Lenovo’s Legion lineup of gaming laptops has been a mainstay for PC avid gamers for years, with most fashions hitting their seventh technology this 12 months. I reviewed the sixth-gen Legion 5 Professional with AMD {hardware} final 12 months and was fairly impressed with the steady, cool efficiency, general construct high quality, and the affordable worth. I now have a seventh-gen mannequin in for evaluate, this time with Intel {hardware}. Did Lenovo nail the refresh? I have been utilizing the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) for a few weeks for gaming and for normal work to see what it is all about and, in the end, whether or not or not it is value your cash.
Worth, availability, and specs
Lenovo provided Home windows Central with a evaluate unit of its 16-inch Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) gaming laptop computer, which was introduced at CES 2022. My evaluate unit has inside a twelfth Gen Intel Core i7-12700H processors (CPU), an NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer graphics card (GPU) working at 150W, 16GB of DDR5-4800MHz RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), and a 16-inch QHD+ show with 165Hz refresh fee.
I reviewed the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional (Gen 6) with AMD {hardware} final 12 months, calling it “top-of-the-line gaming laptops Lenovo has ever launched.” We’re nonetheless ready on a agency launch date for the Legion 5 Professional (Gen 7) with AMD {hardware}. It was imagined to launch April 2022, nevertheless it’s been pushed again to await AMD’s Ryzen 6000 Cellular processors.
In comparison with the older mannequin, the Gen 7 model I now have in for evaluate comes with some adjustments.
- New twelfth Gen Intel Core H-Sequence processors
- As much as an NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer GPU (150W)
- New 16-inch QHD+ show choice with 240Hz refresh fee, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, G-Sync, and X-Ceremony Pantone coloration calibration
- New Legion emblem on the lid
- Improved ColdFront 4.0 system with bigger exhaust, bigger warmth pipes, thinner followers (for quieter working)
- Barely thinner chassis
This laptop computer is at the moment listed an “Unavailable” on the Lenovo web site. It is also offered out at Walmart. I have been assured by Lenovo that this scarcity is certainly non permanent, however I do not understand how lengthy you may have to attend to really purchase one in all these laptops. Lenovo claimed the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) would begin at $1,570 when it was first introduced.
Here is a take a look at the precise specs present in my evaluate unit.
| Class | Lenovo Legion 5i Professional 16 (Gen 7) |
|---|---|
| OS | Home windows 11 Dwelling |
| Processor | twelfth Gen Intel Core i7-12700H |
| 14 cores, 20 threads | |
| RAM | 16GB DDR5-4800 |
| Twin-channel, upgradeable | |
| Graphics | NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer GPU (as much as 150W) |
| Storage | 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD |
| Two M.2 slots, upgradeable | |
| Show | 16 inches, 16:10 side ratio, IPS |
| 2560×1600 (QHD+), 500 nits, AG, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, DisplayHDR 400, G-Sync | |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 4, two USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), three USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack |
| Audio | Twin 2W Stereo audio system, Nahimic Audio |
| Wi-fi | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Digicam | Entrance-facing 720p, E-shutter |
| Battery | 80Wh, 300W AC adapter |
| Dimensions | 14.17 x 10.41 x 0.78 inches |
| (360mm x 264mm x 20mm) | |
| Weight | 5.49 kilos (2.49kg) |
| Shade | Storm Gray and Black |
Design and options
The seventh-gen Legion 5i Professional seems to be loads just like the earlier technology. My evaluate unit has a Storm Gray lid and keyboard space, with a black backside panel and black rear port hub. The Legion emblem on the lid has modified to now spell out the model, and it is reflective as an alternative of getting any built-in RGB. The end feels good to the touch and does not choose up too many fingerprints. If you would like to keep away from smudges altogether, I like to recommend trying out the Glacier White colorway.
Lenovo was in a position to shave off simply a few millimeters of thickness right here, although you would be unlikely to note the change should you’re coming from an older (however current) mannequin. It is not the thinnest gaming laptop computer available on the market, nevertheless it’s additionally not significantly chunky. The physique is made up primarily of aluminum for a strong really feel; there’s virtually no flex to the physique and the lid is not far behind.
Like all Legion laptops, there is a port hub on the again that homes the vast majority of cables that you will have plugged in more often than not if you’re not on the go. These embrace the proprietary AC adapter plug, HDMI 2.1, RJ45 Ethernet, USB-C, and twin USB-A. The slight inset alongside the row of ports means you may go away a 2.4GHz dongle or small USB drive plugged in with out worrying about it snapping off throughout transport.
The ports are flanked alongside the rear by giant exhaust vents; there are two extra exhaust vents on the perimeters of the laptop computer. You are going to really feel some air in your hand should you’re utilizing an exterior mouse in a cramped spot. The left facet of the laptop computer has Thunderbolt 4 and normal USB-C, whereas the correct facet has one USB-A, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the digicam’s E-shutter toggle change. If it’s worthwhile to develop connectivity with further Thunderbolt ports, you may at all times take a look at one of many greatest Thunderbolt 4 docks.
Set ahead on the physique is the lid, assist in place by two slender hinges. Regardless of their dimension, they maintain the show firmly in place. The display ought to stay pretty steady even should you’re gaming in a automobile or practice. There are two microphones alongside the underside of the show and a front-facing 720p webcam within the prime bezel. Lenovo has gone with an E-shutter for the digicam attributable to an absence of area. Digicam high quality is OK, however I might like to see a soar as much as 1080p at this worth.
The underside of the laptop computer has an infinite consumption vent spanning the twin followers and warmth pipes, with raised rubber ft to permit air to go by way of. The laptop computer appeared to don’t have any points getting sufficient air when sitting flat on a desk. Fan noise wasn’t loud sufficient to overwhelm the audio system, however I feel they might be louder. I had quantity cranked all the way in which up when listening to music and gaming; there was no crackling or distortion. Nahimic Audio is on board with loads of enhancements, together with 3D spatial audio and the flexibility to arrange a encompass sound system with different Bluetooth audio system.
Lenovo’s TrueStrike keyboard makes a return right here, seemingly unchanged because the final technology. A full quantity pad is included, as are devoted navigation keys and media controls. The keys are barely cupped with only a little bit of grip to them. With 1.5mm of key journey, regular typing is kind of comfy. This is not a mechanical keyboard, however you may really feel a particular actuation level and a delicate backside. It is also 100% anti-ghosting to assist with frenetic gameplay. My evaluate unit has the four-zone RGB lighting, although you can too get a full white or blue backlight to avoid wasting cash.
Under the keyboard is a big Precision touchpad that tracks completely. The clicking is a bit hole, however I think most avid gamers are going to be utilizing a PC gaming mouse as an alternative of the touchpad. A bump as much as Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 helps with wi-fi connectivity.
Show
The Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) strikes ahead with the identical 16-inch show dimension and 16:10 side ratio. It has slim bezel round all 4 sides for a contemporary look, and the taller ratio means you get a bit extra display actual property whereas gaming or working.
Whereas show selections have been restricted in earlier generations, Lenovo now has three choices to higher pair with efficiency {hardware}. All have an IPS panel, anti-glare (AG) end, 100% sRGB coloration, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, X-Ceremony Pantone coloration calibration, and G-Sync. Essentially the most primary has a 1920×1200 (FHD+) decision with 165Hz refresh fee and 300 nits brightness. The center choice has a 2560×1600 (QHD+) decision, 500 nits brightness, and 240Hz refresh fee.
I’ve the highest choice in my evaluate unit, with a 2560×1600 (QHD+) decision, 500 nits brightness, DisplayHDR 400, and 165Hz refresh fee. The display seems to be excellent whereas gaming, with deep distinction and the additional options to spice up suitable video games or media. I examined coloration and brightness with a SpyderX Professional colorimeter, coming again with 99% sRGB, 78% AdobeRGB, and 80% DCI-P3 protection. Brightness received down to only 1.1 nits at its lowest (one thing I really like when gaming late at evening) and went as much as 528 nits at its brightest.
No complaints right here, and so long as you don’t need 4K you must discover one thing you need to use.
Gaming
Just like the earlier technology, Lenovo has outfitted the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) with its AI Engine that helps mechanically tune efficiency when it senses a recreation has launched. Moreover, it has been outfitted with particular tuning profiles for 16 video games, together with CS:GO, Name of Obligation: Trendy Warfare (and assumedly Warzone), Crimson Useless Redemption 2, Murderer’s Creed: Odyssey, Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite, League of Legends, and extra.
Q Management makes a return as nicely, permitting you to shortly swap between customized Lenovo energy profiles. These kind of work in tandem with Home windows 11’s personal energy controls. The “Efficiency” Q Management plan takes over fully, however utilizing the Steadiness or Quiet Q Management profiles nonetheless allow you to tweak Home windows 11 efficiency. I examined system efficiency and battery life in quite a few completely different energy combos, which I cowl extra broadly within the subsequent part.
As has come to be anticipated from Lenovo’s gaming laptops, the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) is a strong and steady PC that does not overheat.
Because it stands for gaming, the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) is steady, cool, and highly effective. That is just about what I’ve come to anticipate from Lenovo’s fashionable gaming laptops. The aforementioned AI Engine does a beautiful job of balancing energy and warmth, letting the CPU and GPU run as much as a sure level just under the place thermal throttling would start.
I ran a full system stress check (together with CPU, GPU, SSD, and reminiscence) for 20 minutes with the GPU Overclock setting enabled within the Lenovo Vantage app. There was no thermal throttling whereas utilizing the Balanced Q-Management and Efficiency Home windows 11 setting. The CPU sat comfortably at 72 levels Celsius (161.6 levels Fahrenheit) pulling about 45W of energy at 2.4GHz, with the GPU pulling 100W at 1.1GHz.
Bumping the Q Management as much as Efficiency (that means the laptop computer goes all-out), there was nonetheless no thermal throttling. The followers received a bit louder to assist take care of the warmth, however definitely nothing egregious. The CPU jumped as much as about 85 levels Celsius (185 levels Fahrenheit) and pulled about 55W of energy, whereas the GPU hit 135W of energy. Throughout this check, the PCIe 4.0 SSD hit about 65 levels Celsius (149 levels Fahrenheit), nicely inside operational vary.
The work Lenovo did to enhance cooling with its ColdFront 4.0 system appears to have paid off. The warmth pipes are comparatively a lot bigger this time round, with thinner fan blades and bigger exhaust. The system heats up when underneath full load, nevertheless it by no means received uncomfortably sizzling.
I ran some 3DMark benchmarks to see how the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) compares to different laptops we have not too long ago examined.
I additionally examined the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) utilizing fashionable AAA video games with built-in benchmarking software program. I examined every recreation with the maxed in-game settings utilizing the native QHD+ decision, with DLSS and RTX off except in any other case specified. The next numbers are the common FPS. Understand that there’s loads of tweaking you are able to do to maximise body charges; these are what the laptop computer can do with video games turned all the way in which up.
- Murderer’s Creed Valhalla: 71 FPS
- Far Cry 5: 109 FPS
- Crimson Useless Redemption 2: 70 FPS (DLSS Off), 86.6 FPS (DLSS Balanced)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 99 FPS (DLSS Off), 136 FPS (DLSS Balanced)
The system I examined right here is close to the highest of what Lenovo provides. You possibly can soar as much as a Core i9-12900H CPU, however the RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer GPU is as excessive because it goes. There are additionally RTX 3070, RTX 3060, and RTX 3050 Ti Laptop computer GPUs obtainable if you would like to avoid wasting cash. Storage and RAM are each upgradeable, permitting you to take a look at with a lesser config and improve your self after shopping for some RAM or storage on a budget.
Normal efficiency and battery
The Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) is primarily a gaming laptop computer, however its mature design and highly effective efficiency {hardware} additionally make it a great candidate for individuals who want a succesful PC for work through the day.
Efficiency on this regard is, as anticipated, stellar. The twelfth Gen Intel Core i7-12700H has 14 cores to work with, cut up up into six Efficiency cores and eight Environment friendly cores for the brand new hybrid massive.LITTLE structure. Mixed with two SODIMM slots for dual-channel DDR5 RAM and speedy PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage, this laptop computer can crush productiveness work and also will deal with some specialised work.
Check out how the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) measures as much as different laptops and desktops we have not too long ago examined and reviewed.
The Geekbench 5 consequence I included above was achieved utilizing the Efficiency Q Management. I additionally ran the check with Balanced Q Management and Efficiency Home windows 11 profiles, coming again with a 1,796 single-core rating and a 6,353 multi-core rating. Dropping all the way down to a Balanced Home windows 11 profile, a received again a 1,737 single-core rating and a 4,951 multi-core rating. It is clear that the multi-core rating suffers when the laptop computer is not working all out.
PCMark 10’s Trendy Workplace rundown hit 7,527 with the Efficiency Q Management profile. Dropping all the way down to all the pieces Balanced the rating solely dropped all the way down to 7,248. The Core i7-12700H CPU outperforms even eleventh Gen Core i9 desktop-class CPUs in a bunch of checks, and the RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer GPU can also be fairly highly effective. This laptop computer goes to crush something you throw its approach, and preserve its cool whereas doing it.
Efficiency is nice, however what about battery life? I ran PCMark 10’s Gaming battery rundown check first with the laptop computer set to Balanced Q Management and Efficiency Home windows 11 profiles (you may’t choose Efficiency Q Management on battery energy). The Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) lasted simply 1 hour and seven minutes on this check, which is about what’s anticipated from a system with this degree of {hardware}.
Shifting on, I ran PCMark 10’s Trendy Workplace rundown check (which runs video conferencing, spreadsheets, and so forth.) with the laptop computer set to Balanced Q Management and Balanced Home windows 11 profiles. The laptop computer lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes on this check.
Lastly, I examined battery life once more utilizing the identical PCMark check, this time with Quiet Q Management and Energy Saver Home windows 11 profiles. The laptop computer lasted 3 hours and 43 minutes on this check. The upside right here is that the battery prices shortly. Having it plugged in for about 10 minutes will get you again to about 50% capability.
NVIDIA’s Optimus GPU management is tweakable by way of the Vantage app. For these battery checks I had it set to hybrid mode, which disables the discrete GPU when it is not in want. This could theoretically enable for extra battery life than working the dGPU full time. To squeeze a couple of extra minutes from the battery, you possibly can set the laptop computer to built-in GPU solely.
Competitors
I reviewed the Lenovo Legion 7i (Gen 6) earlier this 12 months, a couple of months earlier than the Gen 7 mannequin was introduced. We’re nonetheless ready on the newest model to launch, however you would possibly need to maintain out should you’re trying to all-in with an RTX 3080 Ti, Intel HX-Sequence CPU, a bigger 99.99Wh battery, fingerprint reader, and 1080p digicam. It additionally has way more RGB lighting, together with per-key on the board. It is anticipated to price extra, although, and the Legion 5i Professional continues to be an excellent laptop computer.
The Razer Blade 15 is one other perennial favourite right here at Home windows Central. The display is not fairly as massive, however the precise laptop computer is about as skinny and lightweight as will be. It is obtainable with myriad high-end show choices and the very best efficiency {hardware} at the moment obtainable. You’ll pay dearly, however the Blade 15 is unquestionably one of many greatest gaming laptops on the market.
Alienware’s m15 R7 is now obtainable, and it comes with loads of the identical {hardware} choices because the Legion 5i Professional. twelfth Gen Intel Core CPUs, NVIDIA RTX 30-series GPUs (as much as a 3080 Ti), and high-end 15.6-inch shows are all obtainable. Costs begin at $1,470 and climb from there, so not a nasty place to look if you cannot discover Lenovo’s laptop computer on the market and need one thing a bit extra reasonably priced.
Must you purchase the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7)?
Who it is for …
- Those that need high-end efficiency with out overheating
- Those that need a 16-inch show with high-end specs
- Those that just like the mature Legion look (obtainable in two colours)
Who it is not for …
- Those that need probably the most RGB doable (take a look at the Legion 7/7i collection)
- Those that need to follow a 4K show
- Those that need an RTX 3080 or 3080 Ti of their laptop computer
Lenovo’s 16-inch Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) appears nicely outfitted to take care of the warmth created by Intel’s twelfth Gen H-Sequence 14-core CPU and NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer GPU. The improved ColdFront 4.0 system with bigger warmth pipes, thinner fan blades, and bigger exhaust is ready to sustain with cooling, and Lenovo’s AI Engine retains the system from working away with thermal throttling.
That Core i7-12700H CPU is a monster, delivering higher efficiency than an eleventh Gen Core i9 desktop chip. Mixed with PCIe 4.0 storage and DDR5 dual-channel RAM, it is in a position to energy high-end gaming and completely crushed productiveness. The RTX 3070 Ti delivers excessive body charges for intensive video games even with settings maxed out.
Battery life is not significantly thrilling, even when going about normal productiveness work. You will nonetheless get about 4 hours of life should you’re not gaming. And in case you are gaming, you’ll want to preserve it plugged in to maximise efficiency. I additionally want the digicam was bumped as much as 1080p and a few safety biometrics (even a fingerprint reader) can be appreciated.
Aside from these complaints, the Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7) is a killer gaming laptop computer. It is not precisely low cost, however it’s extra reasonably priced than Lenovo’s Legion 7 lineup. Inventory is at the moment restricted attributable to shortages, however that ought to change quickly.
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Lenovo Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7)
Lenovo’s Legion 5i Professional will get an enormous efficiency improve that is matched by a much bigger cooling system. It is at the moment onerous to seek out inventory, nevertheless it’s an excellent choice should you do not need to spend massive on the Legion 7 collection.
