If you’re a gamer who travels to travel, you can find yourself in a bind. Most gaming components work, but only after weighing a few kilogrammes. In 2022, however, laptop manufacturers have acknowledged the necessity for portability and are releasing their own lightweight gaming laptops. Lenovo is one of these companies, having released the Leovo Legion 7 Slim in India over a month ago. This is an gaming laptop that you can carry around without feeling like you’re carrying a brick. But how does Legion Slim 7 gaming laptops perform, and do any compromises exist, or does it deliver on its promises? I was curiou as well, so I decided to put the Legion Slim 7 to the test for a few days and see what I could learn. Here’s what I’ve got to say about it.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Review (2022)
Because I go into great length about the finer points of this laptop, I’ve divided the review into sections like design, display, performance, build quality, and more. Use the table below to quickly check out a section you’re interested in.
Quality in Design and Construction
The design language that goes with a portable machine is a key component of it. Lenovo has chosen a design that is a complex mix of elegant and professional. While the laptop’s appearance may lead you to mistaken it’s a work laptop at first glance, the gamer-like aesthetic that greets you when you lift the lid quickly dispels that notion.
The Legion Slim 7’s whole body is made of high-grade metal that feels premium to the touch and has a solid build. At the hinge, the top exterior has been divided into two sections. The top left of the A-panel (or lid) has an iridescent Legion logo, while the bottom right has a Lenovo tag. It has a clean, minimalist design, which I appreciate, but the lid is a fingerprint magnet.
The lid is separated from a small area with light-up icons for charging and I/O ports, which can be use to plug in devices, by the hinge. On either side of the I/O ports are air conditioning vents.
The laptop’s bottom has the same quality appearance as the top, with a wide rectangular vent for ventilation and rubber feet for stability lenovo legion slim 7 review. While the overall design has softened corners, the corners themselves are still sharp and may cause discomfort from time to time.
The interior are just as stunning as the exteriors when the lid is opened through the inner cut-out. The inside body uses the same design language, with smooth metal as the platform for the large keyboard and trackpad. Except for the bottom to bezel, which is a bit wide, the display itself has very little to no bezels. Lenovo could have done away with it and instead included a larger display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, in my opinion. However, the laptop makes up for it with a sleek Legion logo and a power button that also serves as an fingerprint sensor below it. The display hinge of the Slim 7 is tiny but robust.
The laptop’s build quality is excellent, and it is both visually and physically durable. Even while attempting to flex the body, there is little to no flex. While the display itself wobbles a little, I can’t imagine a situation where this would be a problem. The display also includes a 180-degree hinge and can be opened with only one finger for those who are inclined.
I decided to pick up the laptop because of the clue in the name, and it lives up to its moniker. The Legion Slim 7 is an lightweight gaming laptop that weighs only 1.9 kg, weighing it easy to hold and carry. This laptop is exceptionally slim, with an overall body thickness of 15.9mm, and even outperforms the Infinix INBOOK X1, a cheap and lightweight work laptop.
The Legion Slim 7 impressed me with its overall design, which combined a simple yet professional design, solid build quality, and no-nonsense portability. If you’re a gamer who travels a lot and needs a laptop that’s both light and stylish, the Legion Slim 7 is the laptop for you.
Display
A laptop with good components but a poor display is effectively useless. Thankfully, the Legion Slim 7’s display matches its design and hardware. A 15.6-inch WQHD display with an resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 165Hz features standard on the laptop. While it may appear that colour fidelity may be sacrificed, the display also supports sRGB at 100%. Aside from the paper specs, I decided to put this laptop’s display to the test using a combination of daily media consumption, work, and play.
I’m pleased to report that the lenovo legion slim 7 review display impressed me in every way. The laptop provided a satisfying viewing experience, whether it was watching 4K shows, movies, and videos on Netflix and YouTube and playing Apex Legends every day. Furthermore, the high resolution allowed for more detailed content to be displayed on the screen, which added to the fun.
The display’s max brightness of 300 nits was a major concern for me. However, it was sufficient, and I didn’t find the need to increase the brightness while watching stuff indoors. The matte display heres also helped matters, as I dislike glossy displays. However, keep in mind that the display does not support HDR by default.
The display’s colour fidelity is outstanding, with colours that are incredibly vibrant without being oversaturated. The dark tonality matches the same note, and the display has deep, rich blacks with minimal greying. Matter of whether I was working, gaming, or doing something else, the same colour accuracy was achieved. If you want to play arounds with colour profiles, the X-Rite Color Assistant allows you choose from a variety of colour profiles to find the perfect match.
If you’re only concerned with day-to-day tasks, the Legion Slim 7’s display has you covered. The lettering is clear and intelligible, and the display’s overall evenness means you can work for long periods of time without working your eyes.
The display on the lenovo legion slim 7 review does a lot of things right, regardless of which use case you choose to use it for. While the 300 nits of brightness and offer of HDR may irritate some users, there are more than enough benefits to outweigh these drawbacks.
Performance
It’s no small effort to cram an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU into a slim laptop. Dual-channel 16GB RAM running at 3200Mhz adds to the performance. You have an 1TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD with read/writes speeds of 3571 and 2969 MB/s, respectively, for storage.
With specs like these, you’d think everything would be a piece of cake. These were the same specs on the Legion Slim 7 review unit I tested, so I decided to check them to the performance. I tested this laptop through its paces in a variety of scenarios to see how well it performs. Continue reading to find out for yourself.
Use on a regular basis
When it comes to hardware, my daily usage as a writer isn’t overly demanding. However, there are times when things get a little too much for me, and I find myself with 20 tabs open and multiple videos/music playing in the background. I decided to put the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 through the same paces, and it wowed me.
All of the browser tabs and apps I threw at the Ryzen 7 5800H-powered laptop went down without a hitch. Even when retouching photos on Paint.net with multiple 4K videos playing in the background on YouTube, the CPU use only reached 22%. While using the laptop, I had no lag or stuttering, and the performance was identical on the battery and the adapter. The RAM exhibited the same tenacity, and the system handled everything well. Even when Chrome used up to 4GB of RAM in a single session, I had plenty of room on this 16GB 3200Mhz system and had no times.
Despite the fact that I rarely use software like Premiere Pro, I decided to test it out on this laptop. Because there was no lag while editing and rendering videos, the same result was achieved. While the CPU generated heat lenovo legion slim 7 review, it was immediately dispersed by Lenovo’s clever cooling technology, which I will talk further below.
If you’re a gamer concerned that your laptop won’t be able to endure daily use, you’re in for a treat. The Legion Slim 7 is not only capable of handling daily use, but it can also crush it.
Benchmarks
While real-world experience is generally a better indicator than benchmarks, I ran them all to see how the Slim 7 handled them. To see how the machine performs, I decided to run Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, and 3DMark Fire Strike. This is what I found.
5th Geekbench
Geekbench 5 was a quick operation that yielded some impressive results. The Legion Slim 7 comes in exactly behind the Ryzen 9 5900HX, which is a higher-end processor, with single-core scores of 1415. The multi-core score of 7064 is very impressive, and the CPU is comparable to the Intel Core i7-9700K, which is an unlocked desktop processor.
R23 Cinebench
Cinebench R23 is a CPU-intensive benchmark that puts a lot of strain on the processor. To see how it performs, I ran the single and multi-core scores. The results were once again impressive, with scores above the minimum requirements for everyday use and even performance laptops.
Cinebench R23 achieved single-core and multi-core scores of 1274 and 12212, respectively. When it comes to single & multi-threaded performance lenovo legion slim 7 review, both ratings are high, and they compete with slightly older desktop chips such as the Intel i9-9960X and Ryzen 9 3950X. Yes, these scores translate to fantastic performance whether you’re running a single app or using all of the cores on the Ryzen 7 5800H.
CrystalDiskMark
The Legion Slim 7 features with a 1TB SSD that can give and maintain high read/write speeds. With CrystalDiskMark, I tested the company’s claims to the test. The disc gave read speeds of 3571 MB/s and write speeds of 2969 MB/s after running five runs of an 8GB file.
While the SSD speeds and not as fast as the current Gen 4 rates, they make little to no differences in terms of performance. Aside from the high score, all of my copy and paste work was almost instantaneous, and the same was true of time and application loading games.
3DMark Fire Strike is a game developed by 3DMark.
The Fire Strike benchmark is meant to put the system’s GPU to the test and measure how well it performs. The RTX 3060 laptop GPU includes 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a wattage of up to 100Watts. While that isn’t the best of what’s available, I can see why Lenovo would forego TGP in exchange for a lighter overall setup.
3DMark Fire Strike, on the other hand, turned an impressive score of 18187, which was better than 82 percent of all results. Further investigation reveals that the Legion Slim 7 can run AAA games at varied resolutions of 2K and FHD with ease, achieving 65+ and even 100+ FPS in well-optimized games.
All of the benchmark results are impressive, as you can see, and point to a laptop that can withstand much more than its light design. While usage has been consistent, it’s now time to evaluate how the Legion Slim 7 performs in the area for which it was made — gaming.
Gaming
When it comes to the Lenovo Legion 7’s main purpose, gaming, the machine should be able to handle it without difficulty. With a TGP of 100Watts, the RTX 3060 laptop GPU can easily push its full 6GBGDDR6 memory. However, in order to obtain accurate games, I decided to run Rainbow Six Siege, Elden Ring, and GhostWire: Tokyo. To see a wide range of performance, I decided to use the native 2K and FHD resolutions on Ultra settings. This is what I discovered:
In 2022, Rainbow Six Siege R6 Siege is a well-optimized game. However, when played on high settings, it is a game that consumes a lot of CPU/ GPU resources. As a Siege veteran with over 3000 hours under my belt lenovo legion slim 7 review, I am no stranger to the game. I decides to put it to the test in a variety of settings, and the results were quite impressive.
The game produced an average FPS of 137 when run at 25601440 resolution with everything set to Ultra. On varied maps, the frame performance stayed consistent. Detailed textures, like as environment destruction, uniform and weapon details, and map textures, were all vibrant and seamless.
The FPS increased as high as 159 while I was walking around while playing Caveira through Clubhouse. While the GPU did reach 80 degrees Celsius, it was unable to go any higher due to the Legion 7’s superior cooling.
When the resolution was reduced to 1920 x 1080, the FPS averaged 180 frames and exceeded the refresh rate of the screen. While the visuals were naturally lowered, the greater FPS made the bit run even smoother. The lenovo legion slim 7 review pushed to push the FPS as high as 214, which is astounding.
The overall performance at both resolutions was impressive, and I had a lot of fun in Siege pixel peeking spawn peekers.
Elden Ring has been making a lot of noise lately, so I knew I had to try it out on this machine. However, the developers have included a 60FPS lock PC. To get around this, I tested with the game in various settings.
Elden Ring was able to maintain a consistent 70+ FPS while running the game on Native 2K with Ultra settings. While this may appear low in comparison to Siege, keep in mind that Elden Ring is extremely vibrant and features highly detailed terrain. Elden Ring maintained a high FPS despite the added stress, and I had a lot of fun dying over and over.
I pushed the game to 1080p on Ultra, which gave me over 100 FPS in some scenarios and even over 120 in others. There was no lag or micro stutters this time, and the overall experience was quite pleasant.
Tokyo GhostWire
While GhostWire: Tokyo has received mixed reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed finishing it. I also tested it out, knowing that the game is taxing due to its effects and Ray Tracing.
The usual 2K Ultra pre-set produced roughly 55+ frames, with certain circumstances exceeding 60. While a frame rate of less than 60 frames per second may sound bad, keep in mind that GhostWire is an exceptionally demanding game that isn’t well tuned. Regardless, it was a pleasurable experience for me.
Ray tracing on 2K, on the other hand, was not a pleasant experience. On regular gameplay, the GPU could achieve 35+ FPS with RTX on low. Even though there were no stutters, the low FPS detracted from the experience, and I was not having fun. I still needed Ray Tracing at medium, so I turned the resolution to 1080p lenovo legion slim 7 review. The experience there was better, as I was able to achieve 50+ FPS, which is still a significant improvement. To obtain the best performance, keep the game at Low/Medium graphics on FHD resolution if you’re a stickler for Ray Tracing.
As expected, ultra 1080p performance was excellent, with over 100 FPS while battling many Slendermen with KK. As a result, I found gaming on the Legion Slim 7 to be a pleasurable experience. While the low Rays Tracing performance is a matter for concern, it is obvious that the low 100Watt TGP is a contributing factor.
While Lenovo could have gone a little higher with the wattage, a lightweight gaming laptop requires compromises. Despite this, the Legion Slim 7 is a powerful gaming performance with a good performance-to-wattage ratio.
Lenovo Vantage and software
Almost every laptop manufacturer now includes specialist software that serves as the machine’s control centre. The Legion Slim-7 is no exception, as the device’s command hub is the built-in Lenovo Vantage software, which comes with Windows 11 out of the box. Vantage provides real-time CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD use, allowing users to keep track of their laptop’s performance at all times.
That, however, is not where its value rests. Vantage also houses Lenovo’s custom-tuned thermal profiles, which are activated when the laptop need them. These thermal modes, which are categorised as Performance, Balance, and Quiet Mode, automatically change the laptop’s performance and fan speed to meet the situation.
Aside from that, Vantage has a plethora of settings, including the ability to turn on/off Hybrid mode as desired. Lenovo Network Boost prioritises your game, while overdrive reduces the display’s response time even further. You can also tweak a variety of additional options, such as the webcam, microphone, keyboard, battery optimization, and more.
Thermal Efficiency
While I’ve already discussed how well the laptop performs in terms of gaming, I’d like to quickly talk thermals. A turbo dual fan design with numerous exhausts on the sides and back features the Lenovo Legion Slim 7. The Slim’s 7 cooling system is remarkably efficient, despite being mistaken for something small at first.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 maintained a temperature of under 80 degrees Celsius throughout my hours of gaming. This is especially impressives when you consider that the GPU use was consistently at 100%. Lenovo’s clever Coldfront Cooling took care of the heavy lifting, since the system began to improve cooling as soon as the temperature rose. To see how hards the fans were working, lenovo legion slim 7 review I just placed my hands near the vents.
If you’re a gamer who likes to crank up the settings for eye candy, the Slim 7’s cooling will come in handy, as it keeps the temps low while maintaining high performance.
Fingerprint sensor, trackpad, and keyboard
Even though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a gaming laptop, its keyboard should be nice to type on. The Legion Slim 7 comes with an RGB backlit keyboard that features Corsair’s iCUE technology. A dedicated numeric keypad is also located on the right side of the laptop.
Typing on the Legion Slim 7 keyboard is a nice experience in and of itself. Hitting the keys produces an impact that, while not particularly haptic, strikes the proper notes and is pleasant to the touch. Because the key travel is so low, I didn’t have to find long to press the complete key down. The U-shaped keycaps make it simple to maintain good typing form. It assisted me in eliminating fat fingering in both work and gaming. While I am used to typing, my typing test results exceeded my expectations with a speed of 70 words per minute.
Typing is as much fun as gaming on the keyboard. The WSAD keypresses are snappy and responsive, and all games responded quickly to my motions. I opened up the Corsair iCUE software and cycled through the lenovo legion slim 7 review various keyboard light effects to add extra fun to my gaming experience when I felt like having RGB lights on my keyboard. I also liked how pressing Fn just activated the function keys on the keyboard, which is convenient and cool.
The Legion Slim 7 has a multi-touchpad with a glass top that works nicely. Because there is no substance on the trackpad, your fingers will easily slide across it. Precision motions that are easy to repeat are naturally supported. While the trackpad’s clicks are a little scratchy at first, I quickly get accustomed to them. The trackpad, on the other hand, is positioned awkwardly to the left, resulting in unpleasant misclicks on the laptop. I imagine it will take some time to adjust to this.
If you’re concerned about your security and privacy, the power button works a reliable fingerprint sensor. The sensor identified my fingerprint in microseconds after registration, and the laptop unlocked easily. A lovely ring light surrounds the power button, which looks nice.
Despite this, the trackpad and keyboard are both impressive and will easily get a gamer or casual user through their daily routine.
Connectivity and ports
The Legion Slim 7 has a basic collection of I/O ports that will suffice for most gamers. A 4-in-1 SD card reader and a mic/headphone jack are located on the laptop’s left side. That is all there is to it. The Slim 7 has two Type-C ports on the right side, which are both DP and USB 3.1 Gen 2 compliant. For those who need more, the laptop’s back features a pair of USB Type-A ports, one of which has an always-on function, as well as a Power In port.
You’ll note right away that the laptop lacks an HDMI or Ethernet port. However, given Lenovo’s focus on the Slim 7, this comes as no surprise. The business decided to remove both ports since they would increase the overall thickness of the laptop. While I can still use the DP instead of the HDMI, the lack of a LAN port found me.
The Legion 7 Slim comes with Killer Wi-Fi AX1650 and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless networking. However, there are times when a good ethernet connection is all that is required to connect a PC and download games quickly lenovo legion slim 7 review. Because there isn’t a port, I now have to lug around a USB dongle to perform the same thing. This could be a problem or a blessing depending on the type of user you are. That is something I will leave up to you to determine.
Audio
Most laptop speakers give sub-par audio performance and barely get the job done, so I don’t expect much from them. Despite the fact that everything is compressed into such a small design, the Lenovo Slim 7 features speakers that shocked me. The laptop’s twin speaker setup is located at the bottom. Harman Kardon tuned the speakers, which also provide Nahimic audio support. I tested the speakers to the test with my everyday Spotify/YouTube playlist and was quite impressed.
To begin with, the Slim 7’s speakers are rather loud for their size. When run at full intensity, the two bottom firers provide a sound that some describe as “room-filling.” Even at maximum volume, there is no audio distortion or crackling. The bass isn’t particularly noticeable, but there is some thump from time to time.
The Nahmic software helps to enhance the audio experience by making it louder and richer. Other pre-set modes in the software, such as Music, Movies, Games, and more, might help you find the perfect profile. While the Slim 7’s speakers aren’t loud enough for large gatherings, they’ll carry you through your entertainment sessions just fine.
Microphone and webcam
The Legion Slim 7’s webcam and microphone are as standard as they get on laptops. The 720p webcam takes photographs and videos with little loss of quality. As I expected, there is some grain here and there. However, when combined with the webcam’s physical privacy shutter, it performs a good job and will get you through your daily video conversations.
In 2022, a privacy shutter is a must-have.
The inbuilt microphone is likewise only average at recording noises. The recorded sound is generally clear, although it can become muddy at times, which is frustrating. I also sat in a Echo room to observe how effective Nahimic Echo cancellation is, but it made little difference. The camera and mic are only adequate for gamers and users who need to make video calls quickly. Users should purchase their own equipment to connect to the laptop.
Check out the top 4K webcams available for purchase right now.
Charging and Battery
I sensed the Legion 7 Slim was afraid of me and my extensive use as a laptop user who enjoys high screen brightness. The laptop’s 73Wh battery, on the other hand, performed a good job of keeping the laptop alive while I was away. With the brightness set to 100%, the laptop’s battery at maximum power efficiency lenovo legion slim 7 review, and moderate use, the laptop lasted about 4.5 hours before I needed to plug it in.
While the Slim 7 may not have the finest battery life, I was able to offer it by watching YouTube videos and playing with the RGB lights on the keyboard on occasion. Lenovo’s Rapid Charge feature, which you must enable through Lenovo Vantage, was beneficial in that it allowed the system to charge quickly and without delay. The included 230W charging adapter isn’t the lightest, but it’s slim. And while I doubt you’ll reach the stated 8 hours of battery life, you can get up to 6 hours if you’re easy with the device.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Review: Compromise-Free Gaming on the Go
The search for a portable gaming machine might quickly become challenging. While you may value a laptop’s greater power, it may also be burdened by its weight. Others provide a lighter chassis but lack the GPU wattage necessary to deliver the finest experience in today’s AAA games. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7, on the other hand, manages to strike a balance between portability and performance. The Legion Slim 7 is an lightweight machine capable of a lot, thanks to a great combination of CPU, GPU, &a display that truly performs.
While the average GPU wattage may hinder gamers who demand the best of everything, they will be rewarded with a machine that will not break your back while being carried. The Slim 7 is an laptop that does not come cheap lenovo legion slim 7 review, with a starting price of (144,990). However, the advantages outweigh the price. If you’re a budget gamer, though, the MSI Stealth 15M (1,19,000) or the ASUS TUF Dash F15 (114,990) might be more appealing. However, keep in minds that each of these laptops has its own set of compromises (and benefits) to note.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 hits a good blend of portability, performance, and price for a gamer on the road who is prepared to spend a bit more for portability. Well, that concludes this review. How do you feel about this gaming laptop? Do you believe it’s worthwhile to reduce GPU wattage or disable some ports in order to make the machine lighter? Give your thoughts in the comments sections below!
