Lenovo introduces its new Legion racing beasts for gamers

After its new Yoga machines, Lenovo today unveiled the latest generation of its Legion 7 gaming laptop range. On the program: the Lenovo Legion 7 and 7i, two beautiful 16-inch beasts presented as “the most powerful gaming laptops in the world” in this category.

There are no major changes in terms of design. We note however that the machine has been very slightly refined, with now 19mm at the hinge. The design also has some slight differences, especially at the rear panel where the connectors have been gathered in a large notch.

But on the whole, Lenovo has recovered the traditional codes of the range. We find the rather minimalist and elegant magnesium and aluminum chassis. Only the few RGB keys on the keyboard, the LEGION logo and the side and rear facades betray its gaming identity; a good point for those who appreciate sober machines rather than spaceships all dressed in LEDs.

A wide choice of tiles from mid to high end

Regarding the screen, these models are both 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, there is a panel (1920 x 1200) IPS at 165 Hz which covers 100% of the sRGB gamut, but delivers only 350 nits of brightness. More 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 panel of the 7i model, on the other hand, is more impressive. The basic model is exactly the same as on the first model. On the other hand, it can afford a superb WQXGA Mini-LED panel (2560 x 1600 at 165 Hz) with a plump technical 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 potential black points of this panel depending on the player profile: the absence of an OLED option and the response time, which remains at 3ms on all models.

Analog ZQSD keys

Then let’s go down one floor to get to the keyboard. We find the same layout as on its predecessor, with these slightly offset arrow keys and a numeric keypad in good and due form.

But there are still a few new things to note. The travel of the keys has been extended overall to save space in order to install its Force Sensor technology. Concretely, 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 more or less hard on the keys concerned. A feature that will certainly be very anecdotal for the majority of players, but which some may still find useful.

Latest generation hardware

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

In both cases, the machine will be entitled to an impressive arsenal; as you might expect, it inherits a latest generation CPU. In this case, it is a Ryzen 7 6800H or a Ryzen 9 6900HX. Same observation for the dedicated graphics card, with a Radeon RX 6850M XT or 6700M. The 7i has nothing to be ashamed of since it inherits a 12th generation Intel Core (i9-12900 HX 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 clocked at 4800 MHz. The set will be completed by a 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD. In all cases, these are high-end components that will have no trouble running the most demanding games. 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 a new model of vapor chamber. The brand has also refined the blades of its fans and added vents under the keyboard. Modifications that should improve the airflow, with high thermal performance at the key.

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

Connectivity level, the two models are almost identical. At the back, there are two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a full-size HDMI 2.1 socket. The right side houses a 4-in-1 SD card reader and a 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 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C socket compatible DisplayPort. 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 find the Wi-Fi 6E, but the technical sheet makes no mention of any Bluetooth connection. An element that should be checked before going to checkout.

The Legion 7 and Legion 7i will be priced at €2599 and €2999 respectively. The Slim versions, for their part, will be displayed at €1899 for the Slim 7 and €1999 for the Slim 7i.