Advertisement

Lenovo's new gaming laptops include an AMD Ryzen 4000-powered model

There's also an IdeaPad Gaming laptop for the entry level.

Lenovo

Lenovo’s Legion 5i and 7i were just the start of its gaming laptop overhaul. The company is introducing a pair of additional game-ready portables, including its first with AMD’s Ryzen 4000 H-series chips. The 15.6-inch Legion 5 (above) uses Ryzen 5 and 7 to deliver six- and eight-core processing that’s potentially brawnier than its Intel equivalent (if you ask AMD, at least). It’s a strictly mid-range system with up to GeForce RTX 2060 graphics, a 1080p display and a 1TB SSD, but the $760 price should make it easier to justify when it arrives in May.

This and other Legion models have a slew of improvements beyond raw performance. They include updated cooling that combines a vapor chamber system, dual liquid-crystal polymer fans and software to push your CPU and graphics as much as possible during a game while avoiding thermal throttling. You can also expect more responsive, ghosting-resistant and accurate keyboards, with Corsair-made RGB lighting on the Legion 7 (the 5 and 5i ‘settle’ for four-zone RGB). And while you probably won’t use the trackpad for many games, it’s 39 percent larger to allow for more precise input. Higher-spec systems come with up to a 240Hz refresh panel.

The remaining range also appears in May and starts at $830 for the 15-inch Legion 5i, $1,130 for a 17-inch version and $1,600 for the Legion 7.

If these are overkill, there is a new ‘entry’ gaming laptop, the IdeaPad Gaming 3 (below). The 15.6-inch machine doesn’t have the next-gen cooling, lighting or RTX graphics options of the Legion line, but it should still have respectable performance with up to a Core i7 H-series processor, GeForce GTX video (Lenovo isn’t more specific than this), a 512GB SSD and a 120Hz 1080p display. Really, the price is the hook — the IdeaPad will debut in May for $730.

Update 4/18 9AM ET: Lenovo initially said the price of the Ryzen-based Legion 5 was $850, but now says it costs $760. We’ve updated our piece accordingly.

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
Lenovo