Lenovo Legion 7 15IMH05 (Legion 7i) Laptop Review: Top performance and display

For the case, Lenovo uses a metal construction that is completed by some plastic elements (bottom case plate and back). Other devices in this price class such as the Razer Blade 15 have a unibody base unit, which gives the appearance of a higher quality. However, the lid as well as the base unit, which clearly differs from that of a so-called "slim" gaming laptop, are very sturdy overall. A pleasant side effect of this is that you can open the Legion 7 with a single hand, despite the robust hinges. While the edge sticking out from the back may be a matter of taste, it clearly marks the connections on the back with the help of illuminated indicators.

In addition, the case is covered by many RGB LEDs, which can optionally light up the notebook in many colors and modes.

At almost 2.4 kg (~5.3 lb), the Legion 7 is definitely not a feather weight. 15-inch gaming laptops can be distinguished into two types: while some models prioritize a slim construction, others such as our test unit try to make use of the performance potential to the fullest. This makes our test unit one of the heaviest notebooks in our comparison, but the dimensions are within the middle range. For example, the Asus Rog Strix Scar 15 is again much thicker at 24.9 mm (0.98 in), while the Acer Predator Triton 500 is the smallest and lightest notebook in our comparison field.

Bluetooth 5 and WLAN 6 are supported by Intel's AX201 WLAN module. In our test, the Legion 7 achieved top values during sending as well as receiving. There were no connection problems during the whole testing period.

There is nothing preventing buyers to also use the Lenovo Legion 7 as a work laptop, since in addition to the provision for a security lock, various software security solutions and even TPM 2.0 are available.

There are no extras in the box besides the charger. While there are also no accessories from the manufacturer, many compatible adapters and bags are available from third-party vendors. 

The touchpad covers an area of 10.5 x 7 cm (~4.1 x 2.8 in) and only offers integrated mouse keys that appear cheap and are only suited for simple tasks. This is not a surprise, since buyers of the Legion 7 will probably connect an external mouse anyways. The sliding characteristics of the ClickPad are good and hardly differ from those of other plastic-covered touchpads. The pointer control is precise and inconspicuous. In addition, the usual gestures that facilitate laptop operation are available. 

Our test unit is equipped with an Intel Core i9-10980HK with integrated UHD Graphics 630 as well as a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. With this combination, our Legion 7 is one of the fastest laptops that are currently available on the market. Alternatively, there are also some models with the Core i7-10750H. The Core-i9 models are equipped with two 16-GB DDR4-3200 RAM modules, and the Core-i7 models, with two 8-GB DDR4-2933 modules. For such powerful hardware, the daily tasks of course represent no challenge at all.

The Intel Core i9-10980HK is an octa-core processor from Intel's current Comet Lake generation. The basic clock speed of the processor is 2.4 GHz and it can achieve a maximum of up to 5.3 GHz. With load on all 8 cores, the maximum clock speed is 4.4 GHz.

The performance in the Cinebench loop test corresponds to our expectations and lies minimally above that of the Asus Rog Strix Scar 15, which is equipped with the same CPU. The performance remains relatively constant during the whole Cinebench R15 loop test. In battery mode, the CPU performance is throttled.

In the application-specific performance, our Legion 7 finishes head-to-head with the Asus Rog Strix Scar 15, while the CPUs of the rest of the comparison devices are not quite as powerful. Overall, the performance is about at the level of an average Core i9-10980HK that is often also used in larger 17-inch laptops.

You can find additional information and benchmark comparisons on our page on the Intel Core i9-10980HK.

Due to the extremely fast CPU and the RAID-0 configuration, the system performance of the Legion 7 is excellent, causing it to achieve top values all across the board in the PCMark benchmark, except for the Essentials test, where the Acer Triton 500 finishes first. Our test model also needs not fear the comparison with other laptops that are equipped with the same CPU-GPU combination. In everyday usage, those relatively small differences of a few percentage points are hardly noticeable, and subjectively all of the comparison devices perform at a very high level in terms of the speed.

The two built-in Samsung PM981 SSDs run in RAID 0 configuration and are thus able to increase their very high performance even more. However, compared to a single PM981, this is only possible in some particular situations, so the PM981s in the Razer Blade 15 and Acer Predator Triton 500 do similarly well overall. The RAID 0 Micron SSDs in the Alienware m15 R3 place last.

You can find additional benchmark comparisons in our hard drive and SSD table.

The gaming performance of the Lenovo Legion 7 is considerable. Even current games run in the highest settings and at high frame rates most of the time. While you then won't be able to use the full potential of the 240-Hz display anymore, its advantages still remain to some extent, even in this case. Alternatively, you can also chase after frame rates in less demanding e-sports shooters such as "CS:GO" or "Overwatch" and enjoy some extraordinarily smooth gaming action.

In our "The Witcher 3" stability test where the gaming character is not moved, the frame rate does not drop noticeably. You therefore do not have to expect any limitations due to annoying background activities.