Lenovo Legion Slim 7i (2023) Review - Thin & Powerful

**Lenovo ThinkPad Slim 7 Review: RTX 4070 Gaming Laptop**

In recent months, we've seen a surge in gaming laptops with NVIDIA's latest graphics cards, such as the RTX 4070. Today, we're going to review one of the most exciting releases from Lenovo - the ThinkPad Slim 7, which boasts an RTX 4070 GPU. This sleek and slim laptop promises to deliver top-notch performance while maintaining a compact design.

During our testing, we found that the RTX 4070 in the ThinkPad Slim 7 delivered some impressive results. It was indeed the best result recorded so far for an RTX 4070 gaming laptop, which is quite remarkable considering its size. The laptop's benchmark, Red Dead Redemption 2, was put to the test with the game's benchmark, and it came out on top. This is a great sign that the ThinkPad Slim 7 can handle demanding games at high resolutions.

However, when we tested the laptop at higher resolutions, such as 1440p, its performance didn't quite match up with other laptops that have larger power supplies. The Acer Helios 300, for example, was able to maintain a higher average frame rate and lower dips in performance compared to the ThinkPad Slim 7.

Despite these limitations, the ThinkPad Slim 7 still delivered impressive results in our testing. In Control, a game where smoothness is key, the RTX 4070 proved itself to be a solid performer with low dips in performance. The laptop's average frame rate was also good, and its 1% lows were lower compared to other laptops that have similar specifications.

Another notable aspect of the ThinkPad Slim 7 is its performance comparison to last year's model. In terms of raw power, the RTX 4070 offers a significant improvement over the 3060 version. The laptop is also more efficient than previous models, with a lower power consumption of just 100 watts compared to 110 watts for the 3070.

In addition to its impressive gaming performance, the ThinkPad Slim 7 also boasts some exciting features. Lenovo's BIOS offers a wide range of customization options, including thermal and power limit settings, memory timings, and even support for Linux. This level of control is not typically seen in other laptops, making the ThinkPad Slim 7 an attractive option for power users.

We also put the ThinkPad Slim 7 through some content creation tests to see how it performs with creative applications. In Adobe Photoshop, the laptop delivered a respectable performance, although it was slightly slower than last year's model. The newer version of DaVinci Resolve, on the other hand, saw a slight decline in performance compared to last year's version.

However, things improved when we tested Blender, a GPU-intensive application that showcases the power of modern graphics cards. The ThinkPad Slim 7 delivered impressive results, with only a minor difference between its performance and last year's model. SPECviewperf, another professional 3D workload test, also saw the laptop deliver solid performance.

In conclusion, the Lenovo ThinkPad Slim 7 is an exciting gaming laptop that offers top-notch performance thanks to its RTX 4070 GPU. While it may not match up with larger power supplies at higher resolutions, its compact design and impressive features make it an attractive option for those who value portability and customization options.

Pricing and availability are also worth mentioning. At the time of recording, Lenovo sells the exact configuration we tested for a little over $2200 USD. However, Best Buy offers a slightly cheaper version with half the RAM and a lower-tier screen for $2100. The cheapest option with an i7 processor and RTX 4060 graphics starts from under $1800.

Ultimately, whether or not the ThinkPad Slim 7 is worth it depends on how much you're willing to pay for its premium features and compact design. With double the amount of soldered RAM compared to last year's model, this laptop offers a significant improvement in performance and efficiency. However, those who prioritize more memory slots may want to consider other options.

One final note: if you need even more performance, it might be worth considering Lenovo's bigger brother, the Legion Slim 7 Pro. Our next video will provide all the details on this larger model, so be sure to check it out for a deeper dive into its features and performance.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enLenovo’s Legion Slim 7 is a thinner andlighter version of the popular Legion Pro7.But compromises often have to be made to gomore portable.Well, that may not be the case here, as theSlim actually ends up outperforming many largerand heavier laptops!My Slim 7 has the anodised storm grey finish.It’s got an all-metal design with aluminumlid, interior and bottom panels.The build quality feels really nice.There’s only a little flex if you go lookingfor it, but it’s not bad at all and quitesturdy compared to most other laptops.The top of the lid sticks out a bit for thecamera, making one finger opening very easy,and the screen goes the full 180 degrees backfor sharing.The hinges feel a bit stiffer than normal,but I liked it because it made the lid feelsolid and not wobble around.The overall design is very similar to lastyear’s version.My 2022 model has the darker Onyx grey finish,which may be why it doesn’t feel as smoothas the newer one.Otherwise the newer one doesn’t have thisindent at the back where the rear ports connect.It’s quite portable for a 16 inch laptop,and slightly shorter in depth compared tolast year’s model.The newer 2023 model weighs a little lesstoo, at about 4.8lb or 2.2kg, increasing to6.8lb or 3.1kg with the relatively small 230watt charger.My Legion has Intel’s Core i9-13900H processor,Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics, 32 gigs of memory,and a 16” 165Hz screen.But you can customize the specs quite a bitwhen orderingYou can check out the options with the linkbelow.The keyboard has per-key RGB backlighting,and all keys and secondary functions are welllit.Keyboard brightness can be changed between3 levels or turned off by holding functionand pressing the up or down arrow keys.You can cycle through 6 different lightingprofiles by holding function and pressingthe space bar.You can get more granular with the brightnessin Lenovo’s Vantage software, and you cancontrol the effects of the 6 profiles throughhere too.I liked typing on the keyboard, the pressesjust feel clicky and nice like other Lenovolaptops.The glass touchpad felt smooth, clicks anywhere,and worked well.The power button has a fingerprint scannerbuilt in.I found it to work fast and accurately.The left side has two Type-C ports, the onecloser to the back is Thunderbolt 4 whilethe one closer to the front is USB 3.2 Gen2, followed by a 3.5mm audio combo jack, whichwas on the right in last year’s version.The right side just has an SD card slot anda switch for physically disconnecting thecamera.The rest of the ports are on the back.From left to right there are three USB 3.2Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and the powerinput on the right.There are port icons above the rear portswhich light up, making it much easier to seewhere you need to plugin without turning thelaptop around.You can press the function and U shortcutto turn this on or off.It would have been nice to have one of theUSB Type-A ports on the left or right sidesinstead of all on the back, but I guess wecan’t have everything in life.Lenovo’s website says that both Type-C portscan be used to charge the laptop, but we onlyfound that the Thunderbolt 4 port worked forthis.The documentation also notes that it can supporta 140 watt charge, but you need a 20 volt7 amp charger, which is isn’t very common.You can get a special one from lenovo thatsupports that, but otherwise you’re goingto be limited to 100 watts.You can connect a monitor to both Type-C ports,but the Thunderbolt port only works if optimusis enabled and it connects via the Intel integratedgraphics.So it’s limited by optimus.If you disable optimus, then the Thunderboltport will not provide any DisplayPort output.But the second Type-C port as well as theHDMI port connects directly to the Nvidiagraphics, bypassing optimus, and that’swhether optimus is enabled or disabled.And we confirmed HDMI could run our LG B9TV at 4K 120Hz 12-bit with G-Sync.Getting inside requires removing 8 Phillipshead screws, all the same length.It was quite easy to open with my usual prytools, I’ll leave a link to the ones I usebelow.Not sure what they changed, because last year’smodel was almost impossible to open.Once inside we’ve got the battery down thefront, the single memory slot just above inthe middle, installed SSD on the left, spareM.2 slot on the right, both of which are PCIeGen 4, and the Wi-Fi 6E card is hiding underneaththe installed SSD.I had no problems fitting a 4TB double sideddrive in either slot.The installed 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD was performingvery nicely, but the SD card slot wasn’tmaking the most of my UHS-II V90 card.The card does not click in, and sticks outquite far, so be careful not to bump it.The Wi-Fi speed was pretty good, only slightlyfaster compared to last year’s model whichhad a different Killer Wi-Fi card.Unfortunately 16 gigs of memory are solderedto the motherboard and cannot be changed,but there is at least one SODIMM slot.It’s a $55 USD upgrade to get that filledwith a 16 gig stick when ordering, or youmight be able to do it yourself for a bitless.The upgradeability score loses a point forsoldered memory, but at least it has 16 gigssoldered this year.I think last year’s model was limited to8 soldered, which is more limiting.The reason this year’s is higher is becauseI found it way easier to open.The speakers are found underneath towardsthe front on the left and right sides.I thought they sounded quite good, well aboveaverage compared to other laptops.They’re still clear at higher volume, there’ssome bass, and hardly any wrist rest vibration.The Latencymon results weren’t great, butthere’s still a known Nvidia bug that maymake this worse.The Slim is powered by a 4-Cell 99.9Wh battery.The adaptive refresh rate option is new tothe 2023 model.It automatically lowers the screen’s refreshrate to 60Hz when you unplug the charger tosave power.And it goes back up to 165Hz when you plugback in.You can also enable conservation mode in Vantage.This limits the maximum charge level between75 and 80%, which helps the battery last longer.You can’t use it at the same time as rapidcharge, and you’ve also got the option tocharge the battery slower over night.The battery lasted for over 7 hours in theYouTube video playback test.A good result for an Intel laptop comparedto most others, but at the same time, lastyear’s Slim with the same sized batterylasted for 43% longer - a massive difference.This year’s newer model lasted 41% longerwith a game running, though.The Legion also has this message from oursponsor, Skillshare!Skillshare is an online learning communitywith thousands of inspiring classes to helpyou achieve your goals.My goal with this YouTube channel is to helpyou pick the right tech, and that needs skillsin script writing, photography and video production.All of this and more is covered in one ofmy favorite classes - YouTube Success: Script,Shoot & Edit with MKBHD, a fellow, thoughslightly bigger, tech YouTuber, which is exactlythe sort of class I wished existed when Iwas getting started.Even now years into my journey, I'm stilllearning from others and improving, whichis what makes Skillshare's wide range of coursesso awesome.Whether you're looking to build upon existingcreative skills, skills for your career, oreven find out what it takes to break intoa new industry, Skillshare has got you covered!The first 1,000 people to join using the linkbelow will get a one month free trial of Skillshare.So what are you waiting for?Redefine your work and achieve your goalsby joining Skillshare today!Back to the laptop, let’s check out thermalsnext.The cooler is bigger compared to last year’sversion.There’s an extra heatpipe shared betweenthe CPU and GPU, and the pipe on the rightthat wraps around the fan is new.There are plenty of holes underneath for airintake directly above the fans, and air alsocomes in through the vents above the keyboard.Air gets exhausted out of the left and rightsides, and from the corners on the back.The Vantage software lets us change betweendifferent performance modes, which from lowestto highest are quiet, balance, performanceand custom.Balance mode has an optional AI setting whichis meant to provide an optimal experiencein supported games.Think best performance without the fans goingtoo loud.Custom mode gives you some control over fanspeed, or you can just set the fans to max,as well as some control over CPU and GPU thermaland power limits for finer tuning.We've also got the option of enabling a GPUoverclock through vantage too.It works in all modes except quiet mode.You can customize it through here, but we’veleft it default any time it was tested.As I figure it’s a simple one click optionfor a performance boost, all our testing hasbeen done with it on.You can also press the function and Q shortcutto change between all performance modes exceptcustom.The color of the power button changes so youcan easily tell which is currently in use,as noted here.Performance and custom modes cannot be usedwhen running on battery power.The internal temperatures were cool enoughwhen just sitting there idle.The rest of the results are from combinedCPU and GPU stress tests which aim to representa worst case full load scenario.No thermal throttling was happening, at leaston the CPU and GPU cores, the temperatureswere all relatively low for a laptop underload.The GPU memory was thermal throttling at 110degrees though.Manually setting the fan to max in custommode was the same as performance mode, whilethe cooling pad I test with, linked belowthe video, was able to lower the temps a bit.These are the clock speeds during the sametests.Although performance and custom modes werethe same temperature, custom mode was reachingslightly higher CPU and GPU clock speeds.Likewise the cooling pad improved performanceslightly too, which must be because it's helpingthe GPU memory throttling.The results are kind of weird.The GPU power limit was able to increase to98 watts with the cooling pad, otherwise itran between 80 and 90 watts in performanceand custom modes.Hardware Info reported the voltage limit beinghit in all three tests, but it would appearthat more cooling seems to help.It could be because the memory junction temperaturewas reported at 110 degrees Celsius.I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that highbefore, so not sure if it’s just my unit.It's just weird that the power level can increasewith more cooling when the voltage limit ishit at all times, even if better cooling improvesmemory temps.There wasn’t really a performance differencebetween performance and custom modes withan actual game running, and we can see thatthe AI mode was able to give a slight boostto balance mode.I didn’t test thermals with the AI modebecause it does nothing in that workload.The CPU can use more power in workloads wherethe GPU is idle, like in Cinebench.Although the power levels fluctuated quitea bit during testing, the multicore performancewas quite similar between balance, performance,and custom modes, but only performance modewas able to reach a higher single core score.This is the same thing that I discussed inthe Lenovo LOQ review.Basically by default, Performance mode inVantage sets the Legion Performance Mode powerplan in Windows.Custom mode in Vantage sets the balanced mode.The expectation from Lenovo is that someoneusing custom mode in Vantage will also tweakthe power plan to suit their needs.Personally I would have preferred custom togive best performance by default, but that'sme.Anyway if we go with the best single and multicoreresults possible, it ends up just 8% fastercompared to last year’s model with a 12thgen processor.There really wasn’t much performance gainbetween 12th and 13th gen.There’s a slightly larger 11% boost to singlecore score, but some of that would simplybe due to my 2023 model having an i9 insteadof an i7, as this increases single core boostspeed.Performance lowers if we unplug the chargerand instead run purely off of battery power.The single core performance didn’t change,and multicore performance was now 61% abovelast year’s model, so a great result andstill decent performance when unplugged.Most laptops I test are in the low 30 degreesCelsius range on the keyboard at idle, andthe Slim 7 felt a little warm as it’s metal,but it wasn’t hot.It’s warmer with the stress tests running,but I wouldn’t say it’s uncomfortable.Balance mode was much the same.It’s using more power and generating moreheat in this mode, but that’s offset byfaster fans.Performance mode was much the same, and thennot too much difference in the highest custommode with the fans maxed out.The fans are louder though, let’s have alisten.The fans were completely silent at idle, andthen it gets louder in the higher performancemodes with the stress tests running as expected.The screen is a bit different compared tolast year’s model.It’s still a 16 inch 16:10 panel, so morepixels vertically compared to a 15 inch screen.But this year the resolution goes up to 3200by 2000, which is what we have here.This is a $15 upgrade on Lenovo’s website.Gamers would likely be better with the cheaper2560 by 1600 screen.Lower resolutions are easier to run, plusyou get a higher refresh rate and brighterscreen.The 3200 by 2000 panel in mine has excellentcolor gamut and looks nice.It may not be a 500 nit panel like the cheaperone, but I never thought it wasn’t brightenough, but ours also maxed out at 460 nits,a bit over the 430 on the spec sheet, butthis can vary a little based on the panellottery.Backlight bleed was only minor.It wasn’t bad enough to notice during normaluse, but this will vary between panels.Lenovo’s Vantage software has an Overdriveoption, which is meant to lower the screen’sresponse time when enabled.I measured average grey-to-grey screen responsetime at 7.3ms, so not quite the 6.06ms neededfor transitions to occur within the refreshwindow.I got the same results whether overdrive wason or off without any overshoot or undershoot,meaning the overdrive mode is not workingwith the 3200 by 2000 screen.It’s not a bad result, just not as goodcompared to others, including last year’sSlim 7.It’s possible that this year’s 2560 by1600 is using the same panel as last year’sversion, so in that case like I said, it’dbe a better option for gamers.The total system latency is the amount oftime between a mouse click and when a gunshotfire appears on the screen in CS:GO.It’s basically the same as last year’sversion despite that having a faster screen.I’ve found laptops with Nvidia RTX 40 seriesGPUs to be faster here, so that’s probablywhy the gap closed compared to the screenresponse time.There’s a 1080p camera above the screen.It does not have IR for Windows hello faceunlock, but it has Tobii eye tracking.Here’s how the camera and microphones lookand sound, and this is what it sounds likewhile typing on the keyboard.This laptop has a MUX switch.You can set the GPU working mode in Vantageto dGPU mode, but you have to reboot to applythat.It also has advanced optimus, so you can insteadmake the change through the Nvidia controlpanel without rebooting.And G-Sync is available when optimus is disabled.Now let’s find out how well the Slim 7 actuallyperforms in games.It is a thinner laptop, so obviously performanceisn’t going to be that great, right?Actually, no.Because Nvidia’s RTX 4070 is basically limitedto 100 watts due to a voltage limit, it endsup performing in-line with other RTX 4070laptops tested in Cyberpunk.Despite potential GPU memory throttling.I mean the fact that this thinner model iskeeping up with the thicker Legion Pro 5 isenough to tell me that this is a good result.It’s even further ahead of the bigger LegionPro 5 at the higher 1440p resolution, andit’s our best RTX 4070 result recorded sofar for that matter, which I wasn’t expectinggiven its size.Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested with thegame’s benchmark, and again it’s the bestresult we’ve got from any RTX 4070 gaminglaptop so far.It’s kind of crazy that it’s basicallymatching last year’s bigger Legion 7i withRTX 3080 Ti, but it can’t maintain thatat the higher 1440p resolution.Still though, it’s matching Acer’s biggerHelios 300 with 3070 Ti, but I’ve got awhole video comparing those GPUs in 25 games.Control is the third game where this 4070was the best, but the dips in performanceshown by the 1% lows were also lower comparedto all other 4070 laptops.The 1% low was still lower at the higher 1440presolution, despite the average frame ratebeing good.The other laptops would likely feel more stablehere, but the 4070 Slim is still 56% fastercompared to last year’s 3060 version.Here are the 3DMark results for those thatfind them useful, now for some content creatortests.Adobe Photoshop was tested with the PugetSystems benchmark tool, and it’s about thesame as last year’s lower specced version.The newer version didn’t have much of alead over last year’s in DaVinci Resolveeither, and it’s a lower 4070 result comparedto the others now, a bit of a difference towhat we saw in the games.GPU power limit matters far less in Blender,as all the RTX 4070 results are basicallywithin the margin of error range.We’ve also tested SPECviewperf which testsout various professional 3D workloads.Lenovo’s BIOS normally has a lot more customizationcompared to other laptops, but this one wason another level.There are way more options here than I’veseen with any other Lenovo laptop, allowingyou to change things from thermal and powerlimits to memory timings.Linux support was tested with an Ubuntu 23.04live CD.By default the keyboard, touchpad, camera,and Wi-Fi worked, but the speakers did not.Keyboard shortcuts to adjust screen brightness,keyboard brightness, keyboard lighting effects,rear port icons and performance modes allworked fine.Pricing and availability will change overtime, so check the link below for updatesand current sales, and if this laptop doesgo on sale, we’ll be sure to add it to ourgaminglaptop.deals website.We update that everyday to include all ofthe latest sales, so make sure you check itout regularly to save money on your next gaminglaptop.At the time of recording, Lenovo sells theexact configuration that I’ve tested fora little over $2200 USD.Bestbuy have it with half the RAM and a lowertier screen for $2100 though.The cheapest option with i7 processor andRTX 4060 graphics starts from a little under$1800.Still though, it is on the more expensiveside for an RTX 4070 gaming laptop comparedto other deals I’ve seen.So ultimately, it depends on how much youwant to pay for the extra features here.Those include the premium all metal buildquality and thinner design while still competingwith thicker and heavier laptops with similarspecs.There are only small, but welcome changescompared to last year’s Slim 7.The newer 2023 version is a tiny bit lighterand a little smaller, but its battery lifeisn’t as good.It is nice to have double the amount of solderedRAM though.Obviously I would prefer if we had two memoryslots instead of soldered memory, but 16 gigssoldered compared to 8 gigs last year is stillan improvement.We’ve got an Intel 13th gen CPU now, butthat’s not really too much better comparedto 12th gen.The main difference comes from the RTX 4070.Even at 100 watts with Nvidia’s voltagelimit, that offers a good performance upliftcompared to last gen.I didn’t have the 3070 version of the Slimlast year, but even compared to other 3070laptops, it’s still a nice improvement.It can compete against other bigger 4070 laptopstoo, because those are subject to the samevoltage limit.In other words, at the end of the day, theslim 7 can reach basically the same FPS asa thicker and heavier laptop that has thesame specs.But what if you need even more performance?It might be worth stepping up to the LegionSlim 7’s bigger brother, the Legion Pro7.Check out this video next to get all of thedetails!\n"