Lenovo Legion is coming out with a new batch of gaming laptops with new generation hardware and they are looking mighty, mighty tempting. Might be good to snap these up because we are in the middle of a silicon shortage and these laptops might be a fantastic alternative to building your own rig.
In a nutshell, the new laptops have better resolution displays, AI-bolstered thermal cooling, framerate customization, AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series mobile processors, and NVIDIA 3000 series cards. They are coming out with a new Legion 5, Legion 5 Pro, and the flagship Lenovo 7 notebooks.
"Our latest Legion devices are battle-ready to let users easily breeze through the most demanding requirements for work and play. Continuing on the promise of innovation and smarter technology for all, the new PCs enable seamless play using technologies such as AI to make the most out of the instant responsiveness and accelerated performance from AMD and NVIDIA's newest gaming processors. Together with the help of our strategic partners, we are in a fantastic position to further build a gaming reputation based on continuous innovation"
Michael Ngan, Lenovo Philippines President and General Manager
Let's talk spec highlights:
AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series Mobile Processors
This is a relatively new processor, with AMD's Zen 3 Core Architecture, and this Legion line is among the first batch to actually ship with it. They are equipped with 8 cores, but they are super ultra-thin.
Lenovo Legion 5
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series GPUs
The 3000 series from NVIDIA is really impressive, just from a personal perspective. Having these bad boys inside a laptop can only mean that the performance gap between full towers and mobile laptops is getting way smaller. If you're unfamiliar with the pedigree of the 3000 series, here's a quick rundown - 3rd generation RTX (it sort of works now!), 2nd gen tensor cores, NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 (this is the real game-changer here, I swear). DLSS uses AI to enhance graphics without sacrificing performance. It is what made my Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough bearable.
Lenovo Legion AI Engine
Supporting 16 triple-A titles (at launch at least, it could definitely get patched to add more), Lenovo Legion AI Engine enables your machine to optimize gaming performance. It combines hardware, software, and AI to auto-overclock your machine for best performance. It does so by routing the most ideal TDP settings to the CPU and GPU.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
Coldfront 3.0 Thermal Management System
One of the bigger problems that most gaming laptops face is the thermals - especially with better and more powerful internals that require more juice, it stands to reason that they also put out more heat. And with form factors like gaming laptops, dissipating that heat is always going to be a challenge. The new laptop lineup utilizes AI to help keep temps down by increasing the intake of air up to 18% more compared to the last generation. If you're thinking to just keep airflow maxed out at all times, not only would that be incredibly inefficient and annoyingly loud, it's also a sure fire way to wear out your fans way quicker than need be. With an intelligent system like this, the intake is managed automatically.
16" QHD Displays
Typically, when we say QHD, we mean 1440p, which is 2560 x 1440, but the Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 actually ship with even higher resolutions at 2560 x 1600. They're the first 16" laptops to do so. Sometimes that's a good thing because you get more pixels per inch, but there might be games that just don't support 16:10 and you'll get weird black bars - but that's probably only going to happen to older titles and some indie stuff. They also come with 165Hz refresh rate, 100%sRGB, 500 nits of brightness IPS panels. The Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 also have 3ms response time and are G-Sync compatible.
Nahimic Audio
The new Legions' Harman speakers are optimized with Nahimic Audio, which enables more precise positional audio. If anything, I was super impressed with the speakers on the Lenovo Legion 5i, so the sounds coming from this new lineup must be amazing.
Lenovo Legion 7
Upgraded Lenovo Vantage
Usually, software that ships with laptops are considered bloatware, but I am thoroughly impressed with Vantage. It really does feel like a simplified, centralized control system for your machine. And now the new lineup comes with Vantage Smart Performance Services, which aims to reduce PC downtime by scanning, detecting, and removing traces of spyware, malware, and adware. So, essentially Vantage also now has its own virus protection.
3- Year Premium Care Warranty
If you're spending this much on a machine, you better get that extended warranty. And speaking of pricing:
Lenovo Legion 5 - Php 74,995 (~$1,570) - comes in Stingray White and Phantom Blue and bundled with a free Legion Recon Gaming backpack. Available Q2 2021.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro - Php 84,995 (~$1,800) - comes in Storm Grey and bundled with a free Legion Recon Gaming backpack. Available NOW
Lenovo Legion 7 - Php 139,995 (~$2,930) - comes in Storm Grey and bundled with a free Legion Recon Gaming backpack. Available H1 2021.
To celebrate the arrival of its new gaming lineup, Lenovo is holding its Legion Ultimate Upgrade Promo. From May 7 to May 31, 2021, customers who purchase participating products are entitled to a Legion Upgrade Pass that can have up to PHP 66,995 worth of gaming freebies. Every purchase is eligible for one Upgrade Pass and to claim, customers must visit legion.lenovo.com/promotions and provide purchase details.