Lenovo Legion 5/5 Pro/7 2021 Discussion

What OS are you on? If Windows 11 was it an upgrade from Win 10 or did it come with 11?

 

Laptop came with Windows 11 installed.

 

Correlation doesn’t equal causation but it’s something to keep in mind for now

 

511.23 OK here. Running in hybrid mode during install and fine after reboot (still in hybrid). 11980HK/3080 7i came with Windows 11 pre-installed.

 

Try setting the laptop to discrete mode in bios and see if it still works. That's where things went south and issues started.

 

I don’t use the BIOs I use the Vantage tool and reboot. Same effect?

EDIT: no issue when in NVIDIA-only mode.

I dig the new icon that let's you know what GPU is currently active:

 

Can you make a post here or on reddit on how to get those impressive numbers? I'm interested on the RAM tuning that you have

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDLaptops/comments/rljtzn/fastest_laptop_memory_ddr4_hynix_cdie/

RAM is now at 16-17-16-33-49-429 1T GDM OFF BGS ALT ON

I also was able to increase FCLK to 2000Mhz but it wasn't worth it due to the increase power consumption.

 

There are a couple threads on Reddit from Lenovo Legion owners having issues with 511.23. Same issue, black screen in discrete mode.

 

Are both M.2 slots on a 2021 Legion 7 AMD Gen4x4?

 

Only 11th-gen Intel supports PCI-E Gen 4 right now. The first Ryzen platforms to get it will be based on the upcoming 6000 series.

 

Oh yeah that's true. Thanks

 

It's also just one slot at gen4 for SSDs on the 11th gen 7i, too. Which makes the RAID0 config they did with my 2x1TB even more frustrating.

 

Excellent results. I have my system bios unlocked so I can get into the advanced settings. I inserted a set of Crucial Ballistix 3200CL16 at 1.35v. While I can enable XMP I can't adjust the RAM voltage at all. I tried vddq override for kicks as well, no impact. I get BSOD and "your system needs to be repaired" messages (lol) when using the XMP1 profile.

So I'm back using my HyperX Fury DDR4 3200CL20 at 1.20v.

If the RAM voltage can't be adjusted in my bios, it is pointless to try tinkering with my RAM to get better timings, I'd think?

Also on an unrelated note, stinks that these forums will be gone as of 1/31/2022. I enjoy browsing over my coffee breaks that I take throughout the day in addition to down time at night. Lots of useful information over the years. Anyone know why the site will be going down?

 

Don't think anybody knows except whichever higher-ups at TechnologyGuide are left. What's really bizarre about this whole thing is that Charles offered to buy the forums, but TPTB won't sell. The only thing I can think of is that there's some sort of legal issue that would prevent such a transfer.

I honestly don't know where I'll go at this point. I'm active on the Gaming Laptops subreddit, but Reddit as a whole is an absolute cesspool. Same goes for Discord. I really hope someone here will just create a new message board in the same vein as this one.

 

That is odd, maybe things will change by the end of the month and he'll be able to buy. I'd even chip in for a small monthly fee to keep the forum alive. There really isn't anywhere else that has quality content and users that I've found. Maybe [H] forum or OC.net, but not really related to laptops.

I'm still on the hunt for a L7i with 3080 haha (but keeping the 5i, will sell down the road if / as needed). Microcenter repacked and is re-selling the "refurbished" one that I returned with 2-3 dead pixels. Hope no other poor sucker buys it, shame on them for selling a laptop in that condition and not even mentioning it in the comments section where it says "open box". There are a few on eBay but they are overpriced and I don't want to get a crap screen with no return options.

 

Can you run a gen 4 ssd on a gen3 m.2 slot?

 

Absolutely. I have two gen4 Samsung SSDs in mine, just the one goes gen4. They're still fast AF and more speed than you really need. But for me, I'd rather have 1TB OS gen4 and 1TB games gen3. But I'm leaving my laptop stock because I sell/upgrade pretty frequently.

 

It’s not absolutely optimal but it will work and still provide a boost in speed. Why is it frustrating?

 

RAID0 increases risk (it makes 1 volume out of 2 disks). I'd rather not gain the speed that I do not need and benefit from. I'm just using it for productivity and gaming.

 

That’s a different discussion/concern (and a valid one) from the pci4/pci3 mismatch

 

I'm just not a fan of having two different performing drives within a RAID. I'm old school and like to have identical or nearly identical drives throughout - including interface speed. It can cause wonkiness.

 

I understand. You do have identical drives, right? Half the equation checks out. Arguably the more important half.

You’ll be fine with the pci3 interface on one drive.

 

Yeah, I'll definitely be fine. Just would rather have separate volumes. That's it. If Lenovo ships it this way - great. They can support it. I got $200 back for their misleading advertising of the 2TB drive so I'm happy!

EDIT: has anyone had USB-C video out flickering with discrete graphics (RTX 3080 in my case)? It happens intermittently...I'm using both a 165Hz 3440x1440 monitor (G-SYNC) and a 360Hz 1920x1080 monitor (G-SYNC) with two different cables - same results. Is it a high refresh rate issue?

 

That's strange since voltage is set by XMP. That sucks because I can make custom RAM XMP, 3466/3733 etc... and set voltage to whatever.

You should still mess with timings even at 1.2v. Free performance is free performance. Intel loves high tREFI.

 

Are you using a USBC-DP adaptor?

I don't have flickering but whenever the monitor goes to sleep Windows just keeps prompting the "something connected" sound it's so annoying

 

Both. One is USB-C to USB-C and one is USB-C to DP. I think I have isolated it to using too high of a refresh rate. With my 1080p monitoring I use 144Hz and it has been fine. My 3440x1440/165Hz I haven't tested, yet but I will try a lower refresh rate there. It's fine with New World (not as fast twitch) but with Fortnite / BF2042 it drives me bonkers lol.

Yeah the sleep thing is annoying but I can deal with that.

 

I can't make it go away it drives me crazy It's waking up my speakers all the time.

 

If nothing else I just yank the connection if you want to leave the laptop running. The laptop is pretty good at remembering monitor setups (I use mine in two places and NVIDIA remembers the past monitors).

 

Higher-end displays with crazy resolutions and/or refresh rates are very sensitive to cables. The ones that the manufacturers include in the box are crap, more often than not, and you can't just pick up whatever is cheap on Amazon as a replacement. I've had the best luck with Accell and Club3D branded cables as they're VESA certified.

 

The 80whr battery I ordered direct from Lenovo / Encompass that works with last gen Legion 5, doesn't work with current gen 15ITH6H. Tried resetting battery, all of the typical reset power options. It won't recognize the battery as "genuine" and won't charge. What a load of BS. They really limit replacement batteries to the current gen? Even with unlocked bios I can't edit anything to whitelist the battery. So lame.

The battery for all intents and purposes should work. HWInfo detects it just fine. It's Lenovo BS.

I will call support and see if they can do anything, otherwise I'll just have to return this laptop as well out of principle. Which isn't my ideal solution...

I've read about certain EC hacking / flashing methods, I don't use Linux and am not about to start just for a stupid battery. Any other ideas anyone has I'm all ears!

 

Thanks. The USB-C to USB-C one is actually the one you sent me with the GaN adapter you sold me (thanks!). Haha. The USB-C to DP one that I use is this one. Maybe they're fine it's just configuration?

What are your thoughts on these for high-refresh rate monitor connections from my L7i?

USB-C to DP
https://www.amazon.com/Accell-USB-C-DisplayPort-Cable-Bidirectional/dp/B08TGL524D/

USB-C to USB-C
https://www.amazon.com/Accell-Thunderbolt-Passive-40Gbps-International/dp/B08CMG28JC/

or

https://www.amazon.com/Accell-USB4-40Gbps-Type-C-Cable/dp/B094316LVQ?th=1

Thanks!

 

I'm sure those cables will be fine. I actually ordered the Type-C to DP one to replace the adapter I'm currently using, just to clean up the cabling a bit.

If the forums weren't shutting down at the end of the month, I would have created a new thread, but I ultimately decided to send back the Legion 7. I found a deal on Lenovo's fleBay storefront for a ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 with 1440p screen, i7 11800H, and 100W RTX 3070 for under $2300. The build quality is a noticeable step up, it's much easier to open the bottom panel, I vastly prefer the deeper travel on the keyboard (and no palm rejection issues!), it's significantly thinner and lighter, and most importantly, the fan profile/acoustics curb stomp every Legion I've tried except for the very first 5 Pro I had last May. It runs modestly higher at idle and quite a bit warmer under load. However, there is zero high-pitched whine at any speed, and at full tilt it's probably the quietest Windows-based laptop I've used since my Dell XPS 17. Battery life still sucks, and I will miss the high-refresh screen, but overall, I'm having a much better experience with the P1. The system came with 16 GB of 1Rx16 RAM and a 512 GB SSD, so I swapped them out for my 32 GB 1Rx8 kit and a 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro that I got from Best Buy for less than $200 after sale price, gift cards, and reward certificates.

 

Thanks!

Sorry to hear you leaving Legion 7.

Since the forum is shutting down I don't feel as guilty to post my brag about the low cost for my 11980HK/3080 7i.

$2,459.99 - Legion 7i Gen 6 Intel (16") with RTX 3080 (82K6005SUS)
- $200.00 - Price concession (2TB one drive in RAID0 versus one 2TB drive)
- $206.80 - Rakuten cash back
+ $173.08 - Lenovo Ultimate Support + damage (add 2 years; 3 years total)
---------
$2,226.27 (plus tax)

 

Damn, it's back in stock on Lenovo's site for $3500, I can get it down to $3223 incl. 3 year warranty, tax and shipping, with 15% off coupon and through my member account. That's a $1000 difference! Hard pass at that price.

 

I'd wait it out at this point..that new GE76 looks suuuper sexy to me. I am tempted.

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Raider-GE76-12UX

 

Looks good but "no G-sync no buy" is my rule.

 

Wow didn't even notice that. Probably going to be a $3,500+ laptop (12900/3080 Ti) and no G-SYNC...crazy.

 

Rumor has it the MSRP is going to be north of $4,000 for the top-end configuration.

 

Well, here's hoping Costco (by some miracle - I've only seen 3060/3070 models thus far) carries the max config within 2 months after launch. Loved the 11800H/3070 GE76 that I got at Costco for $2000 but when I saw that I could get better everything for only a couple hundred of bucks more I had to go Legion. No regrets there, but the cooling is still better on GE76 for my needs (mining when not gaming).

Although I think I am more convinced by your stance. The updates aren't compelling enough. New CPU is cool and faster but won't really move the needle for my use case. The Ti will be what - 10% faster in the most edge cases - than the 3080? There's barely a difference between the full wattage 3070 and 3080 so I am sure it'll be more of the same. Probably watch for deals but ultimately sit it out until the 4xxx series.

Bought my laptop to resell and upgrade in less than a year so it should align.

 

If these companies want to charge $4000+ for their laptops then the 3080 Ti had better bring it. I want no less than 16,000 - 17,000 graphics score in Time Spy, which *could* rival the (stock) desktop 3080 and beat the RTX Titan as nVidia touts. Anything less than that would be unacceptable, as the current 165w 3080 scores within 2000 - 4000 points of the Titan.

That's why I'm keeping my eyes open still for current gen 3080 laptop deals, the 165w 3080 should perform close to the 3080 Ti in games I think. We'll find out in a couple of weeks.

The battery life on my L5 is horrible, I can get about 3.5 hours doing office work, etc. Can't believe Lenovo is totally out of 80whr batteries. I really don't want to spend $3000 on another L7i or AMD version, but I think it'll hang competently with 12th gen revisions. I have 3 more days to request RMA of my L5i, which has performed perfectly so far except for the battery.

 

Just litter your house with power adapters. That's what I do. I use the battery saver mode (60% max charge) so the battery life is even more hilarious - maybe 45 minutes? That's with iCue disabled, hybrid on, "Over Drive" disabled, and "Balance Mode" thermals.

 

You can use a Type-C charger if you don't want to lug around the 300W brick for light-duty tasks.

Been tinkering more with my P1 and found some new stuff that I hadn't really noticed when first taking it out of the box. The first is the OS is probably the least bloated OEM Windows install I've ever seen. Aside from the typical in-box applications, Office, and Vantage, the latter two I wouldn't consider bloatware, there's nothing. No Candy Crush or anything like that. The other thing is that the P1 allows you to set a custom level of maximum battery charge, including the start point. It's not quite as granular as Dell's offering where you can choose what time you want it to work, but it's far superior to the fixed 55-60 percent maximum in the Legion.

 

Dang, that's a great price for a 7i.
Cheapest I found in europe with those specs and 4 yr warranty was around 3200€, thats 3600 dollarinos

Got my 7 (5900HX, 3080, 32GB, 1TB, 3yr premium warranty) for 2500€ (around 2800$) and was pretty happy with that price.
Still on the fence on keeping it or returning it. Haven't owned a laptop that isn't 17.3" since... forever. The screen is great but on the small side, together with the keyboard it feels very cramped using this device.
Also not as solid as my previous Blade Pro 2019. The 7 is one of the best built machines I've seen, but it doesn't touch the Razer.

The 3080 Thai laptops will be so horrendously expensive... 4300€ for a Blade Pro, 4200€ for a GE76... No way I can justify those prices...
Only alternatives I see are the HP Omen 17 2021 (11900H, 3080) or a Clevo X170KM (11900K, 3080). But man those two power bricks on the Clevo are a dealbreaker...

 

I feel you on the Razer! I had one for a while and loved it. However, my constant concern was any kind of problem that led me to have to deal with their support. I don't think I will ever buy from them again - even if they are "Apple grade" in build quality.

I'm with you on the screen - it's crazy how big the difference is from 17.3" to the 16". I would not have thought that.

You're a THAI guy? C'mon...has to be TEE-EYE.

 

Of course I’m a Tee-eye guy, I wasn’t dropped as a baby.
Just teasing the nvidia reps xD


Really pondering returning the Legion 7 for the HP Omen 17.
11900H, 3080 165W, 17.3” QHD 165Hz sounds good

too bad it’s an HP lol

 

LMAO.

Stick with what you have! If you're gonna jump - get the 12th series and the Ti.

 

Yeah I'll probably keep the Legion for a few years and think about upgrading when rocket lake comes about or something.
I really can't get anything better or as good for this price.
The thinner Clevos and Tongfangs don't really get my attention. The Clevo DTR is already going on obsolete and the two power bricks, man...
I really just wanted to get rid of a laptop with built in Optimus like the Razer. What I'd give to have a MUX switch on that bad-boy. I use a 1600p ultrawide and get visual glitches all day when using Premiere/Illustrator and have videos running. At least the Legion behaves brilliantly on everyday work.


But that new razer blade man...



3080 Ti 165W, 12th gen CPUs, 3 monitor choices (360Hz FHD, 165Hz QHD, 120Hz 4K), 8 speakers, 4 fans, unibody construction and a GaN charger (300+W in the size of a 180W adaptor).
It has everything!

Even a price fit for an arabic sheik!

 

@Atma Can you provide another link for the phase change tim? I'd like to get one as a spare. Thanks.

 

This is the paste. It is supposed to cure for 15 hours after applying. https://www.ebuy7.com/item/631006993629

This is the sheet. Just cut to size. They used to have smaller sheets but I guess they just have three sizes now. https://www.ebuy7.com/item/661512930345