Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 (16″, 16IRX9) Review

Lenovo, a top choice among laptop customers, has a diverse range of notebooks that target almost every notebook user. As we know, the two major kinds of laptops are usually business-sector notebooks and gaming notebooks. The notebook we bring for today’s review is a gaming notebook that belongs to Lenovo‘s Legion lineup. Before discussing the notebook, it is worth noting that the Legion lineup is one of the most popular series by Lenovo. It consists of notebooks with top-tier hardware configurations and includes everything that enhances your gaming experience.

The laptop we will review today is the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 (16″, 16IRX9) model. In the past, we have already reviewed many generations of this notebook model, including the Legion 5i Pro 2022 and Legion 5i 2021, and all of these notebooks were quite excellent in every term. The latest Generation 9 of Legion 5i is powered by the 14^th Generation Intel HX series processor and RTX 40 series GPU. In addition, the notebook also offers high refresh rate display options, which makes it a fine choice for gamers.

The notebook we are reviewing is powered by the Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU and RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6 Memory GPU. In addition, it has an IPS display with a 2.5K resolution and 165Hz refresh rate. In other aspects, the notebook is quite the same as other gaming notebooks as it features the DDR5 RAM and PCIe 4.0 SSD. The exciting part of this notebook would be the benchmark testing of Intel’s all-new 14^th-generation CPU. At the moment, we are expecting a significant upgrade in terms of performance, so let’s check.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Specifications

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Body Design and Appearance

The all-new Legion 5i Gen 9 comes in only one color, i.e., “Luna Grey.” The display shell’s design is similar to previous generation models. Its surface is made up of aluminum alloy that is frosted as well. Moreover, it still has the same Legion logo and Lenovo nameplate at the bottom right. However, it has been observed that the Y inside the Legion’s O no longer supports the lightning effect (as we have seen in previous models).

At the bottom and back side of the notebook, you will find many air vents that make heat dissipation easier. On opening the notebook, you will find a 16-inch IPS Display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The display also got a bump from the top side, which features the microphone and webcam. Another positive aspect, rare in gaming notebooks, is the 180-degree opening, which allows the notebook to be used in various scenarios beyond the limitations of traditional 90 or 120-degree openings.

Regarding technical specifications, the laptop has the following dimensions: 359.7*262.3*25.2mm (in closed state). It is worth noting that the thickness would be 19.7mm in an unfolded state. In addition, the laptop’s weight is 2.44kg. Being a gaming laptop, the body’s weight and thickness don’t matter much. In the case of Legion 5i Gen 9, the laptop has acceptable dimensions and weight, which makes its portability quite good.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Display

On opening the laptop, you will be welcomed with a 16-inch display that is an IPS LCD Display that supports 2.5K resolution (2560*1600) and 165Hz refresh rate. The aspect ratio is 16:10, while the screen-to-body ratio is unknown, but still, it has been observed that the screen borders are pretty thin. As per officials, the screen has a 5ms response time, supports 350nits brightness, and covers 100% sRGB color gamut. Moreover, it is also certified by Dolby Vision and TUV Rheinland (supports hardware-level blue light filtration). At the top border of the screen, we have a 1080p camera sensor for video conferencing. In addition, the manufacturer has also provided a switch on the right side, allowing you to block the camera’s view when not in use.

Through the display benchmarking application, we also learned that this display’s supplier is the famous Chinese brand “BOE,” which also carries the following model number: NE160QDM-NYC. Upon completion of benchmark testing, it was revealed that the display covers 99.5% sRGB, 74.3% AdobeRGB, and 78.5% DCI-P3 color gamut. In terms of color accuracy, the average Delta-E value is 0.68 (maximum value is 1.3), enough to meet the needs of a mediocre-level graphics designer. The peak measured brightness was 375 units, which is a bit somewhat unsatisfactory. It is not that low, but for some people, this might be still low.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Keyboard

The all-new Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 comes with Lenovo Legion’s signature Legion TrueStrike Keyboard, a 4-zone RGB-supported keyboard. The keyboard has full-sized keycaps, standard direction keys, and a numeric keypad. Furthermore, the keyboard’s key travel measures 1.5mm, delivering a satisfying bounce-back sensation during typing sessions. As mentioned before, the keyboard supports a 4-zone RGB backlit, but users can customize it through Legion Spectrum RGB software.

In the middle-top, we have the power button, which is also redesigned, with backlit. It has the same O design as Legion branding on the display shell. It is also worth mentioning that when you change the performance mode, the lightning power button will also vary according to it.

Under the keyboard, we have an average-sized touchpad with a width of 12.5mm. The experience of using it was pretty average. It is made up of plastic material without coverage. Further, the surface has no special coating treatment, so the feel while sliding the finger on it is pretty dry. As it is a gaming notebook, a gamer would prefer having a mouse instead of using the touchpad. This is probably the reason why Lenovo has provided an average touchpad in this notebook.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Ports

It is observed that in business segment notebooks, the manufacturers usually ignore the term “Ports” in order to make the notebook’s body slimmer. The case is the opposite when it comes to gaming notebooks. Gaming notebooks often prioritize performance over slimness, allowing manufacturers to offer various ports to cater to diverse connectivity needs.

In Legion 5i Gen 9, we have a total of 10 ports. Starting from the left side, we have a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port (always on), 2x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen2 ports (supports DP 1.4 and 10Gbps data transfer), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the backside, we have an HDMI 2.1 FRL port (supports 48Gbps transfer rate and can give 4K@120Hz output) and a charging port. We have an RJ45 (Ethernet) port, a MicroSD card reader, and 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports on the right side.

Overall, it can be seen that the Legion 5i Gen 9 is enriched with different kinds of ports. However, one con we found is the lack of Thunderbolt 4 protocols, which is essential in gaming notebooks.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Battery and Charging

The Legion 5i Gen 9 is equipped with an 80WHr 4-cell Li-ion rechargeable battery and has a rated capacity of 5182mAh. For charging this battery, Lenovo has provided a 230W charger that can charge 100% of the battery in just 80 minutes. This charger is sufficient for this laptop as the maximum power release of this laptop is 180W. It’s noteworthy that one of the Type-C ports also supports PD (Power Delivery) charging, enabling you to charge the laptop using a Type-C charger in case the company-provided charger is unavailable.

It was also observed that when the battery’s power goes lower than 10%, the notebook will reduce the power consumption to 140W from 180W. The power consumption will return to normal when charging the notebook again. To check the battery timing, we used the PCMark10 Modern Office application. Before starting, the notebook was set to quiet mode, the 1^st level backlit was selected on the keyboard, and the screen’s brightness was set to 150 nits. In these settings, 23% of the battery was consumed in 30 minutes. A battery life of 4-5 hours is expected in everyday usage, which seems to be fine timing among gaming laptops.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: RAM and SSD

The notebook we are reviewing comes with 16GB DDR5 RAM with a frequency of 5600MHz. It is a single-channel memory (1x 16GB RAM module); the reason behind using a single-channel memory is that we have observed that the single-channel memory has better performance in some benchmark tests. For example, the single-channel RAM performs better in video rendering and 3D modeling.

The laptop supports up to 32GB RAM capacity and has two SO-DIMM RAM slots. If you want to upgrade the RAM, buy another 16GB DDR5 RAM and enjoy 32GB Dual-Channel RAM. We also did a benchmark testing of this 16GB Single-Channel RAM through the AIDA64, which we got the following results: 46,190 MB/s Read Speed, 39,523 MB/s Write Speed, and 41,598 MB/s Copy Speed while the latency rate was 91.9ns. The score looks pretty average if compared with other previously reviewed gaming notebooks.

In addition, the model we are reviewing comes with 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Protocols SSD.  If you are low on budget or have lower storage requirements, opt for a 512GB SSD variant.

Also Read: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 Review

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: CPU and its Benchmarking

The Legion 5i Gen 9 offers a choice between three CPU options, all belonging to Intel’s latest 9th Generation Core i7 and Core i9 HX series CPUs. The model we are reviewing is powered by Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU. In terms of specifications, the CPU is based on the Intel 7 10nm manufacturing process and features a total of 20 cores, including 8 performance cores (2.1GHz base frequency and 5.5GHz max frequency) and 12 efficient cores (1.5GHz base frequency and 3.9GHz max frequency). In addition, the number of threads is 28. The CPU also has 33MB L3 Intel Smart Cache memory and a TDP of 55W. Following are the benchmark results of CPU:

Cinebench R20: 747 on Single-Core and 9,736 on Multi-Core

Cinebench R23: 1,961 on Single-Core and 24,779 on Multi-Core

Additionally, we conducted benchmark comparisons between the Core i7-14900HX and Core i9-14900HX, revealing that opting for the Core i9 model yields slightly higher performance. This upgrade comes at an additional cost of $70 compared to the current model’s price.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: GPU and its Benchmark

The all-new Legion 5i Gen 9 has three GPU options: RTX 4050, RTX 4060, and RTX 4070. However, with Core i7-14700HX CPU, the officials have provided only RTX 4060 GPU. Regarding specs, the RTX 4060 has 8GB of GDDR6 video memory with a boost frequency of 2370MHz at 115W. Following are the benchmark results of GPU:

3DMark TimeSpy: Scored 11,215 Points

3DMark FireStrike: Scored 27,309 Points

The benchmark results showcased outstanding GPU performance, underscoring the prowess of the graphics processing unit.

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Gaming Test

As the notebook is equipped with gaming specs, it is necessary to do a gaming test so the buyers know how well this notebook can perform in gaming. Following are some popular mainstream games along with their benchmark results:

It can be seen that the performance of Legion 5i Gen 9 is excellent in all games. Even in the highest settings, all the games ran at more than 60fps, providing smooth gameplay.

Also Read: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 GA403 Review

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9: Heat Dissipation and Stress Testing

The all-new Legion 5i Gen 9 has an all-new inner-blown heat dissipation system, which is rare in the laptop industry. By eliminating side air outlets, incorporating inner air outlets, and optimizing internal air ducts, it achieves superior heat dissipation compared to traditional gaming notebooks. Moreover, on the teardown of the notebook, you can also observe the dual fans spinning in opposite directions and a dedicated hyperchamber. This design efficiently guides cool air inside the chamber and expels hot air through rear vents, maintaining optimal temperatures.

CPU Stress Testing: We first did the CPU stress test; we used the AIDA64 Stress FPU test. After almost 25 minutes of testing, the CPU power consumption was stable at 110W, the temperature was 95°C, and the core frequency was 3.68GHz (P-Cores) and 3.17GHz (E-Cores). Moreover, the observed noise level was 57dB, quite loud.

GPU Stress Testing: We used the FurMark application. Before testing, the Anti-Aliasing was set at 4x. After almost half an hour, the power consumption was at 140W (stable). The temperature rose to 79.5°C while the frequency was 2680MHz.

CPU and GPU Testing: Last, it’s time to test both CPU and GPU combined. This test was conducted in super mode (the highest option in performance mode). After 25 minutes of testing, the CPU’s power consumption was at 40.5W, the temperature was at 74°C, and the core frequency was 1.98GHz and 1.78GHz (P-Cores and E-Cores). The GPU’s power consumption was 140W, the temperature was 81°C, and the frequency was 2630MHz. At this moment, the observed noise level was 59dB, very loud. Externally, the highest observed temperature was 50.2°C at the middle-top of the keyboard, and the lowest temperature was 30.2°C at the left wrist area.

Summary:

The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 presents itself as a competitive gaming notebook with a strong emphasis on performance and design. Featuring a sleek Luna Grey exterior and a 16-inch IPS display offering 2.5K resolution and 165Hz refresh rate, it promises an immersive gaming experience. Powered by an Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU and RTX 4060 GPU, paired with DDR5 RAM and PCIe 4.0 SSD, it delivers commendable gaming performance across various titles. The Legion TrueStrike Keyboard with 1.5mm key travel offers a satisfactory typing experience, albeit with a standard plastic touchpad. The abundance of ports, including USB Type-C with PD charging support, enhances connectivity options. However, it’s important to note that while the Legion ColdFront Hyper cooling system aims to manage thermals effectively, noise levels can be significant under load. Priced at $1815, the Legion 5i Gen 9 provides solid gaming capabilities. However, for budget-conscious buyers, lower-spec variants starting from $1609 offer a more affordable entry point, albeit with potential compromises in performance and features.