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Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10: Two-minute review
The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 is an elegantly designed laptop, marketed for gamers and other power users requiring its high-end specs.
The Legion 7i has one of the best gaming laptop designs I’ve seen. It’s remarkably thin and has some interesting touches, such as the brushed metal sides with their supremely flat surface and rounded corners.
More importantly, it’s supremely well built, with those aforementioned sides being a particular highlight thanks to their solid feel. However, the top panel can flex a little, and the lid even more so. Thankfully, the hinge offers more than enough stability, and pivots very smoothly.
There are a sufficient number of ports on the Legion 7i, but given the amount of empty space on the sides, it’s a shame there aren’t more. Still, you get two USB-C and two USB-A ports, handy for peripheral connections, while the power jack and HDMI interface are sensibly placed at the rear.
There’s also an SD card reader, an uncommon addition for a gaming laptop. More peculiar is a switch for toggling the webcam, placed on the left behind the aforementioned reader. Why there isn’t a physical slider for covering the camera is beyond me, and doubtless many would prefer this failsafe method instead.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 and RTX 5060 proved capable enough to run AAA titles at high settings. You might need Frame Generation and DLSS upscaling set to Balanced to get the highest fps, but this is pretty much par for the course in the current landscape.
As I expected, the fans whirred constantly during my sessions. The noise they generate can be quite loud, but the best PC gaming headsets should be able to drown this out.
Less expectedly — and more worryingly — the portion above the keyboard became incredibly hot, to the point of being untouchable. However, this spike only lasted a few moments, before returning to a comfortable temperature. Nonetheless, this was still something I found concerning, and haven’t experienced with other gaming laptops to the same extreme degree.
The display of the Legion 7i lives up to its impressive specification. The high 2560 x 1600 resolution is as crisp as you would imagine, while the OLED technology offers fantastic contrast and color representation. I did notice some prominent reflections, but in the main these weren’t too bothersome.
Despite the keyboard looking rather typical for a laptop, the depth and dampening of the keys exceeded my expectations. This imbues presses with a reassuring thud, while their snappy response should see you perform at your best.
These same qualities, coupled with the spacious layout, make the Legion 7i’s board great for typing, too. The touchpad also feels delightful, thanks to its silky finish. However, its small size and alacrity to trigger at inopportune moments make it impractical.
The battery life of the Legion 7i is quite impressive by gaming laptop standards, lasting close to eight hours in our movie playback test. It’s also quick to charge, taking just just under two hours to do so from empty to full.
The starting price of the Legion 7i is fairly reasonable: it undercuts some of its rivals, but there are cheaper alternatives with more powerful componentry. However, these often fail to match the superlative design and build quality of the Legion 7i, so if these are priorities for you, the Legion 7i is one of the best gaming laptops around.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Price & Availability
- Starts from $1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759
- Available now
- Some cheaper rivals with stronger specs
The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 starts from $1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759. For this, you get a unit with an Intel Core Ultra 7, an RTX 5060, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. In the UK, the base (and only) RAM capacity is 32GB. The highest spec of the Legion 7i features an Ultra 9, an RTX 5070, and 32GB of RAM. There are also two display options to choose from, varying only in their refresh rate (165Hz or 240Hz).
This is undeniably a lot of money, although it’s worth mentioning that we’ve seen both low- and high-spec models with considerable discounts on Lenovo’s website. But while there are certainly more expensive 16-inch gaming laptops out there (the Razer Blade 16 comes to mind), there are also some considerably cheaper rivals.
One such model is the Asus TUF Gaming A16 (2025). This is one of the best budget gaming laptop options around right now: it impressed me with its performance and surprisingly elegant design when I reviewed it. However, it can’t match the premium construction, slender form, or visual fidelity of the Legion 7i.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 base config |
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 max config |
|
Price |
$1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759 |
$2,179.99 / £2,600 / AU$4,159 |
|
CPU |
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (up to 5.2GHz) |
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (up to 5.4GHz) |
|
GPU |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, 8GB |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 8GB |
|
RAM |
16GB DDR5 (US); 32GB DDR5 (UK) |
32GB DDR5 |
|
Storage |
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD |
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD |
|
Display |
16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, Glare, Non-Touch, HDR 1000 True Black, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, 165Hz, Low Blue Light |
16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, Glare, Non-Touch, HDR 1000 True Black, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, 240Hz, Low Blue Light |
|
Ports and Connectivity |
2x USB-C (1x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gb/s, DisplayPort 2.1, power delivery 65W-100W), 1x 10Gb/s, power delivery 65-100W, DisplayPort 2.1), 2x USB-A (5Gb/s), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Combo audio; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
2x USB-C (1x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gb/s, DisplayPort 2.1, power delivery 65W-100W), 1x 10Gb/s, power delivery 65-100W, DisplayPort 2.1), 2x USB-A (5Gb/s), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Combo audio; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Battery |
84Wh |
84Wh |
|
Dimensions |
0.7 x 14.2 x 10.4in (17.9 x 361.7 x 263.4mm) |
0.7 x 14.2 x 10.4in (17.9 x 361.7 x 263.4mm) |
|
Weight |
4.39lbs / 1.99kg |
4.39lbs / 1.99kg |
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Design
- Light, thin, and elegant
- Great build quality
- Missed opportunity for more ports
You won’t see too many gaming laptops as elegant as the Legion 7i. The fetching white finish marks it out from the usual bland shades of black seen in this sector, and puts me in mind of MacBooks of yore. The subtle branding and RGB backlighting also help to liven up appearances.
Strange as it is to say, the edges of the Legion 7i are a real highlight. The completely flat surfaces and rounded corners are reminiscent of the best iPad and best MacBook designs, while the brushed metal finish only adds to the appeal.
What’s more, their aluminum construction feels incredibly dense, so there’s little chance of denting them. The top panel that houses the keyboard has more give, but it’s still more solid than many others in this price range. This is all the more impressive given how thin and light the base is. There are no extraneous protrusions either; even the rear ventilation bulge is much smaller than its rivals’.
Even thinner than the 7i’s base is the lid. It’s equally impressive in its resistance to flexing, and its hinge offers a remarkable amount of sturdiness while operating with the utmost smoothness. I also appreciated the slight jut at the top of the lid, which allows you to open the Legion 7i easily with one hand, which isn’t the case with many other gaming laptops.
The rear features two ports: one for the power adapter and one for HDMI cables. On the left are three USB ports — two Type-C and one Type-A — and a combo audio jack. On the right, you’ll find another USB-A port and, unusually for a gaming laptop, an SD card reader.
Also on the right is a switch for disabling the webcam. This doesn’t work as well as a mechanical cover, and its small size and stiff operation meant I wasn’t a huge fan, though it’s still nice to have this additional privacy feature.
Overall, though, the port selection on the Legion 7i should prove sufficient for most users’ needs. However, given the large gaps present on both sides, I can’t help feeling that more could’ve been squeezed in.
Lenovo’s main utility software, LegionSpace, is simple to use and functions well. It ran without issue during my time with it, and it was quick and easy to view system information and change performance modes.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Performance
- Good gaming performance
- Some general performance issues
- Odd temperature spikes
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 Benchmarks
Here are the results for the benchmarks I ran on the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10:
Geekbench 6 (Multi Core): 18,459; (Single Core): 3,008
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 28,264
Cinebench R24 (Multi Core): 1,664; (Single Core): 132
Crossmark Overall: 2,120
3DMark
Night Raid: 79,720; Fire Strike: 27,345; Steel Nomad: 2,730; Solar Bay: 56,673; Solar Bay Unlimited: 57,277; Solar Bay Extreme: 11,267; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 11,429
BlackMagicDisk Read: 5,208MB/s; Write: 4,343MB/s
Civilization VII (Max resolution, AMD FSR 3, High): 92fps; (1080p, High): 178fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Max resolution, Highest, Balanced upscaling): 162fps; (1080p, Highest, SMAA x4): 132fps
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Ultra) 66fps; (Max Resolution, Ultra): 43fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Max resolution, Ultra, Balanced upscaling) 74fps; (1440p, Ray Tracing: Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 48fps; (1080p, Ultra): 93fps
Marvel Rivals (Max resolution, Balanced upscaling, Ultra): 61fps; (1200p, Low): 106fps
When it came to gaming, the Legion 7i conducted itself well. While playing Cyberpunk 2077, I was getting fps figures in the mid 60s with the Ray Tracing: Low preset selected and DLSS upscaling set to Balanced. Turning on Frame Generation resulted in significant improvements, boosting the rate to about 100fps.
Some general performance issues did blight my time with the Legion 7i somewhat. I experienced occasional lock-ups when navigating Windows 11, with clicks on icons and app windows failing to register. I also encountered stuck loading wheels.
Under load, the Legion 7i’s fans are certainly noticeable, but given many gaming laptops sound like jet engines when running demanding tasks, the sound isn’t too disruptive.
Despite the noise, however, the fans failed to provide consistent cooling. It didn’t take long for the section just above the keyboard to reach worrying high temperatures.
Thankfully, it cooled down to touchable temperatures in the midst of gameplay. The rear of the Legion 7i also became very hot, although thankfully not to the same extent, while the keyboard at least only became lukewarm.
On a more positive note, the display of the Legion 7i is exquisite. The 2560 x 1600 resolution is as pinpoint-sharp as you would expect, while the OLED technology allows for superb contrast. Color reproduction and brightness levels are also hard to fault. The only minor gripe I had was the reflectiveness of the screen, but this wasn’t bad enough to ruin the visual splendor of the Legion 7i.
The keys are solid and very well damped. They have a greater travel and a more emphatic thud compared to other gaming laptop keyboards I’ve experienced, which makes them very satisfying to game with. The space bar was a particular highlight in this regard, putting it on a level with those fitted in the best gaming keyboards.
What’s more, the keys rebound superbly, which further improves their performance. This applies whether you’re gaming or typing, while the latter activity additionally benefits from the comfortable layout, which, despite the main keys being pushed to the left by the number pad, doesn’t feel cramped.
The touchpad is also a joy to use, thanks to its super-smooth surface and solid clicks. However, it’s relatively small given the overall size of the Legion 7i, which hampers navigation somewhat.
It’s also overly-sensitive. Unintentional swipes and taps frequently registered when I used the keyboard — especially the common Alt and Tab combination, resulting in a very frustrating productivity experience. However, all this might be a moot point if, like many gamers, you plan on using a mouse exclusively.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Battery Life
- Decent longevity
- Some rivals more enduring
- Quick to charge
By gaming laptop standards, the Legion 7i has a respectable battery life. It managed to last just shy of eight hours when I ran a movie on a continuous loop, which means it can outlast many of its rivals, although both the Asus V16 and TUF Gaming A16 (2025) beat it comfortably, with each lasting over 10 hours in the same test.
Fortunately, the Legion 7i is very quick to charge, taking just two hours to fully replenish.
Should I buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|
Value |
The price is good considering its upmarket design, but there are cheaper rivals with better performance. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
This is one of the lightest, thinnest, and sleekest 16-inch gaming laptops around, not to mention the build quality is excellent. |
5 / 5 |
|
Performance |
Gaming performance is pretty good, but there are some issues with general performance. Some temperature spikes also sully the experience somewhat. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Battery Life |
Pretty good for this class of laptop, and it’s very quick to charge. Some rivals can outlast it, though. |
4 / 5 |
|
Total |
You’re mainly paying for the superb design of the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 rather than its outright performance, but this is still sufficient for high-end gaming. |
4 / 5 |
Buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 if…
Don’t buy it if…
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Also Consider
How I tested the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10
- Tested for several days
- Used for gaming and other tasks
- Plentiful gaming laptop experience
I tested the Legion 7i for several days, during which time I used it for gaming, working, and light entertainment.
I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and ran our series of comprehensive benchmark tests, including those for the battery life.
I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used many systems in that time. I’ve reviewed a large number of gaming laptops professionally, varying greatly in their specs and price points.
Read the full article here
