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Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB (i7-7820HK, GTX 1070) Laptop Review

Black and red behemoth. Lenovo’s successor to the massive Y900 desktop replacement features a Kaby Lake CPU and a powerful GTX 1070. Much of the rest of the package remains the same—so are these updates enough to keep it relevant in such a competitive and selective market?

Nearly a year ago, we evaluated Lenovo’s Y900 gaming notebook, which was a bit of an adventure into uncharted territory for the manufacturer; that is to say, it was the first device truly positioned to compete with the likes of the highest-end 17-inch Alienware, MSI, and ASUS ROG gaming notebooks—and it was priced accordingly. Suffice it to say that it made a statement, too, as we were impressed by a number of its achievements: namely, reasonable temperatures, strong build quality, storage configuration options, connectivity, lack of throttling, and G-Sync capability. However, we also found plenty of room for improvement, as we were disappointed by the lackluster “Turbo Mode” feature, high CPU temperatures under load, unique mechanical keyboard, loud fan, and price (among other items).

Today, we put the Y920 under our microscopes. Although it’s part of Lenovo’s new Legion series, it’s a direct successor to the Y900, with nearly identical design and build, similar features, and above all else, an upgraded Kaby Lake chipset with a Pascal architecture GPU. Our review configuration is equipped with an Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512 GB NVMe SSD, and an FHD 1080p display (retail cost is around $2,299 currently as configured). With most of the revisions having taken place under the hood, it will be interesting to see whether the Legion Y920 has addressed our biggest criticisms. Let’s get started!

Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB (Legion Y920 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-7820HK 4 x 2.9 - 3.9 GHz, Kaby Lake
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile - 8 GB VRAM, Core: 1645 MHz, Memory: 8000 MHz, GDDR5, 22.21.13.8494 - nVIDIA ForceWare 384.94
Memory
16 GB 
, DDR4-2400
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 127 PPI, LP173WF4-SPF5, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel Sunrise Point, Intel Kaby Lake-H
Soundcard
Realtek ALC298 @ High Definition Audio-Controller
Connections
4 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo audio, Card Reader: 6-in-1 card reader
Networking
Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 37 x 426 x 315 ( = 1.46 x 16.77 x 12.4 in)
Battery
90 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p HD
Primary Camera: 1 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 2.1 (2 x 2W + 3W Subwoofer), Keyboard: Mechanical switch chiclet-style, RGB-backlit, Keyboard Light: yes, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
4.426 kg ( = 156.12 oz / 9.76 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
2700 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The Lenovo Legion Y920 looks nearly identical to its predecessor. The construction is a hybrid of aluminum and ABS plastic which lends significant stability to the machine. Very little flex is present when pressure is applied to the base unit apart from some minimal visible movement in the center above the touchpad, and the only noticeable creaking is provoked by pressure under the right side of the keyboard. The flip side of all this stability is, naturally, weight: the Y920 tips the scales at a significant 4.426 kg, which is roughly the same as the 17-inch Alienware 17 R4, as well as the Asus ROG G752VS.

Although the display lid is large, the effects of twisting are minimal and torsion resistance is quite good considering the size. Pressure applied to the back of the lid produces no visible artifacts on the LCD. The center hinge supporting the display, meanwhile, is a bit bouncier than we would like to see, especially when taken in conjunction with the semi-gloss finish on the screen. However, the base unit grabs onto the surface well enough thanks to the four large rubber feet on the underside—so bounce is really only noticeable if the surface itself on which the notebook is resting happens to move (such as while in transit).

Haptically speaking, the textured rubber-lined palm rest insulates the user’s hands from any internal heat during gaming and is pleasant to the touch. It also helps prevent palm slippage and it looks nice, to boot—but it’s worth mentioning that it is more difficult to clean thanks to the tiny ridges that are part of the texture.

Speaking of appearances, the cross-hatch aluminum lid pattern and lighted Legion logo are still intact, spilling over a red accent color from the otherwise black lid to the speaker grill on the base unit, where the only other hint of color is the RGB-backlit keyboard (which we’ll get to in a bit). It’s a thoroughly gaming-like appearance, and it fits in perfectly well with its peers in the segment.

428 mm / 16.9 inch 334 mm / 13.1 inch 53 mm / 2.09 inch 4.5 kg9.88 lbs426 mm / 16.8 inch 315 mm / 12.4 inch 37 mm / 1.457 inch 4.4 kg9.76 lbs427 mm / 16.8 inch 318 mm / 12.5 inch 36 mm / 1.417 inch 4.4 kg9.7 lbs424 mm / 16.7 inch 332 mm / 13.1 inch 29.9 mm / 1.177 inch 4.4 kg9.74 lbs389 mm / 15.3 inch 276 mm / 10.9 inch 25 mm / 0.984 inch 2.6 kg5.78 lbs383 mm / 15.1 inch 270 mm / 10.6 inch 30 mm / 1.181 inch 2.7 kg5.89 lbs380 mm / 15 inch 277 mm / 10.9 inch 30 mm / 1.181 inch 3.1 kg6.83 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

As before, the Legion Y920 features plenty of ports, conveniently spaced. There are now four USB 3.0 ports (up from 2 x USB 3.0 + 2 x USB 2.0 on the Y900) along with the USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 port. The latter can also be used to drive up to two 4K external monitors simultaneously, or the user can leverage one of the other two video output options—HDMI or DisplayPort. This is one area in which the Y920 absolutely does not lack.

Front: No connections
Front: No connections
Rear: No connections
Rear: No connections
Left: Charging port, DisplayPort, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0 x 2
Left: Charging port, DisplayPort, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0 x 2
Right: Lenovo Recovery button, SD/6-in-1 card reader, Microphone,Headset, USB 3.0 x 2, Kensington Lock
Right: Lenovo Recovery button, SD/6-in-1 card reader, Microphone,Headset, USB 3.0 x 2, Kensington Lock

SD Card Reader

SD card performance when measured in conjunction with our standard Toshiba UHS-II SDXC card is roughly on par with that of most rivals. Some machines are much faster (such as the Dell XPS 15-9560), but these are acceptable speeds regardless.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Asus G752VS-BA338T
 
78 MB/s +6%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
 
77 MB/s +4%
Gigabyte P56XT
 
76 MB/s +3%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
 
73.7 MB/s
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Gigabyte P56XT
 
89 MB/s +1%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
 
88.2 MB/s
Asus G752VS-BA338T
 
88 MB/s 0%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
 
87 MB/s -1%

Communication

The Y920 features a Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet adapter (versus the Qualcomm/Atheros e2400 adapter from the Y900—both are essentially equivalent regardless of branding discrepancies) as well as a Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 WLAN adapter. This is the same wireless adapter as the Y900 and its transmission speeds are more than adequate.

Lenovo’s Nerve Center application also includes a Network Priority option which essentially is QOS at the machine level. When the feature is enabled and a game is detected, the system automatically grants that application top network priority.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
661 MBit/s +9%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
606 MBit/s
Alienware 17 R4
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
589 MBit/s -3%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
426 MBit/s -30%
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
343 MBit/s -43%
iperf3 receive AX12
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
701 MBit/s +7%
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
677 MBit/s +4%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
654 MBit/s
Alienware 17 R4
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
606 MBit/s -7%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
511 MBit/s -22%

Software

Lenovo includes their Nerve Center software package with the Y920 (it’s standard on all Legion machines). We’ve covered this software before, though it has been continually updated and continues to improve. It’s intended as a one-stop solution for all gamer-type customizations of the machine’s functions, and it specifically provides options for the following items:

  • CPU/GPU/fan speed Turbo Boost
  • Light Shift RGB keyboard backlighting options/schemes
  • Extreme Cooling On/Off switch
  • Network Priority / QOS functionality (mentioned previously)
  • Prevent Mistaken Input to disable the Windows key and touchpad while games are running
  • Sound Enhancement to auto-launch Dolby audio post-processing software when a game starts

It’s an easy-to-use and relatively helpful program that is quite similar to offerings from competitors such as Dell and ASUS. During our time with the machine, we didn’t experience any problems with it.

Accessories

The only accessory included with the Legion Y920 is the 230W AC adapter, which—while certainly and inevitably large—is thoughtfully designed in a flat form factor with rubber feet for easy positioning on any surface.

Maintenance

Thirteen Phillips-head screws secure the bottom cover to the Y920, after which nearly every major part is accessible/replaceable. However, some reports indicate that this could void your warranty. Before planning any upgrades, it would be wise to check first with the manufacturer.

Warranty

The Y920 includes a 1-year limited depot warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The Lenovo Legion Y920, like its predecessor, also features a mechanical keyboard—something which has long been hailed the holy grail of gaming peripherals. The difference is immediately noticeable, as every key features an identical level of feedback and exudes a rather loud “click” when depressed—a characteristic common to all mechanical keyboards. Unfortunately, regardless of this undeniably premium aspiration, the result is less than perfect: thanks to an uncommonly light actuation force and keys which are rather wobbly (they literally pivot under the finger until pressed), typing takes some serious adjustment on the Y920 keyboard. Overall, we feel that the vanilla Lenovo AccuType keyboard is fundamentally superior.

The keyboard is RGB backlit and (mostly) customizable. The Nerve Center software package allows for assigning different colors to different keys individually as well as even to the lighting surrounding the touchpad and top speaker grille, but it doesn’t go so far as to allow notification- and event-based lighting changes like (for instance) the Alienware software does. However, it is easy to activate one of a few different preconfigured animation styles with whatever color scheme you choose.

Touchpad

The Synaptics touchpad is fairly large and provides accurate pointer translation with a pleasantly smooth surface finish. The integrated buttons aren’t nearly as pleasant, however; the feedback is a bit mushier than ideal and it’s difficult to tell whether you’re right- or left-clicking. Drag-and-drop is, as usual, a challenge with the clickpad as well. Gestures are accurately and quickly interpreted.

The Y920's mechanical keyboard takes a lot of getting used to.
The Y920's mechanical keyboard takes a lot of getting used to.
The touchpad also struggles a bit thanks to its mushy integrated buttons.
The touchpad also struggles a bit thanks to its mushy integrated buttons.

Display

The Y920’s 17.3-inch FHD 1920x1080 display features what Lenovo refers to as an “AntiGlare” finish—though really, it’s just glossy with a little less reflectivity than the average high-gloss edge-to-edge glass display. Regardless, the 127 PPI derived from the panel size and resolution should be enough for satisfactory gaming presentation, and—of equivalent importance—NVIDIA G-Sync technology is on board, which synchronizes display refresh rates with those of the GPU for a smoother gaming experience overall.

Subjectively speaking, the display appears bright with reasonably good color reproduction. It doesn’t have too warm or cool a tint to it, and the contrast levels also seem acceptable.

Subpixel array, Legion Y920
Subpixel array, Legion Y920
Some minor, yet noticeable backlight bleed on black screens
Some minor, yet noticeable backlight bleed on black screens
389.1
cd/m²
393.5
cd/m²
371.3
cd/m²
380
cd/m²
422.3
cd/m²
354.4
cd/m²
354.8
cd/m²
392.7
cd/m²
343.6
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LP173WF4-SPF5 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 422.3 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 378 cd/m² Minimum: 3.59 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 422.3 cd/m²
Contrast: 880:1 (Black: 0.48 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.4 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
84% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
55% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
84% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
66.4% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.22
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
LP173WF4-SPF5, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080
Asus G752VS-BA338T
AU Optronics B173HAN01.1 (AUO119D), IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080
Gigabyte P56XT
LG Philips LP156WF6 (LGD046F), IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
AUO42ED, IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Alienware 17 R4
TN LED, 17.30, 2560x1440
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
LG Philips LGD0533 LP156WF6-SPK3, IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
17.30, 1920x1080
Display
1%
0%
5%
-3%
-36%
3%
Display P3 Coverage
66.4
61.6
-7%
64.8
-2%
65.8
-1%
61.2
-8%
38.43
-42%
67.4
2%
sRGB Coverage
84
90.3
8%
84.6
1%
90.9
8%
82.9
-1%
57.5
-32%
86.3
3%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
61.4
62.8
2%
61.8
1%
66.5
8%
60.5
-1%
39.75
-35%
63.2
3%
Response Times
-19%
-12%
-42%
21%
-16%
-16%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
28.8 ?(14, 14.8)
36 ?(18, 18)
-25%
37.2 ?(18.4, 18.8)
-29%
43.2 ?(21.2, 22)
-50%
30 ?(18.8, 11.2)
-4%
43 ?(22, 21)
-49%
34.8 ?(14, 20.8)
-21%
Response Time Black / White *
23.2 ?(13.6, 9.6)
26 ?(14.4, 11.6)
-12%
24.8 ?(14, 10.8)
-7%
31.2 ?(16.4, 14.8)
-34%
12.8 ?(10.8, 2)
45%
24 ?(12, 12)
-3%
25.6 ?(4.8, 20.8)
-10%
PWM Frequency
20000
20000 ?(95)
0%
21000 ?(90)
5%
Screen
-19%
-18%
10%
-16%
-19%
-4%
Brightness middle
422.3
307
-27%
301
-29%
304
-28%
402.3
-5%
288
-32%
344.9
-18%
Brightness
378
300
-21%
280
-26%
289
-24%
372
-2%
275
-27%
329
-13%
Brightness Distribution
81
88
9%
87
7%
86
6%
86
6%
86
6%
86
6%
Black Level *
0.48
0.32
33%
0.32
33%
0.26
46%
0.62
-29%
0.36
25%
0.349
27%
Contrast
880
959
9%
941
7%
1169
33%
649
-26%
800
-9%
988
12%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.4
5.53
-26%
6.21
-41%
3.46
21%
5.6
-27%
5.29
-20%
4.49
-2%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
9.2
11.54
-25%
10.78
-17%
7.72
16%
9.8
-7%
9.97
-8%
8.72
5%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.8
7
-150%
6.08
-117%
2.46
12%
4.7
-68%
4.5
-61%
4.63
-65%
Gamma
2.22 99%
2.48 89%
2.31 95%
2.38 92%
2.14 103%
2.39 92%
2.11 104%
CCT
6403 102%
8103 80%
7375 88%
6915 94%
7519 86%
6839 95%
6905 94%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
55
58
5%
55
0%
59
7%
53.7
-2%
37
-33%
56.7
3%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
84
90
7%
84
0%
91
8%
82.2
-2%
57
-32%
86.4
3%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-12% / -15%
-10% / -14%
-9% / 2%
1% / -9%
-24% / -22%
-6% / -4%

* ... smaller is better

We measured an average brightness of 378 cd/m² with a significantly higher brightness in the center quadrant of 422.3 cd/m². The rest of the screen is fairly consistent in its luminosity, however, so brightness distribution still isn’t all that bad at 81%. Contrast, as we previously predicted, was measured at 880:1, which is pretty good but not stellar.  Compared with its closest modern competitor, the Asus ROG G752VS, the Legion Y920 handles the basics better (21% brighter, roughly the same contrast, better color accuracy).

The display is not particularly unique in its color coverage, producing (per our measurements) 84% of sRGB and 55% of AdobeRGB. That’s roughly in line with the rest of our comparison field, with only the Legion Y720 coming in behind with a much more disappointing 57% of sRGB.

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. Asus G752VS
vs. Asus G752VS
vs. Gigabyte P56XT
vs. Gigabyte P56XT

The Y920 also does a good job with color accuracy out of the box. Our CalMAN 5 measurements suggested DeltaE values of 4.4 and 2.8 for Colorchecker and Greyscale respectively (ideal: 0), and the CCT Average was 6403K—very close to the 6500K ideal value. The Total Gamma reading of 2.22 also isn’t too far off the ideal mark of 2.4.

Color analysis (pre-calibration)
Color analysis (pre-calibration)
Saturation sweeps (pre-calibration)
Saturation sweeps (pre-calibration)
Grayscale analysis (pre-calibration)
Grayscale analysis (pre-calibration)
Color analysis (post-calibration)
Color analysis (post-calibration)
Saturation sweeps (post-calibration)
Saturation sweeps (post-calibration)
Grayscale analysis (post-calibration)
Grayscale analysis (post-calibration)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
23.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 13.6 ms rise
↘ 9.6 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 47 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
28.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 14 ms rise
↘ 14.8 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 32 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 20000 Hz

The display backlight flickers at 20000 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) .

The frequency of 20000 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Outdoors, the Y920 is just fine in shaded areas. Introduce any sunlight, however, and the so-called “AntiGlare” finish that Lenovo refers to quickly succumbs to obstructive reflections. It isn’t nearly as bad as it is in many other notebooks with glossy panels, but it’s certainly not as resistant as true anti-glare panels. Viewing angles, on the other hand, are excellent thanks to the IPS panel.

In the sun
In the sun
In the shade
In the shade
Wide IPS viewing angles
Wide IPS viewing angles

Performance

The Y920 is only offered with two different CPU choices: an Intel Core i7-7700HQ and an i7-7820HK. Our review unit features the latter option, which is the more expensive of the two and the second-fastest consumer-level CPU from Intel currently available. The preinstalled memory, on the other hand, is standard regardless of CPU choice: 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4-2400 RAM, which should be sufficient for most any task. As we’ll see later, storage options are quite a bit more varied, but solid-state is the name of the game as usual, and Lenovo provides a number of NVMe options for additional performance.

A secondary run of 3DMark 11 while unplugged produced a much lower score of just 6620, but that’s normal for these power-hungry gaming machines. Meanwhile, LatencyMon detected no DPC latency issues which could affect the smooth streaming of real-time audio and video content on the Y920.

CPU-Z CPU
CPU-Z CPU
CPU-Z Caches
CPU-Z Caches
CPU-Z Mainboard
CPU-Z Mainboard
CPU-Z Memory
CPU-Z Memory
CPU-Z RAM SPD
CPU-Z RAM SPD
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
LatencyMon
LatencyMon
SPECViewperf
SPECViewperf

Processor

The Intel Core i7-7820HK’s four cores (plus Hyper-Threading) are clocked at 2.9 – 3.9 GHz (2 cores: 3.7 GHz; 4 cores: 3.5 GHz), so it’s more than capable of handling any gaming endeavor. Plus, it’s unlocked, and Lenovo’s default “Turbo” settings overclock to 4.1 GHz—though (and this is the critical point) that’s provided thermal headroom exists to accommodate it. We’ll examine that second point in a moment, but the bottom line is that the CPU is not likely to age as quickly as the GPU in this machine regardless of choice. Yes, the Core i7-7820HK is technically a bit quicker, and its potential for overclocking renders it more future proof, but even if performance pans out ideally, it’s unlikely that in three or four years the CPU will be the primary bottleneck during gaming sessions on the Legion Y920. By then, it’ll be time to consider planning for a replacement if serious gaming is still on the table. And besides, overclocking the CPU is far less likely to positively affect gaming performance versus overclocking the GPU, and the additional thermal constraints posed by the higher clock rates (as we witness later in our testing) could lead to less consistent performance overall.

We’ll come back to this point in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at CPU performance as compared to competing notebooks. The only other machine in our comparison field today which shares the same processor is the Alienware 17 R4, and it manages higher scores overall than the Lenovo Legion Y920—even when the Y920 is running in its so-called Turbo Mode. Apart from the Cinebench R15 Multi-CPU benchmark (where two sets of data are shown for the Y920, one with Turbo Mode on and the other off), the rest of our benchmarks below are recorded with Turbo Mode off. However, our testing revealed that a performance bump of around 2 to 5 percent on average is possible with Turbo Mode on, so keep that in mind while digesting the data.

So then, why does the Alienware still manage higher scores even when up against the Y920 with Turbo Mode enabled? Because of its more manageable internal temperatures (as we’ll see in just a bit). The Alienware 17 R4 is able to maintain a full 4.0 GHz (1.1 Ghz above base clock rate) for the duration of a CPU stress test, whereas we most commonly witnessed frequencies of the Legion Y920’s CPU hovering in the 3.5 to 3.6 GHz range. The difference is particularly evident in multi-core benchmarks thanks to the additional thermal challenges imposed by such intensive tests.

Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Alienware 17 R4
Intel Core i7-7820HK
171 Points +5%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
163 Points
Asus G752VS-BA338T
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
161 Points -1%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
160 Points -2%
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
160 Points -2%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
160 Points -2%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
154 Points -6%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Intel Core i7-6820HK
152 Points -7%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Alienware 17 R4
Intel Core i7-7820HK
867 Points +11%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
782 Points
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
763 Points -2%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
742 Points -5%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
740 Points -5%
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
739 Points -5%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
737 Points -6%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
732 Points -6%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Intel Core i7-6820HK
707 Points -10%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.84 Points +1%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.83 Points 0%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.83 Points 0%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
1.83 Points
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.78 Points -3%
Alienware 17 R4
Intel Core i7-7820HK
1.69 Points -8%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Intel Core i7-6820HK
1.67 Points -9%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Alienware 17 R4
Intel Core i7-7820HK
9.53 Points +13%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
8.43 Points
Asus G752VS-BA338T
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.19 Points -3%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.18 Points -3%
Gigabyte P56XT
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.17 Points -3%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.15 Points -3%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Intel Core i7-6820HK
7.73 Points -8%
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Intel Core i7-7820HK
330.9 s *
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Intel Core i7-6820HK
229.2 s * +31%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
216.7 s * +35%
Alienware 17 R4
Intel Core i7-7820HK
179.4 s * +46%

* ... smaller is better

You can see this embodied in our data, where single-core Cinebench tests show little to no performance difference (after adjusted slightly upward to account for Turbo Mode settings) but multi-core tests reveal something closer to a 10% discrepancy when compared to the Alienware. The same applies to super Pi (single-threaded) versus wPrime (multi-threaded), where the Y920 holds its own in the former and lags by an enormous margin in the latter (84%/71% slower in wPrime with Turbo Mode Off/On, just 7% slower in super Pi). It might be tempting to think that the separate Extreme Cooling mode might help to lower temperatures and alleviate this shortfall, but these two settings (Turbo Mode and Extreme Cooling) are mutually exclusive; enabling one will automatically disable the other. For the record, we also extensively tested CPU performance with Extreme Cooling enabled, and it’s strangely below both other scenarios (Turbo Mode on and off)—for instance, in wPrime, we received a score of 355 seconds with Extreme Cooling enabled (vs. 331s disabled and 306s with Turbo Boost enabled).

Compared with the Asus ROG G752VS, which leverages an i7-7700HQ, the Y920 is only slightly faster (a few percentage points on average).  Scores of 763/782 (Turbo Mode Off/On) in Cinebench R15 multi-CPU versus the Asus’ score of 742 are not particularly convincing that the i7-7820HK option is worth the extra cost.

The bottom line is that it’s probably not worth stressing over the CPU selection in the Y920. Either choice is going to be sufficiently fast for most gaming needs, and neither is likely to stand in the way of gaming before the GPU drifts into obsolescence first. For most people, the Core i7-7700HQ is going to be just fine, especially considering the fact that the i7-7820HK configuration doesn’t take full advantage of the overclocking capabilities—and that the GPU remains overclockable no matter which CPU is on board. It also may result in more consistent performance overall due to what would presumably be lower chip temperatures under sustained load.

One other quick note before we move onto the next section: our Cinebench R15 real-world sustained performance testing showed few kinks in the Y920’s armor with Turbo Mode enabled, with very consistent scores from start to finish. But with Turbo Mode disabled, the initial value (already lower, just 755) immediately gives way to scores in the 730 range, along with occasional dips below (one as low as 716). The average scores only differ by 6 – 7 percent between Turbo Mode states, but this does illustrate the differences in performance pretty clearly.

Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
70.6 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
8.43 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.83 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
112.6 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
782 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
163 Points
Help
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Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit - Turbo Mode ON (top, orange) versus OFF (bottom, red)

System Performance

In spite of its somewhat disappointing CPU capabilities, we’re happy to report that our tests of the Y920’s general system performance using PCMark left us with few concerns in that department. Here, the Y920 dominated the charts with a 5206 in PCMark 10 and equally impressive scores across all PCMark 8 tests which either topped or closely matched all other competitors in our comparison field. As before, the Alienware 17 R4 was once again the primary competitor in most of these tests, but both machines post such impressive results that it’d be splitting hairs to try and meaningfully compare the two.

PCMark 10
PCMark 10
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
5460 Points
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
5103 Points -7%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
5064 Points -7%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
4952 Points -9%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4858 Points -11%
Gigabyte P56XT
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, LiteOn CX2-8B256
4239 Points -22%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4115 Points -25%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
3918 Points -28%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
5765 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
5533 Points -4%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
5410 Points -6%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
5348 Points -7%
Gigabyte P56XT
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, LiteOn CX2-8B256
5261 Points -9%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
5088 Points -12%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
5083 Points -12%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
4672 Points -19%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
8272 Points +5%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
8191 Points +4%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
7882 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
6609 Points -16%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
5250 Points -33%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
5460 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
7882 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
5765 points
PCMark 10 Score
5206 points
Help

Storage Devices

One major reason for these stellar results is evident as we turn to our storage benchmarks. The Y920’s Samsung SM961 NVMe SSD is one of the current best storage drives around, and its sequential and 4K-64 read/write results of 2768/1589 and 747/1220 MB/s are evidence of that. Our machine also came equipped with a secondary mechanical storage drive—a 1 TB Western Digital 5400 RPM model—but there’s actually still a third bay available as well (another M.2 / NVMe bay). As you might have guessed, the two M.2 slots can be used in conjunction for RAID operation.

AS SSD
AS SSD
CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark
The M.2 NVMe SSD, alongside an empty slot
The M.2 NVMe SSD, alongside an empty slot
And finally, the 5400 RPM HDD
And finally, the 5400 RPM HDD
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
Asus G752VS-BA338T
Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
Alienware 17 R4
SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
AS SSD
1%
-84%
-49%
-20%
Copy Game MB/s
1117
1217
9%
332.1
-70%
574
-49%
618
-45%
Copy Program MB/s
407.8
445.1
9%
225.4
-45%
446.1
9%
484.4
19%
Copy ISO MB/s
1975
2145
9%
382.1
-81%
1227
-38%
1237
-37%
Score Total
3080
3056
-1%
1126
-63%
2072
-33%
2402
-22%
Score Write
1506
1480
-2%
435
-71%
858
-43%
526
-65%
Score Read
1072
1077
0%
455
-58%
831
-22%
1261
18%
Access Time Write *
0.029
0.027
7%
0.115
-297%
0.123
-324%
0.033
-14%
Access Time Read *
0.044
0.058
-32%
0.106
-141%
0.042
5%
0.051
-16%
4K-64 Write
1220
1185
-3%
312.5
-74%
671
-45%
305.4
-75%
4K-64 Read
747
744
0%
373.9
-50%
620
-17%
1030
38%
4K Write
127.1
138.9
9%
86.2
-32%
113.4
-11%
112.8
-11%
4K Read
48.23
49.71
3%
30.35
-37%
35.61
-26%
45.51
-6%
Seq Write
1589
1554
-2%
366.6
-77%
735
-54%
1080
-32%
Seq Read
2768
2824
2%
509
-82%
1752
-37%
1860
-33%

* ... smaller is better

Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 3436 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 1674 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 468.9 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 419 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 2935 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 1652 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 56 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 178.7 MB/s

GPU Performance

CPU performance is adequate, storage performance is excellent… but what about the GPU? Clearly the single most important item in a gaming machine, let’s hope it isn’t subject to the same thermal constraints that plagued the processor. Although faster GTX 1070 notebooks exist, the Legion Y920 turns in a decent performance for its hardware: we recorded a 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics score of 16629 (slightly higher than the Gigabyte P56XT’s 16410, though below the Asus G752VS score of 18346) and a 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score of 21879 (once again besting the Gigabyte’s score of 20576 but succumbing to the Asus G752VS’ 24349). The latter score is roughly 2% below the median for all 40 benchmarks (currently) in our database for the GTX 1070 (score: 22354), so it’s not ideal, but it’s not far off the mark, either. It’s overall around 20 to 30 percent below the performance of the Alienware 17 R4 and its GTX 1080.

Keep in mind that these benchmarks were performed using the laptop’s default settings, meaning that Turbo Mode was off; with it on, users should be able to eke out another percentage point or two of performance according to our tests—but the differences are minor to say the least.  For instance, with Turbo Mode enabled, 3DMark 11 scores jump slightly to 16869 (1.3% higher) and 21933 (0.3% higher) for overall/Performance GPU.  That’s still below the Asus ROG G752VS’ scores of 17222 and 24349, but for the most part (as we see in our actual gaming tests below) performance will likely only be around 3 to 4 percent different between the two models during actual gaming.

In terms of sustained performance, we turn to our Witcher 3 benchmark as always for a real-world estimation of how well the device holds up. Like our earlier Cinebench R15 sustained CPU test, we ran our Witcher benchmark twice—with Turbo Mode both on and off—and recorded and analyzed all the data for both states. To quickly summarize, we found that performance without Turbo Mode enabled was mostly consistent, but we did witness frame drops into the middle and low 50s (frames per second) for probably around a third of our test duration (which is 60 minutes in total). Meanwhile, enabling Turbo Mode basically eradicates the problem, with only some extremely minor and infrequent fluctuation down just a couple of frames per second. The bottom line is that there’s really no good reason not to have Turbo Mode enabled during gaming sessions unless the noise level simply bothers you too much. We didn’t even notice any significant difference in case surface temperatures between the two scenarios; CPU temperatures reached 93°C on average, while GPU temperatures climbed to a consistent 73 °C.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
3DMark 06
3DMark 06
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Sky Diver
3DMark Sky Diver
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Ice Storm
3DMark Ice Storm
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
26438 Points +21%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
24349 Points +11%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK
21879 Points
Gigabyte P56XT
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
20576 Points -6%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
15074 Points -31%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
14233 Points -35%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ
13279 Points -39%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
13168 Points -40%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
10349 Points +9%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9842 Points +4%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK
9500 Points
Gigabyte P56XT
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
9079 Points -4%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
8985 Points -5%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
8861 Points -7%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ
8762 Points -8%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
132575 Points +89%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
101587 Points +45%
Gigabyte P56XT
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
85274 Points +22%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ
73391 Points +5%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK
70132 Points
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
69622 Points -1%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
67779 Points -3%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
66856 Points -5%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
21846 Points +31%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
18346 Points +10%
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK
16629 Points
Gigabyte P56XT
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
16410 Points -1%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
11979 Points -28%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
11134 Points -33%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ
10349 Points -38%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9888 Points -41%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
349270 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
215674 Points
Asus G752VS-BA338T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
199753 Points
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
111973 Points
3DMark 06 Standard Score
30775 points
3DMark 11 Performance
16651 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
25748 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
13421 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
6972 points
3DMark Time Spy Score
5272 points
Help
012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061Tooltip
The Witcher 3 ultra - Turbo Mode ON (orange) versus OFF (red)

Gaming Performance

It’s no surprise that the Y920 was able to handle any game we threw at it without missing a beat, even on high settings. It’s helpful perhaps that display resolution is limited to 1080p, as the GTX 1070 can easily tackle serious loads at that setting as we’ve seen before.

Thief - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FXAA & High SS AF:8x (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
107 fps
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
77.1 fps -28%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
107.2 fps 0%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
62.1 fps -42%
BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF) (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
133 fps
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
139.4 fps +5%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
105.6 fps -21%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
162.9 fps +22%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
99.5 fps -25%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
90.2 fps -32%
Rise of the Tomb Raider - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
95 fps
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
99 fps +4%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
68.8 fps -28%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
51.1 fps -46%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
118.3 fps +25%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
50.6 fps -47%
Metro: Last Light - 1920x1080 Very High (DX11) AF:16x (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
117 fps
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
80.2 fps -31%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
132.2 fps +13%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
66.8 fps -43%
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
60 fps
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
59 fps -2%
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
59.6 fps -1%
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
41 fps -32%
Gigabyte P56XT
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, LiteOn CX2-8B256
50.2 fps -16%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
34.6 fps -42%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
78.1 fps +30%
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
35.5 fps -41%
Batman: Arkham Knight - 1920x1080 High / On AA:SM AF:16x (sort by value)
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
85 fps
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix HFS128G39MNC-3510A
60 fps -29%
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
54 fps -36%
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
93 fps +9%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
51 fps -40%
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 133
Metro: Last Light (2013) 117
Thief (2014) 107
The Witcher 3 (2015) 60
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 85
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 95

Stress Test

We stress test machines using a combination of Prime95 and FurMark to discern their theoretical maximum potential under the heaviest synthetic loads. For most machines, this may be merely an exercise in superfluity, but for gaming devices and workstations, it can provide valuable insight as to the top-level capabilities of a machine that could eventually encounter similar conditions—however rarely.

As we alluded to earlier, our stress tests of the Legion Y920 were particularly illuminating. Before we get started, it’s important to explain how we approached these tests. We performed each exercise with Turbo Mode off, allowed the machine to cool, and then repeated it a second time with Turbo Mode on. We recorded the results in each scenario separately to allow for comparison and perhaps a better idea of how well the Turbo Mode feature actually works.

First, under CPU stress using Prime95, we witnessed an initial clock rate of 3.5 GHz until around 30 seconds into stress, at which point it drops to around 3.1 – 3.2 GHz (after reaching a max of 82 degrees). We then switched Turbo Mode on and repeated the test. The results were similar, but the clock rates were (predictably) just a bit higher: initially 3.7 GHz and eventually down to 3.5 – 3.6 GHz (after reaching 95 degrees). This result is significant because it explains why we never see performance matching that of the Alienware 17 R4 even with Turbo Mode enabled: the Alienware is able to maintain a permanent turbo clock rate of 4.0 GHz, a full 1.1 GHz above the base frequency of the CPU and roughly 400 – 500 MHz faster than the Legion Y920 on average (roughly 10 – 12 percent faster, which is exactly what we found in our Cinebench R15 benchmarks).

GPU performance thankfully isn’t a major issue on the Y920, but stress testing still provided some interesting data points. Under FurMark synthetic GPU stress, initially, the GPU frequency hovers around 1230 MHz on average with a temperature of 68 °C. With Turbo Mode enabled, the frequency increases to roughly 1280 MHz and the average temperature is slightly higher at 69 °C. As our earlier benchmarks showed, GPU performance is adequate overall, so we’re really more concerned about consistency and GPU temperatures—both areas of proficiency for the Y920.

Combined CPU and GPU stress, meanwhile, saw GPU frequencies fluctuating between 1290 MHz and 1650 MHz and CPU frequencies confined to the 3.0 – 3.1 GHz range. The maximum GPU temperature we recorded was 70 °C (average: 69 °C) and the maximum CPU temperature was a very hot 95 °C (average: 94 °C). Switching Turbo Mode on slightly increases nearly all of these values, with GPU frequencies reaching 1300 – 1750 MHz (and temperatures remaining the same) and CPU frequencies notching upward to 3.1 – 3.2 GHz. CPU temperatures in any situation are far more bothersome to the Y920 than GPU temperatures, the latter of which never see anything above the 70s C.

In summation, enabling Turbo Mode increases both possible top-end clock rates and temperatures/fan speeds. Thermal tolerances/limits appear to remain the same though temperatures are obviously affected. The performance difference is marginal at best, but as we explained earlier during our sustained performance testing of both the CPU and GPU, there really is no good reason not to enable it unless noise levels are a prime concern.

Full CPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Full CPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Full GPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Full GPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Combined CPU + GPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Combined CPU + GPU stress (Turbo Mode OFF)
Full CPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)
Full CPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)
Full GPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)
Full GPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)
Combined CPU + GPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)
Combined CPU + GPU stress (Turbo Mode ON)

Stress Test Results, Turbo Mode OFF

CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 3.1 - 3.2 - 82 -
FurMark Stress - 1230 - 68
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 3.0 - 3.1 1290 - 1650 94 69

Stress Test Results, Turbo Mode ON

CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 3.5 - 3.6 - 95 -
FurMark Stress - 1280 - 69
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 3.1 - 3.2 1300 - 1750 94 69

Emissions

System Noise

The Legion Y920 fares quite well for a gaming notebook in the realm of system noise. While idle, the device is mostly silent, registering just 31.5 dB(A) on average against an environmental background noise level of 28.1 dB(A). Even under typical loads, with Turbo Mode off, the machine records an average of 33.2 dB(A), with a maximum of 46.5 dB(A)—obviously louder, but not terribly obtrusive. Enabling Turbo Mode does bump this up again to around 47.2 dB(A), but that’s still below basically all of its competitors (as you can see detailed in the chart below). The fan’s noise profile does border on more of an irritating “whir” while running at very high RPMs (as compared to the more favorable, lower-frequency “whoosh” of some competitors), but at worst, it’s par for the course for a machine of this size and power.

Noise Level

Idle
29.9 / 31.5 / 31.5 dB(A)
Load
33.2 / 46.5 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 28.1 dB(A)
Fan noise profile, Legion Y920
Fan noise profile, Legion Y920
One of two cooling fans
One of two cooling fans
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7820HK, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
Asus G752VS-BA338T
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e
Gigabyte P56XT
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, LiteOn CX2-8B256
Alienware 17 R4
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
Noise
-7%
-12%
-16%
-1%
-15%
off / environment *
28.1
30
-7%
30
-7%
28.2
-0%
30.3
-8%
28.8
-2%
Idle Minimum *
29.9
30
-0%
34
-14%
35.6
-19%
31
-4%
29.4
2%
Idle Average *
31.5
32
-2%
35
-11%
35.6
-13%
30.9
2%
32.4
-3%
Idle Maximum *
31.5
36
-14%
39
-24%
35.7
-13%
31.5
-0%
48
-52%
Load Average *
33.2
43
-30%
39
-17%
50.2
-51%
38.7
-17%
42.5
-28%
Witcher 3 ultra *
46.5
43
8%
48
-3%
50.2
-8%
42
10%
Load Maximum *
46.5
49
-5%
49
-5%
50.2
-8%
41.9
10%
48.5
-4%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Although chip temperatures have proven themselves problematic, surface temperatures are not much of an issue for the Legion Y920. While idling, the machine is only marginally warmer than the surrounding ambient temperature; we recorded 26.3 °C and 25.8 °C on average from the top cover and underside of the machine, respectively.

Synthetic stress and Witcher 3 stress both push the machine in to the upper 30s °C on average across the board (38 °C / 36.2 °C respectively during Witcher 3 Ultra stress). That’s still more than reasonable, however, and even the hotspot of 50 °C (upper-middle quadrant of the top cover) isn’t much of a bother seeing as it doesn’t affect the keyboard or palmrest. The latter two areas stay relatively cool even under load, with the highest keyboard temperature we measured in the center (40.6 °C) and the highest palmrest temperature on the right side of the touchpad (33.2 °C) still proving nothing worrisome. The hottest area on the bottom of the machine is the rear (“top”) three quadrants, which average around 43 °C—still hardly anything to be concerned about.

Max. Load
 41.4 °C
107 F
50.8 °C
123 F
44.6 °C
112 F
 
 36.8 °C
98 F
42.8 °C
109 F
41.2 °C
106 F
 
 28 °C
82 F
26.4 °C
80 F
30.4 °C
87 F
 
Maximum: 50.8 °C = 123 F
Average: 38 °C = 100 F
40.4 °C
105 F
42.8 °C
109 F
39.8 °C
104 F
32.8 °C
91 F
34.4 °C
94 F
31.2 °C
88 F
31 °C
88 F
28.4 °C
83 F
30 °C
86 F
Maximum: 42.8 °C = 109 F
Average: 34.5 °C = 94 F
Power Supply (max.)  45.2 °C = 113 F | Room Temperature 21.6 °C = 71 F | Raytek Raynger ST
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 38 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 50.8 °C / 123 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.8 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.3 °C / 79 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 38 °C / 100 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33.2 °C / 91.8 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-4.3 °C / -7.8 F).
Thermal profile, top of base unit, max load
Thermal profile, top of base unit, max load
Thermal profile, underside, max load
Thermal profile, underside, max load
Thermal profile, top of base unit, Witcher 3 stress
Thermal profile, top of base unit, Witcher 3 stress
Thermal profile, underside, Witcher 3 stress
Thermal profile, underside, Witcher 3 stress

Speakers

The Y920’s speakers are a pleasant surprise—though when coming from a nearly 10 lb. notebook, perhaps it’s not as much of a shock. You’ll find two 2 W speakers accompanied by a 3 W subwoofer, and that results in better bass reproduction and—happily—relatively balanced mids and highs according to our measurements. Volume levels are not particularly loud (69.67 dB on average), though some adjustment/tweaking is possible via the Dolby Atmos post-processing software.

Speaking of which, this post-processing can be automatically invoked (in the background) via the Lenovo Nerve Center application when games are detected in the foreground. This feature is enabled by default, but in case the post-processing effects prove irritating to the user, disabling it is as easy as launching Nerve Center and switching the Sound Enhancement feature off.

The subwoofer
The subwoofer
Sound profile
Sound profile
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2036.739.736.72535.634.635.63134.63534.64033.73533.75035.331.535.36336.331.936.38032.531.632.510035.230.335.212549.229.149.216057.228.757.220055.527.855.525057.727.657.731556.827.156.840060.826.560.850059.725.459.763059.42559.480060.624.860.6100060.724.560.7125057.624.457.6160055.62455.620005723.957250058.823.658.8315059.723.859.7400056.723.556.7500054.323.554.3630051.623.651.6800050.223.550.21000049.123.549.11250048.523.548.51600041.923.641.9SPL69.736.369.7N27.42.727.4median 56.8median 24.4median 56.8Delta4.81.54.831.73331.731.733.331.732.335.232.330.429.930.436.336.236.328.927.128.929.926.629.937.324.437.345.224.845.252.523.652.555.621.755.663.421.463.46621.66672.520.272.561.619.661.667.318.667.368.51868.565.517.665.569.317.869.367.617.767.668.417.668.471.817.771.871.217.971.268.117.868.168.11868.165.918.265.962.218.362.260.318.260.36018.26058.91858.980.530.380.550.91.450.9median 65.9median 18.2median 65.95.11.25.1hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseLenovo Legion Y920-17IKBLenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (69.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 5.3% lower than median
(-) | bass is not linear (15.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 50% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 30% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 62% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (70 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 12.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.5% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (13.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 20% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 74% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 12% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 85% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency Comparison (Checkbox selectable!)
Graph 1: Pink Noise 100% Vol.; Graph 2: Audio off

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The Y920 is a fairly power-hungry machine thanks to its 17.3-inch IPS G-Sync display and high-end CPU and GPU. We measured an idle average of 30.9 W, which is nearly 3 times the 10.9 W of the Legion Y720 and higher than all other competitors apart from the GTX 1080-equipped, WQHD-rocking Alienware 17 R4 (37.6 W). Under load, we measured an average of 87.4 W and a maximum of 201.5 W; Witcher 3 stress brought the average up to around 182.02 W, which is probably indicative of what we’d see during a typical heavy gaming session.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.4 / 0.6 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 29.4 / 30.9 / 31.9 Watt
Load midlight 87.4 / 201.5 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
i7-7820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
Asus G752VS-BA338T
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, Samsung SM961 MZVKW512HMJP m.2 PCI-e, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
Alienware 17 R4
i7-7820HK, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB, TN LED, 2560x1440, 17.30
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
6820HK, GeForce GTX 980M, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2, , 1920x1080, 17.30
Power Consumption
9%
-24%
49%
3%
Idle Minimum *
29.4
21
29%
37.5
-28%
8
73%
24.3
17%
Idle Average *
30.9
27
13%
37.6
-22%
10.9
65%
29.6
4%
Idle Maximum *
31.9
32
-0%
37.6
-18%
11.8
63%
29.9
6%
Load Average *
87.4
86
2%
122.4
-40%
70
20%
110.1
-26%
Witcher 3 ultra *
182
165
9%
180.3
1%
102
44%
Load Maximum *
201.5
206
-2%
277.4
-38%
148
27%
171.4
15%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Legion Y920 isn’t meant for long runtimes while operating unplugged, but then again, that really isn’t what most gamers care about. Under load, the laptop lasted for just over two hours, while web surfing at around 150 cd/m² lasted for 4 hours and 43 minutes total. That’s not terrible for a high-end gaming PC, but again, the likelihood of this thing making frequent trips out of the house is not very high given its unwieldy size and weight and its need for AC power for true gaming performance. Compared with its peers, this is right around what we’d expect to see from a 90 Wh battery paired with these components.

Please also note the odd change in slope in the Classic Test graph. Because of this, we actually ran this battery test twice, but the result was exactly the same both times, so it ought to be accurate regardless of the cause.

Battery life, Classic Test
Battery life, Classic Test
Battery life, Readers' Test (Idle)
Battery life, Readers' Test (Idle)
Battery life, web surfing
Battery life, web surfing
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
5h 51min
WiFi Websurfing
4h 43min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 01min
Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB
i7-7820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 90 Wh
Asus G752VS-BA338T
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 90 Wh
MSI GS43VR 7RE-069US
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 61 Wh
Gigabyte P56XT
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 91.2 Wh
HP Omen 15-ce002ng
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, 70 Wh
Alienware 17 R4
i7-7820HK, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 99 Wh
Lenovo Lenovo Legion Y720 80VR002XGE
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 60 Wh
Lenovo IdeaPad Y900
6820HK, GeForce GTX 980M, 90 Wh
Battery Runtime
3%
-7%
32%
-30%
-33%
31%
-0%
Reader / Idle
351
445
27%
537
53%
568
62%
256
-27%
276
-21%
707
101%
349
-1%
WiFi v1.3
283
293
4%
173
-39%
384
36%
198
-30%
181
-36%
380
34%
248
-12%
Load
121
96
-21%
79
-35%
120
-1%
80
-34%
69
-43%
71
-41%
136
12%

Pros

+ attractive, sturdy design
+ expansive connectivity options
+ very good display with G-SYNC
+ extremely fast NVMe SSD
+ stable performance with Turbo Mode active
+ reasonable noise levels under load
+ manageable temperatures
+ good quality audio

Cons

- disappointing CPU performance due to thermal throttling
- slightly subpar GPU performance
- mechanical keyboard features odd sense of feedback
- large and heavy
- rather expensive

Verdict

In review: Lenovo Legion Y920. Test model provided by Lenovo US
In review: Lenovo Legion Y920. Test model provided by Lenovo US

The $2,299 MSRP Lenovo Legion Y920 is a bonafide desktop replacement, meant for serious gaming and equipped correspondingly. Everything from the overclockable Core i7-7820HK CPU and GTX 1070 GPU to the blazing Samsung NVMe SSD and 17.3-inch IPS G-SYNC display panel fit the profile and position the Y920 for direct competition with some of the biggest behemoths of the market.

To that end, we find high-level GPU performance which—while below the median slightly for the GTX 1070—is still incredibly fast overall, along with excellent general system performance. Noise levels are noticeable yet never terribly bothersome, case temperatures are surprisingly comfortable, and the included Lenovo Nerve Center software package allows for easy tweaking of related parameters such as fan speeds and automatic overclocking. Finally, build quality is top-notch, with the combination of ABS plastic and aluminum fitting together very nicely and forming both an attractive and haptically-pleasing package.

The Legion Y920’s primary shortfalls, meanwhile, are found in the categories of sustained CPU performance (thanks to extremely high chip temperatures under multi-core load) and input devices. With regard to the former, while the Core i7-7820HK impresses on paper, the Y920 was unable to match the level of turbo performance in our testing that the Alienware 17 R4 achieved (4.0 GHz permanently under load) thanks to unchecked temperatures that quickly extended into the 90s C. This suggests that a configuration equipped with the Core i7-7700HQ would represent both a better value and a more stable performer in multi-core applications. As for the input devices, the clickpad’s integrated buttons can be a bother, and the mechanical keyboard—while certainly a defining feature—possesses a unique and unorthodox sort of feedback (as well as loose, clattery keys) that absolutely will require a trial period and some serious adjustment. It may even be a deal-breaker for some users; we personally prefer the conventional Lenovo AccuType keyboard.

Forgiving the disappointing CPU performance and the unconventional mechanical keyboard, there really isn’t much else major to criticize about the Y920. It’s huge, heavy, and self-assured in its styling, but it’s exactly what we’d expect to see from a modern 17.3-inch gaming machine.

As for the Turbo Mode slider, we found few reasons ever to leave it disabled, and we discovered that performance while enabled, though marginally higher, was still not necessarily any better than that of similarly-equipped competitors. It seems somewhat gimmicky in that regard, but we suppose having the option is always superior to the alternative.

So, forgiving the disappointing CPU performance and the unconventional mechanical keyboard, there really isn’t much else major to criticize about the Y920. It’s huge, heavy, and self-assured in its styling, but it’s exactly what we’d expect to see from a modern 17.3-inch gaming machine. It’s fundamentally superior to the Y900 that precedes it, and it resides in the company of the Alienware 17 R4 and Asus ROG GL752VS with similar performance and pricing. Those in the market for a solid GTX 1070-equipped desktop replacement should at least give it a serious look (and play around with the keyboard if possible) before settling on a purchase.

Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB - 08/16/2017 v6(old)
Steve Schardein

Chassis
82 / 98 → 84%
Keyboard
73%
Pointing Device
75%
Connectivity
71 / 81 → 88%
Weight
45 / 10-66 → 63%
Battery
80%
Display
83%
Games Performance
95%
Application Performance
98%
Temperature
87 / 95 → 92%
Noise
86 / 90 → 96%
Audio
85%
Camera
50 / 85 → 59%
Average
78%
86%
Gaming - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Lenovo Legion Y920-17IKB (i7-7820HK, GTX 1070) Laptop Review
Steve Schardein, 2017-08-23 (Update: 2019-04- 5)