Verdict
The Lenovo Legion 7 is a robust play notebook computer with a majuscule screen and keyboard , and it ’s got sizable mainstream big businessman – but more forward-looking competitor are better options at this price . If you require the Legion , consider its more affordable versions instead .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Lenovo has been a bit of a latecomer to the world of gaming laptop , and the Legion 7 is the firm ’s attempt to gain ground against big thespian like Asus and Alienware .
It ’s sure got the power on paper , with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD Ryzen CPU , and the model I ’ve review cost £ 1999 / $ 2399 / € 2299 , so it undercuts competitors like theAlienware x15and Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 .
But can it deliver the goods with real - time performance ? After spending over a hebdomad with the laptop , here re my intellection .
Design and Keyboard
The Lenovo Legion 7 does n’t look that exciting when you drag the machine from the boxful . bring up the notebook computer and it come to life , with a doughnut of customizable RGB light-emitting diode around the laptop computer ’s pedestal , in the air vents and in the lid ’s Legion logotype .
This is not an horrible laptop , but it does look a little strange : the body is made from gunmetal aluminium and , until all those lights spark , it looks a mo like one of Lenovo ’s renowned clientele portables . It ’s for certain not get the monochrome luxury of the Alienware x15 and x17 , or the testis - out brashness of theAsus ROG Strix Scar 15 .
The Legion is a laptop computer of two halves in practical region , too . Build tone is exceptional , with no significant social movement in any area , but its 2.5 kg weight makes it heavy than the Alienware x15 and Asus laptop , and its 24mm - thick body is squatty than the Dell . That ’s no surprise given that tantamount x15 and Asus rigs cost at least £ 2399 / $ 2399 / € 2399 , but it ’s worth noting if you want a particularly slim or clear laptop .
The Legion ’s keyboard is full-bodied and frizzly , with a fast typewriting action and a numberpad – it ’s well build for play workload . The Alienware has a somewhat sharper typecast military action , but there ’s little to choose between the two . You ’ll only get something that feels importantly heavy if you purchase a notebook computer with low - profile mechanical ironware or if you choose for the Asus and its 2 mm of travel .
The trackpad is okay , but it ’s positioned on the left-hand - mitt side of the laptop computer and it ’s too wanton to jog while you ’re using the WASD samara . If you want thwarting - complimentary gaming , connect a mouse .
Each side of the Lenovo houses a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type - C port , with one support DisplayPort , and at the back there ’s a quick Type - C connector alongside three full - size USB 3.2 Gen 1 port . All those posterior - mounted ports have top executive obstetrical delivery . The Legion also has an HDMI 2.1 output , and connectivity comes from Gigabit Ethernet , double - stria Wi - Fi 6and Bluetooth 5.1 . It ’s got good talker too , that produce loads of sea bass and pot of frizzy treble detail .
Above the display there ’s a 720p webcam with a privacy shutter , but it does n’t support Windows Hello . The Legion also omit fingerprint meter reading , so there ’s no biostatistics . The Legion also has no card reader , and AMD internals mean noThunderboltsupport .
Screen
The Lenovo Legion 7 gains back ground in the display section . At 16 in , the screenland is a shade big than the 15.6 in panels in both rivals , and that predict well for extra immersion . Its 2560 x 1600 resolve deliver crisp gameplay , and the 16:10 aspect ratio means you get a bit more perpendicular space than the Alienware and Asus motorcar , which signify more space for work and play .
Quality spirit level are good , too . The superlative brightness level of 466 nit is immense and enables indoor and outdoor use , and the contrast ratio of 1084:1 is eminent enough to supply vivacious colours and plenty of range . The delta einsteinium of 1.19 is accurate , and the board return 96.7 % of the sRGB gamut – ok for mainstream gaming .
The gamut volume layer of 101.6 % is near , if a number humbled than the figures supplied by those challenger , so the Lenovo is more realistic and hushed – for many hoi polloi and in many games , that ’s a good affair .
The Legion ’s panel is not utter . While its 165Hz refresh rate and Nvidia G - Sync compatibility are ideal for any single - participant secret plan and fine for mainstream eSports , theAlienwareand Asus machines execute at 240Hz and they ’re even quicker if you spend more .
Performance
The Lenovo Legion 7 ’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 has a generous 165W power limit and it ’s the beefy 16 GB variation of the GPU . It also have an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with eight gist and a top velocity of 4.4GHz . The Legion has 16 GB of DDR4 memory and a 1 TB Samsung SSD that produce average read and write pep pill of 3576MB / sec and 3013MB / sec .
None of this computer hardware is bad , but it ’s a genesis behind the bend – the Legion ’s competitors haveDDR5 memoryand PCI - E 4 SSDs alongside newer GPUs and CPUs .
The Lenovo ’s RTX 3080 averaged 96fps in Horizon Zero Dawn at 1080p and hit 88fps at the motorcar ’s native resolution . It played Borderlands at 76fps and 60fps at those resolutions , and the eSports - friendly Rainbow Six Siege averaged 246fps and 201fps in . Those are practiced results .
There ’s enough pace here to treat any exclusive - player game at a still framerate , no matter how demanding , and eSports games will easy run at the speeds needed by the 165Hz display .
There ’s little between the RTX 3080 and theAsus ’ RTX 3070 Ti . Lenovo Legion 7 ’s 3D Mark Time Spy termination of 10,436 chafe shoulders with the RTX 3070 Ti ’s score of 10,389 .
If you ’d like a mo more juice from the Legion , its Performance mode improved that Time Spy tally to 11,382 , and it was eight form faster in Borderlands and ten quicker in Rainbow Six . That ’s welcome extra grunt , and the noise levels are never bad – you get a act of extra fan yield in Performance mode , but the Legion is systematically manageable .
AMD ’s processor is hunky-dory , but this is another component that ’s starting to show its eld . Its single- and multi - core Geekbench results of 1360 and 7141 are nice , and they ’re estimable enough to handle multi - tasking and mainstream content - creation tasks .
However , the Alienware now habituate Intel ’s Core i7 - 12700H and the Asus deploy the i9 - 12900H , and both score beyond 9500 points in that multi - core bench mark . The 5800H is not slow , but an Intel Alder Lake laptop or a newer Ryzen chip would all be good choices for content creation and tougher work load .
The Legion is available with a beefier Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU , but that chip still ca n’t match those newer Intel part and the laptop is more expensive when you make that upgrade – so it ’s pitiful value when compared to the x15 and Asus .
Indeed , the Legion ’s well time value comes when you appear lower down the range . It ’s useable with RTX 3070 graphics pith for £ 1799 / $ 1749 / € 1799 and with the RTX 3060 for £ 1399 / $ 1509 / € 1499 , and the rest period of the specification stay broadly unchanged . Those laptops wo n’t contend with the Asus and Alienware system for speed , but they ’re far better options if you ’d like mainstream play power without spending quite as much . And , importantly , the Legion ’s old components and deficiencies are easy to forgive at the small price .
If you ’re concerned in spend £ 2000 / € 2000 / € 2000 or a bit more on a play laptop computer , I ’d recommend the Alienware or Asus example – even if they ’re a shade dear than the Legion , your money goes far further . The Legion is only worth your John Cash at its less spec levels .
Battery
The Lenovo Legion 7 hold up for an hour and fifteen transactions during a gaming bench mark , which is an entirely ordinary result for a play notebook .
The Lenovo coped with four hours of everyday work with the screen at 150 nits and just over four hour of medium playback outside of gameplay . They ’re mediocre effect that lag behind the Asus , but they ’re no surprise for a high - end gambling laptop .
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Should you buy it?
The Lenovo ’s large , eminent - character display make secret plan depend with child , and it ’s a bona fide steal if you prefer for chinchy versions of this laptop .
The Legion ’s components look a little long in the tooth , and rival machine have newer computer hardware and look sleeker and more modern .
Final Thoughts
The Lenovo Legion 7 offers good gaming step , a top - quality screen , a robust innovation and a satisfying keyboard , but its pricier modelling suffer in comparison to new , sleeker and faster rivals . If you ’re considering this big - screen door machine , choose for its cheaper versions instead .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every gaming laptop we review goes through a serial of uniform checks design to judge key things include build quality , carrying out , screen quality and barrage life .
These include schematic celluloid benchmarks and scripted trial run , plus a serial of real world checks , such as how well it runs when run a AAA game .
FAQs
Lenovo ’s machine comes with a one - year PremiumCare warranty , and upgrades usable .
