Lenovo’s New Legion 7 Gaming Laptops Pair Brawn with Beauty

Lenovo is greatest recognized for its ThinkPad enterprise laptops, however its Legion sequence has birthed among the greatest gaming methods I’ve used prior to now few years. Today, the laptop computer maker is changing the previous with a brand new fleet consisting of the Legion 7 and Legion Slim 7, every accessible with both AMD or Intel (denoted with an “i” within the mannequin identify) processors.

Along with the newest processors and graphics playing cards from the 2 predominant chipmakers, these gaming rigs sport a number of 16-inch show choices, a bevy of ports, huge batteries, and a few enjoyable RGB lighting. Consistent throughout all methods is an understated design with pops of colourful lighting, 1080p webcams, and high-res panels.

Lenovo Legion 7 and Legion Slim 7 launch date and value

Before we dig in, let’s speak pricing and availability. The Legion 7i will begin at $2,449 when it launches later this month. Its AMD sibling, the Legion 7, is available in at $2,059 and might be accessible in June.

The Legion Slim 7 fashions are inexpensive, although stay within the premium class; the Slim 7i, working on Intel chips, will value $1,589 when it arrives this month whereas the Legion Slim 7 with AMD Ryzen processors is anticipated to go on sale in June for $1,519.

These are solely beginning costs, so that you’ll pay additional for upgrades to the processor, graphics card, and show. I’m afraid the worth of those methods, which is already excessive on the base fashions, might rapidly get out of hand when you’ve configured them to your liking.

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Lenovo Legion 7 and 7i

While the Slim fashions are designed for portability, the Legion 7 and Legion 7i are all about efficiency. These two methods might be configured with the newest processors from AMD (Legion 7) and Intel (Legion 7i): as much as a Ryzen 9 6900HX or Intel Core i9-12900HX, respectively. They every help as much as 32GB of DDR5 RAM (16GB x 2) and as much as a 2TB SSD.

On the graphics entrance, the Legion 7i’s Intel CPUs pair with Nvidia GPUs within the type of both an RTX 3070 Ti (8GB of RAM) or an RTX 3080 Ti (16GB RAM). The AMD mannequin goes all in on Team Red with both a Radeon RX6700M or RX6850M GPU.

Turning to the design, the Legion 7 and 7i have a easy, understated unibody chassis constituted of aluminum and magnesium. Two noteworthy design components embrace a CNC steel trim across the edges and a few dazzling RGB lighting bordering the deck, glowing by means of the vents, and illuminating a full-size keyboard with a numpad and WASD Force Sensory keys that allow you to speed up an in-game character based mostly on the pressure you apply.

At 14.1 x 10.4 x 0.76 inches and 5.5 kilos, the Legion 7 isn’t probably the most moveable gaming laptop computer, nevertheless it isn’t a stationary beast, both. I wouldn’t wish to deliver it onto a flight, however a fast jaunt to a close-by cafe gained’t lead to any journeys to the chiropractor.

In a method, the thickness pays off with the big selection of ports this laptop computer presents: on the left aspect are two Thunderbolt 4 (or two USB 3.2 Type-C and a USB4 Type-C on Legion 7i) ports; on the fitting aspect are a USB Type-C connection, a webcam shutter change (for a 1080p webcam), and a headphone jack; and on the rear are two USB Type-A ports, one other USB Type-C port, an HDMI 2.1 connection, an RJ45 Ethernet port, and an influence jack. Sorry content material creators, no SD card slot right here.

There are a couple of show choices accessible for the Legion 7, however one, specifically, sounds promising. Opt for the premium display and also you get a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel panel with a 16:10 side ratio, a 3-millisecond response time, and—take be aware, avid gamers—a variable refresh charge that scales from 165Hz to 240Hz. The different choice is similar besides with an ordinary 165Hz refresh charge. They are each licensed to VESA DisplayHDR 400 and Dolby Vision specs.

Wrapping issues up is a spec we don’t see too typically: a 99.99Whr battery. Add one other hundredth and Lenovo would threat getting in hassle with the TSA, the parents who set the capability limits for batteries allowed on planes. What which means for runtimes is unclear. What I can let you know is that, with “Super Rapid Charge,” the Legion can juice up from lifeless to 100% in round 80 minutes.

Lenovo Legion Slim 7 and Slim 7i

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to decipher the variations between the Legion Slim 7 and the usual mannequin. These are, you guessed it, extra moveable variations for people like college students, skilled avid gamers, or inventive execs, who have to work or play away from their desks.

I’ll get proper to it: the Legion Slim 7 and Slim 7i weigh 4.5 kilos and measure 14.1 x 10.1 x 0.67 inches, which means they’re significantly lighter and thinner than their full-size counterparts. You gained’t discover an Ethernet port on these, however there may be an SD card reader

What do you lose within the downsize? To begin, a little bit of energy. While you possibly can rise up to the identical Core i9-12900HK or Ryzen 9 6900HK CPUs, the Slim 7i and Slim 7 begin with Core i5 and Ryzen 5 CPUs.

More choices definitely isn’t a foul factor, since you possibly can bump up the CPU energy to match the non-Slim variations. Where the non-Slim model has the benefit is with the GPU; the Slim 7i begins with an RTX 3050 Ti and goes as much as the RTX 3070, however can’t attain as much as the RTX 3080. Similarly, the Slim 7 might be geared up with a Radeon RX 6800S GPU, however no 6850M. You additionally drop reminiscence from 32GB to an unorthodox 24GB (8GB onboard and a 16GB slot). Storage, nonetheless, nonetheless goes as much as 2TB.

Another key distinction is the display choices, and right here is the place the effective print actually issues. The Legion Slim 7i with Intel chips might be geared up with a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel mini-LED show with a 165Hz refresh charge and 3ms response time. Available later within the 12 months, this panel choice peaks at an eye-watering 1,250 nits and is VESA DisplayHDR 1000 and Dolby Vision licensed. Mini-LED, by the best way, is a reasonably new know-how that sits someplace between LED and OLED, delivering excellent distinction, black ranges, and brightness.

I assume that show improve will value a fairly penny; if it’s out of your value vary, you possibly can go along with an ordinary IPS show with a 165Hz refresh charge. Interestingly, the AMD mannequin doesn’t get the mini-LED remedy and as an alternative mirrors the choices accessible on the usual model: a 2560 x 1600 IPS panel with a 165 to 250Hz variable refresh charge, or an analogous panel with a flat 165Hz refresh charge.

Lenovo did, nonetheless, discover a solution to pack that 99.99Whr battery within the Slim mannequin as effectively. I can’t promise you lengthy battery life, however you do not less than get Super Rapid Charge for getting the battery to full in below an hour and a half.