Key specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H or Core i9-12900H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060/3070/3070 Ti
RAM: 16 GB or 32 GB
Storage: 512 GB or 1 TB
Display measurement: 16 in 2560 x 1600 IPS
Weight: 5.4 lbs (2.49 kg)
Dimensions: 14.7 x 10.4 x 1.05 in (360 x 264 x 27 mm)
Lenovo has an extended historical past of nice enterprise laptops and a more moderen fame for top-notch gaming {hardware}, so it’s no marvel that the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional tries to straddle each worlds. Which may sound odd on paper, but it surely is smart – numerous individuals use gaming laptops for work in addition to play as a result of they embody highly effective elements.
A machine just like the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional has the form of high-end internals that may scythe their method by way of programming and improvement, and it’s acquired the ability for after-hours gaming too. There’s tons to love elsewhere, from an immersive 16-inch show with a excessive decision to spectacular connectivity.
Costs for this rig begin at $2,079 within the U.S. and £1,799 within the U.Okay., and people are affordable figures contemplating the {hardware} inside even the entry-level Lenovo Legion 5i Professional. However can Lenovo’s newest laptop computer justify a spot in our run-down of the best laptops for coding and programming?
Lenovo Legion 5i Professional overview: Design & Options
- A mature exterior with a great deal of connectivity
- A quick, responsive keyboard with a quantity pad
- A physique that’s thicker and heavier than most rival machines
The Lenovo Legion 5i Professional doesn’t look as outlandish as many different gaming laptops, and that’s not essentially a foul factor – it’s a glossy rig produced from darkish aluminum, and its mature appears bode properly when you’ll have to leap between an workplace and a LAN occasion.
You’ll discover loads of connectivity alongside the delicate appears. On the left-hand aspect there are Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connectors, each of which sort out DisplayPort and energy supply, and on the right-hand aspect there’s a full-size USB port. On the rear there’s one other USB-C port that provides energy supply alongside two extra USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one in all which is all the time on for gadget charging.
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Elsewhere there’s an HDMI 2.1 port and a webcam with a privateness shutter, and on the within there’s Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band 802.11ax wi-fi, and Bluetooth 5.2. And, all through, your complete rig may be very sturdy.
There’s not a lot lacking, though it’s a disgrace the Legion doesn’t have biometric sign-in choices – the webcam doesn’t assist Home windows Hey and there’s no fingerprint reader.
The practicality continues to the keyboard. Its base is strong, and the buttons are quick and crisp. There’s a quantity pad, and also you get that candy RGB LED backlighting. It’s a wonderful typing unit. The trackpad isn’t nearly as good: it’s spongy and positioned awkwardly on the left-hand aspect of the laptop computer. We’d suggest utilizing a USB mouse as an alternative.
The one different design challenge comes on the scales. The Lenovo’s 16-inch body is 1.05 inches (27 mm) thick and weighs 5.4 lbs (2.49 kg), so it’s heavy in comparison with rivals. The Dell XPS 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 16, as an example, hover round 4.4 lbs and are each lower than 0.75 inches (19mm) thick.
Lenovo Legion 5i Professional overview: Specs & Efficiency
- Heaps of processing and gaming energy out there from all specs
- Respectable thermal efficiency, too – the Lenovo isn’t too sizzling or loud
- Intel’s processors compete properly with rival chips from Apple and AMD
Even the entry-level Lenovo affords ample energy for programming, improvement, and gaming. The $2,079/£1,799 mannequin contains an Intel Core i7-12700H processor, which has eight cores and a high velocity of 4.7 GHz – it’ll hammer by way of just about all content material creation and improvement instruments.
The Core i7 chip is quicker than AMD’s equal processors and it outpaces the Apple M1 and M2 CPUs in a great deal of essential duties, too. You’ll solely get extra grunt when you go for the Core i9-12900H, and it’s out there within the Lenovo’s £1,999 mannequin. Sadly, the Core i9 model isn’t at the moment out there within the U.S., and also you’ll solely want that CPU if you wish to run actually difficult software program.
There’s loads of energy on the graphics aspect, too. The entry-level mannequin contains an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, which is a mid-range core with 6 GB of devoted reminiscence. It’ll play the highest single-player video games at easy framerates with out a lot tinkering, and it’ll deal with esports video games on the speeds required by the 165 Hz show.
It’s additionally able to tackling graphical workloads, together with content material creation and rendering. As with the processor, you’ll solely want one thing beefier if you want to run actually demanding software program.
Fortunately, Lenovo has you coated. The agency’s $2,599/£1,899 mannequin combines the Core i7 processor with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. It’s a much more highly effective core, and it’ll run each sport at high settings for years into the long run – and it’ll tackle these more durable workloads. The Core i9-12900H laptop computer makes use of the RTX 3070, which simply sits behind the RTX 3070 Ti and delivers related efficiency.
The Lenovo Legion 5i Professional is offered with both 16 GB or 32 GB of reminiscence – the previous is okay for on a regular basis workloads whereas the latter is healthier for programming. There are 512 GB and 1 TB SSD choices, and when you’re snug with upgrades there’s a second SSD slot inside.
The Legion isn’t notably sizzling or loud, both. There’s definitely fan noise when you push the internals, but it surely’s by no means distracting. And whereas the underside does get sizzling, 16-inch portables have a tendency to take a seat on desks somewhat than laps – in order that’s not an issue.
Lenovo Legion 5i Professional overview: Display & Audio system
- Beneficiant decision and side ratio create an immersive expertise
- High quality ranges are good for mainstream work, with a great deal of brightness and nice distinction
- Doesn’t have the colour breadth for HDR and Adobe-based workloads
An rising variety of laptops, together with the Lenovo, now use a 16:10 side ratio somewhat than the standard 16:9. That’s nice as a result of it provides customers extra vertical house, which will increase usability – you’ll have extra space in browser home windows and apps and also you’ll see extra of your video games.
The 16-inch diagonal provides immersion when in comparison with conventional 15.6-inch shows, and the 2560 x 1600 is crisp – video games and apps look sharper than on 1080 p panels.
The Lenovo’s peak brightness degree of 476 nits means this laptop computer could be seen indoors and outdoors, and the distinction ratio sits at almost 1200:1 – so there’s loads of vibrancy. The delta E of two.11 means colours are correct, and the panel renders nearly the entire sRGB gamut.
For mainstream gaming, improvement, and programming the Legion’s display screen works properly. Keep in mind, although, that it doesn’t have the gamut skill to deal with the DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB coloration areas, so the Legion just isn’t appropriate for working in HDR environments or in Adobe’s design instruments.
The audio system are muddy within the mid-range and the bass might be extra distinct. A headset can be higher if you wish to take pleasure in audio. That stated, they’re tremendous for background music and on a regular basis gaming.
Lenovo Legion 5i Professional overview: Battery life
- As with most gaming laptops, count on an hour or two of longevity at peak efficiency
- You’ll get 4 to seven hours in less-demanding conditions
It’d take inspiration from its skilled stablemates, however the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional’s battery life sits firmly within the gaming camp.
In a modest work benchmark the Lenovo lasted for 4 hours and it ran video for seven hours. So, as with most different gaming laptops, count on half a day of use when you don’t push the {hardware}. However, if you wish to play video games the Legion will run out of juice after an hour, and in more durable work purposes it’ll handle two hours of use.
Lenovo Legion 5i Professional overview: Value
The Lenovo Legion 5i Professional affords good worth compared with different laptops which might be appropriate for gaming and work, just like the Alienware x15 R2 (opens in new tab).
At time of writing, the entry-level Lenovo with the Core i7-12700H and RTX 3060 costs $2,079 in the U.S. (opens in new tab) and £1,799 in the U.K. (opens in new tab), and an equal Alienware prices $2,149 and £2,049. Step as much as the RTX 3070 Ti and the scenario stays the identical: the Lenovo sits at $2,599 and £1,899 whereas the Alienware soars past $2,600 and £2,000.
These costs evaluate properly to the MacBook Pro 16, too, which begins at $2,499 or £2,399. These laptops are slimmer and lighter than the Lenovo, they usually have implausible Retina shows alongside higher battery life – however there’s no denying their larger costs.
One other one in all our favourite programming laptops is the glossy, mild, and longer-lasting Dell XPS 15. Its entry-level costs are extra comparable with the Lenovo, but it surely does get very costly when you add 4K shows and it doesn’t have high-end graphics choices.
Past this, our selection programming and coding laptops are units just like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 and HP Envy x360 13. They’re cheaper and smaller than the Lenovo, and with higher battery life – however they’re far slower.
Must you purchase the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional?
If you would like a strong laptop computer for programming, coding, and gaming at value then it is best to contemplate the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional. Its processors are glorious, it’s out there with nice graphics cores, and it can be configured with 32 GB of reminiscence.
Elsewhere, it’s a blended bag. The Lenovo has keyboard, loads of connectivity and an honest high-resolution show, however its battery life is poor and the chassis is cumbersome. The show can also’t deal with workloads outdoors of the sRGB gamut.
Finally, if you need a great deal of energy for programming, coding, and gaming then the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional delivers the products for comparatively inexpensive costs – however if you need longevity or high-end finesse, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
If this laptop computer isn’t for you?
That Dell XPS 15 is one of the best different on Home windows – it’s usually a bit pricier than the Lenovo, but it surely’s sleeker, lasts longer away from the mains, and offers a great deal of processing energy. And if you wish to take pleasure in gaming, too, contemplate the Alienware x15 R2 (opens in new tab).
Away from Home windows, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 stays implausible. Whereas the M1 chips can’t all the time compete with Core i7 and Core i9 silicon, they’re nonetheless very quick – and Apple’s laptops are slimmer, lighter, and longer-lasting than the Lenovo.
Or, when you’re after one thing on your research, then the best laptops for students is perhaps a bit kinder to your pockets.