Lenovo Legion 5/5 Pro/7 2022 Discussion

The first leaks of Lenovo's updated Legion lineup for 2022 have surfaced so let's start a new discussion thread.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro gaming laptop with Intel Alder Lake/AMD Rembrandt leaks ahead of CES 2022 - VideoCardz.com

The revised logo on the lid of the 5 Pro looks much better than its predecessor, though I still prefer the less conspicuous Legion branding on the 7 and non-Pro 5. I'm also digging the rounded corners of the new 5. Hopefully it will continue to be available in that really nice blue color that they introduced last year.

 

I honestly never thought I would consider Lenovo to be one of my first picks for a laptop after all the work I had to do on the y510p/y410p platforms but everything else just doesnt make much sense to me, not saying they dont make sense to others, just to not to me.

Really only thing I would probably change is the touchpad but there is always the one thing that reminds you perfection doesnt exist lol.

These also have the MUX switch to I presume? I remember they basically said everything going forward would have one iirc

 

Looking forward to the 2022 Legion 7 with its 1000 nit mini-LED panel. The one thing that I had wished the 2021 had the Alienware M15 R5's colour accuracy (140% sRGB, 99% Adobe RGB/DCI-P3) and better response time. Of course, everything else on the Legion is better but the panel is most definitely superior so I am hoping that the change to mini-LED also comes with some other improvements to the panel.

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If they removed those diagonal lines on the new 5 Pro it would be even better. I still don't like the branding / styling on them and prefer the regular 5 and 7 designs.

 

I looked at the photos of the 5 Pro 2022 version comparing them with those of the current model and it seems to me that they removed a USB 3.2 Gen1 from the rear but added a USB-C on the left side and moved the audio jack from left to right.
I don't know if removing an USB port on the back made it possible to increase the rear ventilation grilles, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

Agreed.

But it is an improvement from its predecessor.

I heard the Ryzen 6000 series will support Thunderbolt along with PCIe 4.0 which a good thing to keep up with Intel. Hopefully the prices wont be too bad.

 

A November 2021 update of the specs pdf for the Legion 7i Gen 6 shows two mini-LED options, a 1000-nit one and a 1250-nit one, and the notebookcheck.net article on the Exploration Edition indicates that the 1250-nit one is used in that edition, so at CES both may be announced as options for Gen 7.

https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sy...on_7_16ITHg6/Lenovo_Legion_7_16ITHg6_Spec.pdf

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenov...-and-1-250-nit-mini-LED-display.575074.0.html

 

System0, you can check out this page in the next few days:

https://www.lenovoshowcase.com/ces/

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that open on my phone so I remember to check it.

I'm still debating whether to pick up a bargain now or wait until the new Intel and Ryzen chips etc drop.

I sold my Alienware M15 last year and missed having a gaming laptop. Picked a 3070 Razer Blade 14 on Black Friday. It's a great little laptop and I loved it's portability, but the keyboard isn't amazing to type on and I was concerned about future battery issues (if you read the Razer subreddit for a few days, you'd be scared off too).

Hopefully companies like Lenovo will post a release schedule so we have an ideas as to when newly announced laptops will be available

 

I'm fairly certain that's not going to happen given the current state of silicon availability and other ongoing supply chain challenges.

I seem to recall last year Lenovo saying that the first Legion 5 Pro models would be available starting in February, but even in May they were still in very short supply. You had to get lucky and snag one when Antonline had inventory available or pay scalper prices on fleBay.

 

I think you're right about that. I wasn't ready to buy a new laptop in the first half of 2021, but I did follow the news and discussions about it all and saw many people complain about models being in short supply even when they did get released. I suspect that's why we haven't seen many bargains.

It may be better for me to buy a new laptop now and then sell it later in the year when the new models drop

 

The new models wont be anything special unless you're interested in 12th Gen Intel CPUs and AMD Ryzen 6000 CPUs which are going to be hard to get. They'll probably be available in the 2nd half of 2022 or later

 

I've been following the news. Looks like the chips will still be 45 watts etc. Performance will obviously be a little better, but my hope would be thermals would be a little better too.

My guess is we'll see more QHD displays this year. I'd love to see gaming laptops get a little lighter too.


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I wish they could add a 16 inch 1920x1200 165hz panel as an option. It would also be great if they could add a second MUX to control which GPU drives the USB-C ports based on user preference. They should redesign the bottom panel on the 5 and 7 so it reduces fan whistle and has less tendency to break off tabs when opening. Finally if they could add the RX 6850XT as an option.

This new Thinkpad Z also sounds interesting, if it can work with an eGPU...

 

I'm now of the opinion that every single gaming laptop should have a Mux switch and fast X8 memory as standard. It's strange that gaming companies leave so many FPS on the table.

I'd like better support for external monitors too.

My main wish is that computing companies would stop cheaping out on so many parts.

Even the most expensive gaming laptops that cost thousands have:

* Awful 720p potato cams!
* Crappy 2x2 watt speakers that would rival those on a Chromebook
* Cheap internals. For example, they use cheap thermal pads, cheap thermal paste and terrible M2 screws (I've bought an M2 screw kit from Amazon and the screws are always better and less likely to thread)

Another thing that annoys me is warranties. When I bought my first laptop in the early 2000s, the standard offer was three years international warranty and one year domestic. Most companies only offer one year warranty as standard now, which is pretty poor considering how expensive many laptops are (and the fact most people expect to use them for years).


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This was a supply problem related to COVID and not the result of any malicious intent on the part of the manufacturers. The situation appears to be improving, but it will still likely be some time before things get back to "normal."

Explain please.

The potato cams are good enough for Zoom calls, which is how most folks would be using them. Anyone who wants to stream is going to have a high-quality external one anyway. Speakers, again, most gamers would be using headphones. At least on Legions, the thermal pads Lenovo uses seem to be quite good. Asus, for better or worse, uses liquid metal on most of its gaming laptops.

These companies need to be smart about where they can cut costs so as not to price themselves out of the range of everyday consumers, and sacrificing camera and speaker quality are more than acceptable compromises, IMO. Ironically, the only laptop brand where I've had problems with screws is Razer, and no one can call them cheap.

Again, it's all about what you're willing to pay for. Lenovo's extended warranties are not terribly expensive, especially for accidental damage protection. A lot of credit cards include at least an extra year of coverage as well.

 

By external monitors, I mean on some laptops, when you connect to an external monitor via HDMI, graphics still go through the CPU.

I do appreciate sacrifices need to be made, but a 720p webcam on a laptop that costs over two grand is ridiculous in my opinion. It doesn't cost much more to move up to a 1080p sensor. I've got a 15 year old Asus laptop in my garage that has a better webcam than many gaming laptops.

There is a good argument from a security reason to do what Asus does and remove the webcam, but I think Lenovo have got the right approach by including a webcam with a switch for disabling it.



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I tried the 2021 Legion but in the end settled on the Dell Precision 7760 when it came available with a 130W RTX 3080. It is essentially a thicker, more powerful XPS 17 with a better array of ports. Technically not a gaming laptop but a mobile workstation that happens to have a Geforce GPU option.

The sad part is that the issues I had with the Legion is nothing that Alder Lake, Ryzen 6000, or faster Geforce GPU's announced today can fix. More just bad design decisions that made it a poor choice for me.

 

I bought a Dell Precision from the outlet about a year or so ago. I loved it as the build quality was fantastic, but I had to send it back as the M2 screws were all threaded.

It only had 8GB of memory, which didn't bother me as it could go up to 128GB and I had 64GB of Sodimms (as I have was still using Premiere Pro at the time, which uses a crazy amount or memory). Unfortunately, the two main memory slots were under the keyboard and the screws to get in there were threaded. So I had to return it.

I want to be able to play games, or I'd opt for a precision again (or possibly a MacBook Pro).

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While in principle I agree on the Webcam detail, in practice there are more pitfalls than benefits. many hotel wifi's and/or in house ethernet are quite limited at worst and avoided at best due to simple nature of it being a network you have no control over.

Plus in many instances people blame the product for their lack of knowledge or basic troubleshooting to rule out why your 1080p Webcam isn't cooperating. While I fully acknowledge that is a low bar, I work with 3 departments at work that for some reason despite repeated attempts of instruction can't seem to place a sticker correctly on a box and/or tell me it's impossible to rotate a sticker. This coming from my lead senior tech, it makes me appreciate how humans have survived to see the light of day at times.

 

Sounds like you work with some interesting people

I would never use public WiFi or hotel ethernet connections due to poor security etc. I would always use my phone as a hotspot instead. I get a good 4G or 5G connection in most areas so speed is never an issue.

I appreciate many people only need a gaming laptop for gaming, but I'll be using it for work, video calls, video editing too. Which is why I'm happy to spend a few thousand if necessary (and why it's annoying that they cheap out on things like that).

I would prefer something better than a 1MP sensor. No laptop webcam is good enough for live streaming, though Surface devices and the new MacBook Pro are decent.

At home, I use a Sony mirrorless camera for live streams and a couple of Logitech Brio webcams for other angles.

If I ever streamed from a laptop, I'd connect a good camera or USB camera. The built in webcam is more for zoom calls and teams on the go.

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Multi-purpose was never a strong suit in laptop offerings, and that mentality is only diminishing over time.

 

Very true. Apart from gaming, workstations and MacBook Pros tick all the boxes for me. Just a shame their displays have awful response times for gaming.

I'm still loving the XPS 13 I bought a year or so ago. Just a shame I can't game on it.

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It looks like the 2022 Legion 5i Pro now has a 16 inch 1920x1200 165hz panel option. I am not sure about the display outputs GPU connection but there is a slight chance the TB4 port may be MUXed now given that Intel had a whitepaper recommending manufacturers support it. No mention in the specs if the trackpad is mylar or glass either..

 

The Asus Zephyrus M16 with 11th-gen Intel CPU has two Type-C ports that support display output. One is standard 3.2 Gen 2 and linked directly to the NVIDIA GPU while the other is Thunderbolt 4 and connected to the Intel graphics. The display, keyboard, and trackpad are outstanding while the speakers are above average for a gaming laptop. The compromises are battery life (though both Type-C ports can be used for charging), potato webcam, and half the RAM being soldered to the motherboard.

 

This is open now - pretty cool.

https://www.lenovoshowcase.com/ces/

No Legion 7, yet? I just see 5.

Looks sweet:
https://www.lenovoshowcase.com/prod...21_Legion 5i Pro-16IAH7H-Intel_D1-13Dec21.pdf

 

I had a look at the M16 a few months ago as it used the same chassis as the G15, but had a webcam, 16:10 aspect ratio etc. It was way overpriced though. In the UK, the 3060 version is priced between the Lenovo Legion 7 3070 and Lenovo legion 7 3080.

I don't understand Asus soldering one memory module. I'd much prefer both slots were available. So strange they've soldered one.

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What I like about the Legion 5i Pro 2022 with Intel CPU (compared to the 2021 model) as stated in the datasheet:
- More powerful CPUs
- More powerful GPUs
- display available (as an option) with variable refresh 165-240 Hz
- improved cooling and noise (hopefully)
- the reported base prices seem not to be much higher than those of the previous model

What I dislike:
- they removed a Thunderbolt / USB4 port (there is only one left)



What I like about the Legion 5 Pro 2022 with AMD CPU (compared to the 2021 model) as stated in the datasheet:
- the same things as the 5i Pro
- supports both G-SYNC and Freesync (was the same in 2021)

What I dislike:
- these AMD CPUs do not yet support Thunderbolt / USB4



Note for both models:
I have a doubt about the maximum storage allowed, datasheet says "512GB / 1TB" and many sites report max 1TB (which would be little) but on this Lenovo page of "coming soon" they talk about "up to 2TB PCIe SSD Gen 4".
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/comi...gion-5i-pro-gen-7-(16-inch-intel)/len101g0015
So, I hope they have kept the second slot for the SSDs.



I hope that we will soon be able to see reviews and comparisons between the 5 Pro and the 5i Pro, even if the availability of the version with AMD is declared after two months (April) compared to that with Intel (February).
Personally I believe that in the end the Intel version with the new 12th generation should prove to be a little better than the one with simply updated AMD CPUs.
But we should see the real tests.

 

Yes they do.

 

What the Legion 7 should bring this year. Otherwise wishlish for when AMD Zen 5/Intel 13th gen and Nvidia 4000 series come about:
- MiniLED HDR1000 QHD 240Hz screen with all of the adaptive sync bells and whistles. Or even better, that sweet QD-OLED panel from Samsung (though that might be a couple of years away at this stage). Keep the 16:10 ratio.
- Retain the USB Type-C slot on the right side like the 2021 model and make it Thunderbolt/USB4, instead of downgrading to a Type-A slot like the 2022 Legion 5 Pro.
- DDR5 and PCI-E Gen 5 support (most likely 2023-2024).

 

It will definitely have DDR5 memory support

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I doubt that, given latest gen CPUs still support DDR4, exorbitant pricing of DDR5, and no sight of SODIMM modules yet. No big ticket marketing of DDR5 anywhere in the just announced 2022 lineup. I know Legion 7 was noticeably absent but seeing the cutdown Legion 5 Pro doesn't exactly instill confidence.

But well one can still hope for better days ahead.

 

All the latest laptops announced at CES have DDR5.

Check out the spec sheet of the Legion 5 Pro. That has DDR5 too.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenov...00-H-Nvidia-RTX-3070-Ti-options.586142.0.html

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ah ok my bad. Good to hear, though have to wait and see since I haven't seen the third party upgrade options popping up just yet.

 

Haha it's hard to keep up with it all. In the space of two days, each major company announced several new laptops. Granted, some of them are just a refresh or an existing laptop with updated CPU and GPU.

I'm still debating whether to find a 2021 laptop bargain or wait a few months and pay a little more for a 2022 model.

Although the 3070 TI and 3080 TI is being rolled out, I think it's the new CPUs that are enticing this year.

Arguments for a 2022 model.

* Improved performance from 2022 CPUs
* Improved battery life
* Hopefully...improved thermals and less noise
* QHD 240hz displays being rolled out in more models
* 13/14" gaming laptop market getting a little better
* Asus adding a webcam and Mux switch to their gaming laptops

Going by what Lenovo did last year, the updates of the Legion 5, 5 Pro and 7 will be good.

The Asus G15 looks really interesting this year as it now has a Mux switch and webcam (though still looks like it has one memory module soldered). The GPU is limited to 100 watts, but I can live with that given it's a 1.9KG 15 inch laptop. Don't think it will be out until the Summer though.

Although it's good to see Dell/Alienware release a 14" model, it seems underwhelming considering what Razer and Asus are offering.

Hopefully Dell improve some things in the M15 R7.


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If so, for some reason Lenovo hasn't implemented it.

 

Nice catch. I'm surprised they haven't adopted it.

If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd say it's to push people to pay more for the Intel model

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Let's not forget we're now well into the 2-year GPU release cycle for Nvidia. Can't believe Ampere cards will be 2 years old this year already. Must be the global shortages distorting perception.

Refreshed Ampere in Q1, new Lovelace in Q4. Like clockwork. Unless the 3070Ti/3080Ti absolutely mop the floor with the original cards (they won't), holding out for RTX 4000 series is your best bet.

 

Agreed. Will be interesting to see how the new AMD mobile GPUs perform this year though.

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I think there may be technical reasons or simply that the AMD 6000 samples sent to the manufacturers arrived too late for them to be able to test them thoroughly on the Thunderbolt as well.
Judging by the availability dates of the Legion AMD versions, it seems that the 6000 series is a bit late (it seems to me a "panic series" prepared at the last minute to resist the Alder Lake CPUs until the arrival of the Zen4).

If you look at the specs of the latest Asus ROGs 2022 with AMD 6000 you can see that none of them have a USB4 / Thunderbolt port either:

https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-zephyrus/rog-zephyrus-duo-16-2022-series/spec
https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-zephyrus/rog-zephyrus-g14-2022-series/spec
https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-strix/rog-strix-g15-2022-series/spec
https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-flow/rog-flow-x13-2022-series/spec
https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-zephyrus/rog-zephyrus-g15-2022-series/spec

 

Nice catch. I missed the fact the Asus laptops were lacking USB 4 too.

I'm curious to see how computing companies will price the AMD and Intel models.

Sometimes, the Intel premium was a bit much last year. For example, the Lenovo Legion 7 3080 is £1,999 for the AMD, whilst the 7i Intel version is £2,799. I'd pay a little extra for Thunderbolt and PCIE 4 support, but £800 more is mad.

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[QUOTE="System0, post: 11135990, member: 72128"
Sometimes, the Intel premium was a bit much last year. For example, the Lenovo Legion 7 3080 is £1,999 for the AMD, whilst the 7i Intel version is £2,799. I'd pay a little extra for Thunderbolt and PCIE 4 support, but £800 more is mad.
[/QUOTE]

I agree.

It must be said that the Legion 7s are usually very (too) expensive and personally I would never want to spend more than 2300-2400 euros even for the most powerful version of a laptop.
Note that the more expensive RTX 3080 Ti is not planned for the new Legion 5 and 5 Pro, I guess they can keep it for a possible new Legion 7, perhaps after solving cooling problems!

Since already in the "non Ti" versions there was no real convenience to take the 3080 over the 3070 (perhaps except for the most fanatical gamers), I am happy that the new Legions stop at the 3070 Ti.
And if Lenovo has really improved the cooling this card should handle any game for many years from now.

 

I agree.

It must be said that the Legion 7s are usually very (too) expensive and personally I would never want to spend more than 2300 euros even for the most powerful version of a laptop.
Note that the more expensive RTX 3080 Ti is not planned for the new Legion 5 and 5 Pro, I guess they can keep it for a possible new Legion 7, perhaps after solving cooling problems!

Since already in the "non Ti" versions there was no real convenience to take the 3080 over the 3070 (perhaps except for the most fanatical gamers), I am happy that the new Legions stop at the 3070 Ti.
And if Lenovo has really improved the cooling this card should handle any game for many years from now.[/QUOTE]Main reason to go up would be the VRAM. I normally dial down graphical settings in games to get a higher FPS, but you'd maybe need more VRAM if you were on high/ultra settings.

I'll be using mine for video editing too, so the additional VRAM could come in handy for encoding, file conversion etc.

The sweet spot is still the 3070 though.

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Good point.
But the 3080 Ti costs $1000 more than 3070 Ti! Eeeeeek!!!

(starting at $2499 vs $1499)

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforc...&ranSiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-HnREPxSuuLY16E4hjrqAdw

 

You are not going to see any laptops with those GPUs at those prices.


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Of course there won't be any, that cost is that of an entire laptop.
But the difference in the list price is still "abnormal" in my view.

 

You're not understanding what I said. There aren't going to be any laptops with a 3070 Ti that cost $1499 nor a 3080 Ti at $2499. Razer isn't the best example, but the Blade 14 with a 3070 Ti is going to be $2599 and while the MSI GE76 with the 3080 is projected to cost $4200.

Most 3070 laptops are in the $1700-$2000 price range, and that is with a significant discount off MSRP. The only two I've ever seen hit the $1500 or less mark are the HP Omen 16, which was on sale at Best Buy (normally $1750) and the Walmart special Legion 5 Pro for $1399.

 

I was simply comparing the cost of GPUs, not that of full notebooks.
And of course a notebook with a 3070 Ti in it will cost you significantly more than $ 1500 (I expect around $ 2400-2600).

 

Glad we agree on the price of the laptops but the $1499-2499 figure is still the price of the entire laptop, according to NVIDIA. From the link you posted:




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