The laptop we’re reviewing today is the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 (16-inch, 16IRX9) model. In the past, we’ve reviewed multiple generations of this laptop, including the Legion 5i Pro 2022 and Legion 5i 2021, which are quite impressive in every way. The latest Legion 5i Gen 9 is powered by 14th Gen Intel HX series processors and RTX 40 series GPUs. The laptop also has a high refresh rate display option, making it an excellent choice for gamers.
The laptop we reviewed is powered by an Intel Core i7-14700HX processor and RTX 4060 graphics. It comes with an IPS display with a resolution of 2.5K and a refresh rate of 165Hz. In other respects, this laptop is very similar to other gaming laptops, as it features DDR5 memory and a PCIe 4.0 SSD. The most exciting aspect of this laptop is the benchmark results of the Intel 14th Gen CPU. For now, we expect to see a significant improvement in performance, so let’s take a look.
Specifications
| Screen | 16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS, 16:10, 165Hz, 5ms, 100% sRGB, 350 nits, Dolby Vision, G-SYNC, TÜV Rheinland certified, X-Rite calibration |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-14700HX Processor (E-core up to 3.90 GHz, P-core up to 5.50 GHz with Turbo Boost, 20 cores, 28 threads, 33 MB cache) |
| Wireless Connection | WiFi 6E* 802.11AX (2 x 2) and Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 8GB GDDR6 (115W), 2370MHz boost clock (G-SYNC, Advanced Optimus [DDS] support) |
| Memory | 16GB 5600MHz Single-Channel DDR5 RAM, 2 x SO-DIMM RAM Slots, up to 32GB |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe SSD Gen 4 |
| Ports | 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Power Delivery 140W and DisplayPort 1.4) 10Gbps 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DisplayPort 1.4) 10Gbps 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (always on) 1x Headphone / Mic combo 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1x 3-in-1 MicroSD card reader 1x RJ45 (Ethernet port) 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| Battery | 4-cell 80Wh Li-ion battery with 230W AC adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight | 5.1lbs (2.3kg) |
Design
The Legion 5i Gen 9 is available in only one color, namely Moonlight Grey. The design of the display housing is similar to its predecessor. Its surface is made of aluminum alloy with a matte finish. It still has the same Legion logo and Lenovo nameplate on the bottom right. However, the Legion’s O no longer supports the lightning effect (which we saw on its predecessor).
On the bottom and back of the laptop, you’ll find many vents that make heat dissipation easier. Open the laptop and you’ll find a 16-inch IPS display with a 16:10 screen ratio. There is also a bump at the top of the display, where the microphone and webcam are placed. Another positive aspect is that it can be opened up to 180 degrees, which is not often seen in gaming laptops.
The dimensions of this laptop are 359.7 x 262.3 x 25.2 mm (in closed state). The thickness in the unfolded state is 19.7 mm. The laptop weighs 2.44 kg. As a gaming laptop, the weight and thickness of the body are not a concern. In the case of the Legion 5i Gen 9, the size and weight of the laptop are acceptable, and its portability is quite good.
Display
When you open the laptop, you are greeted by a 16-inch IPS LCD display that supports 2.5K resolution (2560 x 1600) and a 165Hz refresh rate. The screen aspect ratio is 16:10, and the screen-to-body ratio is unknown, but the screen bezels are still quite thin. According to officials, the screen has a response time of 5ms, supports 350 nits brightness, and covers 100% sRGB color gamut. It is also Dolby Vision and TUV Rheinland certified (supports hardware-level blue light filtering). At the top bezel of the screen, there is a 1080p camera sensor for video conferencing. The manufacturer has provided a switch on the right side to block the camera when not in use.
Using the display calibrator, we also learned that the supplier of this display is BOE, and its model number is NE160QDM-NYC. After completing the benchmark, we found that this display has 99.5% sRGB, 74.3% Adobe RGB, and 78.5% DCI-P3 color gamuts. It has a Delta E average of 0.68 (the maximum value is 1.3). The measured peak brightness is 375 nits, which is more than enough for gamers and designers.
Keyboard
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 comes with the Lenovo Legion TrueStrike keyboard, which is a keyboard that supports 4-zone RGB backlit. The keyboard has full-size keycaps, standard arrow keys, and a numeric keypad. Additionally, the keyboard has a key travel of 1.5mm, providing a satisfying rebound during typing. The keyboard supports 4-zone RGB backlighting, which can be customized by users through Legion Spectrum RGB software.
The power button is on the top of the palm rest and has also been redesigned with backlighting. When you change the performance mode, the backlight of the power button also changes.
Below the keyboard is a touchpad with a width of 12.5mm. The experience is quite average. It is made of plastic material and does not have an overlay. The surface is not treated with a special coating, and it feels very dry when sliding your fingers over it. Since it is a gaming laptop, players prefer to use a mouse rather than a touchpad. That’s probably why Lenovo offers a regular touchpad for this laptop.
Ports
The Legion 5i Gen 9 has a total of 10 ports. Starting on the left side, there is a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port (always on), two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. At the rear, there is an HDMI 2.1 port and a charging port. On the right side, there is an RJ45 (Ethernet) port, a MicroSD card reader, and 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports.
Overall, the Legion 5i Gen 9 comes with a wealth of ports. One drawback we found was the lack of a Thunderbolt 4 port, which is essential in gaming laptops.
Battery and Charging
The Legion 5i Gen 9 comes with an 80Wh 4-cell Li-ion rechargeable battery rated at 5182mAh. To charge this battery, Lenovo offers a 230W charger that can fully charge the battery in just 80 minutes. It’s worth noting that one of the Type-C ports also supports PD charging, which can be used to charge the laptop in cases where the charger is not available.
We also observed that the laptop dropped power consumption from 180W to 140W when the battery was below 10%. When charging again, the power consumption will return to normal. To check the battery life, we used the PCMark10 Modern Office app. Before testing, the laptop is set to silent mode, the keyboard has one level of backlight, and the screen brightness is set to 150 nits. With these settings, 23% of the battery is consumed in 30 minutes. In daily use, expect 4-5 hours of battery life, which seems like a good battery life for a gaming laptop.
RAM and SSD
The laptop we reviewed comes with 16GB of DDR5 memory at 5600MHz. It is a single-channel memory (1×16 GB memory module). The reason for using single-channel memory is that we have observed that it performs better in some benchmarks. For example, single-channel memory performs better in video rendering and 3D modeling.
The laptop supports up to 32GB of RAM and has two SO-DIMM memory slots. If you want to upgrade the memory, you can purchase a 16GB DDR5 memory module to create 32GB of dual-channel memory. We also benchmarked this 16GB of single-channel memory using AIDA64, and the results are as follows: 46,190 MB/s read, 39,523 MB/s write, 41,598 MB/s copy, and a latency rate of 91.9 ns. Compared to other gaming laptops that have been reviewed, this score looks average.
The model we reviewed comes with a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD. If you are on a tight budget or have lower storage requirements, consider opting for a 512GB SSD variant.
Also Read: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 Review
CPU Benchmark
The Legion 5i Gen 9 offers three processor options. The model we are reviewing is powered by the Intel Core i7-14700HX processor. The processor is based on the Intel 7 10nm manufacturing process and has a total of 20 cores, including 8 high-performance cores and 12 high-efficiency cores. The processor also has a 33MB L3 cache and a TDP of 55 W. Here are the benchmark results for the CPU:
Cinebench R20: 747 single-core, 9736 multi-core
Cinebench R23: 1,961 single-core, 24,779 multi-core
We also benchmarked the Core i7-14900HX against the Core i9-14900HX, which showed slightly higher performance when choosing the Core i9 model. Upgrading to the i9-14900HX incurs an additional $70 compared to the current model’s price.
| i9-14900HX (ROG Strix SCAR 18 2024) | i7-14700HX (Legion 5i Gen 9) | |
| Cinebench R20 Single-Core | 831 | 747 |
| Cinebench R20 Multi-Core | 10,825 | 9,736 |
| Cinebench R23 Single-Core | 2,134 | 1,961 |
| Cinebench R23 Multi-Core | 28,198 | 24,779 |
GPU Benchmark
The Legion 5i Gen 9 comes with three GPU options: RTX 4050, RTX 4060, and RTX 4070. However, for the i7-14700HX variant, only the RTX 4060 GPU is available. The RTX 4060 has 8GB of GDDR6 memory and consumes 115W. Here are the benchmark results for this GPU:
3DMark TimeSpy: Scored 11,215 Points
3DMark FireStrike: Scored 27,309 Points
Gaming Test
Since it is a gaming laptop, gaming tests are necessary so that buyers know how well the laptop performs in gaming. Here are some popular mainstream games and their benchmark results:
| Game | Low Settings | Medium Settings | Higher Settings |
| League of Legends | 565fps | 461fps | 351fps |
| DOTA 2 | 212fps | 189fps | 157fps |
| PUBG PC | 119fps | 92fps | 73fps |
As you can see, the Legion 5i Gen 9 performs very well in all games. Even on the highest settings, all games ran at over 60fps, providing a smooth gaming experience.
Also Read: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 GA403 Review
Heat Dissipation and Stress Testing
The Legion 5i Gen 9 features a new inner-blown cooling system, which is rare in the laptop industry. By eliminating side air outlets, using internal air outlets, and optimizing the internal air ducts, it achieves better heat dissipation than traditional gaming laptops. During the disassembly of the laptop, we observe the dual fans spin in reverse and a dedicated hyper-chamber. This design effectively directs cool air inside the chamber and expels hot air through the rear vents to maintain optimal temperatures.
CPU Stress Test: Tested with the AIDA64 Stress FPU. After nearly 25 minutes of testing, the CPU power consumption stabilized at 110W, the temperature reached 95°C, and the core frequencies were 3.68 GHz (P-Cores) and 3.17 GHz (E-Cores). Additionally, the noise level tested was 57 dB, which is quite loud.
GPU stress test: We used the FurMark app. Before testing, the anti-aliasing was set to 4x. After almost half an hour, the power consumption was 140W (stable). The temperature rose to 79.5°C, and the frequency was 2680MHz.
CPU and GPU Testing: Finally, it’s time to test both the CPU and GPU together. This test was conducted in Super mode (the highest performance mode option). After 25 minutes of testing, the CPU’s power consumption was 40.5 W, the temperature was 74°C, and the core frequencies were 1.98 GHz (P-Cores) and 1.78 GHz (E-Cores), respectively. The GPU’s power consumption was 140W, its temperature was 81°C, and its frequency was 2630MHz. At this moment, the noise level was 59 dB, which is very loud. The highest observed temperature was 50.2°C in the upper middle part of the keyboard, and the lowest temperature was 30.2°C at the left wrist area.
Summary:
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 is a highly competitive gaming laptop that offers excellent performance and design. It features a sleek moonlight grey appearance and a 16-inch IPS display with a 2.5K resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. It is powered by an Intel Core i7-14700HX processor and RTX 4060 graphics card, paired with DDR5 memory and a PCIe 4.0 SSD, providing powerful gaming performance in a wide range of games. With a key travel of 1.5mm, the Legion TrueStrike keyboard delivers a satisfying typing experience. However, the Legion ColdFront Hyper cooling system is designed to manage heat effectively, but it can be noisy during high-load situations. The Legion 5i Gen 9 is priced at $1815. However, for buyers on a budget, lower-configured models starting at $1609 offer a more affordable entry option.
Hi, I am looking at the i9-14900HX version of this laptop. Do you have a 14900HX version to run the Cinebench benchmarks on? If not, how were they obtained? Are the Cinebench results presented in the single-run or the 10-minute tests?
Thanks in advance
We tested 20 times with Cinebench R23 and then used the highest score as the test result.
Thanks. Was that 20 times 10 minutes or 20 times ‘single run’? Also, were these done on an actual 5i with 14900HX, or were the results extrapolated from the 14700HX?
The score of the 14900HX was tested on the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 2024 G834J with 20 single runs.