8.8/ 10 SCORE Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 Pros
2.5K OLED show is crisp, vibrant and quick
Snappy keyboard feels quick for video games
Thin and light-weight for its measurement
Free M.2 slot so as to add second SSD
Cons
Short battery life
No biometrics for straightforward, safe logins
Lacks quick Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 ports
Always-on energy button LED is annoying
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for many finances gaming laptop computer buyers, each by way of value and options. But should you view it as two laptops in a single — a reliable gaming laptop computer with a pretty big 15.1-inch show and a general-use laptop computer that is skinny and light-weight sufficient to hold round greater than often — then its value north of $1,500 begins to seem like an awesome worth.Gamers and creators alike will make good use of the Intel Core i7-14700HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 pairing, however the true star of the present is the Legion 5i Gen 10’s OLED show. Gamers do not essentially want an OLED, however the wonderful distinction permits you to see particulars in darkish scenes, and it has a 165Hz refresh fee for clean motion. Creators will admire the show’s crisp 2.5K decision, stunning brightness and correct coloration efficiency. The Legion 5i Gen 10 is unquestionably geared towards energy reasonably than effectivity, offering wonderful total efficiency, however on the expense of battery life. The brief battery life comes with the territory, but it surely additionally means this is not the right pupil laptop computer to take throughout campus all day after which be capable to recreation at evening. But for a post-college life-style the place you are by no means seated too removed from an influence outlet and operating round with a laptop computer in a backpack much less, then the Legion 5i Gen 10 is a superb decide if you’d like a single laptop computer for each work and gaming.Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 Price as reviewed $1,569Show measurement/decision 15.1-inch 2,560×1,600 165Hz OLEDCPU Intel Core i7-14700HXMemory 32GB LPDDR5-5600Graphics 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 @ 115WStorage 1TB SSDPorts 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, microSD card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, combo audioNetworking Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4Operating system Windows 11 HomeWeight 4.3 lbs (2 kg) You’ll discover Intel Arrow Lake and Raptor Lake variations of the Legion 5i Gen 10 on Lenovo’s web site. The sequence begins at roughly $1,340 (Lenovo’s reductions are at all times shifting, so that you would possibly see a barely completely different value) for a hard and fast configuration with a Core Ultra 7 255HX chip from Intel’s Arrow Lake sequence, RTX 5060 graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. This similar config can also be accessible as a customizable mannequin with choices to improve to a Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and double the RAM and storage. The good factor is that every one fashions have the 15.1-inch, 2.5K-resolution OLED show. There are additionally mounted and customizable configs with the identical Arrow Lake chip however with RTX 5070 graphics.There’s a lone Raptor Lake mannequin listed on Lenovo’s web site, however it is a bit of an odd duck, pairing a high-end CPU within the Core i9-14900HX and the upper of the 2 GPUs supplied within the RTX 5070, however with solely 16GB of RAM and an undersized 512GB SSD. The system I examined is not listed on Lenovo’s web site, however it’s a far more well-rounded machine. It’s bought at Newegg for $1,569 and encompasses a Core i7-14700HX and RTX 5060 graphics, together with ample 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD that the majority avid gamers will find yourself maxing out sooner reasonably than later. Thankfully, the underside panel is straightforward to take away, and as soon as inside, you will discover a free M.2 slot so as to add a second storage drive.The Legion 5i Gen 10 begins at £1,279 within the UK and AU$2,399 in Australia. Matt Elliott/CNETLenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 performanceFollowing the Acer Nitro V 16S AI and MSI Katana 15 HX, the Legion 5i Gen 10 is the third gaming laptop computer I’ve examined with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series GPU. The MSI machine is a real finances laptop computer, priced at simply $999, with entry-level RTX 5050 graphics and an old-school 15.6-inch show. At $1,300, the Acer entry sits between the MSI and the Legion 5i Gen 10 and provides a bigger 16-inch show powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 260 and RTX 5060 graphics.The Legion 5i Gen 10 bested them each in testing, and an enormous cause why it completed forward of the Acer on all however certainly one of our benchmark checks was that its RTX 5060 is ready to run at its full 115 watts whereas Acer throttles its GPU, limiting it to 85 watts. And even with the high-powered Core i7-14700HX and full-wattage RTX 5060, the Legion 5i wasn’t any louder than the Acer. Among gaming laptops, each have been on the quiet facet. The Legion 5i Gen 10’s two cooling followers stored the laptop computer cool underneath load with out getting too loud. I would not describe them as “whisper quiet,” however I’ve heard worse.After acing our utility checks, the Legion 5i Gen 10 proceeded to web wonderful outcomes on our 3D graphics and gaming benchmarks, as you possibly can see beneath. It bested each the Acer Nitro V 16S AI and MSI Katana 15 HX on each check except our two latest gaming checks. On the built-in benchmark of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, which we run at 1,920×1,080-pixel decision with the High preset, the Legion 5i Gen 10 completed a single body per second behind the Nitro V 16S, however nonetheless managed to maintain its common body fee above 60fps for clean gameplay. And on F1 24, it misplaced out to the MSI, which was the stunning victor with its RTX 5050 graphics.The Legion 5i Gen 10’s gaming success requires a sacrifice in battery life. Despite that includes an enormous, 80-watt-hour battery, it lasted lower than 5.5 hours on our YouTube streaming battery drain check. That’s a poor consequence even amongst gaming laptops. The vibrant, high-res OLED show additionally would not do any favors for the laptop computer’s battery life. The Legion 5i Gen 10 is definitely a laptop computer that does not assist you to stray from an influence outlet for very lengthy, however the wonderful efficiency and superior OLED show might be well worth the trade-off in battery life for a lot of avid gamers and creators. Matt Elliott/CNETGaming laptop computer in disguiseThis Legion is about as skinny and light-weight because it will get for a gaming laptop computer. Some finances laptops just like the MSI Katana 15 HX function dated 15.6-inch, 16:9 shows, however extra generally, you will discover 16-inch, 16:10 shows, as with the Acer Nitro V 16S AI. The Legion 5i provides a compromise, supplying a contemporary 16:10 side ratio however in a extra compact 15.1-inch measurement. I’ll get to the show itself shortly, however the good thing about sacrificing a little bit of display measurement — whereas nonetheless getting loads of area from high to backside for seeing extra on the display and scrolling much less when studying, shopping or working — is bigger portability. The Legion 5i Gen 10 weighs 4.3 kilos, which is lower than the 4.6-pound Nitro V 16S AI and the 5.6-pound Katana 15 HX. This is the uncommon gaming laptop computer that I would not thoughts carrying with me on one thing approaching a day by day foundation. But you will have to lug the hefty energy brick together with you, given the brief battery life. And the facility brick is the everyday anchor you get with a gaming laptop computer; the facility twine and brick add 1.5 kilos to your bag, placing the whole journey weight at 5.8 kilos.It’s not a plastic hulk like some finances gaming laptops, however it’s trim and inflexible. The keyboard deck and backside panel are plastic however have a agency really feel. The lid is constituted of aluminum, giving it a bit extra of an upscale feel and appear. Matt Elliott/CNETIf you need to tote the Legion 5i round as your do-it-all laptop computer, it will not look misplaced whether or not you are working in an workplace, shared workspace, espresso store or gaming at a good friend’s home or college lounge. The laptop computer comes wearing enterprise black and lacks the aggressive venting and sculpted plastic prospers discovered on many gaming laptops. Other than the Legion identify on the lid, which different avid gamers would possibly acknowledge, the one gaming-centric a part of the general design is the Eye of Sauron energy button, whose white LED lighting is sort of at all times on. (This motif is repeated within the “O” within the Legion branding on the lid in addition to the icon on the “O” key.)The energy button stays illuminated when the Legion 5i Gen 10 is on, solely turning off once you energy off the laptop computer and pulsing when the laptop computer dips into sleep mode. You’re given nice management over the keyboard’s RGB backlighting, however I discovered nothing for turning off and even dimming the facility button’s LED. And its shine is vibrant, particularly in a darkish room.When you activate the Legion 5i Gen 10’s RGB keyboard backlighting, it immediately appears like a gaming laptop computer. Most finances and midrange gaming laptops present single-zone or four-zone RGB lighting at finest, however the Legion 5i Gen 10 serves up a formidable (on paper) 24 zones. In observe, the impact of this 24-zone RGB LED keyboard is muted. The zones are vertical strips, and the RGB results and patterns do not look all that completely different flowing over these skinny columns as they do on a four-zone keyboard. The hole between typical four-zone RGB lighting and the 24 zones you get right here is far smaller than it’s going from these 24 zones to per-key RGB lighting, the place you possibly can actually dial in your meant impact. Matt Elliott/CNETThe keys themselves are very agency, which makes the keyboard really feel quick once you’re mashing keys throughout a frantic scene in a recreation as a result of they snap again shortly. I favor a barely softer really feel with shallower journey for typing. The touchpad is a bit undersized, however I favored its agency click on response. The touchpad is centered beneath the keyboard, which is off-center to accommodate a numberpad. More than the numpad, I used to be excited to see 4 full-size arrow keys on the keyboard.I used to be additionally excited to discover a free M.2 slot after I eliminated the underside panel. Having a second M.2 slot means you possibly can increase the laptop computer’s storage with out changing the first SSD. The Legion 5i Gen 10 has a 1TB SSD, which is roomy for many laptops, however a lot of right this moment’s video games have enormous file sizes, so having a straightforward path to enlargement is at all times appreciated on a gaming laptop computer. Matt Elliott/CNETOutstanding OLEDThe Legion 5i Gen 10’s OLED wins the Triple Crown for shows: a excessive decision for crisp textual content and pictures, a speedy refresh fee for clean motion and a excessive peak brightness that enables colours to pop. It’s among the best laptop computer shows I’ve ever seen. The 2.5K decision is ideal for the dimensions as a result of it permits for a pointy image with out being overkill and shortening the battery life even additional. You do not want a 4K decision on a 15.1-inch show. The 165Hz refresh fee permits for clean gameplay. Higher-end gaming laptops present even sooner shows, however you are unlikely to hit greater than 165fps in most video games on the RTX 5060-powered Legion 5i Gen 10, so the 165Hz OLED panel greater than suffices. Matt Elliott/CNETOLED panels are capable of produce successfully zero-nit black ranges as a result of particular person pixels will be turned utterly off, leading to unimaginable distinction. Because of this, they need not get as vibrant as an LCD to supply a great-looking image. The Legion 5i Gen 10 will need to have missed the memo about OLED having restricted brightness. It achieved a peak brightness of 518 nits on my checks with a Spyder X colorimeter when the brightest OLED laptops usually high out round 400 nits. And the Legion 5i Gen 10 excelled on my coloration accuracy checks, masking 100% of the sRGB and P3 gamuts and, extra impressively, 99% of the bigger AdobeRGB coloration area.The webcam sits in somewhat bump-out above the show. The excellent news is that it is a 1440p cam that produces a a lot crisper, cleaner and better-balanced image than the 720p cams on the Acer Nitro V 16S AI and MSI Katana 15 HX. The unhealthy information is that it lacks an IR sensor for utilizing Windows Hello facial recognition. Without a fingerprint reader, the Legion 5i Gen 10 is devoid of biometrics for straightforward, safe logins.The laptop computer’s 2-watt stereo audio system are additionally missing. They produce satisfactory audio however do not have the total sound you will need for video games. Keep your headphones useful. Matt Elliott/CNETThe Legion 5i Gen 10 has loads of ports, however none of them are quick. The two USB-C ports provide solely 10Gbps switch speeds, which is just a fraction of the 40Gbps you get with Thunderbolt 4. Is the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 price shopping for?Yes! It gives nice efficiency for the worth, and its OLED show is excellent. It’s an awesome decide for avid gamers, but it surely’s greater than only a gaming laptop computer. Creators engaged in color-accurate work will love the intense, high-res OLED show and the laptop computer’s portability relative to different gaming laptops. For every little thing it could do, the Legion 5i Gen 10 is a superb worth at lower than $1,600.Geekbench 6 CPU (multi-core) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 17711MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 14587HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 13501Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 13312Acer Nitro V 16S AI 12787MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 11871Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 10642Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 8212 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Geekbench 6 CPU (single-core) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 2895MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 2738Acer Nitro V 16S AI 2607Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 2587Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 2428Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 2422HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 2394MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 2363 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Cinebench 2024 CPU (multi-core) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 1407MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 1220Acer Nitro V 16S AI 867 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Cinebench 2024 CPU (single-core) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 121MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 117Acer Nitro V 16S AI 104 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
PCMark 10 Pro Edition Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 8056Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 7660Acer Nitro V 16S AI 7509Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 7441HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 7038MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 7024Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 6600MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 6541 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 8015Acer Nitro V 16S AI 6413MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 6285Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 4802Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 4541Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 4534HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 4268MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 3687 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest @ 1920 x 1080) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 172MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 155Acer Nitro V 16S AI 143Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 136Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 126Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 116HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 107MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 75 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Guardians of the Galaxy (High @1920 x 1080) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 195Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 165MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 159HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 141Acer Nitro V 16S AI 133Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 128MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 100Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 90 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
The Riftbreaker GPU (1920 x 1080) Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 306.68MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 231.99Acer Nitro V 16S AI 217.77Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 217.55HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 198.06Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 195.12Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 193.65MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 143.9 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Assasin’s Creed Shadows (1920×1080 @ High) Acer Nitro V 16S AI 62Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 61MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 53 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
F1 24 (1920×1080 @ Ultra High) MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 104Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 82Acer Nitro V 16S AI 74 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Online streaming battery drain check Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 9:58HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 9:37Acer Nitro V 16S AI 8:32Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 8:05MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 6:14Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 6:31Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 5:25MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 5:10 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
System configurations System configurations Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-14700HX; 32GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics @ 115W; 1TB SSDAcer Nitro V 16S AI (ANV16S-41-R2AJ) Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 7 260; 32GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics @ 85W; 1TB SSDMSI Katana 15 HX B14W Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-14650HX; 16GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics @ 115W; 512GB SSDAcer Nitro V 16S AI Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 7 260; 32GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics @ 85W; 1TB SSDHP Victus 16-r0097nr Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-13700H; 16GB DDR5 5,200MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 120W; 1TB SSDAcer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i5-13500HX; 16GB DDR5 4,800MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 140W; 512GB SSDAcer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS; 16GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 140W; 512GB SSDLenovo LOQ 15APH8 Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS; 8GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 95W; 512GB SSDMSI Cyborg 15 A13VE Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-13620H; 16GB DDR5 5,200MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 45W; 512GB SSD