Detailed Specs Comparison

2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s

Here is a side by side comparison between 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i and Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s specs including price, processors, memory, graphics, storage, ports, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 25, 2022

Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Intel® B560 Chipset. 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake Processors. 11th Generation Intel Rocket Lake Processors. Up to Intel Core i7-11700 8C/16T, 2.50 → 4.90 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W TDP . Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 with 12GB GDDR6 VRAM. Up to 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 memory Up to 380W with 80 Plus Platinum PSU.	Intel® B660 Chipset. Supports 12th Intel® Alder Lake Series Processors. Up to 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900 16C/24T, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 30MB SmartCache, 65W TDP. Up to 1 x 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSD. Up to 1 x 2TB 3.5” 7200 RPM HDD. Up to 64GB dual-channel 3200MHz DDR4 Memory. More Features Optional 7-in-1 card reader. Optional mono speaker. Up to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

Availability	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Released	2021	2022
Release Info	Announced on March 10, 2021.	Announced on January 4, 2022. (CES 2022) Available from March 2022.
Pricing		Starting at $799
Applicable Models	Lenovo IdeaCentre G5 14IOB6 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i 14IOB6 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i (14L, 06)	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s (12th Intel) Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s (Intel B660)
Generations	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Current 2020 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i Compare

Exterior	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Size Comparison
Dimensions	11.5” x 14.37” x 5.71” (292.2 x 365 x 145 mm)	3.9 x 12.1 x 10.8 inches (100 x 308 x 274.8 mm)
Weight	13.2 lbs (6.0 kg)	9.9 lbs (4.5 kg)
Colors	Raven black	Raven Black
Keyboard and Trackpad	Lenovo Calliope Keyboard (USB connector), black Lenovo Calliope Mouse (USB connector), black No keyboard and mouse	Keyboard Lenovo Calliope Keyboard (USB connector), black Lenovo Calliope Wireless Keyboard, black Lenovo Traditional Keyboard (USB connector), black No keyboard Mouse Lenovo Calliope Mouse (USB connector), black Lenovo Calliope Wireless Mouse (2.4GHz via USB receiver), black No mouse
Ports	Front 2 x USB-A 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps). 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). 1 x USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), support data transfer and 5V@3A charging. 1 x Universal Audio Jack 1 x SD Card Reader Optional. Rear 4 x USB-A USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x VGA 1 x RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet. 1 x Audio port Line-out audio port. 1 x Power Connection	Front 1 x USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gpbs) with 5V@3A charging. 2 x USB-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps). 1 x Card reader Optional 1 x Microphone 3.5mm jack. 1 x Headphone 3.5mm jack. Rear 4 x USB-A 2 x USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps). 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) with Smart Power On. 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 1 x VGA 1 x RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet port. 1 x Serial 1 x Line-out port 3.5mm jack. 1 x Power Connector

Chasis	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Form Factor	Tower (13.6 L)	Small Form Factor (SFF) 7.4L
Power Supply	310W 80+ Platinum 92% Efficiency 380W 80+ Platinum 92% Efficiency	180W 80+ Bronze 85% Efficiency 260W 80+ Gold 90% Efficiency
Bays	1 x 2.5" disk bay 1 x 3.5" disk bay	1 x 2.5"/3.5" disk bay 1 x slim ODD bay
Optical Drives		Optional DVD-ROM SATA 1.5Gb/s, slim (9.0mm) DVD burner (DVD±RW) SATA 1.5Gb/s, slim (9.0mm)
Chasis Information	Cooling System (Fan & Cooler) 1 x front system fan Optinal. 1 x rear system fan	Optional vertical stand.

Internal Specs	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Chipset	Intel® B560 Chipset	Intel B660 Chipset
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400 6C/12T, 2.90 → 4.30 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F 6C/12T, 2.90 → 4.30 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 8C/16T, 2.90 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700F 8C/16T, 2.90 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11400 6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 65W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11400F 6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 65W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11700 8C/16T, 2.50 → 4.90 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11700F 8C/16T, 2.50 → 4.90 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W	12th Gen Intel® Celeron® G6900 2C/2T, 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 46W 12th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold G7400 2C/4T, 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 46W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-12100 4C/8T, 3.30 → 4.30 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 60W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-12300 4C/8T, 3.50 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 60W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12400 6C/12T, 2.50 → 4.40 GHz, 18MB SmartCache, 65W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500 6C/12T, 3.00 → 4.60 GHz, 18MB SmartCache, 65W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12600 6C/12T, 3.30 → 4.80 GHz, 18MB SmartCache, 65W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700 12C/20T, 2.10 → 4.80 GHz, 25MB SmartCache, 65W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900 16C/24T, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 30MB SmartCache, 65W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400 Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F Not Available 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700F Not Available 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11400 Intel® UHD Graphics 730 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11400F Not Available 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11700 Intel® UHD Graphics 750 32 Execution Units, 350 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11700F Not Available	12th Gen Intel® Celeron® G6900 Intel® UHD Graphics 710 16 Execution Units, 300 → 1300 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold G7400 Intel® UHD Graphics 710 16 Execution Units, 300 → 1350 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-12100 Intel® UHD Graphics 730 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1400 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-12300 Intel® UHD Graphics 730 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1450 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12400 Intel® UHD Graphics 730 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1450 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500 Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1450 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12600 Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1450 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700 Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1500 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900 Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1550 MHz
Discrete Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 - 4GB GDDR6 1 x HDMI 2.0b, 2 x DP 1.4 GTX 1660 SUPER - 6GB GDDR6 1 x DVI, 1 x HDMI 2.0b, 1 x DP 1.4 RTX 3060 - 12GB GDDR6 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DP 1.4a.	No configuration is available. It has a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot that you can install any low-profile discrete graphics card with a maximum length of 167.65mm and a maximum height of 68.90mm.
Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB Memory Slots: 2 x DIMM slots Memory Type: Single or Dual Channel Non-ECC DDR4 Memory Memory Speed: 2666 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5 CPU 2933 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i7/i9 CPU 3200 MHz for 11th Gen Intel Core i7/i9 CPU Memory Per Slot: 4GB 8GB 16GB	4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB Memory Slots: 2 DIMM slots Memory Type: Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Memory Speed: 3200 MHz Memory Per Slot: 4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB
Storage	256GB 512GB 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 NVME SSD 500GB 1TB 2TB 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm 2.5" SATA Hard Drive 1TB 2TB 4TB 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive	1 x 256GB 512GB 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 or 4.0 x4 NVME SSD 1 x 1TB 2TB 7200 rpm 2.5" or 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
Slots	Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe x16 slot PCIe Gen 3.0, Full-height 1 x PCIe x1 slot PCIe Gen 3.0, Full-height SATA 1 x SATA slots For 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch HDD/SSD. M.2 1 x M.2 2230 slot For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card 1 x M.2 2230/2280 slot For SSD/Intel Optane	1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 low-profile, (length < 167.65mm, height < 68.90mm). 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 low-profile, (length < 167.65mm, height < 68.90mm). 1 x M.2 2230 slot for WiFi and Bluetooth combo card. 1 x M.2 2230/2280 slot for PCIe solid-state drive.

Connectivity	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Wi-Fi	No WLAN Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi® + Bluetooth 5.0, M.2 card Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax 2x2 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0, M.2 card	No Wireless LAN Card Realtek RTL8822CE Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-6 (802.11ac) Bluetooth 5.0 Intel Wireless-AC 9560 Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-6 (802.11ac) Bluetooth 5.0 Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.2
Bluetooth	Optional Bluetooth 5.0	Optional Bluetooth 5.x
Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet controller Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.	Realtek RTL8111HN Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps with Wake-on-LAN support.

Software	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
OS	Windows® 10 Home 64 Windows® 11 Home 64 No OS	Windows 11 Home \| Pro No OS
Built-in Apps	Lenovo Vantage	Lenovo Vantage Microsoft® Office 2021 Trial (Except Japan) McAfee™ LiveSafe™ (Except Russia)

Camera & Audio	2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i	Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s
Audio	No Speakers Audio controller High Definition (HD) Audio External Ports 1 x Universal Audio Jack Front 1 x Audio port Line-out (Rear).	Realtek® ALC623-CG codec. High Definition (HD) Audio. Optional 1 x 1W speaker.

Misc

2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s

Security

BIOS Security

Administrator password
Power-on password
Hard disk password

Security Chip

Firmware TPM 2.0, TCG certified

Physical Locks

Smart Cable Clip
Optional
Kensington® Security Slot
Padlock Loop

Chassis Intrusion Switch

Chassis intrusion switch
No chassis intrusion switch

BIOS Security

Secure Wipe
Power-on password
Supervisor password
Hard disk password
Computrace support
Cover presence switch
Smart USB protection
Allows keyboard/mouse only, blocks all storage devices.
Individual USB port disablement

Warranty

1-year depot service
1-year limited onsite service
2-year depot service

1-year depot service
1-year limited onsite service
3-year depot service
3-year limited onsite service

2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s

The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s is a newer system that was released in 2022, while the 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i was released years earlier in 2021. The 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i has a mini tower form factor that can fit a micro ATX and Mini ITX motherboard, a few hard disk drives, and a single full-height graphics card. The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s has a small form factor that commonly can only fit a Mini ITX motherboard, one or two hard disk drives, and supports only a small form factor or half-height graphics card.

Processor

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is like the brains of your desktop computer. Its performance determines how fast and responsive your PC is. Generally, a processor with newer architecture, more CPU cores, higher TDP (measured in W), and faster clock speed (measured in GHz) tends to be more expensive and run faster than others with older architecture, fewer CPU cores, lower TDP, and lower clock speed.

For 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i, you have options to configure it with a 65W 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake 6-core Intel Core i5-10400 up to a 65W 8-core Intel Core i7-11700F with a boost speed up to 4.90 GHz.

While Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s has configurations with a 46W 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake dual-core Intel Celeron G6900 up to a 65W 16-core Intel Core i9-12900 with a boost speed up to 5.00 GHz.

Memory

The Random Access Memory or RAM is the super-fast and temporary storage used to handle all active tasks, apps, and games that will go away when your PC turns off. The more memory your PC has, the better multitasking your PC can handle without having to reload data from slower permanent storage that includes the hard disk drive or solid-state drive.

Both PCs have the same amount of two RAM slots meaning that you upgrade later if you are unsatisfied with the amount of memory on your PC. You can upgrade memory on 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i up to 32GB of 3200MHz dual-channel DDR4 memory. For Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s, it supports up to 64GB of 3200MHz dual-channel DDR4 memory.

Ports

Computer ports are the interface for connecting your PC to its peripheral devices or other PCs. The most common peripherals are keyboard, mouse, monitor, flash drive, speaker, and printer. Most of them use Universal Serial Bus (USB) as their connection to your computer. So the PC with more USB ports can connect to more peripherals at the same time.

There is a total number of 7 USB ports available on both PCs. On top of the number of USB ports, the type and version of each USB port are also necessary for determining how fast it is.

The 2021 Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5i has six USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. It has four ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), two ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), and one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps).

For Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo 50s, it has six USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. The PC has two ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) and five ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps).