Give this comment a thumbs up if you want a video with my take on numerous Flex 5 alternatives! I'll be looking at laptops available for less than $950 for alternatives, but I'll be doing my best to keep around the $600-750 range. *Join the Discord!* discord.gg/pPQtYnS
I got the Flex 5 14 last week. It's a great laptop, especially at the price, but I may try to return it because the 14" form factor isn't as comfortable for me as I hoped it would be. Specifically, the keyboard is cramped for me, and the screen is a bit too small. I think th 15.4" version would be ideal but so far Lenovo is only selling those in Europe. Assuming it will be offered in the USA soon I may try returning the 14 and waiting for the 15's availability. Never tried returning a laptop to Amazon so not sure whether it can be returned or not?
Are you looking for a different brand? Check for HP ProBook 445 G7 14 inch with Ryzen. B&H and Provantage have different models with both 4500u and 4700u in the price range you are looking. There is a $968 model coming with HP Sureview display with 1000 nits brightness and 99% sRGB. Ram is user replaceable for both modules. The 250 nits 60% sRGB models are cheaper.
@@123Suryasis I've been considering the ProBook 445 G7 but I'm afraid people won't be too interested. Then again, I've had two commenters mention it, and worst case I can just return it!
@@codeHusky otherwise, check the Envy 13 x360 but the configuration with Ryzen 7 4700u, 16gb soldered ddr4 and 512GB SSD costs $1000. That by default, comes with a 300 nits 100% sRGB display. HP is currently selling the base model at $639 and you can configure it as you need.
god thank you SO much...i really wanted to buy this laptop and was disappointed to see all these little issues and bugs mentioned in the amazon reviews. this video basically covers all of them and how to fix them, so again, THANK YOU!!!
The driver issue is being caused by Windows update which is installing an older version of Radeon Software as part of driver update. I had the exact same issue in my IdeaPad 5. Whenever I was manually checking for updates, it was installing the default Radeon driver light version and causing that issue. I had to disable the settings to let Windows download drivers for devices to stop that and then a fresh install from AMD Official site did resolve it.
@@kennyho1551 Not disabling Windows default driver but stopping Windows to download the graphics drivers automatically as part of Windows update. There is a setting in Control panel, I think called, default driver download policies or something similar which you need to select as so not download.
Husky I really like your calm, methodical delivery with the chill music in the background. I have a couple of flex 5's on the way and it's go to know what to look out for right out of the box. Keep up the good work.
I should probably note that if a machine doesnt automatically shut down, it will cause instability, i had one machine that couldnt POST if the powered USB hub was connected, took me forever to figure out what the issue actually was
You're a lifesaver with the charging fix. I'm still returning this laptop out of spite because I shouldn't have had to pull my hair out and scramble to save my work while buying every laptop charger imaginable to test if my cable was faulty or not. Fuck Lenovo to the fullest extent. They've always been top tier shit for charging issues, and this is my third Lenovo laptop. Each and every one. I obviously strongly recommend anyone and everyone to stay the fuck away from their garbage.
There are some HP Envy x360 variants with the Ryzen processors and they look very good. The 15 inch one even has upgradeable RAM, really considering getting one.
@@laimu_taimu I'd hesitate on those. The Envys appear to have single-pipe coolers, leaving them with less than half of the capacity for performance as the Flex 5 here. You'd likely see performance similar to the Acer Swift 3, which actually falls behind the Flex 5 in terms of performance even with the advantage of having a 4700U. I'm considering getting an Envy x360 to look at for review, but it depends on how quickly my payroll comes through among other things.
@@codeHusky Sadly I haven't been able to see the 15 inch one open, so I can't say anything about the cooling in that one. The 13 inch seems to have a single pipe cooler, but it probably is due to space constraints inside of the chassis. No matter that, it should still perform pretty well for a laptop this year.
Extremely helpful I must say! You answered all my questions and the issues I brought over from amazon well! I've never done this with anyone but you will be the first, *clicks the bell icon*
I had to return mine because of IPS backlit screen bleed noticiable on the boot screen logo and black backgrounds with brightness on high. They could only refund me, because it's out of stock. A lot of resellers in Amazon. I just ordered the ryzen 7 model. It's more, but both computers are worth the price. The only problem I noticed with my model was a short-term screen lock up or crash in sleep mode, but my bro was telling me that was prob windows. The reviewer is helpful, but there is no alternative in this price range, because the computer is just awesome with ryzen chip. Make sure don't buy the Intel version, and get the one ones with 16gb. I called Lenovo and they will have the $600 by September.
Hello I found my panel top is kind of wobbly.. When I press it on top,, it isn't tightly fitted, I can feel my finger go like 5 mm downside..is it normal for this laptop( or do I have to get it serviced..) plz answer
I’m a student looking for a laptop, I would like your opinion on alternative laptops. This is a nice laptop and I’m okay with changing settings in the bios and downloading drivers, but if there is something better at the same price....
Honestly, as it is right now, there's not really a better value buy than the Flex 5 right now. Stock is seriously limited on laptops ATM, and the number of different Ryzen 4000 powered laptops is rather low. If you can wait, I'd suggest sticking around for some new releases, or even waiting for re-stocking of certain other devices depending on how flexible your budget/time is.
I recently purchased a flex 5 and did the graphics drivers update that you suggested and it made things wayyyyyyyyy worse. Originally | was getting choppy playback on 4K content, Now I cant even play it. When I try to play anything in 4K on youtube it can barely play back at all. I just get the spinning loading wheel like you get in your video with the 8k content. Any suggestions on how to fix the issue?
hey man, just want to say greatly appreciate the focus you've shown to this $600 device as opposed to higher-end ones. It really shows what's possible on a budget with Ryzen which I think we all appreciate as well. Easy sub.
For 13:43, what happens if you have no charge to go into the bios but the charger isnt detected? You're SOL? Or the empty batter will be the same as that option in the bios?
I have the 2019 Lenovo Flex 14... One thing i encounter frequently is lockups where the entire screen just freezes up. Happens every hour or so. I personally would avoid the flex line.
Great channel. At the time of my viewing your video there were 114 thumbs down; IMO, that means 114 idiots clicked on this video in youtube and for whatever reason are too stupid to know good content when they see it. Thanks for your efforts and please keep up the excellent work. As for the buget Flex 5; I have had many laptops in my day ranging from several hundred to a couple of thousand. I use and like my Ideapad Flex 5 more than my XPS, as well as my SurfaceBook, mainly due to the typing experience, but when I do, I don't feel as if I've downgraded my user experience at all. I have the intel 11th gen i5 version as I'm not a gamer and use mine for productivity more than anything else and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Anyway, thanks again for the videos and your efforts.
Hey I love that you are taking the time to check all these issues! Would you be able to check out the DPC latency with a program called latency mon? This will help to know if the laptop is decent for realtime audio performance, this is super important for Music Producers! I can't find much online about it, but this might also be a factor to stuttering audio pops and clicks. Thanks :)
DPC latency isn't a factor in audio popping and such on Renoir machines, it's moreso an issue with the smt-less machines (one core to one thread vs Intel's typical one core to two threads). Devices with 4800h/4600h don't have this issue, at least not to this degree
This was more than helpful. I was really expecting actual reasons why I shouldn't buy this. You just basically solidified my choice. I was also looking at that 4700U model that's $150 more, but I'm just not sure if I would even need that much horsepower. I don't game on a laptop and I don't do any photo or video editing on it either. I just want something snappier than my old Lenovo Yoga 3 from 6 years ago. And $600 is a nice price for something that looks like it should serve me pretty well for the next 5 years or so.
I had problems with my usbc charging port. It is my thunderbolt port so I connected my external drive and it was working fine and transferring fast, then I was finished and needed to use the 65w charger that came with it. To my surprise it didn't work anymore and had to purchase a DC charger. Then 2 months went by and all the sudden I couldn't load web pages anymore. Dns error? Kept saying oops we can't find this page or something like that. Working now for some reason after no success trying to remedy myself and abandoned it for 3 weeks
A note about DisplayLink-based adapters: I was using one previously, they are a very nice piece of tech but it is not for everyone. They work with any USB 3 (type C or not), they don't rely on hardware capabilities (no need for DP alt mode or thunderbolt) because they use a custom display driver and USB communication protocol, so they are great for compatibility: they will work with pretty much any modern computer. The downsides are: it takes CPU usage to encode the image to send through USB (unlike the "normal" dongles which use the GPU display output capabilities), and it doesn't work very well for watching videos or gaming, especially if you do dual 4K@60hz (it will lag when all the screen has to be updated all the time). At the time I was on a i7-8550U laptop but I think you'd get the same problems on the flex 5. But it is great for work or web browsing.
Unfortunately, OEM drivers tend to supercede Windows Update drivers. All it takes is a manual update though and then you're on the latest drivers semi-indefinitely.
I just bought one today and the screen has glitched since I turned it on especially when I plugged in the charger🙄🙄🙄I was excited for this laptop, thank you for all the other reasons to return it
13:43 - So whenever I go to BIOS and do what you did it to fix the charging issue it worked but when I unplugged it and plugged it back in the charging issue happened again. Can you please help me with this problem
This is the same for me as well, I'm getting tired going back to BIOS every time just to get it charging when I'm using it. And I don't think there're driver or firmware updates already out for this at this time.
I bought the Ryzen 3 4300U version (the 4500U isn't available in my country) and I got it because I wanted to install Chrome OS and have both Windows and Chrome OS, only to realise that I can't install it because it's not compatible...
Hi I would be really happy if you could help me I bought this laptop a few days ago but when I watch videos it randomly stutters(or maybe its the frame dropping) it doesn't matter that the video is online or it's on my laptop I had this issue both on videos in my laptop and even watching videos online even with 720p videos it happens I even updated my AMD drivers but it still didn't solve it. it's not like it happens all the time but it happens from time to time I really don't know what to do.DO you think I should return it or is there a way I can solve this?
Recently bought this for my mother. She uses Sigma Media Player (mandatory) for foreign films/shows. The player has a similar layout to VLC media player. The issue is, the load time is agonizingly long, and even when it does work, it lags heavily. And by heavily I mean it plays 3 seconds, then loads for minutes. Any idea what could be causing this?
Hey, I also got this laptop and I encountered a strange error that occurred twice. The screen froze up on me and the mouse moved to the middle of the screen and I could not control it. It happened to me once while I was preparing for a class and another time while I was in the class I was preparing for. The first time I thought the computer froze so I was taken aback at the "crash" but the second time was during on online class and while I got no audio from the class because my students were muted, when I restarted and reconnected my students said that they could have seen and heard me while my audio was frozen. During both instances, the mouse would not move from the middle of the screen and the blue processing circle came up next to it like there was some process taking place in the background. Both times I held down the power button to restart the machine. But this now tells me that this is a display issue. I had my Samsung 32 inch non-smart TV plugged in both times this happened. I was also on battery power. I am still super stoked about this issue and the fact that my students said that they still saw video and heard audio without interruption tells me that it's just video on my end that crashed but I'd like to get to the root of this. Do you have any idea on what you think could have caused this?
Do you think the newer batch of laptops coming in July could have updates that fix certain issues, such as the laptop not charging even when plugged in? (Or would a BIOS update further down the road be necessary)
codeHusky Thanks for the quick reply! I haven’t ordered mine yet but I will soon, I’ve got your link saved. I’ll let you know if I get any troubles with it. Are these sort of minor issues with laptops typical when they first release?
@@jon-p1v Yeah, software and hardware hiccups are pretty typical. Since the processor in the Flex 5 is pretty much brand new this year (compared to Intel stuff where the drivers have had half a decade to mature), some of the driver support is kind of weird, and some of the BIOS stuff is a little funky. Things should get better as things go on, though :)
what about the Lenovo flex 5 14, Ryzen 7 4700U, 16 gb with 512gb for $674.00? compare to Acer Spin 5 convertible 13.5, 10th gen, i7, 16gb and 512gb at $1,099?
Sure, but there are/will be Ryzen 5 4500U laptops that can/will support 8K out. Not specifically testing for the Flex 5 here. Regardless, the 4K playback is still laggy.
I can't decide between the Flex5 and the Yoga c940. What are your thoughts on these two devices? Only game I really play is Dota2 and I'm not quite sure which is better for it
I bought a Lenovo flex 5 Ryzen 7 4700U. And it saddens me that the music/videos stiller stutters. I've had it for 6 month, whereoff the 2 have been at the repair shop, for other failures. Will return it, i do not recommend it.
@@codeHusky So I just bought this and I'm still confused -- this thread suggests it's not possible to output 4K60 at full color. Is there a final word? forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-IdeaPad-1xx-3xx-5xx-7xx-Edge-LaVie-Z-Flex-Notebooks/Output-4K-60Hz-Ideapad-5-Ryzen-4800u/m-p/5012325
These aren't really big problems. Only thing I see is some playback issue. That gets solved by those drivers. I bought this a week ago. And has been rock solid since then.
If you're able to, I'd recommend trying to reinstall windows and/or the WiFi drivers. If you can't, I'd recommend opening the bottom cover and making sure the antennas are connected if you have a Torx T5 screwdriver. If it's still acting up, you might have to get an exchange.
Hello CodeHusky, I recently ordered this laptop and received it today. After awhile, I noticed the touchmouse pad does not seem very responsive, almost "mushy" if i try to double click, and right click side is slightly lowered in, do you have recommendation on solving this issue?
I know someone else in the comments noted that their touchpad was defective and they just needed to get a replacement. That sounds like it's either defective or screwed in wrong. You could go in with a screwdriver and try and fix it, but the extent of what you'll be able to do will depend on what the issue is.
@@codeHusky thx for replying to me, it seems it gets a better click in the lower corners so I will just click in that spot... sorry for another questions , do you know how to turn on the keyboard lights, and is it normal for the bottom to get very warm? I subscribed also because you have a very good channel.
I ordered this one Lenovo Flex 5 14IIL05 81X1 14" Notebook, Intel i5, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD, Windows 10 (81X1002TUS), would I have the same issues rendering 4k Video
Iv noticed there is backlight bleed on my screen. Not too much but a little at the bottom of the screen. Will it be a problem in the future if i ignore now or should i consider it getting a new one replacing it ?
very nice to have these deep dive videos. I love other tech channels, but they tend to behave like shopping networks, and just show off the cool hardware features and maybe touch on some minor issues inherent to a certain device. They never really touch on the REAL problems that can occur with the millions of drivers and programs working behind the scenes that can really wreck your day if you're not ultra computer-savvy. As for the Flex, pretty much none of these issues would bother me (I use headphones, and the screen is native 1080p, so I wouldn't bother with any higher res video playback, etc), and apart from the easily fixable adrenalin driver issue it looks like the perfect travel device for me. Hopefully Lenovo works on fixing these issues anyways for future shipments.
Yeah, I agree haha. Started the channel to try and fill that information gap on RUclips -- seems like people really appreciate it. Glad I was able to be helpful :)
Please, I need your help. So my charger wasn't doing anything so I followed your advice and disabled the built-in battery, but then when I connected the cable, it still does nothing so I'm really in a mess
@@codeHusky there was no problem with the charger; literally the laptop was 2 days old. But I was able to find a solution by sticking a paper clip in the NOVA reset hole for a few seconds, then restarting I was able to charge with the cable again and turn on the laptop. For now I haven't had the problem again of not charging
I tried the factory reset option which restarted the laptop, once it started back up the laptop didn't reconnect to the wifi fast enough so it cancelled the download XD.
Can you help me to pick a laptop(2 in 1)..within a budget please. 1) surface pro 7 i3 10th gen 2) lenovo flex 5 ryzen 3 4300u 3) hp pavilion i3 10th gen I will be using especially for note taking.
LOVE your videos! Any suggestions about tightening the hinges? They're not "too loose" I just prefer tighter. Sometimes I'll lay down with the computer propped up on my chest, but if the screen isn't open enough, it will just fall closed.
I don't believe there's a way to do that unfortunately. All you could really do is fold it open more and put the keyboard against your chest or something.
Which is better on below or any other good recommendation under $600 - $650 ? Appreciate ur help, thanks Lenovo Flex5 4500U 256ssd 16gb, Zenbook14 4500u 8GB MX350, Acer Swift 3 4500U 8GB 256SSD, Lenovo IdeaPad5 4500U 256ssd 16gb
Considering between the Flex 5 and the Ideapad slim 5...for university...should i go for the touch screen flex 5 or not? btw I'm getting intel processer i7 ice lake
Hi codeHusky, I have been following your review for Lenovo Flex 5. Could you please answer one of my questions ? My Flex 5 4500U charges extremely slowly via USB-C port. So much so that it actually loses battery while I am simultaneously charging and using it. I am using a 30 Watt Power Delivery Adapter. Other laptops which support charging over USB-C are getting charged just fine with the charger that I am using. Is this an issue with my system or it is like that for all the systems. Coz I have noted that US version comes with a USB C charger. (Mine came with the proprietary Lenovo round one)
@@codeHusky Thanks for the reply mate, really appreciate it. But I have used this charger to charge many laptops which include other thin and lights to full fledged i7 ones. They charge slowly but they do charge. Even if I turn off the laptop and charge it, it gains only 12 percent in like 2 hours. I am just wondering if this might be a fault or some kind of manufacturing defect.
No, a 30w charger is not enough for this laptop, I assure you. Get a Usb-C charger that matches the power level of the included barrel charger and it will work.
I still got distortion when i plugged my headphones in so i th8nk its more of a software issue i also noticed that the drivers werw not up to date for sound even after i ran the Microsoft update.
Honestly, I can't complain. After checking out the maintenance manual, it appears the AMD variant is gonna have a dual pipe cooler very similar to the one in the Flex 5. I'd expect performance to be very similar between the two.
My old Lenovo y50 hinge recently gave out so now I'm on the hunt for a replacement. I want something that'll have great build quality, battery life and touch screen cause I want to go back to grad school soon. The only concern I have with the flex 5 is the display. The new T14 line is supposedly going to have better display with some models having 300 nits.
Hey Husky, I actually performed the AMD Radeon driver update before I saw this video with the factory reset. But I am still running into audio stuttering, with very high latency and interruptions reported by latencymon. I've tried switching between Intelligent Cooling and Extreme Performance, and it seems I get the stuttering on Intelligent Cooling. Latencymon still reports high latency and interruptions on both power settings.
There's some additional tweaks you can do to your power settings to improve things, but if you're getting really high latency in latencymon could you share a screenshot?
@@codeHusky Sure, I forgot to save the last run, will let it run for a few hours and send you the screenshot over Discord. The last 5 hour run I had, the latency and DPC execution time were reported as maxed out, not sure if this is typical on a 5-hour run.
Hi, 1.) Will anything be removed/closed after you fix the battery issue (e.g. chrome tabs, apps closing)? 2.) Also, will playing RUclips videos at 1080p on the chrome browser work fine? Thanks
Codehusky, Can you try some USB c chargers and measure the wattage? I tried with a USB IF certified monoprice charged rated at 20v 3a, but the laptop only drew 40 watts. The cables are good for 100w. I tried with the meter and the included charger, enabling rapid charge mode allowed it to go to 60w 20v 3a. Let me know what you find.
All I have on hand are pretty much Dell and Lenovo chargers. 40 watts sounds about right for idle charging draw, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
@@codeHusky Shoot. Have you noticed slow download speeds with this laptop? I popped in a 9260 after about 45 minutes with the realtek one in and was getting constant wifi drops already. Others were not lying the wifi is really buggy. With the 9260 I am getting about 90 mbps where as with the same wifi card in my 720s-14 I was getting around 200-240. I wonder if the antennae design in this is not very good for long range 5ghz in the flex 5.
Probably not. Surfaces are notorious for having weird issues after Windows updates despite Surface products being made by Microsoft themselves. I don't really understand why this happens myself, but in general I wouldn't recommend anything Surface branded.
Im Interested to buy it but the price just went up, should I wait a bit or why should I do? Or should I just get the 8gig ram version instead which is 598.99$ ?
Give this comment a thumbs up if you want a video with my take on numerous Flex 5 alternatives! I'll be looking at laptops available for less than $950 for alternatives, but I'll be doing my best to keep around the $600-750 range.
*Join the Discord!* discord.gg/pPQtYnS
I got the Flex 5 14 last week. It's a great laptop, especially at the price, but I may try to return it because the 14" form factor isn't as comfortable for me as I hoped it would be. Specifically, the keyboard is cramped for me, and the screen is a bit too small. I think th 15.4" version would be ideal but so far Lenovo is only selling those in Europe. Assuming it will be offered in the USA soon I may try returning the 14 and waiting for the 15's availability. Never tried returning a laptop to Amazon so not sure whether it can be returned or not?
@@LearnAtMyExpense You should be able to return it fairly easily. Also, I'm not aware of when a 15" Flex 5 might come to the US.
Are you looking for a different brand? Check for HP ProBook 445 G7 14 inch with Ryzen. B&H and Provantage have different models with both 4500u and 4700u in the price range you are looking. There is a $968 model coming with HP Sureview display with 1000 nits brightness and 99% sRGB. Ram is user replaceable for both modules. The 250 nits 60% sRGB models are cheaper.
@@123Suryasis I've been considering the ProBook 445 G7 but I'm afraid people won't be too interested. Then again, I've had two commenters mention it, and worst case I can just return it!
@@codeHusky otherwise, check the Envy 13 x360 but the configuration with Ryzen 7 4700u, 16gb soldered ddr4 and 512GB SSD costs $1000. That by default, comes with a 300 nits 100% sRGB display. HP is currently selling the base model at $639 and you can configure it as you need.
god thank you SO much...i really wanted to buy this laptop and was disappointed to see all these little issues and bugs mentioned in the amazon reviews. this video basically covers all of them and how to fix them, so again, THANK YOU!!!
It's still a good laptop
Thanks again for the review and keeping us up-to-date. My unit should arrive tomorrow and I can't wait to play...um...do work with it. :)
Haha! Hope you enjoy it! Glad you managed to snag one before they went out of stock.
Yo how was your experience with the laptop? Has it lasted? Have you enjoyed it?
Did u like it? Do u recommend buying it plz reply
My dad had to return his because it kept disconnecting from wifi every 5 min. He ended up getting a Yoga C740 and has had no problems
Yeah, you can blame Realtek wifi for that one.
The driver issue is being caused by Windows update which is installing an older version of Radeon Software as part of driver update. I had the exact same issue in my IdeaPad 5. Whenever I was manually checking for updates, it was installing the default Radeon driver light version and causing that issue. I had to disable the settings to let Windows download drivers for devices to stop that and then a fresh install from AMD Official site did resolve it.
Very good to know as I just placed an order for this laptop with 4700u. Have an awesome day, mate!
.
nice, how did you disable the default windows drivers? to use the amd ones instead
@@kennyho1551 Not disabling Windows default driver but stopping Windows to download the graphics drivers automatically as part of Windows update. There is a setting in Control panel, I think called, default driver download policies or something similar which you need to select as so not download.
@Ashok Pokhrel I don't have Flex 5 but IdeaPad 5 14" which is a metal Unibody design.
Husky I really like your calm, methodical delivery with the chill music in the background. I have a couple of flex 5's on the way and it's go to know what to look out for right out of the box. Keep up the good work.
Awesome! Glad I could be helpful. Just added the music today and was hoping people would like it :)
so you’re the reason they were sold out when i tried to order one.. thanks 😂😂
He's like a next level Anthony from LTT
This is probably the best and most in-depth and helpful review that I’ve ever seen.
This is a great video. Funny enough, I haven't been getting any of those issues at all. I may just be very lucky.😅
hope im like u
Are you still lucky?
@@mirandaxdret How is it now?
@@cillawaithira1566 no reply lol
Update please!
There's a 4700U version with a 512GB SSD available for $750 from Costco, I think I may spring for that.
also debating the same!
I did! Its getting delivered this coming week. 😀
Deal seems too good to be true but ordered it anyway.
Did the one you ordered from costco included stylus?
@@yashnihlani mine did not. Also sadly my Spectre stylus doesn't seem to work on this either.
Powered USB hubs that feed voltage back over the host cable(most cheap ones) will shut down MOST computers with compitent USB controllers/VRMs.
Yeah, I kinda figured that was what was happening. Thanks for the sanity check, haha
I should probably note that if a machine doesnt automatically shut down, it will cause instability, i had one machine that couldnt POST if the powered USB hub was connected, took me forever to figure out what the issue actually was
just so everyone knows: the amazon listing i think is only sold out in certain places. i put in my ZIP code and the $600 one was back
How do you put in your zip code? Also, hi.
like that you're still rocking the 3ds in 2020
You're a lifesaver with the charging fix. I'm still returning this laptop out of spite because I shouldn't have had to pull my hair out and scramble to save my work while buying every laptop charger imaginable to test if my cable was faulty or not. Fuck Lenovo to the fullest extent. They've always been top tier shit for charging issues, and this is my third Lenovo laptop. Each and every one. I obviously strongly recommend anyone and everyone to stay the fuck away from their garbage.
I just ordered one of these and I am so excited! Thank you for making this video, it is really helpful.
Does it comes with any issues?
@@jairg3563 I have had it for a month now without any issues.
@@natalieweston6449 where did you get your laptop on Walmart?
@@effxctmax9423 on Amazon
@@natalieweston6449 oh okay
Make a video on what can be good alternatives to the Flex 5 around the same price range. Thanks!
Seriously considering it! I've got a little list built up right now, but I'm working on expanding it still.
codeHusky Thanks!
There are some HP Envy x360 variants with the Ryzen processors and they look very good.
The 15 inch one even has upgradeable RAM, really considering getting one.
@@laimu_taimu I'd hesitate on those. The Envys appear to have single-pipe coolers, leaving them with less than half of the capacity for performance as the Flex 5 here. You'd likely see performance similar to the Acer Swift 3, which actually falls behind the Flex 5 in terms of performance even with the advantage of having a 4700U. I'm considering getting an Envy x360 to look at for review, but it depends on how quickly my payroll comes through among other things.
@@codeHusky Sadly I haven't been able to see the 15 inch one open, so I can't say anything about the cooling in that one. The 13 inch seems to have a single pipe cooler, but it probably is due to space constraints inside of the chassis.
No matter that, it should still perform pretty well for a laptop this year.
Extremely helpful I must say! You answered all my questions and the issues I brought over from amazon well!
I've never done this with anyone but you will be the first, *clicks the bell icon*
Awesome! Glad to hear it :)
Should I buy lenovo flex 5 ryzen 5 4500 u or hp pavilion x360 i5 10yh gen..
Please help
Thank you for this! The charger not being detected section saved me a lot of headache.
Great help! Looking forward to get mine tomorrow. Stay healthy!
Glad I was able to help! You too :)
@@codeHuskyI can inform you that there's virtually no stuttering on the 4k video on my 4700u version with the AMD drivers, so thats good.
The best tech channel that I've subscribed since 2020 began (of the nearly 200 or so). Thanks for your video.
Cheers from India 🇮🇳
I had to return mine because of IPS backlit screen bleed noticiable on the boot screen logo and black backgrounds with brightness on high. They could only refund me, because it's out of stock. A lot of resellers in Amazon. I just ordered the ryzen 7 model. It's more, but both computers are worth the price. The only problem I noticed with my model was a short-term screen lock up or crash in sleep mode, but my bro was telling me that was prob windows. The reviewer is helpful, but there is no alternative in this price range, because the computer is just awesome with ryzen chip. Make sure don't buy the Intel version, and get the one ones with 16gb. I called Lenovo and they will have the $600 by September.
The fan going off with barely any tasks open is the most annoying this I’ve come across.
Hello I found my panel top is kind of wobbly.. When I press it on top,, it isn't tightly fitted, I can feel my finger go like 5 mm downside..is it normal for this laptop( or do I have to get it serviced..) plz answer
I’m a student looking for a laptop, I would like your opinion on alternative laptops. This is a nice laptop and I’m okay with changing settings in the bios and downloading drivers, but if there is something better at the same price....
Honestly, as it is right now, there's not really a better value buy than the Flex 5 right now. Stock is seriously limited on laptops ATM, and the number of different Ryzen 4000 powered laptops is rather low. If you can wait, I'd suggest sticking around for some new releases, or even waiting for re-stocking of certain other devices depending on how flexible your budget/time is.
@@codeHusky What about the IdeaPad variant? Is that any good?
You mean the IdeaPad 5? That one is practically the same, minus a smaller battery, aluminum keyboard deck, among other things.
@@JeskidoYT Ideapad is also out of stock. I think we should wait till everything gets back to normal hopefully.
What about the costco pricier version with a 4700 and 16gb Ram, 512gb ssd?
I recently purchased a flex 5 and did the graphics drivers update that you suggested and it made things wayyyyyyyyy worse. Originally | was getting choppy playback on 4K content, Now I cant even play it. When I try to play anything in 4K on youtube it can barely play back at all. I just get the spinning loading wheel like you get in your video with the 8k content. Any suggestions on how to fix the issue?
hey man, just want to say greatly appreciate the focus you've shown to this $600 device as opposed to higher-end ones.
It really shows what's possible on a budget with Ryzen which I think we all appreciate as well. Easy sub.
Glad you found it helpful :) Flagship devices get too much attention, haha
For 13:43, what happens if you have no charge to go into the bios but the charger isnt detected? You're SOL? Or the empty batter will be the same as that option in the bios?
I have the 2019 Lenovo Flex 14... One thing i encounter frequently is lockups where the entire screen just freezes up. Happens every hour or so. I personally would avoid the flex line.
I bought my flex 5 at costco but I notice my "Enter" key layout is different from others.
Shame On You it’s because you have the bilingual keyboard 😑I hate them lol
Great channel. At the time of my viewing your video there were 114 thumbs down; IMO, that means 114 idiots clicked on this video in youtube and for whatever reason are too stupid to know good content when they see it. Thanks for your efforts and please keep up the excellent work. As for the buget Flex 5; I have had many laptops in my day ranging from several hundred to a couple of thousand. I use and like my Ideapad Flex 5 more than my XPS, as well as my SurfaceBook, mainly due to the typing experience, but when I do, I don't feel as if I've downgraded my user experience at all. I have the intel 11th gen i5 version as I'm not a gamer and use mine for productivity more than anything else and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Anyway, thanks again for the videos and your efforts.
Hey I love that you are taking the time to check all these issues!
Would you be able to check out the DPC latency with a program called latency mon?
This will help to know if the laptop is decent for realtime audio performance, this is super important for Music Producers!
I can't find much online about it, but this might also be a factor to stuttering audio pops and clicks.
Thanks :)
DPC latency isn't a factor in audio popping and such on Renoir machines, it's moreso an issue with the smt-less machines (one core to one thread vs Intel's typical one core to two threads). Devices with 4800h/4600h don't have this issue, at least not to this degree
This was more than helpful. I was really expecting actual reasons why I shouldn't buy this. You just basically solidified my choice. I was also looking at that 4700U model that's $150 more, but I'm just not sure if I would even need that much horsepower. I don't game on a laptop and I don't do any photo or video editing on it either. I just want something snappier than my old Lenovo Yoga 3 from 6 years ago. And $600 is a nice price for something that looks like it should serve me pretty well for the next 5 years or so.
I posted another video recently detailing the hinge problem a bit better, which could be a limiting factor on the laptop's longevity.
I had problems with my usbc charging port. It is my thunderbolt port so I connected my external drive and it was working fine and transferring fast, then I was finished and needed to use the 65w charger that came with it. To my surprise it didn't work anymore and had to purchase a DC charger. Then 2 months went by and all the sudden I couldn't load web pages anymore. Dns error? Kept saying oops we can't find this page or something like that. Working now for some reason after no success trying to remedy myself and abandoned it for 3 weeks
A note about DisplayLink-based adapters: I was using one previously, they are a very nice piece of tech but it is not for everyone. They work with any USB 3 (type C or not), they don't rely on hardware capabilities (no need for DP alt mode or thunderbolt) because they use a custom display driver and USB communication protocol, so they are great for compatibility: they will work with pretty much any modern computer.
The downsides are: it takes CPU usage to encode the image to send through USB (unlike the "normal" dongles which use the GPU display output capabilities), and it doesn't work very well for watching videos or gaming, especially if you do dual 4K@60hz (it will lag when all the screen has to be updated all the time). At the time I was on a i7-8550U laptop but I think you'd get the same problems on the flex 5.
But it is great for work or web browsing.
sad to see manufacturers ship these laptops with poor drivers. hope Windows pushes these AMD drivers through Windows Update
Unfortunately, OEM drivers tend to supercede Windows Update drivers. All it takes is a manual update though and then you're on the latest drivers semi-indefinitely.
Would love to see a video about the acer aspire 5 a515-44 when it releases in the next week. Amd 4500 and gpu. 512 GB SSD. Thanks!!
I just bought one today and the screen has glitched since I turned it on especially when I plugged in the charger🙄🙄🙄I was excited for this laptop, thank you for all the other reasons to return it
Next level review. Great stuff!
13:43 - So whenever I go to BIOS and do what you did it to fix the charging issue it worked but when I unplugged it and plugged it back in the charging issue happened again. Can you please help me with this problem
This is the same for me as well, I'm getting tired going back to BIOS every time just to get it charging when I'm using it. And I don't think there're driver or firmware updates already out for this at this time.
I bought the Ryzen 3 4300U version (the 4500U isn't available in my country) and I got it because I wanted to install Chrome OS and have both Windows and Chrome OS, only to realise that I can't install it because it's not compatible...
Great info hope you get successful.
Hi I would be really happy if you could help me I bought this laptop a few days ago but when I watch videos it randomly stutters(or maybe its the frame dropping) it doesn't matter that the video is online or it's on my laptop I had this issue both on videos in my laptop and even watching videos online even with 720p videos it happens I even updated my AMD drivers but it still didn't solve it. it's not like it happens all the time but it happens from time to time I really don't know what to do.DO you think I should return it or is there a way I can solve this?
is your flex 5 screen border made from glass? mines from plastic?
Recently bought this for my mother. She uses Sigma Media Player
(mandatory) for foreign films/shows. The player has a similar layout to
VLC media player. The issue is, the load time is agonizingly long, and
even when it does work, it lags heavily. And by heavily I mean it plays 3
seconds, then loads for minutes. Any idea what could be causing this?
Hey, I also got this laptop and I encountered a strange error that occurred twice.
The screen froze up on me and the mouse moved to the middle of the screen and I could not control it.
It happened to me once while I was preparing for a class and another time while I was in the class I was preparing for. The first time I thought the computer froze so I was taken aback at the "crash" but the second time was during on online class and while I got no audio from the class because my students were muted, when I restarted and reconnected my students said that they could have seen and heard me while my audio was frozen. During both instances, the mouse would not move from the middle of the screen and the blue processing circle came up next to it like there was some process taking place in the background.
Both times I held down the power button to restart the machine. But this now tells me that this is a display issue. I had my Samsung 32 inch non-smart TV plugged in both times this happened. I was also on battery power. I am still super stoked about this issue and the fact that my students said that they still saw video and heard audio without interruption tells me that it's just video on my end that crashed but I'd like to get to the root of this.
Do you have any idea on what you think could have caused this?
Have you tried updating to the latest drivers? That might fix that issue for you.
@@codeHusky I have yet to do so. Will try and report back
Yohance is da Man! How is it now?
Do you think the newer batch of laptops coming in July could have updates that fix certain issues, such as the laptop not charging even when plugged in? (Or would a BIOS update further down the road be necessary)
I'm thinking that would need to be addressed via a BIOS update. My incident might have been just a fluke -- unless you've ran into this too?
codeHusky Thanks for the quick reply! I haven’t ordered mine yet but I will soon, I’ve got your link saved. I’ll let you know if I get any troubles with it. Are these sort of minor issues with laptops typical when they first release?
@@jon-p1v Yeah, software and hardware hiccups are pretty typical. Since the processor in the Flex 5 is pretty much brand new this year (compared to Intel stuff where the drivers have had half a decade to mature), some of the driver support is kind of weird, and some of the BIOS stuff is a little funky. Things should get better as things go on, though :)
this laptop works great no problem with 4k video at all ...remember what you are buying ...this laptop is great.
Hey, how this laptop holding up now? I want to purchase it as a student but i've seen allot of complaints over the months
Good thing I'm a electronics technician 😂 I'll be getting mine Sunday.
what about the Lenovo flex 5 14, Ryzen 7 4700U, 16 gb with 512gb for $674.00? compare to Acer Spin 5 convertible 13.5, 10th gen, i7, 16gb and 512gb at $1,099?
I don't know y ! I bought this laptop today and the handwriting panel was working fine . Later im not avle to access it !?
Why should someone play a 8K video with a 1080p screen? That's absolutely unrealistic.
Sure, but there are/will be Ryzen 5 4500U laptops that can/will support 8K out. Not specifically testing for the Flex 5 here. Regardless, the 4K playback is still laggy.
I can't decide between the Flex5 and the Yoga c940. What are your thoughts on these two devices? Only game I really play is Dota2 and I'm not quite sure which is better for it
I bought a Lenovo flex 5 Ryzen 7 4700U.
And it saddens me that the music/videos stiller stutters.
I've had it for 6 month, whereoff the 2 have been at the repair shop, for other failures.
Will return it, i do not recommend it.
Microsoft really made a great browser
Why is watching a 4K video playback a problem on a laptop with a screen that is incapable of displaying 4K video?
You can output 4k60 via the HDMI port.
@@codeHusky So I just bought this and I'm still confused -- this thread suggests it's not possible to output 4K60 at full color. Is there a final word?
forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-IdeaPad-1xx-3xx-5xx-7xx-Edge-LaVie-Z-Flex-Notebooks/Output-4K-60Hz-Ideapad-5-Ryzen-4800u/m-p/5012325
These aren't really big problems. Only thing I see is some playback issue. That gets solved by those drivers. I bought this a week ago. And has been rock solid since then.
:)
I have this same computer but my WiFi constantly disconnects and is unable to reconnect. What do I do?
If you're able to, I'd recommend trying to reinstall windows and/or the WiFi drivers. If you can't, I'd recommend opening the bottom cover and making sure the antennas are connected if you have a Torx T5 screwdriver. If it's still acting up, you might have to get an exchange.
@@codeHusky Thank you!
@@Shortyshrew Did everything work out?
Really nice video and fixes to these problems, thank you much! Also debating buying the costco version...
Glad it was helpful!
Has this been fixed as i can buy this £384.30. Should i buy this by now in 2021 i would say has been fixed?
Hello CodeHusky,
I recently ordered this laptop and received it today. After awhile, I noticed the touchmouse pad does not seem very responsive, almost "mushy" if i try to double click, and right click side is slightly lowered in, do you have recommendation on solving this issue?
I know someone else in the comments noted that their touchpad was defective and they just needed to get a replacement. That sounds like it's either defective or screwed in wrong. You could go in with a screwdriver and try and fix it, but the extent of what you'll be able to do will depend on what the issue is.
@@codeHusky thx for replying to me, it seems it gets a better click in the lower corners so I will just click in that spot... sorry for another questions , do you know how to turn on the keyboard lights, and is it normal for the bottom to get very warm? I subscribed also because you have a very good channel.
I ordered this one Lenovo Flex 5 14IIL05 81X1 14" Notebook, Intel i5, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD, Windows 10 (81X1002TUS), would I have the same issues rendering 4k Video
I'm probably going to buy this notebook, hope i remember to comment back on how it works with linux.
Iv noticed there is backlight bleed on my screen. Not too much but a little at the bottom of the screen. Will it be a problem in the future if i ignore now or should i consider it getting a new one replacing it ?
very nice to have these deep dive videos. I love other tech channels, but they tend to behave like shopping networks, and just show off the cool hardware features and maybe touch on some minor issues inherent to a certain device. They never really touch on the REAL problems that can occur with the millions of drivers and programs working behind the scenes that can really wreck your day if you're not ultra computer-savvy.
As for the Flex, pretty much none of these issues would bother me (I use headphones, and the screen is native 1080p, so I wouldn't bother with any higher res video playback, etc), and apart from the easily fixable adrenalin driver issue it looks like the perfect travel device for me. Hopefully Lenovo works on fixing these issues anyways for future shipments.
Yeah, I agree haha. Started the channel to try and fill that information gap on RUclips -- seems like people really appreciate it. Glad I was able to be helpful :)
Thanks for your video bro!
My pleasure!
Please, I need your help. So my charger wasn't doing anything so I followed your advice and disabled the built-in battery, but then when I connected the cable, it still does nothing so I'm really in a mess
Have you tested the charger on another USB-C device?
@@codeHusky there was no problem with the charger; literally the laptop was 2 days old. But I was able to find a solution by sticking a paper clip in the NOVA reset hole for a few seconds, then restarting I was able to charge with the cable again and turn on the laptop. For now I haven't had the problem again of not charging
What are some Ryzen 4000 2 in 1 alternatives?
If possible, larger than 14 inches. No price range limits
Will definitely be looking into this more.
HP Envy x360 15
How do you know it's the drivers?
I tried the factory reset option which restarted the laptop, once it started back up the laptop didn't reconnect to the wifi fast enough so it cancelled the download XD.
Can you help me to pick a laptop(2 in 1)..within a budget please.
1) surface pro 7 i3 10th gen
2) lenovo flex 5 ryzen 3 4300u
3) hp pavilion i3 10th gen
I will be using especially for note taking.
I have seen an Intel-i5 version of flex 5. Is it the same?
Not really, no.
LOVE your videos! Any suggestions about tightening the hinges? They're not "too loose" I just prefer tighter. Sometimes I'll lay down with the computer propped up on my chest, but if the screen isn't open enough, it will just fall closed.
I don't believe there's a way to do that unfortunately. All you could really do is fold it open more and put the keyboard against your chest or something.
@@codeHusky thank you for the reply!
Just checked the price and I noticed that it went up by a 60-70 bucks. Is this normal?
Third party sellers seem to be picking up the device, that's what's causing the price changes.
codeHusky that makes sense. Is the link in your bio a 3rd party seller?
@@johndo3650 it should be Lenovo/amazon but things have been going in and out of stock
codeHusky alright. Thanks for the response 🙏
Bro
You are doing the lords work
Thank you. Very instructive!
Which is better on below or any other good recommendation under $600 - $650 ? Appreciate ur help, thanks
Lenovo Flex5 4500U 256ssd 16gb,
Zenbook14 4500u 8GB MX350,
Acer Swift 3 4500U 8GB 256SSD,
Lenovo IdeaPad5 4500U 256ssd 16gb
Can we play 4k 10bit h265 videos via a hard disk with this laptop?
the dropped frames could be because youre using the built in chrome codec instead of h.264. try use the h264ify extension
Considering between the Flex 5 and the Ideapad slim 5...for university...should i go for the touch screen flex 5 or not?
btw I'm getting intel processer i7 ice lake
Hi codeHusky,
I have been following your review for Lenovo Flex 5. Could you please answer one of my questions ? My Flex 5 4500U charges extremely slowly via USB-C port. So much so that it actually loses battery while I am simultaneously charging and using it. I am using a 30 Watt Power Delivery Adapter. Other laptops which support charging over USB-C are getting charged just fine with the charger that I am using.
Is this an issue with my system or it is like that for all the systems.
Coz I have noted that US version comes with a USB C charger. (Mine came with the proprietary Lenovo round one)
30w isn't enough to keep the flex 5 charged and running off AC. You should get a 45 or 65w charger to keep it charged.
@@codeHusky Thanks for the reply mate, really appreciate it.
But I have used this charger to charge many laptops which include other thin and lights to full fledged i7 ones. They charge slowly but they do charge.
Even if I turn off the laptop and charge it, it gains only 12 percent in like 2 hours.
I am just wondering if this might be a fault or some kind of manufacturing defect.
No, a 30w charger is not enough for this laptop, I assure you. Get a Usb-C charger that matches the power level of the included barrel charger and it will work.
@@codeHusky Thanks for the advise man. Will go for a 65 W charger then.
I still got distortion when i plugged my headphones in so i th8nk its more of a software issue i also noticed that the drivers werw not up to date for sound even after i ran the Microsoft update.
Sounds like either drivers or audio enhancements really.
Thoughts on the upcoming lenovo t14 coming out some time this month with amd processors?
Honestly, I can't complain. After checking out the maintenance manual, it appears the AMD variant is gonna have a dual pipe cooler very similar to the one in the Flex 5. I'd expect performance to be very similar between the two.
My old Lenovo y50 hinge recently gave out so now I'm on the hunt for a replacement. I want something that'll have great build quality, battery life and touch screen cause I want to go back to grad school soon. The only concern I have with the flex 5 is the display. The new T14 line is supposedly going to have better display with some models having 300 nits.
I'd wait for the T14.
Hey Husky, I actually performed the AMD Radeon driver update before I saw this video with the factory reset. But I am still running into audio stuttering, with very high latency and interruptions reported by latencymon. I've tried switching between Intelligent Cooling and Extreme Performance, and it seems I get the stuttering on Intelligent Cooling. Latencymon still reports high latency and interruptions on both power settings.
There's some additional tweaks you can do to your power settings to improve things, but if you're getting really high latency in latencymon could you share a screenshot?
@@codeHusky Sure, I forgot to save the last run, will let it run for a few hours and send you the screenshot over Discord. The last 5 hour run I had, the latency and DPC execution time were reported as maxed out, not sure if this is typical on a 5-hour run.
does changing the driver also change your battery life?
Hi,
1.) Will anything be removed/closed after you fix the battery issue (e.g. chrome tabs, apps closing)?
2.) Also, will playing RUclips videos at 1080p on the chrome browser work fine?
Thanks
Best laptop with that cpu? I want a good dual boot laptop for CS class and light gaming.
Hello. Does this laptop turn itself on automatically when you open its cover? Without pressing the power button
It has that feature however I recommend keeping it off because it's buggy
Thank you. I tried to turn this feature off but could not. Could you tell me the steps if you know how to do it? Thank you in advance
@@havavural865 you have to disable it in the bios or vantage, can't remember specifically how but I covered this in a video
Thank you. I will try to find that video
Super chill video
Hwawei matebook 14 or lenovo flex 5? Help pls
Have you decided?
i'm thinking of the same thing. The huawei matebook is on sale right now and i really need a laptop. What did you end up getting?
I don’t really know to much about computers so I have a quick question. Since I just bought this laptop should I install the Amd Drivers?
Yeah...Check for latest drivers on web or through lenovo app
Do videos still skip and buffer at 1080p 60fps?
Codehusky,
Can you try some USB c chargers and measure the wattage? I tried with a USB IF certified monoprice charged rated at 20v 3a, but the laptop only drew 40 watts. The cables are good for 100w.
I tried with the meter and the included charger, enabling rapid charge mode allowed it to go to 60w 20v 3a. Let me know what you find.
All I have on hand are pretty much Dell and Lenovo chargers. 40 watts sounds about right for idle charging draw, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
@@codeHusky Shoot. Have you noticed slow download speeds with this laptop? I popped in a 9260 after about 45 minutes with the realtek one in and was getting constant wifi drops already. Others were not lying the wifi is really buggy.
With the 9260 I am getting about 90 mbps where as with the same wifi card in my 720s-14 I was getting around 200-240. I wonder if the antennae design in this is not very good for long range 5ghz in the flex 5.
which one is better Acer nitro 5 Ryzen 5 an515-44-r99q vs this version Flex 5?
So did you keep the laptop or no
Model of display??
Is that the Ideapad Flex 5, 14'' , or just the Flex 5 , 14''
Does the usb c port support ethernet or not? I really need to know.
If you bought a Microsoft surface product do you think you are guaranteed to have less driver issues?
Probably not. Surfaces are notorious for having weird issues after Windows updates despite Surface products being made by Microsoft themselves. I don't really understand why this happens myself, but in general I wouldn't recommend anything Surface branded.
Im Interested to buy it but the price just went up, should I wait a bit or why should I do? Or should I just get the 8gig ram version instead which is 598.99$ ?
I would suggest against buying this with 8gb of ram if you plan on gaming on it at all. Otherwise, the 8gb model is fine.
codeHusky thanks man