Lenovo Legion 7i It is one of the last gaming laptop launched by Lenovo, successor of the excellent Legion Y740 and belonging to the category of light and compact gaming laptops. We got to try it, will it have convinced us? Let's find out together in the full review.
Lenovo Legion 7i: compact and robust
As anticipated, the new Lenovo Legion 7i is the successor to the Legion Y740. The authorship is noticeable, from the aesthetics to the quality of the materials, but with the new generation important improvements have been made. Among these we find the presence, finally, of the webcam on the top bezel of the screen and no longer on the lower one, a different RGB lighting system and above all the presence of 10 generation Intel Core processors. Lenovo has also embraced a wider audience by offering two different panels: 144Hz and 240Hz.
Lenovo Legion 7i is available in many configurations, starting from the Intel Core i5-10300H and GTX 1660Ti, up to an Intel Core i9-10980HK with the RTX 2080 Super. But wait before you cry for joy. Unfortunately in Italy only three configurations are available, all mount the Intel Core i7-10875H processor at 2.30Ghz. That base is equipped with Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card, the intermediate 2070 Super Max-Q and the top has an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q.
We tested the intermediate version, combined with 16GB of RAM, two 512GB and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSDs and a 15.6 '' fullHD panel.
If the first impression is what matters, Lenovo Legion 7i immediately appears incredibly elegant and compact. The aluminum body and the reduced thickness - if we think that we are talking about a gaming laptop - lead this model to tread the thin line that separates the professional and business sector from the gamer one. The feeling of elegance is also confirmed by the presence of the logo positioned laterally, instead of in the center like many gaming laptops.
The only flaw of the upper body is that it holds the fingerprints very much and when you go to clean it, you will have to be very careful not to leave streaks, as you can see from the image above.
A complete set of ports
As for the port equipment, on the right we find a USB 3.1 Gen 1. On the left, however, we find two USB-C type (one also Thunderbolt) and the 3.5mm audio jack. The rest of the doors are placed on the back, like the predecessor. Indeed here we find HDMI, ethernet, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Lenovo's iconic rectangular port for power. The whole lower body has an RGB LED strip, which reflects the light also inside the side doors. The rear grilles, which deal with heat dissipation, are also equipped with RGB lighting, customizable through Corsair iCUE software.
Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard, also backlit with RGB LEDs, is the new one TrueStrike from Lenovo, which offers improved haptic feedback that we loved. Although the numeric keypad is present, the keys are of a good size and very comfortable to press. Typing on this keyboard is a real pleasure.
The trackpad is also very comfortable and generously sized. At a glance it is slightly larger than the trackpads present on 15.6 '' laptops, but this need not worry you: in case you use an external mouse and do not want to touch the trackpad in gaming sessions, you can deactivate it with a button.
Display
Our model comes with a pannello fullHD IPS a 144Hz, with HDR 400, G-Sync, less than 1ms response time and 500 nits of brightness. The yield is excellent, both during gaming sessions and during productivity ones. The display has a good anti-glare filter and excellent viewing angles. Lenovo, among the various configurations on the market, also offers the 240Hz panel with 1ms of response time and up to 500 nits of brightness. The 240Hz display also stops at fullHD resolution, but we feel that 4K is hardly recommended in 15.6 '' laptops, as there is no real difference.
Above the display is the webcam a 720p, equipped with a plastic cover that allows you to hide the sensor.
The performance of Lenovo Legion 7i
As far as performance is concerned, this Legion 7i performs very well. Thanks to the combo between the latest generation i7-10875H processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, we were able to enjoy long gaming sessions without lag or jamming. From Assassin's Creed Odyssey - averaging 58fps on ultra high settings - and Fortnite to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
A note on the heat dissipation, which never brings the laptop to high temperatures, and the ventilation system prevents the keyboard and trackpad from overheating. This is excellent news since in gaming laptops the sore point is often the high body temperature during gaming. As for the internal temperature, both in the game and in the stress productivity phases, the CPU and GPU, respectively, reached an average of 94 ° and 85 °.
This Lenovo comes with three energy profiles: Performance, Balance and Quiet, the first focuses entirely on performance, the second is balanced mode and the third is silent. In general, however, Legion 7i is a very quiet device despite its hardware configuration and very slim form factor. Fan noise is barely audible in Quiet mode, while Balanced and Performance get a little louder, but nothing annoying.
Lenovo Vantage, the software that allows you to customize the use of the laptop
From a software perspective, the laptop is equipped with Lenovo Vantage, which gives you access to various settings. You can optimize the network by upgrading it, set some applications to close when a game starts, activate hybrid mode or lock the touchpad. Also you can check the usage of GPU, CPU and RAM and other parameters. Some other preloaded software are McAfee LiveSafe and Corsair iCUE - which allows you to customize your laptop's RGB LEDs and synchronize them with compatible devices.
Discount
Corsair K68 RGB Tastiera Meccanica Gaming Cherry MX Red,...
- Linear and fast German Cherry MX Red switches with no audible click; the characteristics of the linear switches combined with a ...
- Bright RGB backlighting for each key - virtually unlimited lighting customization
- Or use a variety of built-in pre-installed effects
Autonomy with some surprises
At first we were disappointed with the autonomy of this Lenovo Legion, which took us the first few days to a battery life of just two hours when playing videos from YouTube. After some tests we noticed that by closing the iCUE process, the software that manages the RGB LEDs, the autonomy was even tripled. In particular by disabling the service “Corsair Service”, the problem of high consumption disappears, even though the RGB LEDs can still be managed. We hope that a solution will arrive soon, perhaps through a software update.
Once this problem has been eliminated, with Lenovo Legion 7i we got about 7 hours streaming video via YouTube, which is not bad as a result, but from the 4Wh 80-cell battery we expected something more. The company also claims that the gaming laptop recharges from 0% to 50% in less than 30 minutes and we can confirm this.
Buy it or not?
We liked Lenovo Legion 7i a lot in terms of performance, especially when gaming. It manages to run even the heaviest games well, managing temperatures and fan speeds - which is autonomous and not modifiable by the user. The design is very elegant and compact, despite the presence of RGB LEDs practically everywhere. The provision of ports, including HDMI, ethernet, USB 3.1 and type-C, makes everyone agree. As for autonomy, we were hoping for something more.
Another sore point is the price: in Italy the basic configuration, with i7-10875H, 16GB of RAM and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 costs €2399,00 on the Lenovo official website. The version we tested, which is the intermediate one, is sold at €2899,00, up to the best performing one sold to €3499,00. Despite the performance up to par, we believe that the price is slightly high compared to the hardware it mounts.
Lenovo Legion 7i
Pro 
- Great display
- Good performance
- Complete set of doors
Cons 
- Autonomy below average
- A little too expensive
