Customers admire the IdeaCentre Gaming 5i's impressive performance, especially in gaming and general use, and its excellent value for the price. Many appreciate the powerful graphics card and its ability to handle demanding tasks, along with the quiet operation. However, some users point out limitations in RAM capacity and storage space. Concerns were also raised regarding the power supply's capacity.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
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Pros mentioned:
Performance
Cons mentioned:
Ram
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great performer for it's cost
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
You couldn't ask for a better deal for these kinds of specs, and I love how small it is. I tested the 3060 with Forza 5 at max settings at 1920x1200 resolution and saw between 50-60FPS. Not too bad. General performance for browsing and using Windows is fast and responsive. If you plan to do any extensive upgrades, I'd skip this desktop. There's only one PCI-E available and only two RAM slots that max out at 32GB. There's not a lot of wiggle room for big coolers. The HDD cage below it feels cheap but does the job. It can hold one 3.5" HDD or two 2.5" drives with an adapter. There's three SATA connectors as well. You will need to buy a sata power splitter if planning to use more than one drive. A big disappointment is no USB 3 on the rear IO; only USB 2 and a single speaker port. The included mouse and keyboard are cheap, get something better. Lastly, the front LED is not a pure blue or teal color as the photo may suggest but more of a weird baby blue-white light.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance, Price
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
9.5/10
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Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I play video games everyday as my hobby and a beginner to gaming PC's this one is perfect for a starter owner. Runs excellent very smooth and great price. Amazing specs for the price and overall a 9.5/10 PC in my opinion.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Graphics card, Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Very Capable Gaming Machine
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
As several other reviewers have mentioned before, I too was in the market for a gaming machine; either pre-built or build my own. It came down to this rig having very good specs for the price (not even on sale!) and everything I was looking for; great i7 processor, quality graphics card, and important to me: a professional looking case, not some kaleidoscope.
I have been using this computer for a little over two weeks and can say I have had ZERO issues from the time it was turned on until this day. EVERTHING JUST WORKS! As it should be!
Final note: I ordered the Lenovo Legion monitor from BB that supports the Gsync for a couple Benjamin's and it pairs very nicely. I also picked up a 2TB Seagate from BB to expand my storage (500gb goes fast!). You should plan to also spring for a wireless mouse and keyboard; while the wired ones included seem decent quality, I know I don't want any more wires than necessary!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop Computer. We are pleased to hear that the value and performance of the IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop meets your computing needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Performance, Price
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome deal for the money
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Considering the cost I got this at was the cost of the gfx card and processor that's in it it's extremely hard to beat. Awesome for high end gaming on a budget. It's played everything I've threw at it so far with no problem. You can upgrade the ram to 32 from 16 if need be and mine only came with a 512 ssd which is the only thing I really don't like about it but I have an upgrade on the way.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Hello, and thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i! We appreciate you sharing your experience and are glad to hear that the functionality and performance of this IdeaCentre Gaming meets your needs well.
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Lenovo - IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Gaming Desktop
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Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I recently purchased the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Gaming Desktop, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. The performance of this gaming desktop is exceptional, delivering smooth and lag-free gaming experiences. The powerful hardware, including the Intel Core processor and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce graphics, ensures that even demanding games run seamlessly.
What stands out to me is the sleek and modern design of the desktop. It not only looks great on my desk but also comes with thoughtful features like easy access to ports and customizable RGB lighting, adding a touch of personalization to my gaming setup.
The system's cooling capabilities are impressive, keeping temperatures in check during extended gaming sessions. Additionally, the ample storage space allows me to store a vast library of games without worrying about running out of space.
Setting up the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i was a breeze, and the overall build quality gives me confidence in its durability. It's evident that Lenovo has put considerable thought into creating a gaming desktop that combines performance, style, and user-friendly features. I highly recommend the IdeaCentre Gaming 5i to anyone looking for a reliable and powerful gaming desktop.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance, Price
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome cost/performace value
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This pc is incredibly good for its low price. I bought it as Open Box Satisfactory for around $560 and from what I've seen, it was basically brand new. It has incredible performance in gaming and general use.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance, Price
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best PC Under 1100
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
After looking for a PC for a while, I chose this one. The specs are incredible for the price, building this PC would be more expensive. This is not only the best PC under 900 but 1100. The mouse and keyboard included isn't great but the PC is capable of getting me more than 165fps on most games, I can't go over 165fps because that's how many hz my monitor has. It never overheats since there is a fan at the side and one at the back. The design is compact. Definitely recommend buying it.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop Computer. We are pleased to hear that the value, features and performance of the IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop meets your computing needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Graphics card
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Definitely a bang for your buck
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Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I really like this computer. I think it’s fast enough and the graphics are pretty good. Definitely glad that I decided to get this one. My graphics card did go out right before my year warranty so luckily I was able to get it fixed.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best PC I've ever had
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Can't beat it for the price. Went from around 50 FPS to over 500 FPS on American Truck Simulator. No lag, just buying a couple parts alone cost more than the complete PC ready to go straight out of the box.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Hello, Charles, and thank you for choosing Lenovo! We are glad to hear that you have found great value in this IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Desktop and that the features and specifications of this computer meets your needs well.
Pros mentioned:
Performance, Speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Lenovo - IdeaCentre - Intel Core i7-12700
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
So far, I've been quite impressed with the specs and performance of this tower. It has everything I need, including the i7 performance to support dual monitors and multiple programs running simultaneously. Most other computers with these specs run upwards of $1000+.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for purchasing the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Desktop and sharing your experience! We are glad to hear that the features and performance of this IdeaCentre Gaming 5i meets your needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Must buy
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Posted . Owned for 6 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Amazing desktop… couldn’t have asked for a better pc. It does everything i throw at it
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Recommend
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Loads games and videos quickly. Would highly recommend.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i! We appreciate you recommending our product and are pleased to hear that the features and performance of this IdeaCentre meets your needs so well.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
There are faster/stronger, but you DON'T need.
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I will admit, I was at first, a bit wary of a lenovo being a gaming class machine, but I have been, beyond surprised at what a powerhouse this box is.
I do not as much use it for gaming, I do a host of things, much of it graphics intensive, and I wanted a fast machine that would not get bogged down, for the price i could not have chosen better.
One of my requirements was the ability to drive 4 monitors simulataneously. not necessarily beyond an HD quality (more and more graphics work is web based) but absolutely without lag or noticable delay and with the ability to manually manage color, in order to match 4 monitors of two types visually to each other. This little box and the Nvidia GeForce, do that easily.
I also have an online social group, so something that could handle multiple source feeds (cameras, video, audio, voice) was requried, where not a top consideration, certainly among what i wanted and again, this box does not let one down. The bottleneck on this function for me has been the external USB-C hub, which, although a 'bit' glitchy (the hub) is managing. That may be my next thing. (And I'll admit the issue I am having may be the specific cam that keeps loosing connection).
The blue light . . not quite a distraction, but also niether a pro or a con, the lighting on the graphics card, a nice touch, but with my setup, not terribly noticable as it's under my desk.
If there is a 'con' it is Windows 11 but that is Microsoft, not Lenovo. I am a creature of habit, and slow to change, and if I think back it took over 10 years for Windows 10 to start actually looking like windows 10, so that this Win 11 box is looking like that Win 10 ... well, that's me. The changes (if you are listening Microsoft) are a bit drastic, a tad dramatic, and a little pushy for my taste, stop taking pages from the Apple book. But knowing Win 10 was not long for the home user world, rather than have to upgrade something, I went with Win 11 new.
Would i buy it again? Absoultely! There is no question. And for way more reasons than I am just historically a Lenovo (IBM Think(center/station/pad)) guy. This is a good box, that now, just over a month in, I couldn't be happier with.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the IdeaCentre Gaming 5i! We are glad to hear that this device has left a great impression, and appreciate you taking the time to detail your experience so far and for your loyalty to the Lenovo brand!
Pros mentioned:
Price
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Simple and powerful!
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my first gaming pc! I have owned it for a month. I got it for $850+$50fees. I picked it up from BestBuy in person. It comes with stock keybord and mouse. As stock pc It ran my Witcher 3 just fine! I have since upgraded the SSD to 2TB. It works great! Its not the most flashy, but its got great power and affordable price. I’m very happy!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Desktop! We are pleased to hear that the features and performance of this IdeaCentre Gaming 5i meets your computing needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Wow!
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This thing is pretty powerful for the price! I couldnt find anything else- anywhere else, that could even compare; especially on black friday sale.. I will upgrade to 32gb ram even tho it doesnt need. It has four video outputs on the RTX 3060… Not to mention the Core i7!! What!?!?
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop Computer. We are pleased to hear that the value, features and performance of the IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop meets your computing needs so well.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Portable gaming
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Great desktop. Easy to setup and use. Great balance in productivity and gaming. Would recommend to anyone starting into PC.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop Computer. We are pleased to hear that the easy setup and use as well as the performance of the IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop meets your computing needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Graphics card, Noise level, Performance
Cons mentioned:
Storage
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Don't wait - buy it now
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
As a purchaser, I tend to not like 5 star reviews since they're usually meaningless. But this thing deserves all 5/5.
Summary: Wondering whether you should buy this? Do it. It's worth it. As of this moment, it's extremely unlikely that you're going to find better value and performance for your money.
Background: I've been looking for a proper desktop to replace my older laptop for several weeks, and I wanted something that would allow me to get into a few games. My searching coincided with the end of the recent over-inflated GPU market, so it seemed like a good time to make the move. Had originally planned on waiting for Black Friday 2022 deals to either buy a prebuilt or assemble components for my own build.
I happened to stumble across this Lenovo prebuilt at Best Buy a couple of weeks before Black Friday while researching the market. Seemed almost too good to be true since its regular price is a couple hundred dollars below sale prices of prebuilts with similar specs. An RTX 3060 and a 12700 processor for this price? And it's packaged as a unit free of the standard magic-unicorn-vomit color scheme? Amazing! Had to take a chance on it.
Not disappointed.
My pair of monitors is only a mismatched set of 24 inch 1080p 60Hz displays, so not top-of-the-line stuff. This machine is more than sufficient to drive these. Almost all the games I've experimented with so far end up running buttery smooth at the max refresh rate the screens can handle. And they're gorgeous. A couple of poorly optimized titles drop frames occasionally, but that's going to happen with any hardware. I've been so pleased with game performance that I'm now looking to upgrade my monitors so I can experience even more. Thanks a lot, Lenovo, for baiting me into spending more money. ;)
As for the rest of the system, the good stuff:
- quiet
- Windows installation not bloated with stuff you don't want
- the very few pieces of preinstalled software that are present are actually useful
- not insanely lit with weird color schemes
- good front-panel IO
- RAM is installed as dual channel instead of a single like many prebuilts on the market
Is there anything else I wish I had? Sure - but at this bargain basement pricing, it's understandable that I didn't get:
- additional storage; 512 GB gets a little tight when you go crazy installing everything you see
- additional case fan; I can imagine temps will increase once I bump up my monitors and the 3060 starts working a bit harder
- more rear IO; just a couple more USBs would have been nice, along with a microphone jack for maximum sound connection options
None of those are deal breakers for me. Just wish-list items that I'll handle later myself. And I can actually afford to do so since this is priced so well.
I have no regrets. This is simply an outstanding package in the current market and I'm shocked it's not yet sold out. I really like what Lenovo put together at this accessible price point and I plan to check them out for my future purchases.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Lenovo Product Expert
Posted .
Thank you for choosing the Lenovo IdeaCentre 5i Gaming Desktop Computer. We are pleased to hear that the value, features and performance of the IdeaCentre 5i meets your computing needs so well.
Pros mentioned:
Speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Definitely worth the money.
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Works quickly and extremely well in everything I ask it to do. I run a very intense rendering software called Daz Studio 3D and it allows me to select the highest of the rendering quality settings while still completing the rendering process quickly. I don't know for sure, but I would surmise that if it did this well that it would render in gaming well, too. Also, I am loving Windows 11. It’s a little different from Windows 10, but it doesn't take long to figure out. This computer is definitely worth the asking price.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Graphics card, Price, Speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Small and mighty
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Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Great price for a beast of a machine. Amazing graphics and quick. I have not had any issues running any game. After a year, I hear a noise from the fans but it seems to be working fine. Cleaned the fans and the noise ceased for a few weeks and then came back. I want to try more Lenovo products and maybe a Legion since I am happy with this little machine.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Noise level, Price, Speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Incredible PC for beginners
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Posted . Owned for 4 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I recently made the switch from console to PC and finally settled on this PC after a ton of research. This machine is an incredible value and is perfect for people looking to make the switch to the PC master race. I haven't played any particularly taxing games but I do play Total War: Warhammer 3 on max settings and have no issues at all. It is fast, reliable, quiet and most of all affordable.
Long story short, if you're looking for the best bang for your buck and don't know where to start this is the perfect machine for you.