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Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Review

Lenovo will soon launch the next-generation Legion devices in the Philippines, powered by the AMD Ryzen 5000 H-Series processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-Series GPUs. One of them is the Legion 5 Pro. So what else are you getting from this new gaming laptop, and how does it perform? Find out in this review.

Design and Construction

We’re a fan of the clean and minimalist design of the previous-generation Legion gaming laptops. You’ll have to take a closer or longer look to notice that they’re gaming laptops. It’s a bit different on the Legion 5 Pro, though. While it still exudes that clean and minimalist appeal, its gaming DNA is now more noticeable, with more lines and angles. Like a stealth bomber.

It has other visual indicators as well. One of them is the illuminated Legion logo at the back. You can also see a pair of lines that trail from the upper corner down to the hinge.

From this side, we can also see most of the ports. There’s the RJ45, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2/DisplayPort 1.4 with power delivery, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, USB-A 3.2 Gen1 (always on), and power in. We like this design as we don’t like cables sticking out on the sides. Also found here is a pair of exhaust vents.

We have an exhaust vent, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 / DisplayPort 1.4, and a headphone-mic jack on the left.

On the right, we have another exhaust vent, an E-shutter button, and USB-A 3.2 Gen 1.

At the bottom are rubber nubs to elevate the laptop and the intake vent. As you might have figured out, the Legion 5 Pro sucks cool air from the bottom then blows the hot air out from the vents at the sides and back. Also tucked on the left and right edges are the speakers.

Open the lid, and you’ll be greeted by the 16-inch screen with slim bezels. Up top is the webcam with E-shutter and dual-array microphones at the bottom bezel.

Further down, we have the illuminated power button that changes color depending on the Thermal Mode Setting, the Legion TrueStrike keyboard with large arrow keys, and a full-sized NumPad. The keyboard is a joy to use, whether it’s just regular typing or gaming. The keys are well-spaced and don’t feel cramped, have good travel at 1.5mm, and quiet.

Down below the keyboard is a large trackpad. It’s smooth and responsive and provides an even and firm press for the left and right clicks.

When it comes to lighting, the Legion 5 Pro has 4-zone RGB lighting, which can be configured using the Lenovo Vantage software. For some reason, that option doesn’t show on our unit. Not a big deal, though, and it could be just an isolated issue for our unit.

When it comes to materials, it’s premium with aluminum top and bottom. Chunky, of course, at 1.07-inches and weighs 2.45kg. Still very portable for a gaming laptop with this screen size and would still fit most gadget backpacks.

Display and Multimedia

The Legion 5 Pro boasts a 16-inch screen size larger than the typical 15-incher you can get on the market, obviously. It’s an IPS screen, so you’ll get wide viewing angles and accurate colors. If you want a sharp screen, you’re getting a QHD resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio.

 

For brightness, you get 500 nits. If you like watching movies, it supports Dolby Vision. And as a cherry on top, it has a 165Hz refresh rate, so you get really smooth effects when navigating windows and should provide a more fluid experience in games with above-average frame rates.

If you’re a creator and need to do some photo or video editing, the Legion 5 Pro comes with X-Rite Color Assistant, so you can pick color profiles best suited for what you’re working on.

When it comes to audio, the dual speakers are loud and crisp. The bass, however, is lacking. It’s okay, though, for casual use, like attending Zoom meetings, watching videos on Netflix or YouTube, and streaming audio on Spotify.

If you’re using your favorite wired gaming headphones, like the Legion H300 Gaming Headset, you can take advantage of Nahimic audio to provide the right audio effects for different scenarios like Music, Movie, Communication, and Gaming. You can also toggle surround sound for a more immersive experience or boost your microphone and activate echo cancellation for clearer online calls.

OS and Features

The Legion 5 Pro runs on Windows 10 Home with MS Office, McAfee AV, and Spotify preinstalled. But what you can really utilize here is the Lenovo Vantage. It will provide you with system stats, system health, and system tools like System Update, Hardware Scan, Macro Key, Legion Accessory Central, Power, Nahimic, Media, and X-Rite Color Assistant.

It also comes with toggles for Network Boost, Auto Close, Hybrid Mode, over Drive, Touchpad Lock, Rapid Charge, and WiFi Security. It will also provide you with quick access to your warranty status and support. Basically, it’s your hub for everything you need to make the Legion 5 Pro behave based on your preference.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the Legion 5 Pro is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 GPU with 140W maximum graphics power, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD. Obviously, it’s a powerful configuration enough to run popular titles out there. But before you play, we suggest adjusting the Thermal Mode Setting to Performance Mode. Other settings include Balance and Quiet.

We ran a few games in their highest graphics settings in WQXGA and FHD resolutions, and here are the results:

Ghost Recon: Wildlands
• Ultra (1920 x 1080): 67.69 FPS
• Ultra (2560 x 1600): 50.81 FPS

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Highest (1920 x 1080): 100 FPS
• Highest (2560 x 1600): 82 FPS

Middle-earth: Shadow of War
• Ultra (1920 x 1080): 106 FPS
• Ultra (2560 x 1600): 84 FPS

3D Mark Time Spy also provided an estimated game performance for the following titles:
• Battlefield V: 105+ FPS (1440p Ultra) / 125+ FPS (1080p Ultra)
• Apex Legends: 115+ FPS (1440p Ultra) / 140+ FPS (1080p Ultra)
• GTA V: 65+ FPS (1440p Ultra) / 95+ FPS (1080p Ultra)
• Fortnite: 110+ FPS (1440p Ultra) / 155+ FPS (1080p Ultra)
• Red Dead Redemption 2: 40+ FPS (1440p Ultra) / 50+ FPS (1080p Ultra)

Based on the data above, the Legion 5 Pro can easily run some of these games in their highest graphics settings and resolution and still get above-average frame rates. However, if you want better frame rates, you’ll need to drop the resolution to 1080p, which is not a bad trade-off. As for the benchmarks, check out the results below:

When it comes to thermals, the Legion 5 Pro’s fans can get noisy, although it can be easily drowned by cranking the speaker volume or using a headset. It can get hot but mostly felt up to the top three rows of the keyboard. The palm rest remains relatively cool.

Connectivity and Battery Life

The Legion 5 Pro features Intel WiFi 6 802.11ax 2×2 and Bluetooth 5.1, pretty standard wireless connectivity for new laptops. Battery-wise, we’re getting an 80Wh battery, which can only last us 3 to 4 hours, mostly browsing the web, writing, and streaming on YouTube. It’s not a big issue considering that this is a gaming laptop. You’ll mostly use it plugged in for that purpose.

When it comes to charging, you can replenish the battery to 50% in just 30 minutes using the Rapid Charge Pro.

Conclusion

The Legion 5 Pro is one of the best gaming laptops you can get on the market. It’s got a big screen with slim bezels with a 16:10 aspect ratio, QHD resolution, and fast 165Hz refresh rate; a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. Add to the slew of ports and software features to ensure enhanced gameplay.

It’s pricey, though, at PHP 99,995 for the configuration mentioned. You can get it at a lower PHP 84,995 for the Ryzen 5 5600H, RTX 3060 6GB 130W GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD. If budget is not an issue, this is the gaming laptop to get.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro specs:
16.0-inch WQXGA (2560×1600), IPS, 500 nits, Dolby Vision
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6
-Maximum Graphics Power 140W
-Listed Boost Clock 1560 MHz, Achieved Boost Clock 1620 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU 6GB GDDR6
-Maximum Graphics Power 130W
-Listed Boost Clock 1425 MHz, Achieved Boost Clock 1702 MHz
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to two drives, 2x M.2 SSD
M.2 2280 SSD up to 1TB, M.2 2242 SSD up to 512GB
Intel Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax 2×2
Bluetooth 5.1
4x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (one Always-On)
1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Data transfer and DisplayPort™ 1.4)
1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Data transfer, Power Delivery* and DisplayPort 1.4)
1x HDMI 2.1
1x Ethernet (RJ-45)
1x headphone/microphone combo jack (3.5mm)
2 x 2W, Nahimic 3D Audio for Gamers
Dual array microphones
Webcam E-Shutter
6-row, multimedia Fn keys, numeric keypad, black keycap
Optional: White LED backlight or 4-Zone RGB LED backlight
80Wh, Rapid Charge Pro (50% in 30min)
356 x 264.4 x 26.85 mm (14.02 x 10.41 x 1.07 inches)
2.45 kg (5.4 lbs)
Storm Grey (top), Black (bottom)
Aluminum (top), aluminum (bottom)

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2 Responses

  1. Avatar for Aaron Aaron says:

    Can you charge it using PD charging? I know that the max PD Charger rn is 100W but there’s going to be a new PD charging specifications that can hit up to 240W. https://www.anandtech.com/show/16712/usbc-power-delivery-hits-240w-with-extended-power-range

  2. Avatar for Maria Maria says:

    Can you recommend where to buy the Ryzen 7 variant? Thanks! Its so hard to find it anywhere.

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