Lenovo Legion 5 Pro review: Fast performance at a reasonable price

Price When Reviewed

$1,699.99

Best Prices Today: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro

Lenovo’s Legion model has established itself as a go-to choice for avid gamers who need stable efficiency at an affordable value. The new Legion 5 Pro seems to be to bolster this with the newest Intel 13th-Gen processors and Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics. They present a notable enhance over final 12 months’s mannequin and preserve the Legion 5 Pro’s place as a go-to gaming laptop computer for these trying to spend lower than $2,000. 

Looking for extra choices? If so, try our roundup of the best gaming laptops out there proper now.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Specs and options

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is up to date with the newest Intel and Nvidia {hardware}. This contains the Intel Core i7-13700HX, a 16-core processor with 24 threads and a most Turbo Boost frequency of 5GHz. It’s joined by Nvidia’s RTX 4060, which on this iteration can faucet as much as 140 watts of energy.

• CPU: Intel Core i7-13700HX
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 4060 (140-watt TGP)
• Display: 16-inch 2,560 x 1,600 165Hz IPS
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p with digital privateness shutter
• Connectivity: 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort 1.4 and 140 watts Power Delivery, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort 1.4, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1,1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 80 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.3 x 10.25 x 1.05 inches
• Weight: 5.51 kilos
• MSRP: $1,699.99 MSRP, $1,449.99 retail

Pricing begins at $1,259.99 via Lenovo’s web site. That will snag you a much less succesful machine with an Intel Core i5-13500HX and Nvidia RTX 4060. The mannequin I examined was priced at $1,449.99, lower than $200 greater than the entry-level regardless of an enormous improve to each the CPU and GPU.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Design and construct high quality

The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is cloaked in a reserved navy-blue and black chassis. It makes use of easy, largely untextured plastics that don’t look or really feel outstanding however manages a extra polished, skilled vibe than alternate options such because the Acer Predator Helios, Asus TUF Gaming A16, and Dell Inspiron Gaming. It’s clearly a laptop computer designed for efficiency but received’t entice undesirable consideration in a gathering. 

It received’t take up your entire desk, both. Measuring at 14.3 inches vast and 10.25 inches deep, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is fairly compact for a 16-inch gaming laptop computer, although it is going to nonetheless really feel most laptop computer luggage to capability. Its dimension is most noticeable in profile, because the Legion Pro 5 measures a tad over an inch thick—a trait you’ll definitely discover whereas dealing with the machine. It additionally ideas the scales at 5.6 kilos, which is analogous to aggressive laptops however somewhat noticeable when positioned in a backpack or messenger bag. 

Lenovo’s construct high quality doesn’t disappoint. The chassis is stable and uncomplaining, with no creaks or groans to betray its plastic origins. There’s some give right here and there, most notably within the show lid whenever you’re opening and shutting it, however nothing to sound alarm bells. In reality, it’s proper up there with the competitors, providing an analogous diploma of rigidity and sturdiness.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has a wonderful keyboard with loads of key journey and a handy guide a rough, decisive bottoming motion that rewards every keystroke with agency tactile suggestions. It beats friends such because the Acer Predator Helios 300 and MSI Katana/Sword, which, whereas not horrible, really feel lackluster as compared. The Legion Pro 5 even has an edge over {most professional} laptops together with the MacBook Pro 16 and Dell XPS 15.

A numpad is included and shifts the keyboard off-center, a format determination I dislike. The touchpad follows swimsuit, additionally veering off-center to align with the keyboard, which eats into the palmrest house on the laptop computer’s left facet.

The keyboard is backlit and provides RGB shade customization throughout 4 zones, which is par for the course on this class. The software program would possibly throw customers for a loop, because it’s tucked away in Lenovo’s Vantage software program that has grown bloated over the previous few years. Still, the backlight does its job and may look as reserved or garish as you’d like.

The touchpad measures a decent 4.5 inches vast and 3 inches deep—not big for a 16-inch laptop computer, however serviceable. It provides a easy, responsive floor, and Windows 11 multi-touch gestures are a breeze to make use of. I skilled a couple of palm rejection snafus that led to some undesirable mouse clicks, however these weren’t frequent sufficient to trigger severe concern. 

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro sports activities a 2560×1600 IPS show that refreshes at a brisk 165Hz. These are frequent specs within the mid-range gaming laptop computer enviornment, and it’s uncommon to see any gaming laptop computer under $2,000 with a considerably greater decision or refresh price. More costly gaming laptops, just like the Razer Blade, put their elevated funds to good use with OLED or Mini-LED panels.

Maximum brightness is available in at an eye catching 419 nits which, mixed with the show’s matte coat, makes the show comfy to view in vibrant rooms. The distinction ratio is somewhat modest, nevertheless, with a most measured distinction of simply 890:1. That’s low even for a mid-range gaming laptop computer and results in disappointing shadow element in darkish scenes. Darker video games, like Resident Evil 4 or Diablo IV, look hazy and flat on this monitor. 

Bright, colourful video games fare higher. The show’s shade gamut spans 99 % of sRGB and 79 % of DCI-P3. These outcomes are behind the perfect laptops: Razer’s Blade 16 with Mini-LED show, for instance, can obtain 100 % of each shade gamuts. However, the Legion 5 Pro’s outcomes significantly exceed funds alternate options just like the MSI Sword, which solely managed 70 % of the sRGB shade gamut. The Legion 5 Pro is remarkably correct, too. Color accuracy, shade temperature, and gamma outcomes are spot-on their targets, which suggests video games look as their creators meant.

The 165Hz refresh price ensures fluid, clear movement and offers a responsive gaming expertise. However, the Legion 5 Pro doesn’t acquire any floor right here, as shows with comparable refresh charges are the norm throughout funds and mid-range gaming laptops.

Lenovo provides an upgraded show choice with the identical 2,560 x 1,600 decision, improved brightness, and a 240Hz refresh price. I wasn’t capable of take a look at the show, however my expertise with different laptops that boast comparable show specs leads me to anticipate it is going to look noticeably higher in most video games. Lenovo costs a mere $30 for the improve, so I extremely suggest choosing the 240Hz panel.

The Legion 5 Pro’s downward-firing audio system produce first rate audio, although their location means audio will be muffled relying on the floor the laptop computer is positioned on. The audio system strike a stability between lows and highs and barely sound muddy. Maximum quantity is a bit low, nevertheless, so the audio system are most fulfilling in a quiet room.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro has a 1080p webcam. It’s a pleasant improve over the 720p webcams which might be extra frequent in trendy gaming laptops. The picture seems to be sharp in good lighting and offers a nice, colourful look. Significant noise creeps into the video and introduces a grainy, gentle look in poorly lit rooms, however the issue is much less noticeable than with most laptops. An digital privateness shutter with a bodily change is included, too. 

A dual-array microphone handles the laptop computer’s audio seize. It works as anticipated, offering robust, clear audio seize with good noise cancellation, however captured audio sounds hole and distant when performed again via an honest pair of headphones. This is typical for a laptop computer and shouldn’t trigger an issue in video calls. 

Biometric login just isn’t supported, which is typical for a gaming laptop computer. Even the most costly laptops generally omit this function, although it may be discovered on alternate options just like the Razer Blade 16.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

Lenovo’s Legion 5 Pro scores excessive marks in connectivity. The spotlight is a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and as much as 140 watts of Power Delivery. This just isn’t sufficient to completely energy the laptop computer at most load, because it ships with a 300 watt energy adapter, however sufficient to energy and cost the laptop computer in much less demanding duties. Owners have the choice of leaving the 300 watt energy brick at dwelling when the Legion 5 Pro’s most efficiency potential isn’t required. 

Additional USB connectivity spans a second USB-C port, which helps DisplayPort however not Power Delivery, and three USB-A ports. That’s a complete of 5 USB ports, which is superb for any laptop computer bought in 2023. They’re joined by an HDMI 2.1 port, Ethernet port, and 3.5mm combo audio jack. Most ports are on the rear of the laptop computer, as a substitute of the perimeters, which makes for straightforward cable administration when the laptop computer is on a desk.

Wireless connectivity contains Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1, which is commonplace for many trendy gaming laptops. Wi-Fi efficiency is kind of good when related to a Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E router and can go away many avid gamers with no want to hook up with wired Ethernet, although it’s there if you’d like it. 

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Performance

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro has muscular mid-range specs which embody an Intel Core i7-13700HX processor with a complete of 16 processor cores (eight Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores) and a most clock velocity of 5GHz. It’s paired with 16GB of DDR5 reminiscence and a 512GB stable state drive. The Core i7-13700HX is the quickest processor out there within the Legion 5 Pro, however Lenovo provides RAM upgrades as much as 32GB and storage upgrades as much as 1TB.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Lenovo begins off robust with a PCMark 10 rating of 7349. Though hardly record-setting, it’s a decent rating that’s in the direction of the highest finish of mid-range gaming laptops, and it represents a system that’s able to robust total efficiency. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R15 paints the Legion 5 Pro in an excellent higher gentle with a rating of 3213. This is an enormous enchancment over final 12 months’s Legion 5 with Intel Core i7-12700H, and very aggressive with different efficiency laptops. Asus’ ROG Strix G18 is the one machine that leaps forward, which is to be anticipated, because it equips a way more highly effective Core i9-13980HX processor. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake removes any shadow of doubt concerning the Legion 5 Pro’s processor efficiency. It as soon as once more achieves the second-best rating and offers a significant carry over final 12 months’s mannequin. Those who depend upon apps that require important CPU horsepower can be extraordinarily happy.

This is a gaming laptop computer, nevertheless, and wonderful processor outcomes don’t at all times translate to nice recreation efficiency. There’s purpose to be suspicious, too, because the laptop computer I examined had Nvidia RTX 4060 cellular graphics. It’s a decent funds choice, however can it actually ship in probably the most demanding 3D video games?

IDG / Matthew Smith

3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark is sweet information for the Legion 5 Pro, hitting a mixed rating of 8967. That’s extraordinarily aggressive with equally priced laptops and signifies that the Legion 5 Pro can deal with most trendy 3D titles. However, the brand new Legion 5 Pro with RTX 4060 is just a tad faster than the previous mannequin with RTX 3060. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Shadow of the Tomb Raider hits a formidable common of 130 frames per second. That’s a stable rating for a mid-range gaming laptop computer and marks a extra important enchancment over the older Legion mannequin with RTX 3060. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Metro Exodus, however, averaged a disappointing 37 frames per second. That’s not an uncommon rating for laptops on this value vary (in reality, it’s somewhat robust), but it surely principally ties the previous Legion with RTX 3060. This would appear to counsel the RTX 3060 and RTX 4060 face an analogous efficiency bottleneck on this recreation.

I used Cyberpunk 2077 to guage the Legion 5 Pro’s ray tracing efficiency. The recreation averaged 80 frames per second at 1080p and Ultra element. That plummeted to only 26 FPS with ray-tracing on and set to Ultra. Fortunately, Nvidia’s DLSS with DLSS 3 Frame Generation restored most of that loss, kicking the common again as much as a extremely playable 74 FPS. Even Cyberpunk 2077’s new Overdrive mode is playable, averaging 44 FPS when DLSS is on. 

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Battery life

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is a strong mid-range gaming laptop computer—and whereas that is good for efficiency, it may be a damaging for battery life. Lenovo’s modest 80 watt-hour battery doesn’t encourage confidence, both, and finally fails to ship. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

I measured 4 hours and 12 minutes of battery life in our commonplace video take a look at loop, which repeats a 4K file of the brief movie Tears of Steel. Web shopping prolonged the battery life by a hair to 4 hours and 19 minutes, which stays unremarkable. 

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro: Should you purchase it?

Lenovo’s Legion 5 Pro stays a simple advice. Its strong construct, skilled exterior, and wonderful keyboard set it aside from rivals, and it delivers stable efficiency for each productiveness and gaming. The Legion 5 Pro is a big, heavy laptop computer, and mediocre battery life makes it a poor journey companion. Still, it’s a fantastic alternative for avid gamers who want a quick laptop computer at an affordable value.