Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Review: Power Behind Legions!
Retail Price: $1,799
Disclaimer: Lenovo sent us a unit of the Legion 5i Pro free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.
Product Specs +
- 16-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS display
- Intel Core i7-12700H Processor
- Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB GPU
- Windows 11 OS
- Up to 165 Hz refresh rate
- 16 GB of RAM
- 2 TB of SSD storage
- 720p Camera
Last year, I reviewed the Legion 5 Pro, which I was actually quite impressed with. I loved the ability to have a very capable gaming and work laptop all-in-one. This year, Lenovo refreshed the lineup with the Legion 5i Pro 7th Gen, which we will be talking about today. With 12th gen Intel processors and a new option for GPU, is the 5i Pro a step up?
A Similar Look to Its Predecessor
Not much has changed in form and function
At initial glance, this year’s Legion 5i looks almost exactly like its predecessor, the Legion 5 6th Gen. There are really no major physical changes and honestly, I’m okay with it. The storm gray color is the same, making it perfectly blend in for a work or school setting. While Razer’s laptops are notoriously sleek looking with vivid RGB colors, the Legion 5i keeps to itself and is less flashy despite its very capable gaming power. The only indicator of its branding is the Legion logo stamped along the top of the laptop in addition to a Lenovo tag on the bottom right of the keyboard. Weighing in at a little over five pounds, it would be on the heavier end to carry around to campus all day, especially with the heavyweight charging brick, but the body does feel solid and sturdily built.
The Legion 5i Pro still features the same TrueStrike keyboard with fully programmable RGB backlighting, but I have personally always thought the backlit keyboard on the Legion laptops were more muted and less distracting compared to some other gaming laptop brands. This may or may not be to different peoples’ tastes, however, once again, this does allow the device to be adaptable for multiple functions. You aren’t bringing a blatantly flashy gaming rig to work or school like with an Alienware laptop. Typing on the keyboard has very much the same flavor as with other Legion devices - it gets the job done, but isn’t particularly memorable. While the keys are responsive and are 100% anti-ghosting, I prefer the typing experience on the Apple MacBook Air more than any other laptop. The keys encompass your fingertips in a curved manner, making it easier to type on. Typing comfort clearly isn’t the 5i Pro’s main priority, but to me, there is a systematic difference between a keyboard for typing and a keyboard for gaming. Yet, some gaming keyboards adapt well for both typing and for gaming controls. Nevertheless, I still very much appreciate the full num pad and spacious layout. It’s not a bad board.
I am a huge fan of the massive trackpad on the Legion 5i Pro. It is very comfortable to use and fantastic for browsing. It’s not necessarily click-y, but I love how spacious and responsive it is. While most users will be connected to a mouse when gaming, it’s great to see a solid trackpad that can handle the operation of Windows reliably and satisfactory.
Just like last year’s model, we have quite a few ports including a Thunderbolt 4, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, an e-shutter switch, a headphone jack, an HDMI port, and an AC adapter and RJ45 port. This is plenty enough to plug in for what you need for gaming and even professional uses.
I’ve always been a fan of the vent placements on the Legion laptops. Not only do their designs help make the device look sleeker, but the vents on these gaming laptops work incredibly effectively too. There’s two vents along the sides of the laptop, towards the top when opened up, in addition to the vents on the bottom as well. They’re aesthetically pleasing to the eye because they mesh well with the overall design of the Legion brand. During my time with the laptop, I noticed that this design allowed for plenty of space for the laptop to breathe and stay cool as needed, especially thanks to the additional rubber bottom feet that helps raise the device. While you do hear the fans run loudly to keep up with tasks, and the laptop does get slightly warm at times, it is still a comfortable temperature and also never too loud to become a distraction. Lenovo claims this year’s upgrade has a 140% more powerful fan system with 40% thinner fan blades than last year’s model.
What's on the Inside
Without a doubt, the performance of the Legion 5i is spectacular. I don’t have a lot of time to play games for leisure anymore, but I did dedicate a significant chunk of my limited time with this laptop brawling with Warner Bros. MultiVersus. The Super Smash clone played seamlessly smooth and I came across no lag or dips in frame rate during gameplay at high settings at all. I’m confident in this laptop’s ability to play any current AAA-title with properly adjusted settings for 1080p and Quad HD.
The high performance of the Legion 5i comes from a combined force of the 12th Gen Core i7 processor and also an NVIDIA graphics card as well. This particular version runs the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, but can also be configured with a 3050 for budgeting reasons. As a result, I can see this computer being used for students as well as business professionals working with large sets of data or requiring heavy engineering processes. It does have the raw power to be able to do both.
What truly sets the 5i apart from others though is in its crystal clear 16” display. I absolutely love how immersive the experience is when you’re watching or playing something on this laptop. The Legion 5i gives owners a quad HD plus display with up to 240 Hz refresh rate to feast their eyes upon. Colors are phenomenal and with the near bezel-less display, this is probably one of my favorite media experiences up to date. I found no bad viewing angles. While I haven’t been playing too wide of a variety of games on this, I have definitely watched my share of movies and YouTube videos on here. I am impressed with what I see. Colors are vivid but not overly saturated and there’s plenty of color range and depth to everything you’re looking at. If you’re using this outdoors, the Legion 5i’s IPS display uses their Dolby Vision with anti-glare tech. This gives you even more flexibility to take this thing outdoors to play with. Potentially the only thing someone might be missing from this experience is if you’re considering a 4k display option which still isn’t that common of a practice on laptops in 2022.
Other Features
Last year, I mentioned my disappointment with the sound quality of the Harman Kardon speakers on the Legion 5 Pro. Sound was loud but rather hollow and not as clear as I would have liked to hear from a laptop in that price range. Lenovo definitely upped their game in this rendition and swapped over to Nahimic Audio drivers, which I think is a noticeable improvement. Sound was clear, has lots of depth behind different levels, and uses 3D audio. It’s nice to see improvements in the refresh of products, especially with things that I saw as a weak point in previous years like this one. The Legion 5i also uses Bluetooth 5.1, making it smoother to connect to other gaming accessories like keyboards, mice, and bluetooth headsets.
The Legion 5i Pro’s camera still remains at a 720p resolution and continues to be just average. While it’ll be fine for the typical Zoom call with coworkers, I imagine those looking to record themselves more professionally, for say something like streaming, will use a separate webcam.
There’s also other Lenovo and Legion software that can improve (or downgrade) your experience as well. Lenovo Vantage and Legion Arena offer different tools for gaming adjustments and community building. The laptop also comes with three months of Xbox Game Pass, which might be beneficial to people incorporated in Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Battery Life
We still have a huge power brick to carry around
The Legion 5i Pro takes quite a bit to power it, hence the large 300W 20V charging brick it is paired with. This is pretty typical with gaming PCs of this magnitude, but does make it challenging in terms of transportation. Lenovo supports Rapid Charge on this laptop and advertises up to 5 hours of continuous playtime, but I’ve noticed significantly less even from just casual browsing and non-intensive usage. With a mixture of gameplay and other apps, I found myself having about 2-3 hours of battery life before needing to plug into a wall. Again, for those working on mostly stationary places, this is less of a concern but definitely a hassle if you’re someone who likes taking a laptop everywhere you go.
Final Thoughts
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is a powerful laptop, built for both work and play. For a gaming laptop, it’s priced just above the middle-tier range, starting at $1,300. For this particular configuration, MSRP is at about $1,800. I’ve found that it’s really quite hard to go wrong with a Lenovo Legion laptop. They have a sturdy and well developed product reputation at this point and with what I deem to be fair price tags for a mixture of performance and build quality. The Legion 5i Pro is a solid option for those looking for a new gaming laptop with up to date specs. You won’t be disappointed with the immersive media experience on this device and despite some cons such as battery life and an average quality web camera, you receive a very solid gaming laptop in the 5i Pro. At the end of the day, most gamers will take those trade-offs in a heartbeat if it means they can experience their favorite games at a high quality.
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Lida
Always the number cruncher, the former narrative journalist turned data scientist, can’t help but find herself bursting with excitement with each new generation of tech gadgets. After all, predicting future trends is Lida’s forte. Any gadget that survives Lida’s torturous, adult working woman itinerary of over 700 notifications a day deserves praise!