Lenovo Legion 7 (Gen 6) review: The AMD system adds battery life and costs less, but it lacks some features
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Reddish and greenishLenovo Legion seven (Gen 6) review: The AMD arrangement adds battery life and costs less, but it lacks some features
Lenovo's quest for mobile gaming supremacy continues with the AMD-powered Legion 7, at present refreshed for a sixth generation. 
Source: Windows Central
Lenovo'southward Legion lineup of gaming PCs has come a long manner over the concluding five or so years. In the example of the flagship Legion 7, now in its sixth generation, this has culminated in a modernistic design with tons of optional RGB lighting, a robust cooling system that can continue up with top-finish operation hardware, and a gorgeous 16:10 display with QHD+ resolution. I've been putting this laptop to the test for the last week to see where it excels, where it falls short, and whether information technology can keep up with its Legion siblings.
Cerise and greenish flavors
Lenovo Legion 7 (Gen half dozen)
Bottom line: The AMD-based Legion 7 (Gen half dozen) doesn't quite take the same level of raw performance equally the Intel organization, and it doesn't have PCIe four.0 or Thunderbolt. But it does offer amend battery life and a lower toll for high-end models.
Pros
- Stable, high-finish performance
- xvi:ten QHD+ brandish is tops
- Impressive audio quality and volume
- Keyboard and touchpad handle gaming AND productivity
- More affordable than Intel version
Cons
- No Thunderbolt, IR camera, or fingerprint reader
- Only 1 display option
- Bombardment functioning unimpressive
- Camera simply 720p
- PCIe 3.0 storage but
Lenovo Legion vii (Gen half dozen): Price, availability, and specs
Source: Windows Key
Lenovo supplied Windows Central with a review unit of measurement of the sixth-gen Lenovo Legion 7. Information technology has inside an AMD Ryzen ix 5900HX octa-core processor (CPU), 32GB of dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz RAM, a 1TB Thousand.2 PCIe iii.0 solid-state bulldoze (SSD), and an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Laptop graphics card (GPU), the mobile version of our pick for best graphics bill of fare. You can also get this laptop with NVIDIA RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Laptop GPUs, likewise as AMD's Ryzen seven 5800H CPU.
There is only one sixteen-inch display option bachelor for the Legion 7 AMD model. It has a xvi:ten aspect ratio, 2560x1600 (QHD+) resolution, Dolby Vision, DisplayHDR 400, and more. This verbal review model currently costs about $2,650 at Lenovo. A like Legion 7i (Gen 6) model with Intel Cadre i9-11980HK, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and NVIDIA RTX 3080 Laptop GPU costs nigh $2,910 at Lenovo.
Models start at about $1,440 at Lenovo, which lands y'all the Ryzen 7 CPU, RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB Thou.2 PCIe SSD. Lenovo's official site has the all-time configuration options — yous can sort of build your ain laptop as budget allows — though you tin besides discover pre-configured models at third-party retailers like Amazon and Newegg.
Following are the exact specifications as establish in my review unit.
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Bone | Windows 10 Home New models ship Windows 11 |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen ix 5900HX 8 cores, xvi threads Upward to 4.6GHz |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4-3200MHz Dual-channel CL22 Upgradeable |
| Graphics | NVIDIA RTX 3080 Laptop 16GB GDDR6 VRAM 165W |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD Two M.2 slots Upgradeable |
| Display | 16 inches 16:10 aspect ratio 2560x1600 (QHD+) Non-touch, 500 nits Anti-glare 165Hz, Dolby Vision DisplayHDR 400 G-Sync Ten-Rite Pantone scale |
| Ports | USB-C three.2 (Gen 1) Two USB-C 3.2 (Gen ii) Three USB-A iii.2 (Gen 1) HDMI ii.i RJ45 Ethernet iii.5mm audio combo |
| Audio | Dual 2W speakers Nahimic audio Harman speakers |
| Connectivity | Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 Bluetooth v.i |
| Camera | Front-facing 720p Due east-photographic camera shutter |
| Keyboard | TrueStrike Corsair iCUE RGB 1.3mm travel |
| Touchpad | Precision |
| Battery | 80Wh 300W Air conditioning adapter |
| Dimensions | 14.17 x x.23 x 0.79-0.93 inches (360mm x 260mm x 20.one-23.5mm) |
| Weight | 5.5 pounds (2.5kg) |
| Color | Storm Grey |
| Material | Aluminum |
RGB infusion
Lenovo Legion seven (Gen 6): Design and features
Source: Windows Central
The Legion seven is Lenovo's superlative-of-the-line gaming laptop, and its structure and design reflect this position. Its chassis is fabricated entirely of aluminum, with some depression-profile poly exhaust vents on the sides and back. The lid is flat, the rear port bank is squared off, and the general wedge shape helps give it a slimmer look. The laptop measures 0.93 inches (23.5mm) at its thickest signal.
The extensive RGB lighting tin turn the Legion 7 into a throbbing arena, if that's your sort of matter.
Customizable RGB lighting is baked into all four master exhaust vents, and there's a ring of lighting around the front end and sides of the chassis. These lights, along with the per-fundamental keyboard RGB lighting, are customizable through Corsair's included iCUE app. Holding down the Fn key highlights on the keyboard all possible shortcuts. The laptops is a sight to behold when all the RGB lighting is synced upwardly together, only you can quickly disable it completely or set it up equally a static color in more professional person settings.
Lenovo's TrueStrike keyboard is standard in the Legion vii. It'south not a mechanical keyboard, but it offers 100% anti-ghosting, fairly business firm actuation, and a soft landing when typing. The i.3mm of key travel prevents fatigue if you plan on using the laptop for productivity work as well. A full number pad is included, into which you can assign custom macros with the Lenovo Vantage app.
Source: Windows Central
Good use is made of the space beneath the keyboard. The Precision touchpad is oversized, it tracks smoothly thanks to the glass finish, and it can be disabled quickly with a built-in shortcut. Above the keyboard is a circular power button that also denotes which power mode the laptop is currently using. White is Counterbalanced, red is Operation, and blueish is Serenity. Surrounding the power button are some pinholes that may offer a fleck of actress ventilation.
The organisation'southward speakers reside on the forepart bottom edges. On each side is a 2W speaker with Nahimic Audio tuning. Stock audio is exceptional, even before I bothered tuning anything with the included app. Games are loud, and at that place'due south enough bass to make explosions pop. Music is clear with practiced treble rest. And in that location's no distortion no matter the volume. Y'all're yet going to desire to choice up one of the all-time PC gaming headsets for competitive play, merely otherwise the speakers practice a corking chore.
Ports live mostly along the back edge of the laptop, where the chassis is extended beyond the screen'due south hinges. White LED symbols are situated higher up each port to arrive easier to plug things in if yous're standing over the laptop. Information technology'due south a nice little addition that goes a long fashion.
Source: Windows Central
The back of the PC has three USB-A ports, HDMI ii.1, USB-C, RJ45 Ethernet, and the proprietary Lenovo power connector. The left side has another USB-C port and a three.5mm sound jack, while the right side has a USB-C port and an E-shutter switch for the webcam. The lack of Thunderbolt four is a shame, but it'due south the norm with AMD systems. Wireless advice includes Killer Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth five.1.
The laptop's raised communication bar above the screen houses a front-facing 720p camera and microphone. The E-shutter works flawlessly, calculation some extra privacy when the camera isn't in use. There are no biometric security measures included here; even a fingerprint reader would exist appreciated. The photographic camera could no doubt also stand up to be FHD at this toll, specially due to the popularity of streaming. The stock HD camera isn't particularly bad, simply 1 of the best standalone webcams will exercise a much ameliorate job.
One great screen
Lenovo Legion 7 (Gen 6): Display
Source: Windows Cardinal
The Legion 7's xvi-inch display has the specs and colour to make your games look their best.
Whereas the Intel-based Legion 7i (Gen six) has three brandish options listed in some documentation, the AMD model has merely one. To be fair, the Legion 7i seems to only exist aircraft with this same display in most markets. Offer more screen variety would likely help sell the system for design and development work. However, the screen that is existence offered is no slouch.
The Legion 7'southward xvi-inch IPS brandish has a 16:10 aspect ratio, anti-glare finish, about 550 nits brightness (as tested), and DisplayHDR 400. The refresh charge per unit is set at a blistering 165Hz, which looks fantastic at the 2560x1600 resolution. Dolby Vision makes uniform content expect even amend, and NVIDIA K-Sync helps cut out whatsoever screen trigger-happy.
I tested the display with a SpyderX Pro colorimeter, getting back 100% sRGB, fourscore% AdobeRGB, and 80% DCI-P3 color reproduction. Ten-Rite Pantone manufactory colour calibration is likewise included. These are the right numbers for gaming, though for design piece of work something with a higher AdobeRGB or P3 gamut might exist required.
Leave it plugged in
Lenovo Legion vii 16: Gaming
Source: Windows Key
The Legion 7's blueprint and display are both impressive, but gaming performance is really what most people are looking for. My review model is at the college end of what's bachelor from Lenovo, but the ColdFront 3.0 cooling system manages to keep everything in check. Removing the lesser panel of the laptop reveals a fairly substantial amount of metal shielding around the two fans. This hides the vapor chamber and estrus pipes, but likewise helps to disperse rut. The shielding is all a part of the cooling organization; you can't remove one with the other, every bit I quickly discovered during my teardown.
Lenovo's Vantage app holds well-nigh of the laptop'south performance settings, like network boost, auto close (tin exist set to shut apps when games launch), hybrid manner, screen overdrive, touchpad lock, and more than. Q Control 4.0 is too housed here, though you tin also toggle between Lenovo's power profiles using the Fn + Q keyboard shortcut. The Balanced profile includes an option for automated CPU and GPU performance tuning based on the game that's being played. I left it enabled while testing the laptop and saw no adverse furnishings.
Source: Windows Central
I get-go ran a lengthy stress examination to see how well the Legion seven handles heat and power. With Lenovo's Performance fashion enabled, the Ryzen 9 5900HX pulled about 60W of power while the RTX 3080 Laptop GPU sabbatum at about 135 to 140W. That'south lower than the 165W maximum for the GPU, though with the CPU not as taxed the GPU would have the overhead to striking its maximum TGP. The CPU sat at about 83 degrees Celsius, while the GPU sat at almost 71 C during the exam, with the fans hitting well-nigh 60 decibels at their elevation. Almost of the time they ran between 45 and 55 decibels. There was no thermal throttling any with Performance mode enabled.
I ran the stress test again using Lenovo's Balanced way. The CPU pulled between 55W and 60W of power, while the GPU moved between 130W and 140W. The CPU was a bit cooler at fourscore C while the GPU was a bit hotter at 75 C. Interestingly, fans peaked at about 47 decibels here despite temperatures beingness nigh the same. If yous're concerned about fan dissonance, you shouldn't observe a huge difference in performance when running in the quieter Counterbalanced mode.
I also ran some synthetic 3DMark benchmarks to see how the system compares to other laptops we've recently reviewed.
As with some of the other Legion laptops I've tested, including the Legion 5 Pro, CPU and GPU operation is severely compromised on bombardment ability. I ran Fourth dimension Spy again on bombardment power and got a score of 2,829, about a quarter of the effect on AC power. The Legion seven volition handle general productivity work without issue when running on battery, but in one case you enquire the CPU and GPU to both showtime working hard you'll want to keep the Ac adapter at hand.
Next I turned to some existent-world performance benchmarks with demanding games. I tested these using the native QHD+ resolution, with in-game settings by and large maxed out. The laptop was plugged in with Lenovo'south Performance fashion enabled. RTX ray tracing was disabled.
-
Far Cry 5: 93 FPS
-
Red Expressionless Redemption 2: 69 FPS (DLSS off), 81 FPS (DLSS Balanced)
-
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 99 FPS (DLSS off), 111 FPS (DLSS Counterbalanced)
These are solid results, though they don't quite match upward to the Legion 7i with its Cadre i9-11980HK CPU and RTX 3080 Laptop GPU. In any case, this is a loftier-cease gaming laptop with plenty of room to heave frame rates, whether by lowering the resolution or some in-game settings. Yous're going to accept a lot of fun with this laptop.
Decent battery life
Lenovo Legion seven (Gen 6): Performance and bombardment
Source: Windows Fundamental
Because the Legion seven has a comfortable keyboard, huge touchpad, color-calibrated display, and a lot of functioning overhead, information technology can also act as a PC for productivity, editing, and other more specialized work. That's where battery life mostly comes in, as you don't necessarily want to search out a plug every time you need to write some emails or stream a video.
With the laptop set to Improve Battery (Windows 10) and Balanced (Lenovo) power plans, I tested using PCMark 10's Modernistic Function battery rundown. With screen effulgence at about 250 nits, the Legion vii lasted 5 hours and 19 minutes on a charge. That could exist extended farther, though you lot would probable start to find some performance slowdown even for more general piece of work. That's about 30 minutes more than the Intel-based Legion 7i with similar performance hardware (Core i9, RTX 3080 Laptop) and the same display.
I ran some more benchmarks to run into how the Legion seven's storage and CPU hold up.
The Ryzen ix 5900HX is a hefty CPU that puts upward solid numbers, but overall performance was bottom than the i9-11980HK in the Legion 7i in nigh all tests. The Intel system also easily beats storage speeds thanks to the PCIe four.0 standard. Memory and storage are both upgradeable in the Legion 7. You tin easily admission both SODIMM RAM slots and both M.ii SSD slots afterward removing the lesser console.
Which is best for you?
Lenovo Legion 7 (Gen 6): Contest
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Fundamental
The Legion 7 (Gen half-dozen) sits at the tiptop of Lenovo's gaming lineup, alongside its Intel-based Legion 7i (Gen six) sibling.
The Legion 7i brings faster PCIe 4.0 storage, slightly improve CPU speeds, and the same loftier-stop characteristic set with RGB lighting, Tobii Horizon caput tracking, loud audio, and more. While baseline Legion 7i models start at the same toll as the Legion seven, scaling upwardly the performance hardware causes a significant price departure. A Legion 7i with Core i9, RTX 3080, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD costs about $ii,910, while a Legion seven with Ryzen 9 and otherwise similar hardware costs most $2,650. Lenovo's pricing fluctuates quite a chip, then this could change.
If you'd like something just a bit more portable, the Razer Blade 14 is another AMD-based gaming laptop with loftier-end features and specs. In classic Razer fashion information technology'due south an admittedly gorgeous PC with the latest CPUs and GPUs, as well as a bunch of high-end display options. It runs hot, but it's considerably more compact.
And if you'd similar to stick with a 16-inch gaming laptop, HP'due south Omen xvi is an affordable option. Models start about the $800 range, and at that place are a bunch of upgrades available. Choose from AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, AMD CPUs, FHD and QHD displays, and more. Have a look at our drove of the best gaming laptops for way more than options.
A lot of fun
Should you buy the Lenovo Legion vii (Gen six)?
Source: Windows Cardinal
Who it's for
- Those who can't live without a lot of RGB lighting
- Those who want a premium organization with premium performance
- Those who take more than than $i,450 to spend on a gaming laptop
- Those who want a QHD+ display with loftier refresh rate
Who it isn't for
- Those with less than $ane,450 to spend on a laptop
- Those who don't heed sticking with 1080p
- Those who adopt something more portable than a 16-inch laptop
The Legion 7 (Gen 6) with AMD processors is a loftier-finish gaming laptop that focuses on a premium build quality, outstanding display, and cool performance. In that location was no thermal throttling nether full load, though the fans did hit about 60 decibels. At to the lowest degree the built-in speakers are good enough to drown out the noise. Standing on its own it'due south an all-around great PC, just adjacent to its Legion 7i Intel counterpart, there are some things missing.
There'due south no Thunderbolt here; instead you get three USB-C ports. There's likewise no PCIe 4.0 storage pick, meaning y'all're "stuck" with PCIe iii.0 speeds. And, every bit measured in our testing, raw performance and real-world frame rates aren't quite the aforementioned from the AMD organisation. The tradeoff is some extra battery life, which could come in handy if yous're using the laptop for productivity work. And at that place'southward besides the fact that similarly spec'd high-terminate AMD models cost well-nigh $250 less than Intel models.
Bottom line? The Legion 7 (Gen half dozen) with AMD Ryzen is a worthy counterpart to the Legion 7i despite some of its shortcomings. For a basic configuration I'd recommend sticking with Intel due to the price parity, though for a loftier-end model the savings should mostly make upwardly for the lacking features.
Scarlet and light-green flavors
Lenovo Legion 7 (Gen half-dozen)
The Legion 7 (Gen 6) with AMD and NVIDIA hardware will crush modernistic games at 1600p on the gorgeous congenital-in display. It doesn't have quite the same level of ability or as many loftier-stop features every bit the Intel version, but it has better battery life and it costs less in the upper ranges.
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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-legion-7-g6-amd-review
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