The Legion 7i: A Gaming Laptop That Checks All the Boxes

When it comes to choosing a gaming laptop, Legion, alongside Intel, who are sponsoring this video, have a different approach for the 2024 lineup. So there's the Legion Pro 7i, which is designed to deliver solid performance alongside portability.

The Legion 7i is a device that, depending on how you configure it, can get a little bit pricey, but it is not going to break the bank. It is not going to be an insanely overkill, expensive gaming laptop. When I think about something which is easy to recommend for the long haul, you're not going to be spending time with this and thinking, oh, if only I would've got X or Y, because you're not really missing anything.

Specs and gaming performance are important. We're talking about a gaming laptop here, but I like the Legion 7i because it is the overall package. It's a pretty decent daily driver. Sure, it's a 16 inch laptop, a little bit on the larger side, but there's a lot going for it.

So when it comes to everyday usability, there are a couple of things I would like to see improved. How long it takes to wake up, I think it takes a couple seconds longer than it really should. Like, an Intel Core Ultra laptop tends to wake up a little bit quicker. The other thing would be the actual size of the touchpad. The touchpad itself is terrific, but this is something you're using all day, every day.

I think, considering this is a 16-inch laptop, it could have been a little bit on the larger side. But all this being said, these are all fairly minor things, but nonetheless, areas that I do think the Legion team could improve on.

Now, the cooling system is one of the things that really makes Legion laptops so compelling, because with the 7i, what they've done this year is they have two huge fans which flank what Lenovo call a HyperChamber, a sealed chamber where the laptop gathers as much heat as possible and forces it out the back.

There's a lot of stuff that they're doing here. So the fans are spinning in opposite direction, which sorts concentratesthe air and pushes it out, and that alone brings the chassis temperature down about two degrees Celsius, but it especially makes a difference on the bottom of the deck, meaning that you really shouldn't be burning your wrists or your lap.

One of the things that makes that important is that the 7i is less thermally constrained compared to a lot of other gaming laptops. You're pushing up to 25 more watts of power, meaning that you get way more mileage out of that Core i9 and RTX 4070.

For all that, it weighs around 2.3 kilos, or five pounds. That might sound like a lot. Remember, that's how much a normal non-gaming laptop weighed just a few years ago. It's very reasonable for a daily carry.

If the Legion 7i is the laptop that's designed to deliver solid performance alongside portability, well, the Legion Pro 7icranks things up to 11. More powerful GPUs with much higher TDP, up to an RTX 4090, more ports, more cooling, more RGB, I mean, the Pro 7i is for gamers who do not want to compromise.

You want all the performance and you want it now, and you want that performance to be awesome for years to come. Now, the lack of compromise is really a theme with this system. You've got a 240 hertz PureSight display paired with the Coldfront vapor cooling system, which is a ridiculous up to 250 watts of TDP in extreme mode.

The word "ridiculous" might be an understatement when it comes to describing how much power and performance this laptop can deliver. It's clear that the Legion team has put a lot of thought into designing a laptop that checks all the boxes for gamers who want the best of both worlds: solid performance and portability.

The fact that the 7i is less thermally constrained compared to other gaming laptops is a major advantage, as it means you can push up to 25 more watts of power without worrying about overheating. And with its 240 hertz PureSight display paired with the Coldfront vapor cooling system, this laptop delivers performance and power that's unmatched by most of its competitors.

Overall, I think the Legion 7i is a great option for gamers who want a solid performance-packed laptop that can keep up with their gaming needs. With its powerful GPU, plenty of ports, and impressive cooling system, this laptop has it all. And at a price point that's reasonable but not too cheap, I think it's definitely worth considering if you're in the market for a new gaming laptop.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- When it comes tochoosing a gaming laptop,Legion, alongside Intel, whoare sponsoring this video,have a different approachfor the 2024 lineup.So there's the Legion Pro 7i,which is focused on packingin sorta that big performance,with up to an RTX 4090and top-of-the-line Intel Core i9-14900HX.But this year, there's another contender,which I personally like a lot.The Legion 7i brings a lot of what's greatabout the top-of-the-line 9ito a more affordable pricepoint, and importantly for me,a thinner, more portable form factor.Speaking with the Legionteam, one of the main targetsthat they have withthis 7i was for studentswho needed a device that cantake on heavier workloads,like 3D modeling, video editing,and obviously, proper gaming,but can still be carriedaround all day long.After spending some time with the 7i,I think the Legion teamhave done a good jobof cramming not only the powerof the Intel HX processorand some proper RTX graphicsin the package here,but importantly, they did it in a waywhere it's not an overheating mess.If you are unfamiliar withthe state of laptops in 2024,especially on the gaming side,just because you see the specs on the boxdoesn't mean an enormousamount, because the coolinghas an absolutely massive, massive bearingon the actual performance that you get.You can get the world's highestend graphics card and CPU,but if it's not cooled correctly,you're going to be leftwith subpar performance andan incredibly toasty device.You need more than just cooling, though,which is why the 7i does comewith a very nice PureSight 3.2K panel,which kinda checks all the boxes.165hz refresh rate, whichis plenty for gaming.It's also an accurate and vibrant display,which you can rely on for accuracy.I mean, in one word, it's pretty.In two words, it's real pretty.It also is using thenewer design language,which means that it hasthese nice squared-off sides,and they've moved a lot of the portsthat used to live on the backto the side for easy access.The nice thing about this is yes,while you're doinggaming or intensive tasksfor a long period of time,you will wanna use the big boy power brickthat it comes with, but for everyday use,you can easily carryaround the USB-C charger,and it will absolutelykeep you topped off.Now, buying either of these systems,the power is absolutely oneof the main strong suits.So when you equip it withup to a Core i9-14900HX,you've got some seriousfirepower on board.24 cores, eight performanceand 16 efficiency.The way to think about it is,you can certainly get good,acceptable performanceout of thin and light laptopthat is going to easily fit in your bag.You're not even gonna think about it.Not a lot of people areprobably cross-shoppinga thin and light and a gaming laptop,but with something specific like the 7i,which is a little bit thinner,still a sixteen-inch device,but still a little bit thinnerand a little bit more portable,it opens up the kind oftasks that you can doin a way that, it's important.I think a lot of people aregonna be much better servedcarrying this aroundfor four years in schoolas opposed to a thin and lightand trying to max it 100% all the timejust to get an experiencewhich is only a fractionof what this could deliver.Just like the big brother 9i,it's also outfitted withLenovo's AI Engine+ LA3 AI chip.It's a lot of buzzwords, butit enables a few main features.smart FPS, scenariodetection, and smart control.It might sound likemarketing, but what it's doingis constantly scanningwhat's on your displayand tweaking the actualsettings behind the scenesto make sure that you're gettingthe best performance possible.All of that combinedwith up to an RTX 4070,the 7i should be ableto handle pretty muchany AAA game you throw at it.So jumping into a match of Fortnite,this is a good way to evaluatea few different elementsof the 7i.I mean, the first and the biggestis just the display, right?So it's a PureSight display,3.2K resolution, 165 hertz.It's kind of a do-it-all system,because you've got thethinness and the portabilityto carry it around with you all day.You have the gaming performance,with the cooling and the RGBand all the 165 hertz that you would need,but importantly, it is designedto be good for creators.So you've got an SD card slot,you've got yourself a verycolor-accurate display,which does make a difference, right?I mean yes, when you'rein gaming, of course,you just care about the framesand the response time and everything,but having a color-accuratedisplay does make a difference,even if you're just consuming content.And not to mention thiscolor in Glacier Whitelooks so good.There we go, all right.That's how you beatbots with the Legion 7i.Now, when you've got a gaming laptopwith some high-end components,it is going to generate heat.There's no way around that,but the way that you handle that heatcan vary quite drastically.So the fact that they put so much emphasison not only trying to improve the TDP,but also to do it in away which is comfortable,I appreciate. How manykills am I at right now?Am I at six?This is a device which, dependingon how you configure it,obviously, can get a little bit pricey,but it is not going to break the bank.It is not going to bean insanely overkill,expensive gaming laptop, andwhen I think about somethingwhich is easy to recommendfor the long haul,you're not going to be spendingtime with this and thinking,oh, if only I would've got X or Y,because you're notreally missing anything.Specs and gaming performance are important.I mean, we're talkingabout a gaming laptop here,but I like the Legion 7i becauseit is the overall package.I mean, it's a actuallypretty decent daily driver.Sure, it's a 16 inch laptop,a little bit on the larger side,but there's a lot going for it.So when it comes to everyday usability,there are a couple of thingsI would like to see improved.So how long it takes to wake up.I think it takes a couple seconds longerthan it really should.Like, an Intel Core Ultra laptoptends to wake up a little bit quicker.The other thing wouldbe a nice improvementwould be the actual size of the touchpad.The touchpad itself is terrific,but this is something you'reusing all day, every day.I think, consideringthis is a 16-inch laptop,it could have been a littlebit on the larger side.But all this being said, theseare all fairly minor things,but nonetheless, areas thatI do think the Legion teamcould improve on.Now, the cooling systemis one of the thingsthat really makes Legionlaptops so compelling,because with the 7i, whatthey've done this yearis they have two huge fanswhich flank what Lenovocall a HyperChamber,a sealed chamber where the laptop gathersas much heat as possibleand forces it out the back.There's a lot of stuffthat they're doing here.So the fans are spinningin opposite direction,which sort of concentratesthe air and pushes it out,and that alone brings thechassis temperature downabout two degrees Celsius,but it especially makes a differenceon the bottom of the deck,meaning that you reallyshouldn't be burningyour wrists or your lap.One of the things thatmakes that importantis that the 7i is lessthermally constrainedcompared to a lot of other gaming laptops.You're pushing up to25 more watts of power,meaning that you get way more mileageout of that Core i9 and RTX 4070.For all that, it weighs around2.3 kilos, or five pounds.That might sound like a lot.Remember, that's how mucha normal non-gaming laptopweighed just a few years ago.It's very reasonable for a daily carry.If all of that is not enough for you,maybe you should go pro.If the Legion 7i is thelaptop that's designedto deliver solid performancealongside portability,well, the Legion Pro 7icranks things up to 11.More powerful GPUs with muchhigher TDP, up to an RTX 4090,more ports, more cooling, more RGB,I mean, the Pro 7i is for gamerswho do not want to compromise.You want all the performanceand you want it now,and you want thatperformance to be awesomefor years to come.Now, the lack of compromiseis really a theme with this system.You've got a 240 hertz PureSight displaypaired with the Coldfrontvapor cooling system,which is a ridiculousup to 250 watts of TDPin extreme mode.The word "throttling"is not in the dictionaryor the thesaurus of the Legion Pro 7i.I mean, you pay for thespecs, and with this system,you are getting every single one.The impression I get isthat these Legion devices,while they aren't the flashiest,it's a forward-looking lineup.You know, they're expandingit in a few different ways,but at the end of the day,you're getting deviceswhich should be reliable,which have the features,which have all of the corefunctionality you need,that, I'll be honest, aren'talways the most exciting.You know, I think about me as a YouTuber,I'm always looking forsomething with two screensand some crazy nonsense,but at the end of the day,what kind of gaming laptopshould you purchase?One that is reasonably priced,that has tons of performancethat will last you the long term,and that's exactly whatwe're looking at here.Now, the Lenovo team areexpanding the Legion lineupin a few different ways, right?So on the budget end, they'vegot their new LOQ brand,but also. they'reexpanding the Legion brandwith peripherals and devicesthat are sorta outside that normal PC beat.It just shows that Lenovoare trying to push thegaming space forwardin a different way thanother manufacturers are,and with tech like thecooling, which again,pushing 200 plus watts of TDPor having these greatdisplays or the HyperChambers,there's good stuff thatthey're doing here.And again, I want to give ashout out to the AI chips,because they deliver actual performance,not just buzzwords, notjust marketing nonsense.It's, to me, and obviously, I'm biased,but to me, it's kindof hard to not respectwhat they're delivering right now.Thank you very much for watching.Make sure to subscribeto the channel, and also,big thank you to theLenovo Legion team and Intelfor sponsoring this video.You can check out both the Legion 7iand the Pro 7i in the description.and until next time, my friendsmay, your RGB be bright,your frames be high, andyour lap not be on fire.From your laptop, of course.