Lenovo is one of the world’s leading computer manufacturing companies. Its notebook segment is also trendy among consumers. The good thing is that it covers the needs of both gamers and the business people community. Lenovo has different lineups for different purposes. Among them, the ThinkPad, ThinkBook, and IdeaPad series are well-known for their fast processing in the business notebook segment. Whereas the Legion series is famous in the gaming segment as it comes with high-end hardware for flagship-level gaming.
If we discuss the Legion lineup further, it is famous for its eye-catching design, fast performance, exemplary heat dissipation system, high-level gaming support, and reasonable price. All these benefits attract the consumer and ensure the best value is delivered at an affordable price.
Lenovo’s Legion series is further categorized in various lineups. However, the notebook we will review today belongs to the Lenovo Legion 7 series and is the latest model in its lineup. Today, we are going to review the all-new Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) powered by a Ryzen 7 6800H CPU in addition to a Radeon RX 6700M GPU. It is worth mentioning that the notebook we are reviewing is a non-slim variant, which costs more than the slim version.
The all-new Legion 7 2022 has many breakthroughs, including better portability and design, DDR5 RAM and PCIe 4.0 Storage, a larger 99.99WHr battery, and USB-C 4.0 connectivity.
Below the specifications table, every aspect of the notebook is discussed:
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Specifications
| Screen | 16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS LCD, 500 nits, 16:10 aspect ratio, 165Hz (3ms response time), 100% sRGB, up to VESA DisplayHDR 400 Certified, Dolby Vision support, AMD FreeSync Premium, TÜV Rheinland certified |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H Mobile Processor (45W default TDP, Max 4.7 GHz Frequency) |
| Wireless Connection | WiFi 6E* (2 x 2 802.11 ax) + Bluetooth v5.2 |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon RX 6700M Graphics, 10GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 2 (Up to 2300Mhz Game Clock) |
| Memory | 16GB Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory (clocked @4800MHz), 2 Slots, Max 32GB RAM Support |
| Storage | 1TB Samsung PM9A1 M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, upgradeable to 2TB storage |
| Ports | 2x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen2 1x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen1 1x Headphone/mic combo jack 2 x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen1 (1 x always on) 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen2 (20Gbps data transfer, DisplayPort 1.4, 135W power delivery) 1x HDMI 2.1 1x Ethernet (RJ45) |
| Battery | 99.99WHr Li-polymer Battery with 300W AC Adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Weight | 2.5kg (5.51lbs) |
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Design and Appearance:
At first, the appearance of Legion 7 2022 feels the same as its old 2021 model. However, on deep observation, it can be seen that it now comes with a better heat dissipation system at the bottom. The bottom grill has bigger holes. Also, the side trims are now more refined.
Regarding technical specifications, the new Legion 7 2022 has the following dimensions: 358.1×263.5×19.4 mm and weighs around 2.5kg. It is a bit thinner and slightly lighter than the 2021 model.
On the display shell, we have a metal texture that feels very satisfying to touch. Its light gray color also increases the beauty, and the coating eliminates the fingerprint marks simultaneously. It still has the same big-sized LEGION logo as in the previous model, but this time, the letter O is changed and cancel the Y-shaped backlight design. The entire logo now supports RGB lightning which can be synchronized with the keyboard. The nameplate of Lenovo’s logo is still in the lower-right corner.
The sides of the notebook are also changed and now have a new square design instead of a cylindrical design which again makes the entire notebook look more elegant. The side edges are now more refined, and RGB lighting has been added. It is worth mentioning that the manufacturer has used metal wire drawing and diamond cutting processes to build the notebook’s side edges. This notebook’s overall design and appearance are pretty eye-catching, and the term portability is also significantly improved, ensuring that carrying this notebook in your arms for long doesn’t cause pain.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Display
In terms of display, the Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) features a 16″ WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS LCD display, which supports a higher 165Hz refresh rate. The display has an aspect ratio of 16:10, and the screen-to-body ratio has now increased to 93.7% (92% in Legion 7 6th Gen), making the screen bezels extremely narrow. As per the official statement, the notebook supports 500nits max brightness and Dolby Vision. The display is also DisplayHDR 400, AMD FreeSync Premium, and TUV Rheinland certified.
We used the SpyderX Elite to test the display’s capabilities. On testing, we found that the display has 99% sRGB, 75% AdobeRGB, 78% DCI-P3, and 71% NTSC color gamut. The maximum achieved brightness level was 551.5nits; the contrast ratio also reached 1136:1, while on 100% brightness, the screen’s color temperature was around 6900K which seems perfect and will cause less harm to the eyes in long-term use. In terms of color accuracy, the average delta value ΔE was 1.64 (0.55 minimum level and 3.62 peak level). The results showed that the overall color accuracy of Legion 7’s display is pretty good.
Next, we have the Webcam and microphone integrated into the top bezel of the screen in the middle. Around the webcam area, the screen bezel is more extended than the rest. The advantage of extending this part is that it helps the user obtain better force when lifting up the screen and eliminates the chance of affecting the frame design and screen occupation. The webcam module supports video recording in full-HD resolution.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Keyboard and TouchPad
The all-new Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) features the same keyboard as the previous model, i.e., the Legion TrueStrike Original Sense keyboard. It supports a per-key RGB backlight, 100% anti-ghosting, and features an independent numeric keypad, full-size arrow keys, and force sensors in WASD keys. On using the keyboard for a while, it is observed that the keystroke is moderate, the pressure is low, and the key’s rebounding feedback is also fast. All these features ensure that the user does not need to connect to an external keyboard for a more fine experience.
Another unique characteristic of this keyboard is its backlight function in Function keys. When you press the Fn key, only those keys will light up, which supports combined function keys while the backlight of the other key will be turned off temporarily. The power button (fingerprint sensor integrated) also comes with three colors of backlight (red, blue, and white), which denotes different modes; white light represents the balanced mode, blue light means the quiet mode, and red light represents the beast mode.
Under the keyboard, we have the touchpad in the same position as in the previous model. However, its working is more improved. After using it for a long time, we found that the touchpad’s surface feels very smooth and soft, its area is also large, and its DPI lets the pointer (cursor) move from left to right in one slide (at default 2560*1600p resolution). As mentioned before, the touchpad is still placed in the same position, which feels slightly left, but the notebook still managed to have enough space for regular palm rest.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Ports
Regarding Ports, the new Legion 7 (2022) is fully enriched like its predecessor models. With these numerous ports, the users probably don’t require carrying a dock along with them (for extending port connectivity). The notebook consists of ports on three sides: left, right, and backside; the back side features the most ports.
Starting from the left side, we have only two USB Type-C ports. The first port is the all-new USB Type-C 4.0 port, which supports 40Gbps data transmission, and the second one is a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen2 port.
On the right side, we have a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen1 port, a camera on/off switch, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The camera switch makes it easy to turn on/off the camera instantly, whether required or not, and it also ensures the user’s privacy.
On the backside, we have an RJ45 port, another USB Type-C port with DisplayPort support, a standard HDMI 2.1 port, 2x USB Type-A ports, and a special Lenovo charging port. Placing these ports on the backside helps eliminate any wires mess on the laptop table.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): RAM and SSD
In terms of RAM, the Legion 7 (2022) is equipped with 16GB DDR5 memory (clocked at 4800MHz). It is worth mentioning that two RAM sticks (2x 8GB) are connected to the motherboard to make a Dual-Channel connection, which has a higher speed than single-channel memory. The amount of RAM is sufficient, but if you still want to upgrade the RAM, you can do it up to 32GB, which is enough for gaming.
To test the RAM, we used the AIDA64 Cache and Memory benchmark test. In this test, the Legion 7 2022 has the following scores: 50,261MB/s read speed, 54,886MB/s write speed, 48,213MB/s copy speed, and a latency rate of 87.2ns. Undoubtedly, Lenovo has optimized the DDR5 memory with relatively high latency, bringing a better and faster gaming experience. However, it has been observed that the scores are pretty low compared with its competitors like HP Omen 16 (2022), Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620, and Legion 5i Pro 2022. All these competitors’ notebooks are powered by Core i7-12700H CPU i.e. the main competitor of Ryzen 7 6800H.
Next, we have a 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD manufactured by Samsung. It carries a model number MZVL21T0HCLR and is named Samsung’s PM9A1 SSD. If you have low storage, you can upgrade it to a maximum of 2TB storage. For testing the SSD’s performance, we used the CrystalDiskMark software in which we got the following results: 6631.25MB/s Sequential Read Speed, 4841.67MB/s Sequential Write Speed, 67.25MB/s 4K Random Read Speed, and 141.65MB/s 4K Random Write Speed.
Compared with its competitors (and our previously reviewed notebooks), the SSD in Legion 7 (2022) has performed almost equal to them, and besides that, the performance is relatively satisfactory.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Battery and Charging
In terms of battery, the Legion 7 (2022) comes with a larger 99.99WHr battery but still, due to higher power consumption during gaming, gamers can’t rely on this battery. It is better to do gaming while the laptop is on charging; otherwise, a battery backup of around one and a half hours is expected from this kind of battery.
The notebook also comes with a 300W slim AC adaptor out of the box. As claimed by the officials, this Super Rapid Charger can charge 100% battery within 80 minutes, which seems pretty good.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): CPU and its Benchmark
The all-new Legion 7 (2022) comes in two CPU variants: one is powered by AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and the other with Ryzen 9 6900HX. The model we received features an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU. In terms of specifications, the Ryzen 7 6800H is based on TSMC’s 6nm FinFET manufacturing process and consists of eight cores and sixteen threads. All eight cores have a 3.2GHz base frequency while the maximum is 4.7GHz; the default TDP is 45W. The CPU also has 4MB L2 and 16MB L3 cache memory. As the CPU is the main competitor of Core i7-12700H, we can expect a good performance from this chipset.
Following are some benchmark tests of AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU:
CPU-Z: One of the leading software we used in our benchmark testing. The CPU has scored 609.5 on single-core and 6095.4 on multi-core.
Cinebench: This benchmark application has three versions: R15, R20, and R23. In Cinebench R15, the CPU scored 245cb in the single-core test and 2,304cb in the multi-core test. Under the Cinebench R20, the CPU scored 585cb in single-core and 5,410cb in multi-core. While in Cinebench R23, the single-core score was 1,481 points, and the multi-core score was 13,852.
3DMark CPU: In this test, the performance from single to all threads will be stated. The Legion 7 (2022) scored 891 on a single thread, 1,731 on two threads, 3,318 on four threads, 5,548 on eight threads, 6,982 on sixteen threads, and 6993 on multi-thread testing.
After getting those excellent benchmark results from the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, we can expect the new Legion 7 (2022) will handle all the games very efficiently. If you are buying this notebook for rendering, it can be a perfect fit.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): GPU and its Benchmark
In addition to Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, the Legion 7 (2022) also comes with a mobile GPU. There are two GPU variants in Ryzen 7 6800H powered Legion 7 (2022). The first variant features Radeon RX 6700M GPU while the second one has Radeon RX 6850M GPU. The model we received to review has Radeon RX 6700M Discrete GPU, which features 10GB GDDR6 Memory (clocked @2300MHz), based on a 7nm manufacturing process.
In terms of specifications, the GPU has a 160-bit bus width, 320GB/s bandwidth, and 2304 stream processors. The GPU’s basic frequency is 2,271MHz, memory frequency is 2,000MHz, boost frequency is 2,532MHz, and the maximum achievable power consumption is 135W.
We also performed a benchmark test of the GPU, the results of which are described below. All these tests are done with the 3DMark application, which is famous for GPU benchmark testing.
3DMark TimeSpy: The DirectX 12 mode was used in this test, and the GPU score was 10,502 points.
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme: In DirectX 11 mode, the GPU score was 13,453 points.
3DMark Port Royal: In this test, the GPU scored 4,561 points.
Overall, the GPU scores are pretty good, and it can easily handle all the latest AAA games at high video settings.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Gaming Test
As judged by the CPU and GPU benchmark scores, the gaming test on Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) is expected to go very well. We have tested some of the latest 3A games to check the gaming performance:
Elden Ring: Elden Ring is one of the latest action role-playing games released this year. It is worth mentioning that this game has a frame limiter setting that doesn’t allow the user to get more than 60fps whether the notebook/PC is capable or not. To test the game, we set the resolution at 2560×1600 (2.5K+) and the picture quality was the highest. With these settings, we got stable 60fps gameplay.
World War Z: It is a third-person shooter video game and is also specially optimized for the AMD platform. For testing this game, the resolution was set at 2560×1600, and we got an average frame rate of 126fps.
Forza Horizon 5: A racing video game, also very famous in the gaming community. We tested this game in two resolution modes. In the first test, the resolution was set to 2560×1600, the image quality was set to high, and we got an average frame rate of 89fps. In the second test, the resolution was lower, i.e., 1920×1200 with the same high image quality; this time, we got 112fps average frame rates.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: It is an action-adventure video game. We tested this game at two different resolutions with the highest image quality. The first test was done at 2560×1600 resolution, at which we got an average 81fps frame rate. While at 1920×1200 resolution, the average frame rates were 120fps.
Total War: Warhammer III: It is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game released this year. We again tested this game in two resolution modes. The picture quality was set at high. At 2560×1600 resolution, the average frame rates were 35fps; but at 1920×1200 resolution, the average frame rates rose to 55fps. Setting the resolution at Full-HD+ is recommended for a smoother gaming experience.
All the game’s benchmark results showed that Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) is a smart choice for consumers if they want to do high-end gaming.
Lenovo Legion 7 (2022): Heat Dissipation and Stress Testing
The new Legion 7 (2022) comes with Legion Coldfront 4.0 technology that tries to keep both silence and CPU/GPU temperature at the minimum level. The heat dissipation of Legion 7 (2022) features dual turbo cooling fans, and the entire area of the main parts is covered by a VC vacuum chamber soaking plate thermal conduction module. The company has also added intake on the keyboard and bottom covers, drastically improving airflow. We also did stress tests on both CPU and GPU separately.
CPU Stress Testing:
For stress testing the CPU, we used the AIDA64 FPU Stress Test. After running the test for a while, it can be seen that the CPU power consumption increased to 93W, the temperature reached 100°C, and the frequency was stable at 4.0GHz.
GPU Stress Testing:
For this stress test, we used the Furmark benchmark test, in which the resolution was set at 2560×1600 (2.5K resolution). After running the test for a while, the GPU power consumption rose to 127W, and the temperature crossed 85°C.
The stress testing results have shown that the new Legion 7 (2022) can easily bear the heavy load application; in addition, there is no need to worry about overheating issues during gaming.
Final Evaluation
After reviewing each and every aspect, we can say that the new Legion 7 (2022) has an improved and eye-catching design, attracting gamers. The RGB lighting around the laptop is also one of its major highlights. Further, its high specification makes it capable of handling all the AAA games efficiently. Not only that, but the heat dissipation system is also excellent, which eliminates the tension of overheating in this gaming notebook.
The model we reviewed is priced around $2100 and has the following specifications: Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, Radeon RX 6700M GPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. With this price, the specifications are pretty good. It is worth mentioning that this is the base variant in its lineup. However, if you are high on budget, you can go for other variants, which come with Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU and 32GB DDR5 RAM.