectivity, which also includes LTE in our review sample, there's another thing on the plus side: The maintainability and upgradeability. There's no current 14-inch ThinkPad that can be upgraded more extensively, with the two SO-DIMM slots and the replaceable keyboard standing out in particular.
Overall good, with very strong CPU performance and upgradeability as well as weaknesses in multimedia quality and mobility: The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD.
If you opt for the ThinkPad L series, you still have to face compromises that come with the lower price. Nevertheless, we can give the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD a recommendation, because the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, at least when it's predominantly used in stationary mode - with the caveat that you should choose a model with the better 400 cd/m² low-power display if possible. This kind of model can be a really good choice for a more affordable home office laptop.
A strong in-house competitor is the ThinkPad E14 Gen 3, although it's less modular. The HP ProBook 440 or 445 G8 aren't much worse in this respect. In terms of business features, however, the latter is more of a match for the E14, since it lacks functions like LTE.
Price and availability
At the time of writing, the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 AMD is officially listed on Lenovo's website as "coming soon". Alternatively, you can also wait for the device to be available on Amazon or newegg, for example.
Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 AMD
- 07/29/2021 v7 (old)
Benjamin Herzig
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