Lenovo Legion 5 (2021) Assessment

The Lenovo Legion 5 presents well-balanced and spectacular velocity alongside good thermal efficiency, a formidable keyboard and a delicate design that’s filled with ports – and it’s usually cheaper than rivals. However do not forget that this machine is heavier and thicker than the competitors and that it’s obtained an underwhelming show, too.

Introduction

The Lenovo Legion 5 is a formidable gaming laptop computer on paper, with high-end elements all through, however it’s going to should work exhausting when lined up in opposition to some sturdy rivals.

Lenovo’s newest laptop computer will get off to a great begin with an Nvidia RTX 3070, and the GPU is bolstered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H which is among the hottest laptop computer chips in the marketplace proper now.

And within the UK, not less than, the Legion is on the market at an excellent £1399 worth, making it one of many most cost-effective laptops round with this stage of {hardware}. Within the US you’ll should pay $1999 for this machine, which is a little bit costly, and in Europe the Legion is on the market for a mid-range €1799.

Control the massive retailers, although: costs drop on a regular basis, and the Lenovo may simply develop into a discount within the US and Europe alongside the UK. And, if that’s the case, it’ll have much more of a declare to a spot in our greatest gaming laptop computer chart.

Lenovo’s machine squares up in opposition to two different massive names. The MSI Katana GF66 makes use of an Intel processor and an RTX 3060 graphics core, however it’s extra reasonably priced: it prices £999 / $1399 / €1482. In the event you’re comfy spending extra, then there’s the Asus ROG Strix G15 G513, too, which matches the Lenovo’s core elements for a worth of £1699 / $1999 / €1999.

Design and keyboard

• Good, delicate design with first rate construct high quality, albeit in a heavy body
• Has nice connectivity, with extra ports than just about every other laptop computer
• Lenovo’s keyboard is usually wonderful: quick, constant and cozy

Lenovo’s machine doesn’t appear to be a gaming laptop computer. The lid and physique use matte black metallic and plastic, and there aren’t any odd angles or RGB LEDs – simply an prolonged part on the rear to accommodate further cooling gear.

The one gaming-friendly design is the lid’s Legion brand, which has a great-looking iridescent sheen.

The understated appears aren’t any shock coming from an organization with as a lot enterprise pedigree as Lenovo – and the first rate construct high quality is not any shock both. The Legion is sturdy in all departments, and simply as much as the problem of travelling between baggage, rooms and bedrooms.

As common, Lenovo delivers an amazing keyboard: the buttons ship an amazing stability between the snappiness required for gaming and the softness wanted for longer typing classes. The buttons are quick and constant, too. The format is strong: there’s a numberpad, and the full-size cursor keys are separated from the remainder of the unit.

There’s one closing sensible space the place the Lenovo excels: its port choice. The Legion has 4 full-size USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C connectors, with most of these put in across the again. There are extra ports than rivals – and cable-tidying is less complicated, too.

It’s a great begin, however elsewhere the Legion doesn’t stack up. The keyboard has four-zone RGB LED backlighting fairly than per-key backlighting, and the trackpad is mediocre – use a USB mouse as a substitute. Use a headset or exterior audio system, too: the Lenovo’s audio package is tinny and muffled.

The Lenovo’s 2.4kg weight and 25.7mm-thick physique imply that this laptop computer is thicker and heavier than the MSI and Asus notebooks. That Asus doesn’t have a numberpad, however it does have per-key RGB LED lighting and a snappier keyboard. That laptop computer has higher audio system and a bolder exterior too.

Display screen

• Low distinction and a excessive black level means this show lacks depth
• Colors are usually not significantly correct or vibrant
• It may well deal with video games, however the Legion’s show appears a little bit washed-out

Lenovo’s 15.6in show has a 1080p decision and a 165Hz refresh charge, and that specification is right for gaming – the refresh charge is fast sufficient to maintain single-player video games and eSports titles shifting easily.

By way of high quality ranges, although, the Legion disappoints. The brightness stage of 328 nits is sweet, however it’s undermined by a black level of 0.46 nits. That creates an underwhelming distinction ratio of 713:1. In real-world use which means the show doesn’t have a lot depth or nuance – the brightness means you get loads of punch, however darker areas aren’t intense and video games look flat.

The colors are middling, too. The panel does show an honest 91.7% of the sRGB color gamut and its Delta E of two.39 is affordable, however the temperature of 7809K is cool. Mix this with the low distinction determine and also you’ve obtained a show that appears pallid.

The Lenovo’s show is sweet sufficient for gaming – the brightness stage, decision and refresh charge see to that. However the lack of distinction and color accuracy signifies that video games look much better on the Asus, which additionally added a 300Hz refresh charge into the discount.

Efficiency

• The RTX 3070 is a quick and efficient mainstream gaming GPU
• AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800H is ideal for mainstream work and content material creation
• Lenovo’s machine saved cool and quiet, irrespective of the check

Nvidia’s newest laptop computer graphics chips run at completely different energy ranges to ship various ranges of efficiency and effectivity. The GeForce RTX 3070 contained in the Legion runs at 130W, which is about as excessive as this chip can go. Elsewhere, it’s obtained the same old 8GB of reminiscence and 5120 stream processors.

The Ryzen 7 5800H is a familiarly nice CPU from AMD. It’s obtained eight multi-threaded cores alongside base and increase speeds of three.2GHz and 4.4GHz. The remainder of the specification is fully regular: the Lenovo has 16GB of dual-channel reminiscence and a 512GB SSD alongside dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 and Gigabit Ethernet.

The high-power RTX 3070 delivered spectacular efficiency. It scythed by means of Horizon Zero Daybreak’s 1080p Final benchmark at 85fps and performed Borderlands 3 at 87fps. The previous rating is eight frames higher than the Asus, and the latter is ten frames forward. That’s nice on condition that the Asus additionally has an RTX 3070 configured to 130W. The MSI had an RTX 3060, so it’s additional again. The Lenovo’s 3D Mark Time Spy results of 9900 was a little bit faster than the Asus’ end result, too.

You’ll be capable to play completely any of as we speak’s largest single-player hits on this laptop computer with out compromising on graphics settings, and it’ll deal with ray tracing too. This machine additionally has the tempo to deal with eSports titles on the triple-figure framerates required by the 165Hz show.

	Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)	MSI Katana GF66	Asus ROG Strix G15 G513
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800H	Intel Core i7-11800H	Ryzen 7 5800H
Geekbench 5 (single / multi)	1404 / 7197	1537 / 6556	1380 / 7086
PCMark 10	7038	6138	6406
GPU	Nvidia RTX 3070	Nvidia RTX 3060	Nvidia RTX 3070
3DMark Time Spy	9900	6907	9769

The eight-core AMD processor is sensible. Its PCMark 10 results of 7038 is greater than 600 factors forward of the Asus, which used the identical chip to lesser have an effect on. Lenovo’s laptop computer scored 1404 and 7197 within the Geekbench assessments, with each outcomes additionally outpacing Asus. This chip is even additional forward of the Intel Core i7-11800H used within the MSI.

The AMD processor can deal with photo-editing, mainstream video work and different demanding content-creation duties, and it’ll zip by means of Workplace duties and a great deal of browser tabs with out criticism. You’ll solely want a greater processor if you wish to deal with actually demanding work, like 4K video enhancing or skilled design.

The ultimate piece of the puzzle is the SSD, which returned first rate learn and write speeds of 3594MB/s and 1681MB/s, which implies it might save and cargo information on the bodily drive at a wholesome tempo.

The Legion doesn’t make an excessive amount of noise both – there’s fan noise current while you play video games or push the {hardware}, however it’s not irritating or problematic. Temperatures have been positive on the within and outdoors, and there have been no throttling points. It’s simply nearly as good because the Asus and MSI right here.

Battery Life

• At its greatest for gaming when linked to the facility supply
• It delivered middling battery life in work and video-playback assessments

The battery presents affordable longevity, however it’s not nice. Throughout a gaming check it lasted for one hour and nineteen minutes, and when working an on a regular basis work benchmark the Lenovo ran out of juice after 5hrs 42mins. Its video playback end result was 90 minutes greater than its work lifespan.

That’s miles higher than the cheaper MSI, however the Asus lasted for seven and a half hours throughout a piece check and two hours extra when enjoying video. The Legion will get you thru to lunch, however it’s greatest to stay to the mains if you wish to play video games and greatest to contemplate the Asus if you need extra cable-free freedom.

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