Lenovo is urgent onward with its Legion lineup of gaming machines with the most recent Legion Y920T gaming tower. That is the following step for the Y9xx sequence, because it makes incremental enhancements on the IdeaCentre Y900 of 2016 and and the Y900 of 2017. 

Whereas its predecessors had been gaming and VR-ready, the Legion Y920T is extra prepared than ever earlier than. It’s packed to the gills, with a Intel Core i7 CPU, a Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card, a PCIe SSD and seven,200RPM HDD and 16GB of RAM, however all that energy comes at a $2,249 (£2,299, about AU$2,930) value. Nonetheless, as with many pre-builts, it comes full of a contact extra pre-installed software program than we’d prefer to see. 

Let’s dig in and see how Lenovo’s top-of-the-line gaming rig stacks up in opposition to the competitors.

Pricing and availability

The Legion Y920T is a powerhouse. The Nvidia GTX 1080 and overclockable Intel Core i7-7700Ok all however make sure that. However, the top-spec construct prices $2,249 (£2,299, about AU$2,930). 

A barely lower-spec model is out there U.S. with half the SSD and HDD storage and a GTX 1070 8GB for a extra palatable $1,799. Sadly, this mannequin doesn’t look like offered by Lenovo within the UK or Australia.

Lenovo’s present value for the mannequin we examined is a precise match for the $2,249 (round £1,700, AU$2,800) Alienware Aurora R6, which has the identical Intel Core i7-7700Ok CPU, an equal 16GB of DDR4-2400 RAM and 256GB+2TB storage setup, however a extra highly effective Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 11GB. That’s not nice information for Lenovo, as a result of we actually favored that one.

Priced a bit above the Legion, the Corsair One Elite is available in at $2,999 (£2,799) for a construct with a brand new Core i7-8700Ok (hexa-core with 12MB cache), 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and 2TB HDD and a beefier GTX 1080Ti 11GB (AU$three,799 for a Kaby Lake mannequin). However, the Corsair One Elite comes with a compact design that doesn’t fairly evaluate with the utility provided by Lenovo’s rig.

Design

The design of the Legion Y920T is almost an identical to the sooner IdeaCentre 900 fashions. It retains the aggressive eyes and the jagged trying carbon fiber end. It’s totally dedicated to the gamer aesthetic, however fortunately not overcommitted. 

The RBG lighting of the 2 entrance eyes and the entrance Y brand is customizable, which suggests it may be made as delicate or obnoxious as desired. Sadly, the rear fan stays purple, ruining any lighting scheme with shifting colours or that doesn’t contain purple.

The construct of the case feels nice, with nothing feeling free or prefer it’s product of weak supplies. The aspect panel is a bit cloudy, which is simply too unhealthy, as a result of Lenovo’s inner format of the system is clear. Many of the cables are pretty properly hidden, so the highly effective GTX 1080 can stand out. The reddish PCB of the graphics card no less than will match the purple aesthetic pressured by the rear fan. Lenovo makes use of a pleasant matte black metallic inside that feels sturdy.

Lenovo additionally has a helpful resolution for opening the case. Undoing the locking mechanism on the again and urgent the massive button on prime opens up the aspect panel with none want for screws or a screwdriver. 

The case’s airflow appears to get the job carried out, as we by no means seen sizzling spots even throughout benchmarking. The included followers work, pushing that air out by means of the again. They’ll get noisy at occasions, with the blower-style GTX 1080 showing to be the principle wrongdoer behind the loudest racket. Nothing ever sounds defective, however there are some curious coffee-maker-like sounds. 

The Legion Y920T is a giant boy. It ships in an enormous field, and it, itself is a large field, measuring 34 liters in quantity. It received’t sit subtly on or beside a desk. And, with its dimension, comes weight. Hefting round a 34.four pound case from LAN get together to LAN get together received’t be a blast, however the deal with on prime does assist.

Upgradability

Lenovo claims that this rig is simple to improve, and the tool-less panel is an efficient begin. However, from the seems to be of it, some upgrades shall be more durable than others.

Our rig has two empty RAM slots that shall be simple to fill. There’s sufficient room to get an even bigger CPU cooler, although some warmth sinks close to the CPU might get in the way in which. The highest of the case is a bit busy, so a radiator appears out of the query.

A second PCIe 16x slot is out there beneath the graphics card, making a SLI improve possible. Nonetheless, really swapping out the present graphics card is a tad extra tough than it must be. It’s held in with a bracket system, and a particular cable extends one DisplayPort by means of the case to supply a entrance panel HDMI port. It may be undone, nevertheless it’s not fairly as plug-and-play as different setups.

Whereas 2TB of HDD storage is a considerable quantity, getting extra room for video games is vital, and maybe including in some extra stable state storage to make up for the shortage of it might be good. Nonetheless, the motherboard doesn’t present very easy accessibility to the SATA ports, as they’re principally blocked by the graphics card. 

Maybe worst of all is the Z270 chipset. The i7-7700Ok isn’t any slouch, and nonetheless boasts nice single-core efficiency and a few good overclocking headroom, however the Legion Y920T’s Z270 motherboard means there’s no easy improve to the already out there Coffee Lake CPUs.

Efficiency

There’s little question about it, the Legion Y920T will get the job carried out, and it does it fast. It boots in a flash, like blink and also you’ll miss it.  The quick CPU, RAM and SSD all mix for easy, zippy efficiency whereas looking the online, watching movies and booting up applications. It’s going to wrestle with nothing however probably the most demanding purposes. 

As a gaming laptop, it holds its personal. It performs properly in benchmarks (beneath), and it earns its hold working Center Earth: Shadow of Conflict, PUBG and Rainbow Six: Siege on a 1440p 144Hz monitor with principally Extremely settings. Outcomes range considerably, nevertheless it persistently spits out extremely playable body charges within the ballpark of 70 to 100. 

Even the model new Far Cry 5 runs at a easy, stutter-free 70fps more often than not at 1440p on maxed out settings and averaging 73FPS in a benchmark. 

Thermal throttling by no means seems to be a problem throughout our time enjoying, because the frames keep constant over hours-long periods.

The benchmarks present some attention-grabbing outcomes, as the facility on supply by CPU of this rig appears will get a small leg up on the Alienware Aurora R7 and Corsair One Elite in few locations, regardless of these two having some beefier internals and liquid-cooling.

Whereas the 1080 Ti in these two computer systems handily beats the Legion Y920T in GPU-intensive benchmarks, the CPU gala’s properly in opposition to the competitors. Its i7-7700Ok helps it beat the Corsair One Elite’s i7-8700Ok and even the Aurora R6’s i7-7700Ok in GeekBench’s single-core efficiency and Cinebench’s graphics check, additionally topping the R6 in GeekBench’s multi-core check.

Digital prepared

One of many key adjustments to the Legion Y920T in comparison with its predecessors is the way it makes VR extra handy. It’s already a multitude of cables getting the Oculus Rift working. So many USB ports are wanted, and the headset has to plug into an HDMI port whereas the pc is plugged right into a monitor which may additionally want an HDMI port. If some or all these ports are behind the pc, it may be an actual problem.

The Legion Y920T solves all of that with no fuss. There are a number of USB ports on the entrance of the case, and a solitary HDMI port wired by means of a  DisplayPort plug on the video card, so every thing an Oculus gamer must plug in can go proper into the entrance of the case, even when they’ve a 3 sensors to arrange. 

Remaining verdict

Players would possibly concern that pre-built PCs are all costly with low-cost – and, usually proprietary – components slapped right into a field, put in with Home windows, and known as ok once they’re nothing higher than a noob may assemble. That’s not the case right here.

Lenovo has carried out a good job placing collectively the Legion Y920T. The construct high quality is sturdy with a contact of intercourse enchantment, and the elements inside carry out extremely. For VR, Lenovo has solved among the tedious components of establishing. 

Whereas it’s attainable to construct a equally spec’d laptop for a bit cheaper, we nonetheless have to think about the issue of discovering high-end graphics playing cards at correct retail pricing. Going the DIY route additionally requires constructing a properly balanced machine with considerate cable administration, good airflow and the shortage of a guaranty must you make a mistake. 

The additional quantity we’d should spend on the pre-built Lenovo appears simply value it. Nonetheless, we’re prone to hop on over to Dell for the GTX 1080 Ti within the Alienware rig and get much more frames for our greenback.