Lenovo is going thinner and faster with its new gaming laptops. At CES 2022, the company announced new entries to both the Lenovo Legion 5 series as well as the esports-focused Legion 5 Pro laptops.
Both the Legion 5 and Legion 5 Pro come with the latest processors from AMD and Intel (the Intel models are marked with an "i"), as well as upcoming Nvidia graphics. The Intel-based laptops will launch in February while the AMD versions will ship in April.
The biggest difference between the Legion 5 and 5 Pro series is the display. The non-pro laptops have 15-inch, 2560 x 1440, 16:9 displays that go up to 165 Hz, while the Pro counterparts are 16-inches with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 2560 x 1600 resolution, and IPS panels that offer 240 Hz.
The Intel versions use Intel's 12th Gen processors, up to the Core i9-12700H on the 5i and Core i9-12900H on the 5i Pro. Lenovo hasn't disclosed which AMD processors it's using, other than that they are "next-gen." The graphics cards are new additions to Nvidia's RTX 30 lineup. We know specs, including boost clocks of 125W on the 5 series and 165 W in the 5 Pro, but not model names.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Lenovo Legion 5 | Lenovo Legion 5i | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Lenovo Legion 5i Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Next-gen AMD Ryzen processors | Up to Intel Core i9-12700H | Next-gen AMD Ryzen processors | Up to Intel Core i9-12900H |
| GPU | Up to "latest GeForce RTX 30 Series laptop GPU" (8GB GDDR6, 125W TGP, Boost Clock 1485Mhz) | Up to "latest GeForce RTX 30 Series laptop GPU" (8GB GDDR6, 125W TGP, Boost Clock 1485Mhz) | Up to "latest GeForce RTX 30 Series laptop GPU" (8GB GDDR6, 165W TGP, Boost Clock 1485Mhz) | Up to "latest GeForce RTX 30 Series laptop GPU" (8GB GDDR6, 165W TGP, Boost Clock 1485Mhz) |
| Display | 15-inch, 2560 x 1440, 16:9, up to 165 Hz, Nvidia G-Sync | 15-inch, 2560 x 1440, 16:9, up to 165 Hz, Nvidia G-Sync | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS, 16:10, up to 240 Hz, FreeSync and G-Sync | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS, 16:10, up to 240 Hz, FreeSync and G-Sync |
| RAM | Up to 32GB DDR5-4800 | Up to 32GB DDR5-4800 | Up to 32GB DDR5-4800 | Up to 32GB DDR5-4800 |
| Storage | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 |
| Networking | Up to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 | Up to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 | Up to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 | Up to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Battery | 80WHr | 80WHr | 80WHr | 80WHr |
| Starting Price | $1,129.99 | $1,199.99 | $1,429.99 | $1,569.99 |
| Availability | April 2022 | February 2022 | April 2022 | February 2022 |
The Legion 5 and 5i are 15% thinner than previous generations, but Lenovo claims that they run just as cool thanks to a fan that's 40% more powerful–we can’t wait to find out how that sounds in testing. The webcam is in a camera bump over the display, which serves as an easy way to open the laptop.
The 16-inch version is also seeing some changes, including better Wi-Fi antenna placement and a battery optimizer with artificial intelligence. The majority of the ports are on the back, for a cleaner desk. The newer model also includes four-zone backlighting and an aluminum-magnesium chassis.
Both laptops use Lenovo's TrueStrike keyboards, which, given Lenovo's ThinkPad heritage, we expect to be good for typing and gaming, but we'll need to test it for ourselves.
These laptops are being announced alongside a series of Legion accessories, including wired and wireless mice and a set of monitors. Additionally, Lenovo has a new launcher, Legion Arena, to put all of your PC games from various storefronts into one program. That’s far from the first launcher we’ve seen from a laptop company. But we’re pretty sure most people just prefer to stick with the launcher where they bought their games from.
