Lenovo unveils its new Legion racing beasts for gamers

Following its new Yoga machines, Lenovo today unveiled the latest generation of its Legion 7 range of gaming laptops. On show: the Lenovo Legion 7 and 7i, two gorgeous 16-inch beasts featured as “The world’s most powerful gaming laptops.” in this category.

There are no big changes in terms of design. However, we do notice that the machine has been refined ever so slightly, now with 19mm at the hinge. The design also has some slight differences, especially on the rear panel where the connectors have been brought together in a large notch.

But all in all, Lenovo has brought back the traditional codes of the range. We found the magnesium and aluminum chassis to be quite minimalist and elegant. Only the few RGB keys on the keyboard, the LEGION logo and the side and back facades give away its gaming identity; a good point for those who appreciate understated machines rather than spaceships all decked out in LEDs.

A wide variety of mid to high end tiles.

As for the screen, these models are entitled to great options, all in 16-inch format.

Whether it’s the standard version or the Slim model, the Legion 7 has three options. At the bottom of the scale is a 165Hz IPS (1920 x 1200) panel that covers 100% of the sRGB gamut, but offers only 350 nits of brightness. The most expensive models will be able to go up to a WXGA (2560 x 1600) panel capable of delivering 165 to 240 Hz with support for Variable Refresh Rate and 500 nits of brightness, all accompanied by the DisplayHDR 400 standard.

The 7i model’s panel, on the other hand, is more impressive. The basic model is exactly the same as in the first model. On the other hand, you can afford a superb WQXGA Mini-LED panel (2560 x 1600 at 165 Hz) with a chubby spec sheet. Judge for yourself: 100% DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB coverage, 1250 nits of brightness on the Slim model (!), and DisplayHDR 1000, Dolby Vision, and TÜV Rheinland certifications.

The only possible black points of this panel depending on the player’s profile: the absence of an OLED option and the response time, which remains at 3ms in all models.

ZQSD analog keys

Then let’s go down one floor to get to the keyboard. We find the same layout as its predecessor, with these slightly offset arrow keys and a numpad in good and proper shape.

But there are still some new things to consider. The key travel has been enlarged overall to save space when installing its Force Sensor technology. Specifically, it is a system that makes certain keys (in this case ZQSD) sensitive to pressure.

This means that the user can adjust the running speed of a character or the acceleration of a car by pressing the corresponding keys more or less strongly. A feature that will undoubtedly be very anecdotal for most players, but some may still find it useful.

State-of-the-art hardware

So we get to the heart of the matter, namely the hardware behind this nice matte facade. This is where the two models diverge again. The Legion 7 model proudly wears the AMD colors, while the 7i model sails under the Intel banner.

In both cases, the machine will be entitled to an impressive arsenal; unsurprisingly, it inherits a latest generation CPU. In this case it is a Ryzen 7 6800H or a Ryzen 9 6900HX. The same observation for the dedicated graphics card, with a Radeon RX 6850M XT or 6700M. The 7i has nothing to be ashamed of as it inherits a 12th Gen Intel Core (i9-12900HX or i7-12800HX). The GPU part of this model will be provided by a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or 3070 Ti in the portable version.

They will be supported by 16 or 32 GB of very fast RAM, since it is DDR5 with a frequency of 4800 MHz. The ensemble will be completed by a PCIe Gen4 SSD of 512 Go, 1 To or 2 To. Dans tous les cas, il s’agit de composants haut de gamme que n’auront pas le moindre mal à faire tourner les jeux les most exigeants of the market.

A large battery and improved thermal performance

Lenovo takes the opportunity to highlight the new version 4.0 of its Coldfront cooling system. We thus find ourselves with a new model of steam chamber. The brand also refined its fan blades and added vents below the keyboard. Modifications that should improve airflow, with high thermal performance being the key.

The set will be powered by a large 99.99Whr battery that should offer quite an impressive range. Lenovo also advertises pretty honest charging times with 30 minutes to go from 0 to 70% and 80 minutes for a full charge.

At the level of connectivity, the two models are almost identical. On the back, there are two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a full-size HDMI 2.1 connector. The right side houses a 4-in-1 SD card reader and headphone jack.

Finally, the left side is lined with two additional sockets that change slightly depending on the model. In both cases, there is a DisplayPort-compatible USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C socket. It will be accompanied by a second identical port on the 7 model and a Thunderbolt 4 port on the 7i model.

Little surprise on the connection side, on the other hand; we found the Wi-Fi 6E, but the data sheet does not mention any Bluetooth connection. An element that should be checked before going to checkout.

Legion 7 and Legion 7i will be priced at €2,599 and €2,999 respectively. The Slim versions, meanwhile, will be shown at €1,899 for the Slim 7 and €1,999 for the Slim 7i.