Lenovo Legion Y25-30 25-inch 280 Hz gaming monitor review: A sweet spot for speed and price

An FHD IPS 25-inch flat panel with 280 Hz overclock, Adaptive-Sync, HDR and wide gamut color.

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Lenovo Legion Y25-30
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Lenovo Legion Y25-30
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Y25-30 delivers a bright and punchy image with nearly 400 nits peak in SDR mode. There is more than enough light available for any usage environment. Black levels are typical of average IPS panels, which results in just under 1,000:1 contrast. As you’ll see later in the color tests, gamma is a tad dark, meaning you can operate at a slightly higher peak level.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Lenovo Legion Y25-30
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

With the backlight set to 200 nits, leveling the playing field, the Y25-30 maintains consistent contrast. I only changed the blue slider in the user color temp with one click. I experimented with the gamma presets to lighten the image a bit, but one click made it too light. The default gamma looks best.

ANSI contrast is reasonably close to the static number at 928.4:1. Since the Y25-30’s screen uniformity is solid; this is an expected result. There are no quality control issues here.

Test Takeaway: The Y25-30 has contrast that’s average among value-oriented IPS panels. The dark gamma helps a little by allowing the user to set a higher brightness without creating a harsh image. It’s also good that there is a wide gamut though, that is common to most monitors today. The Y25-30 also has high brightness, which will appeal to users in brightly lit environments.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.