Lenovo Legion 5/5 Pro/7 2021 Discussion

Lenovo added the L5P to the official compatibility list for this particular adapter. Makes me wonder why they didn't just include it in the box - probably due to economies of scale if they're going to pack the 300W unit with the new Legion 7/7i. I grabbed one for myself. It listed as being on sale for $109 on Lenovo's website, but at checkout it showed the full $139 price with no apparent coupon code. However, Lenovo's Newegg marketplace shop had it at the sale price so I ordered it from there.

 

Any way to overclock RAM on this machine or run them at higher voltage?

And how much smaller is the 230w Brick?

 

No.

30% if Lenovo's specs are to be believed.

 

Something from the reddit thread about ram I linked earlier will work. Just stay away from XMP memory and ideally not tRFC 880. I have still seen the hyperx dual rank 32gb 3200cl20 kit for sale at Amazon or eBay if you want to minmax.

 

From top to bottom:
- Lenovo 300w ADL300SDC3A (PSU included with the L5P)
- Lenovo 230w ADL230NDC3A (PSU included with the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Workstation Dock)
- Lenovo 230w Slim ADL230SDC3A (PSU included with the 2020 Legion 5)

The top two 300w/230w are exactly the same size.

Edit: added stacked photo. They are basically all the same thickness.

 

My Legion 7 should arrive in a day or two. It's pretty much top specced, but I'll add my own SSD's and RAM. I'll probably repaste it with MX4 too.

 

Are there any specific negatives in new firmware, or is it safe to update BIOS and keyboard FW?

 

I had to update my 5 Pro because G-Sync wasn't available.

 

Will update then I guess. Really nothing unsafe out there ATM as far as I know. Had a PITA and then some when I updated my Y740 etc, so that's why I ask.

 

Legion 5 (2021 Edition) are now available in the US

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptop...on-5-15ACH6H/p/88GMY501582?IPromoID=LEN195712

 

The base model is $100 more than what Antonline is charging for the otherwise comparable Legion 5 Pro, and you get two free games in the deal. Hard pass.

 

Agreed its a rip off especially for an all plastic build

I think the prices will drop somewhat when they get more of them.

 

Having used this machine for a few days, this is definitely my conclusion as well. Frankly. I would even prefer the all plastic build of the 2020 legion 5 for the weight savings.

 

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, 16.0", AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, 16GB, 512GB NVMe TLC SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Windows 10 Home, 82JQ008NUS - Walmart.com - Walmart.com

Walmart will supposedly be restocking these on June 21. I'd get in line for one if 1) I weren't completely satisfied with the performance and thermals of my RTX 3060 L5P and 2) Antonline didn't charge an obnoxious 30% restocking fee on opened returns. I'd also be taking a big hit if I were to sell the system privately, so it's not worth that hassle.

Speaking of thermals, here's my L5P in balanced mode at idle. This is nuts.

 

Have to send my Legion 7 back. The fans sounds horrible. High-pitched and whiny. Oh well. Not meant to be I guess.

 

For what it's worth, your experience with the L7 echos mine as well. The L7 has much more annoying acoustics than the L5 or L5P.

 

The Legion 5 17 does also appear to have the same 10v fans as the Legion 5 Pro, so cooling and noise should be similar I would hope. Found this photo on Lenovo's parts site.

 

That is a good price, and what they should have been at all along.

The entire cooling system looks to be the same, just elongated.
Good deal for those who don't care about the screen / aspect ratio or aesthetic differences.

 

Is it possible to get the 5 year Lenovo warranty if you buy the laptop through Walmart?

 

I hear this from some other users too, but some seem to have quiet machines.

I'll be trying a Legion 5 Pro one last time now, and if it's ok, I'll settle for it.

One more thing; how in the world are you supposed to open the L5P? I took a shot with my last machine, but I gave up after a while.

 

10 screws on the bottom and using gentle pressure on the bottom lid, push slightly inward to release the clips. Mine is definitely a bit more clipped down than my 2020 L5. I had the best success starting with the front of the machine and working backward.

 

The warranty goes with the machine so if you enter your serial number on Lenovo's website, it should give you the option to purchase extended coverage.

After you take off the 10 screws (which incidentally were some of the easiest to remove of any laptop I've ever owned - glaring in your direction, Razer), insert a thin plastic object between the keyboard deck and bottom panel. Start in the bottom corner and not where the side air vents are. I would recommend a guitar pick or other tool of similar size and thickness. You may be able to get away with a credit card, too. Once you get the corner popped, slide the tool along the bottom to get the rest of the clips, then lift up slowly but firmly to pull the rest of the panel.

 

I pulled 64GB of HyperX 3200 out of one of my ITX servers and tried it in the L5P. No problems with dual ranked SODIMMs.

 

Worked a treat, no issues opening it up.

I exchanged the RAM and put in two of my own SSD's. I also repasted with MX-4. Not super happy with the repaste thou. Cure time? Everything else with this laptop is aces. Love it.

 

I ordered mine last week. I still got two more weeks to go. That possible Walmart deal is tempting me, though, to cancel and just go buy it from there instead... but I don't want to wait another few weeks if I miss the opportunity.

 

Any update on the Legion 7 pricing?
Debating "upgrading" when it becomes available due to the very limited travel of the 5 pro screen. Even the Dell G5's had more opening angle.
But not sure if the slightly improved thermals are worth the increased noise. Or even if the thermals would be noticeably different packing a 3080.

 

I sent back a Legion 7 due to me not being happy with it. High pitched fan noise and a fan profile that was hard to tame was the main reason. I also found myself liking the design of the L5P better.

 

Is there any difference besides RGB ( that I could care less for ) vapor chamber and slightly better materials used on the 7 ?
The important parts seem the same like screen and hardware inside.
Was waiting for the 7 but after hearing the fan acoustics are better on the 5 really feel like I’ve been waiting for nothing ( looking at the RTX 3070 version from Walmart , I have 16GB RAM kit -Hyper X RAM Jdec ( 3200) and a extra 1TB SSD so could easily swap out the better RAM and more storage. Should I repaste after opening it up while I’m digging around in there ?

 

From elsewhere it seems like there are some hinge-related issues from earlier models that were addressed but not entirely fixed.


Anyone have recommendations for L5P upgrades besides moving to CL20 RAM and maybe buying better paste?

 

Try it out before repasting. On my unit, the stock paste was fine.

 

I don't expect to repaste immediately as the stock paste is reportedly fine, I just would prefer to get some nice paste and have it on hand since I'm ordering stuff anyway. I'm gonna have to repaste eventually.

The only paste available where I live is the suspicious no-name ketchup-packet-style toothpastey stuff. I've had enough bad experience with that.

So far I'm also getting a mouse (the trusty G700s won't last forever) and a VGA dongle (having a VGA port has been a lifesaver even in 2021)

 

The 7 also has USB-C on both sides. I actually like having USB-A on a side for easy access.

It is odd just how much less the Walmart price is on the L5P 3070 config. Hopefully they produce a decent quantity of them as it really makes the configs Lenovo sells directly feel overpriced. The $1800 32GB / 1TB / 3070 is almost as good a value given that the stock ram should be fine, if it were in stock.

 

In Geekbench with performance mode my L5P can pull more than 8,300 points with CL22 RAM that has tighter timings. You can certainly go with CL20 modules, but I personally don't think it's worth the much greater financial outlay.

The stock paste has been fine on my unit. Best-case idle temps are little higher than my desktop PC, worst-case the CPU touched 86C in a synthetic stress test. For a standard heatpipe cooling solution, the L5P is outstanding.

I highly recommend the Logitech G305. It's cheap and tracks well. The weight is also good for a wireless mouse - even better if you use a lithium AA battery.

Someone on reddit who bought the 32 GB configuration reported that it also has slow RAM, so there is no reason whatsoever to order it this way from the factory.

 

In which synthetic test did the CPU reach 86C? CB20/23?

 

Cinebench R23 and Prime95 (not run simultaneously, obviously).

 

Wow. Out of the box or LMed?

 

Stock. I don't do liquid metal.

 

I would still suggest it if the buyer was not comfortable with performing upgrades. 32GB will still perform better than the 16GB config. If they are lucky they may also get the OEM Lenovo/Micron CL22 tRFC 560 memory which is as good as many aftermarket kits (including the Mushkin).

It is too bad the SKHynix PC711 is such a poor performer. About half the Random I/O Read of what the Samsung PM991 and WD SN730 can do. No SSD firmware updates available from Lenovo from what I can tell either. Does not make much sense getting either of the overpriced 1TB+1TB configs if they have a chance of using those drives.

 

IMO, nothing out there beats L5P in price/performance ratio ATM. You get all the nice performance along with that amazing screen and it's very easy to tame the CPU if that's your priority.

A RTX 3080 option would be nice, but I think the RTX 3070 makes for a very appealing price point.

 

It also has none of the Corsair iCue nonsense that comes with the Legion 7. I'm not a fan of that software for their normal peripherals, but as the only method to control the keyboard RGB on a laptop? No thanks.

Aside from better stock RAM, which is easy enough, albeit costly, to fix, the only thing I could ask for in the Legion 5 Pro is an improved trackpad. I'd rank it at or near the bottom of all the laptops I've used in the last 18 months.

That's not going to happen since it would render the Legion 7 irrelevant.

 

True. I tried both and I prefer the L5P, but the Legion 7 is not a bad laptop - just not as good a package as L5P. The Ryzen 7 / RTX 3080 combo is not half bad, but those whining fans really suck.

 

Looks like the L7 uses the exact same fans as the L5P. Maybe the bottom panel restricts airflow differently causing the whine? Did your configuration have a 3080? Did you repaste it as well?

 

I pretty much want it because the screen folds flat and it still has the 16:10 aspect ratio...
But if the noise is that annoying I may forgo

But those do look like the same fans.

 

I tried two L7 and two L5P. Both L7 had whining fan noise, none of the L5P had that. Just saying.

 

At the $1,500 I paid from Antonline (plus another $150 for proper RAM), the base Legion 5 Pro with the 3060 and 512 GB SSD remains the sweet spot of performance and value within that particular product line. The 3070/1TB model is not worth a $350 price premium, though compared to the identically priced Asus Zephyrus M16, it's an outright steal. The Asus has an i9 CPU but a 3060 with a lower TGP. While it's a bit thicker and heavier than I would have ideally preferred and the trackpad is subpar even among gaming laptops, the L5P still checks all the boxes on my wish list for a gaming and productivity laptop.

 

I agree. I got my replacement unit today, and all seem to be ok. The fans are good, no whining, just whooshing. Good thermals out of the box too. Will not repaste at this moment.

 

I am still somewhat tempted on a L7 Ryzen 7 / RTX3080, but availability, whining fans and the fact that I think the L5P looks better makes me NOT order it.

I heard ppl saying they got non-whining L7s, but I just think it’s a matter of personal sensitivity to sound TBH.

 

UK Lenovo site took down listings for the 5P and 7, guess they got overwhelmed with orders. More waiting I guess.

 

What are the gaming differences between the L7P with the 3080 vs the L5P with the 3070? They have the same wattage, right?

 

More CUDA cores, higher potential boost frequency.