Legion has been the familiar brand of the Lenovo manufacturer for a few years for its pure gaming equipment. This segment is continuously growing and without a ceiling for now, in addition to a lot of variety for the consumer.
Its latest novelty, the seventh generation Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 16, is presented in society as an update of the previous generation both at the design level, with necessary touches to improve, and inside, where the new Intel processors and the More powerful graphics from Nvidia make an appearance. We have already tried it.
Screen 16:10 at 165Hz
The 16:10 format and the 16-inch diagonal are the solid foundation of the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro at the screen level. It does so with an IPS WQHD + panel (2560 x 1600 pixels) where the high brightness of 500 nits stands out (very regular throughout its surface), allowing it to be certified VESA DisplayHDR 400.
The screen, with a matte finish that quite efficiently avoids uncomfortable reflections, covers 100% of the sRGB color spectrum and comes very well calibrated from the factory. It also has the possibility of configuring some of its parameters via the app.
Screen Management
The panel is also Dolby Vision and NVIDIA G-Sync compatible, and its refresh rate is fixed at a maximum of 165Hz. There’s a panel option up to 240Hz available as well, as well as a 1080p resolution display.
The screen of the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro offers a combination not very seen in this segment: 16 inches and 16:10 format.
For this Legion 5i Pro 16, the combination of its WQHD+ resolution and 165 Hz refresh rate is very successful and offers a wide range of possibilities beyond pure gaming. For precisely this area, Lenovo boasts a response time of 3 ms when we have the Overdrive mode active in Vantage, which manages to reduce the ghosting problem.
The screen offers a quality display in all situations, with good contrast, viewing angles, and color, also striking despite the use of the matte finish. And note that the reduced frames are very well achieved.
In addition to playing, when, as we will see, it is advisable to use sound (and insulating) headphones, this Lenovo laptop is suitable for viewing multimedia content, an aspect that has been thought of by placing two stereo speakers with 2 W of power each one and located at the bottom of the casing.
The result is acceptable globally, but we miss something more forceful from the bass. For the management of good aspects, we have the Nahimic technology that adds a lot of value.
One of the most powerful laptops on the market
Speaking of a gaming laptop, the interior counts a lot. Lenovo, like other manufacturers, has been introducing AMD in the equation of possible configurations for this family. Still, the specific model of the seventh generation of the Legion 5i Pro that we have tested is the one that launches the 12th generation Intel processors.
The Intel Core i7-12700H of this Lenovo Legion i5 Pro offers outstanding performance and becomes one of the best value-for-money options on the gaming market.
Although we can configure the equipment with up to a Core i9-12900H, the version we have tested has an Intel Core i7-12700H combined with 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5 4800 MHz SoDIMM RAM and an SSD M .2 2TB. Both modules, both for RAM and internal memory, are accessible by the user if the bottom cover is opened and can be changed.
At the design level, we must highlight the two tones of the color of the casing. The back of the screen, where the logo of the Lenovo Legion family is placed, as well as the interior and part of the sides, are a classic gray. In contrast, the lower part of the chassis of this laptop, along with the area of the sides with fans and the back of the screen, are finished in a darker tone that gives it a very curious and attractive appearance.
The two-tone case is one of the visual attractions of this Lenovo Legion.
A good part of the lines of work at the design level that fit this Legion 5i Pro 16 so well is motivated by the cooling needs that a laptop of this type demands. We have, for example, large air outlets.
Another detail that adds to the design: is the side air vents that protrude slightly and are also in a different tone
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro has two on the sides (protruding slightly). Te, and in another tone as we have indicated, giving it a more aggressive appearance) and two others in the rear of the chassis. And there are also air intakes in the lower part, which are slightly raised thanks to wide rubber feet that give the equipment extra stability when we have it on a table, as well as an operating margin for the speakers located in the lower part. Bottom of the chassis, as we will see later.
Due to these large fan zones on the sides, Lenovo has moved almost all this laptop’s connectivity to the rear. Ideal for enjoying this equipment at home with more or less fixed connectivity, but less perfect when we are on the move.
On the sides, this Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 16 offers two USB-C ports on the left (one Thunderbolt 4 and the other USB 3.2 Gen2 with DisplayPort 1.4) and a USB-A 3.2 Gen1 on the right, where we also find the socket—combined with headphones, microphone, and the switch to lock the computer’s webcam electronically.
Already in the back and as a hub, we find two USB-A 3.2 Gen1 ports, a USB-C (3.2 Gen2 with DisplayPort 1.4 and power supply), an Ethernet port, and an HDMI. Also in this area is the proprietary power port of the equipment’s serial charger.
The direct connectivity of the equipment is concentrated in the back, with unambiguous identification of each connector.
Wireless connectivity is fixed by the Intel adapter that turns this laptop into a 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 axes) device in addition to Bluetooth 5.1.
At this point, we expected a higher quality webcam, especially an integrated fingerprint reader, which we miss a lot.
About this Lenovo Legion 5i Pro, we want to leave two more notes in this section. First, the absence of a fingerprint reader is surprising (the power button centered on the keyboard and under the brand logo seemed ideal to implement one).