This discounted model also packs 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage, a quality 16-inch IPS 2560 x 1600 165 Hz display, SD card reader and fingerprint sensor.
Lenovo’s 7th gen Legion Slim 7 all-AMD gaming laptop is now on sale directly from the US online store. This 2022 model sees a 32{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} discount, bringing its price down to US$1,349.99. It comes equipped with AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800H processor and a Radeon RX 6800S dGPU.
The display has a 16-inch diagonal with 2560 x 1600 resolution. It features a quality IPS panel with 165 Hz refresh rate, 100{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} sRGB color gamut and 500 nit + HDR400 certification.
Complementing the 8-core / 16-thread processor are 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM (8 GB soldered) as well as a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD with 1 TB capacity. The dGPU features 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM.
Port selection includes 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (video mode and 135 W power delivery), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1 video output, SD card reader and audio jack. Due to the slim chassis (0.67-inch profile), it only comes with wireless connectivity through a Wi-Fi 6E + BT 5.2 card.
There is also an RGB backlit keyboard, 1080p webcam with dual array mics and privacy shutter, fingerprint reader, a 71 Wh battery and 2x 2 W harman speakers. The system weighs ~4.79 lbs. Lenovo also bundles a 3-month free Xbox Game Pass.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
Bogdan Solca – Senior Tech Writer – 2002 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2017
I first stepped into the wondrous IT&C world when I was around seven years old. I was instantly fascinated by computerized graphics, whether they were from games or 3D applications like 3D Max. I’m also an avid reader of science fiction, an astrophysics aficionado, and a crypto geek. I started writing PC-related articles for Softpedia and a few blogs back in 2006. I joined the Notebookcheck team in the summer of 2017 and am currently a senior tech writer mostly covering processor, GPU, and laptop news.
The new Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is an outstanding next-gen gaming laptop. It’s a machine that comes in at a price point that makes the rest of the high-end RTX 40-series look even more ridiculous on their lofty $4,000+ perches. And its RTX 4080 GPU gives it the sort of gaming performance that has me questioning why anyone would want an RTX 4090 machine (opens in new tab).
This is the first gaming laptop I’ve seen using the second-tier Ada Lovelace GPU from Nvidia, and it’s a doozy.
Like the RTX 4090 before it, the numbering system Nvidia is using for its mobile graphics silicon is a step removed from that inside the desktop versions of the same name. While Nvidia might be making a big deal of the fact xx90-class GPUs are going into laptops for the first time, they’re not the same as the graphics chompers in the latest and greatest gaming PCs.
The mobile RTX 4090 uses the same AD103 GPU as the desktop RTX 4080 (opens in new tab), though the mobile RTX 4080 is actually built from a cut-down version of the AD104 used inside the desktop RTX 4070 Ti (opens in new tab).
Legion Pro 7i specs
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CPU: Intel Core i9 13900HX Cores | Threads: 24 | 32 Boost clock: 5.4GHz GPU: Nvidia RTX 4080 (150W) Cores: 7,424 VRAM: 12GB System Memory: 32GB DDR5-5600 Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD Screen: 16-inch Resolution: UHD+ 240Hz Price:$2,750 (opens in new tab) | £2,800 (opens in new tab)
That means you’re getting 7,424 CUDA cores as opposed to the 7,680 of the desktop GPU. That also puts it a long way behind the mobile RTX 4090 with its 9,728 CUDA cores, which ought to mean the top chip will always have the edge.
I’ve found that’s not always the case given the extreme confines of a gaming laptop chassis, as the constraints those can put on a GPU have really been working in this ones favour. Where the lower power demands of the second-tier chip can allow it to clock up to a much higher level than the more thirsty, bigger chips, that can really affect their relative gaming performance.
The frame rate delta isn’t always as great as you might assume, and sometimes it’s not there at all.
The Legion Pro 7i (opens in new tab) runs its RTX 4080 at a 150W TGP, which is the effective maximum of the GPU. Though manufacturers are given an extra 25W leeway to bulk up their own specs if they feel they can push a little extra juice through their own systems. That’s what has been done with the MSI Titan GT77 (opens in new tab) and Razer Blade 16 (opens in new tab) machines, where their RTX 4090 GPUs have been given the full 175W allowance. Lenovo hasn’t gone down that route, the Legion Pro knows what it likes, and it likes the 150W TGP and no more.
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But the power of this machine isn’t all about its GPU. And the confusing component nomenclature isn’t restricted to Nvidia alone, either. The Legion Pro 7i uses a 13th Gen Intel chip—the Core i9 13900HX. If, like me, you were to assume that would essentially be a slightly higher clocked version of the Core i9 13900H Asus has used in its excellent Zephyrus M16 gaming laptop (opens in new tab), then you’d be wrong.
Despite the almost identical name, this is an entirely different, substantially better CPU. Where the one in the Asus is a 14-core design, with six P-cores, this is a 24-core setup with eight P-cores and twice the number of E-cores. They’re both capable of 5.4GHz boost clocks, though inevitably the bigger chip has a higher base TDP of 45W.
System performance
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That translates to the actual performance figures though, and shows in just how close it gets to the ever-so-slightly higher clocked Core i9 13950HX used in the Blade and Titan machines.
Then, backing up the key CPU/GPU combination is a 1TB PCIe 4.0 Samsung SSD, and 32GB of DDR5-5600 SK Hynix memory.
The final part of the package is the 1600p 240Hz screen. Which is fine. I fear I’ve been spoiled by the joy of the mini LED backlights used in the last few laptop displays I’ve tested, because this one lacks the punch that I now want from a gaming panel.
What it does have, however, is the 16:10 aspect ratio (opens in new tab) I never knew I needed in a gaming laptop until I started using them on the regular. The 2560 x 1600 native resolution is a great match for the 16-inch screen size the Legion Pro comes rocking. It delivers a better experience when just on the desktop, and gives that little bit of extra screen real estate in games, too. The slight increase in resolution doesn’t impact gaming performance significantly when you’ve got a graphics chip this capable baked into the system.
Which brings us neatly to the letters I’ve jammed together to form my thoughts on the Legion Pro 7i’s performance. Inevitably, I’m benching this against the three RTX 4090-based machines I’ve reviewed so far, and I would have assumed that it would be significantly—or at least tangibly—behind the top Nvidia GPU. But, as I’ve said, that’s not the case.
Gaming performance
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The Legion Pro 7i manages to outperform both the Razer Blade 16 and the Asus Zephyrus M16 regularly, at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions. Only the chonky boi MSI Titan GT77 is able to utilise its RTX 4090-ish GPU to its fullest potential. And then at the expense of acoustics and potentially your sanity.
I don’t want my laptop to be some monstrous hyper-aggressive looking machine.
And most especially your bank account.
Because that’s the thing I keep coming back to when I’m looking at this Lenovo machine. It’s not the prettiest, but it sure can smash out them high gaming frame rates. And does it for around $2,000 less than the Blade 16. Okay, there’s always going to be a Razer premium for a Blade laptop, but the Zephyrus M16 is still $4,000, which means you’re saving well over a thousand dollars to get the same performance figures and a better CPU. Sure, the laptop screen isn’t mini LED, but that’s a compromise I’m willing to make if I still get to have a 16:10 that still looks good.
I’m talking about compromise here, but there honestly isn’t anything big you’ve really got to compromise on beyond that super expensive screen. And hell, it’s still a 1600p 240Hz panel. The gaming battery life is pretty weak, however, lower than any of the RTX 4090 machines I’ve looked at, but as long as you don’t plan to play without a charging cable it’s much less of an issue.
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The actual chassis does look and feel like a Lenovo; more office machine than the sort of hyper angular case you’ll see Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI traditionally wrapping around their gaming laptops. And that’s no bad thing. I don’t necessarily want my laptop to be some monstrous hyper-aggressive looking machine, and it’s got per-key RGB illumination and a light bar up front so you can still get your laptop lit. And, speaking of those keys, the Legion Pro has an excellent keyboard. Like the MSI Titan, you get a numpad, but unlike the MSI Titan it’s actually usable.
I also appreciate the way the cursor keys are separated from the mass of keys, too, and that the slight curl to the edges of the keys actually make them less prone to mis-strikes. At least, that’s what I’ve found with my fat fingers.
So, it feels like a grown up gaming laptop, is eminently usable, has performance in spades—in both CPU and GPU terms—and doesn’t cost anywhere near the same amount as the next-gen machines we’ve already checked out. I mean, it’s not cheap; $2,750 / £2,800 is still a not inconsiderable chunk of change. But that’s not an unexpected price tag for such a high powered notebook, and considering that’s the same price as the RTX 4060-powered Blade 16 it’s better than a lot of the competition. And as much as I’ve loved Razer’s gaming laptops over the years, I would 100{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} be buying the Legion Pro 7i instead.
Thanks to a new deal, the RTX 3070 Ti-powered Lenovo Legion 5 Pro gaming laptop has drawn a bit closer to the US$1,400 mark (Image: Lenovo)
The powerful RTX 3070 Ti configuration of the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro comes with a decent 165Hz QHD display and a quick AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, which arguably makes this 16-inch gaming laptop a good purchase at US$1,439.
RTX 4000-powered gaming laptops are about to hit the store shelves pretty soon, but these well-performing new machines will probably need more time until they drop to more reasonable prices. Therefore, some deal hunters may still be in the market for a previous-gen machine like the sought-after Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, whose RTX 3070 Ti-powered configuration has now received one of its steepest discounts yet.
On eBay, the trustworthy online retailer Antonline currently sells the aforementioned Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, which sports a fast AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX octa-core processor and the well-known Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with a high TGP of 150 watts, for just US$1,439 including free shipping. This popular gaming laptop also comes with a 165Hz IPS display with a QHD resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels and a good peak brightness of up to 500 nits, which clearly separates the Legion 5 Pro from cheaper competitors. Furthermore, this variation is equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
In relation to the official list price, this deal offers US$760 or 35{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} in savings. We reviewed a similar configuration of the 2022 Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 7 a few months ago. Most notably, we were impressed by the high-quality screen and the easy serviceability, but we also liked the integrated numpad and the very fast charging speed of this RTX 3070 Ti gaming laptop. For a discounted deal price of US$1,439, Lenovo’s well-rounded gaming machine is a reasonable pick up for everyone who does not want to wait until the upcoming RTX 4000 notebooks get some noteworthy discounts.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
Enrico Frahn – Tech Writer – 1502 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
My fascination for technology goes back a long way to the Pentium II era. Modding, overclocking and treasuring computer hardware has since become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make the stressful college life so much easier. After I fell in love with the creation of digital content while working in a marketing position, I now scour the web to bring you the most exciting topics in the world of tech. Outside the office, I’m particularly passionate about motorsports and mountain biking.
