Lenovo's New Legion 7 Laptops Pack Serious Gaming Firepower With Alder Lake, Ryzen And GeForce
Lenovo is refreshing its "stylish and savage" Legion 7 series gaming laptops, and after seeing them in person and glossing over the specifications for each model, we're in total agreement—both the Legion 7/7i and Legion Slim 7/7i are sleek systems with some serious horsepower. They also come with desirable display options, including mini LED backlighting and up to a 240Hz refresh rate.
There are four base models in all, including the Legion 7, Legion 7i, Legion Slim 7, and Legion Slim 7i. Models with the "i" designation are built around Intel's 12th Gen Core Alder Lake-H/HX platform, while the regular 7 editions pack AMD's Ryzen 6000H/HX series processors based on its latest generation Zen 3+ refresh.
These are ground-up refreshes in terms of the hardware and some of the features. The main difference between the Legion 7/7i and Legion Slim 7/7i is that the former is designed for maximum performance and is being pitched as the "world's most powerful 16-inch gaming laptop."
The Legion 7i can be configured with a Core i7-12800HX or Core i9-12900HX processor, while the Legion 7 offers Ryzen 7 6800H and Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU options. There are some key differences between the two that extend beyond on the platform, though.
Both variants come with 16GB or 32GB of DDR5-4800 memory, though the Intel models offer an optional overclocked upgrade to 5600 MT/s. All of the models can be outfitted with a 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB PCIe SSD too. And for the graphics, Lenovo pairs the Intel chips with a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti or GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and the AMD models tout Radeon RX 6700M and Radeon RX 6850M GPU options.
There are different display options too, all of which are 16-inch IPS panels with a 2560x1600 resolution (16:10 aspect ratio). For the Intel laptops, buyers can choose between a 240Hz panel with 100% sRGB, 3ms response time, 500 nits, DisplayHDR 400 certification, Dolby Vision, and G-Sync, and the same specs but with a 165Hz refresh rate. And for AMD, it's the same two options, except swap out G-Sync for FreeSync.
Lenovo also told us about a mini-LED option on the 7/7i with a 165Hz refresh rate, but on the spec sheet provided to us, it only shows up for the Slim models.
The port selection varies, too...
Legion 7i (Left) / Legion 7 (Right)
The difference for wired connectivity comes down to the left-side ports, in which the Legion 7i with Intel inside features a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, whereas the Legion 7 with AMD hardware sports a couple of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports and a USB4 port on the left. For wireless connectivity, the Legion 7i offers a few more options, though all the laptops feature Wi-Fi 6E.
Other features include reactive RGB lighting, curved keycaps with WASD Force Sensor technology and optional swappable keys, a Full HD webcam, an improved hinge and I/O dashboard, and a 99.99 Whr battery, which Lenovo says is the "largest legally allowed" for a laptop. It all comes wrapped in an aluminum and magnesium aerospace grade metal unibody design with CNC metal trim. The laptops measure 14.1 x 10.37 x 0.76 inches and weight 5.5 pounds.
The Legion 7i will be available in May starting at $2,499 and the Legion 7 in June starting at $2,059.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7 And Legion Slim 7i Specs And Features
As you might expect, the Legion Slim 7 and Legion Slim 7i are thinner and lighter models. They measure 14.08 x 10.8 x 0.67 inches and weigh 4.5 pounds, so they're a full pound lighter than the regular Legion 7/7i laptops. They're still pretty potent, though, at least on paper.
The Legion Slim 7i can be configured with a Core i9-12900HK, Core i7-12700H, or Core i5-12500H processor and GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3060, or GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics. As for the Legion Slim 7, users can opt for a Ryzen 9 6900HX, Ryzen 7 6800H, or Ryzen 5 6600H, paired with a Radeon RX 6800S or Radeon RX 6600S GPU.
For RAM and storage, Lenovo solders an 8GB DDR5-4800 model to the motherboard, which users can upgrade to 16GB or 24GB with an additional removable module. The same storage options are available—512GB, 1TB, and 2TB SSD.
Users have a few more 16-inch display options to choose from here. On the Intel configs, there are four panel choices...
- 2650x1600, mini LED, 165Hz, 3ms, 100% DCI-P3, 1250 nits, DisplayHDR 1000
- 2650x1600, 240Hz w/ VRR, 3ms, 100% sRGB, 500 nits, DisplayHDR 400, G-Sync
- 2560x1600, 165Hz, 3ms, 100% sRGB, 500 nits, DisplayHDR 400, G-Sync
- 1920x1200, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, 350 nits
Options are similar for the AMD configs, except the mini LED panel is not available and G-Sync gets traded for FreeSync.
Buyers will have to pay a bit more attention to the model they are buying, because some of the options are noticeably different. Namely, Lenovo's offering both 720p and 1080p webcam options, and both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E options on the AMD setups (all of the Intel models feature Wi-Fi 6E).
The Legion Slim 7i will be available in May starting at $1,589 and the Legion Slim 7 in June starting at $1,519.
