I’ve never been a gaming PC guy, but this laptop changed my perspective for the better

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Legion Professional 7i (2025) is a top-tier gaming laptop computer, on sale now for $2,450.
• It effortlessly runs the most recent gaming titles, exudes premium energy, and contains a 16-inch OLED show that calls for your consideration.
• Apart from the excessive worth, all that {hardware} runs scorching, it is power-hungry, and it has an enormous, cumbersome energy provide.

extra shopping for selections

Observe ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is the most recent gaming laptop computer within the Legion collection. It’s accessible at 16 inches and places all its stat factors into the standard of the show and {hardware}. 

Additionally: One of the most refined Windows 11 PCs I’ve tested this year is not what you think

The result’s a complicated laptop computer with dramatic (however totally customizable) RGB lighting, a smooth kind issue, and a stacked set of {hardware}. It begins out with 32GB of RAM (upgradable to 96GB), 2TB of storage, a 24-core Intel Core Extremely 9 processor, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU. 

All this, mixed with the 16-inch 500nit, 240Hz refresh OLED show, makes for not solely a aggressive gaming machine but additionally a succesful workstation for professional creatives, animators, and designers. 

A design with commanding presence

The Legion Professional 7i is hefty, to make certain, however for a gaming laptop computer, it’s truly on the smooth facet. This places it in a kind of center floor: it is just a little too massive to be one thing you’d need to repeatedly commute with, but it surely’s definitely not sure to the desk.

Sadly, the matte black end is a fingerprint magnet, like a lot of Lenovo’s different laptops (ahem — ThinkPads) that, if this bugs you prefer it bugs me, will compel you to maintain a fabric available. All of that is mitigated by the keyboard lighting, nevertheless, which might be adjusted per key to be as delicate or loud as you need.

Additionally: My perfect MacBook Pro replacement is the Windows laptop you least expect

The gamer aesthetic is in full impact right here, with a dramatic single bar of sunshine throughout the entrance of the clamshell that displays onto the floor and appears completely superior. The again is illuminated throughout the diamond-shaped fan exhausts, and the “Legion” emblem pulses with the remainder of the results.

The complete-size keyboard with distinguished arrow keys, appropriately-sized quantity pad (and a delicate branding on one letter key specifically) feels premium and well-made, if somewhat normal. Key journey feels good, and the trackpad — aligned over the area bar — is ample and purposeful.

The facility button on the prime middle of the keyboard acts as a visible indicator of your efficiency profile: Quiet is blue, Balanced is white, and Efficiency is purple. (It is known as Silent mode each due to the fan and since muting the laptop computer robotically disables the lighting results.)

Additionally: My favorite Windows laptop for hybrid work got a design makeover – and it’s even better

All of those parts are individually customizable within the Legion app and might be shut off solely if it’s essential save battery energy or preserve a low profile within the workplace or espresso store. 

That being mentioned, this isn’t precisely the kind of laptop computer you may need to convey to the tiny bistro desk in your neighborhood espresso store. It is massive, it is heavy (5.67 kilos), and it’s thirsty for energy. Even if you happen to do have entry to a close-by outlet, the 400W energy brick is so large that it is basically the load of one other laptop computer. 

It is chonky, sure, but it surely’s additionally highly effective — offering 70% battery energy in simply half-hour, a surprisingly fast quantity of juice for the massive 99.9Wh battery. The charger connects through a proprietary port on the left facet of the laptop computer (not the again), which some will discover extra handy, however is barely much less so if you happen to’re utilizing the laptop computer as a desktop and are used to having your connections within the again.

By way of different I/O, the laptop computer has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI and USB-A on the left facet, two extra USB-As, a headphone jack, and a 2.5GB Ethernet jack. For those who do not need to plug the laptop computer straight into your modem, it additionally helps Wi-Fi 7 for quick connectivity. 

All in regards to the visuals

The Legion Professional 7i’s show is considered one of its finest options. It’s vivid and vivid and completely pops at 500 nits and a 240Hz refresh price. It options 100% of the SRGB coloration gamut, 93% Adobe RGB, and 100% P3 and swirls with deep, inky blacks and wealthy neons. 

Additionally: I compared the M5 MacBook Pro to older Mac models – here’s my buying advice in 2025

The 16-inch show is non-touch and has WQXGA decision at a 16:10 side ratio. It’s powered by the GeForce RTX 5080 GPU and gives a various set of use case potentialities for players, creatives, animators, and designers. Simply observe that it is a notably shiny show, and it’ll replicate mild sources relying on its positioning, particularly with how darkish the blacks get.

Efficiency: Deliver on the boss combat

Let me not mince phrases right here. This factor is a beast. The Legion Professional 7i is designed to shred by probably the most demanding titles on the market proper now, and the {hardware} on board nicely equips it to take action. The Nvidia GeForce 5080 GPU paired with the 24-core Intel Core Extremely 9 leads to responsive, snappy efficiency in “Cyberpunk 2077” and “Baldur’s Gate 3”, with older titles not breaking a sweat.

Additionally: The most exciting Intel Panther Lake upgrades for Windows PCs are flying under the radar

That being mentioned, all this highly effective {hardware} heats up. Temperatures throughout intense gaming periods can simply method 100 °C, which is just too scorching for sustained use. In Efficiency mode, the followers can hearth at max energy, which considerably brings the temperature down, however you may additionally must take heed to them cranking. 

The cooling system is environment friendly, expelling scorching air out the again and bleeding a minimal quantity of warmth out by the entrance to the keyboard. Nonetheless, the fan does take some getting used to, because it pops on even throughout regular day-to-day duties like multitasking and net looking. 

The Legion Professional 7i is a pleasure to recreation on, nevertheless, with its well-designed keyboard, attractive show, and incredible efficiency. The expertise carries over to the audio, as its audio system are above common for a laptop computer. Two are upward-facing and two are downward, leading to a sound that is just a little extra engrossing and fuller than most laptops’ shallow sound profile. 

By way of benchmarking, the Legion Professional 7i proves it may possibly dangle with spectacular numbers, particularly in multi-core efficiency.

The caveat of a gaming laptop computer

Like all laptop computer with this quantity of {hardware} on board, the 99Wh battery is extraordinarily variable. This isn’t a skinny and lightweight Copilot+ PC with a battery that drains at a trickle when it is not on. In truth, it depletes surprisingly rapidly simply sitting round, one thing to bear in mind if you happen to go away it unplugged for a day or two and anticipate to come back again to it prepared to fireplace up. 

Additionally: How much RAM do you need in 2025? My expert advice for Windows and Mac users

The efficiency mode you activate will drastically affect how lengthy your battery lasts, in addition to what you are doing. For instance, I took this laptop computer to the workplace and labored unplugged in Balanced mode, solely to seek out the laptop computer did not fairly make it by the workday. It acquired to 1% proper round six hours, and that is after regular duties that are not notably demanding. 

For those who’re speaking about gaming, you may get round 1.5 hours of recreation time unplugged, which truly is not all that unhealthy for a gaming laptop computer of this caliber. All of that is to say that the Legion Professional 7i performs about as anticipated contemplating the {hardware} on board and the OLED show. Whereas it is doable to hold round, you may be pressured to maintain the charging brick in tow as its thirst for energy is actual. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i seems like an 18-inch gaming laptop computer in a extra refined, 16-inch kind. I really like the show, the stalwart but nonetheless smooth construct, and the {hardware} that gives what you are on the lookout for in a gaming laptop computer: efficiency. 

Ultimately, Lenovo employed a considerate design right here to compensate for the machine’s weaknesses. It runs scorching however has a really efficient cooling system. It is extremely power-hungry, but it surely fees means quicker than you’d anticipate. 

Additionally: This Windows laptop has MacBook Pro written all over it (but it’s better in key ways)

The elephant within the room is the sky-high beginning worth, at $2,600 for the 32GB configuration, going as much as $3,200 if you need the top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 5090 GPU. I might completely advocate this laptop computer to players on the lookout for a robust, out-of-the-box gaming laptop computer that hits all the precise notes, so long as it is inside your funds. The Legion Professional 7i is a complicated, highly effective machine that dares you to run your favourite recreation at max settings and can finally go away you feeling spoiled.