Today, we will review the Lenovo Legion 7 (2022), which comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor and a Radeon RX 6700M graphics card. It is worth mentioning that the laptop we’re reviewing is a non-slim version, which is more expensive than the slim version.
The Legion 7 2022 has many highlights, including improved portability and design, DDR5 RAM, PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 99.99Wh battery.
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, AMD FreeSync Premium, TÜV Rheinland certified |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H Processor (45W TDP, 4.7 GHz) |
| Wireless Connection | WiFi 6E (2 x 2 802.11ax), Bluetooth v5.2 |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon RX 6700M graphics, 10GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 2 |
| Memory | 16GB dual-channel DDR5 memory (clocked at 4800MHz), two slots, up to 32GB |
| Storage | 1TB Samsung PM9A1 M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, up to 2TB |
| Ports | 2x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 1x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 1x Headphone jack 2 x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen1 (1 x always on) 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 1x HDMI 2.1 1x RJ45 |
| Battery | 99.99Wh Li-polymer battery with 300W AC adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Weight | 2.5kg (5.51lbs) |
Design
The Legion 7 2022 has the same appearance as the 2021 model. However, a closer look shows that it has some larger air outlets at the rear. In addition, the side trims are now more refined.
The dimensions of the Legion 7 2022 are 358.1 x 263.5 x 19.4 mm, and it weighs approximately 2.5 kg. It is thinner and slightly lighter than the 2021 model.
The display case has a metallic finish that is very satisfying to the touch. Its light grey coating eliminates fingerprint traces. It still has a large Legion logo, and the logo supports RGB backlighting and can be synchronized with the keyboard. The Lenovo logo nameplate is still located in the lower right corner.
The sides of the laptop have also changed and now feature a new square design instead of a cylindrical one, which once again makes the whole laptop look more elegant. The sides are now more detailed, and RGB lighting has been added. Lenovo uses a metal brushing and cutting process to build the sides of the laptop. The overall design of this laptop is quite eye-catching, and its portability has been significantly improved to ensure that you don’t experience any discomfort while holding it for a long time.
Display
The Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) features a 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS LCD display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The aspect ratio is 16:10, and the screen-to-body ratio is 93.7%, resulting in extremely narrow screen bezels. The screen is also DisplayHDR 400, AMD FreeSync Premium, and TUV Rheinland certified.
We used SpyderX Elite to test this screen. In testing, we found the display to have a 99% sRGB color gamut, 75% Adobe RGB color gamut, 78% DCI-P3 color gamut, and 71% NTSC color gamut coverage. The maximum brightness is 551.5 nits, and the contrast ratio also reaches 1136:1, while at 100% brightness, the color temperature of the screen is around 6900K, which looks perfect, and it will be less harmful to the eyes with long-term use. The average DeltaE is 1.64 (0.55 minimum level and 3.62 peak level). The results show that the overall color accuracy of the Legion 7 display is quite good.
The webcam and microphone are integrated into the top bezel of the screen. The webcam module supports video recording in full HD resolution.
Keyboard and TouchPad
The Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) features the same keyboard as its predecessor. 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.
Another unique feature of this keyboard is the backlighting of its function keys. When the Fn key is pressed, only the keys that support the combined function keys will light up, while the backlighting of the other keys will be temporarily extinguished. The power button (with integrated fingerprint sensor) also comes with three colors of backlighting (red, blue, and white) that represent different modes: white for balance mode, blue for quiet mode, and red for beast mode.
The touchpad has a very soft surface, and the DPI allows the cursor to move from left to right in one swipe. As mentioned, the touchpad is still placed in the same position and feels slightly to the left, but the laptop still has enough room for a regular palm rest.
Ports
On the left side, there are only two USB Type-C ports. The first port is a USB Type-C port that supports 40 Gbps data transfer, and the second is a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port.
On the right side, there is a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, a camera switch, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The camera switch makes it easy to turn the camera on or off.
On the back, there is an RJ45 port, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI 2.1 port, two USB Type-A ports, and a charging port.
RAM and SSD
The Legion 7 (2022) comes with 16GB of DDR5 memory (at 4800MHz). Two memory sticks (2x 8GB) are connected to the motherboard to create a dual-channel connection, which is faster than single-channel memory. The memory capacity is sufficient, but if you also want to upgrade the RAM, you can upgrade to 32GB, which is more than enough for gaming.
To test the RAM, we used the AIDA64 cache and memory benchmarks. In this test, the Legion 7 2022 achieved read speeds of 50,261 MB/s, write speeds of 54,886 MB/s, and copy speeds of 48,213 MB/s, with a latency of 87.2 ns. There is no doubt that Lenovo has optimized DDR5 memory, which has relatively high latency, for a better and faster gaming experience. However, it has been observed that the score is relatively low compared to competitors such as the HP Omen 16 (2022), Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620, and Legion 5i Pro (2022). All of these competitors’ laptops feature the Core i7-12700H CPU, the main competitor to the Ryzen 7 6800H.
This laptop comes with a Samsung 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. It can be upgraded to a maximum of 2TB if you are short on storage space. To test the performance of the SSD, we used CrystalDiskMark software and obtained the following results: a sequential read speed of 6631.25 MB/s, a sequential write speed of 4841.67 MB/s, a 4K random read speed of 67.25 MB/s, and a 4K random write speed of 141.65 MB/s.
Compared to its competitors, the SSD in the Legion 7 (2022) performs almost identically to them, and its performance is relatively satisfactory.
Battery and Charging
The Legion 7 (2022) comes with a 99.99Wh battery, but gamers still can’t rely on this battery due to the higher power consumption during gaming. It’s best to play games while your laptop is charging.
The laptop also comes with a 300W slim AC adapter. According to the official introduction, this adapter can charge the battery to 100% in 80 minutes, which seems quite impressive.
CPU Benchmark
The Legion 7 (2022) is available in two processor versions: one powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and the other powered by a Ryzen 9 6900HX. The model we received comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor. The Ryzen 7 6800H is based on TSMC’s 6nm FinFET manufacturing process and consists of 8 cores and 16 threads. All eight cores have a base frequency of 3.2 GHz, with a maximum frequency of 4.7 GHz and a default TDP of 45 W. The processor also has 4MB of L2 cache and 16MB of L3 cache.
Here are some benchmarks for the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU:
CPU-Z: CPU has a single-core score of 609.5 and a multi-core score of 6095.4.
Cinebench: In Cinebench R15, the CPU scored 245cb in the single-core test and 2304cb in the multi-core test. In Cinebench R20, the CPU has a single-core score of 585cb and a multi-core score of 5410cb. In Cinebench R23, the single-core score is 1,481 points and the multi-core score is 13,852 points.
3DMark CPU: scored 891 on a single thread, 1,731 on two threads, 3,318 on four threads, 5,548 on eight threads, 6,982 on 16 threads, and 6993 on multithreaded tests.
After getting these excellent benchmark results from the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, we can expect the Legion 7 (2022) to handle all games very efficiently. If you buy this laptop for rendering, it could be a perfect choice.
GPU Benchmark
In addition to the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, the Legion 7 (2022) also comes with a mobile GPU. The Legion 7 (2022) with the Ryzen 7 6800H is available in two GPU variants. The first variant comes with a Radeon RX 6700M GPU, while the second variant comes with a Radeon RX 6850M GPU. The review model we received features a Radeon RX 6700M discrete GPU, which has 10GB of GDDR6 memory and is based on a 7nm manufacturing process.
We also benchmarked the GPU, and the results are described below. All of these tests were done using the 3DMark application, which is known for its GPU benchmarks.
Overall, the GPU scores are pretty good, and it can easily handle all the latest AAA games at high video settings.
3DMark TimeSpy: This test uses DirectX 12 mode and has a GPU score of 10,502 points.
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme: The GPU score of 13,453 points in DirectX 11 mode.
3DMark Port Royal: The GPU scored 4,561 points in this test.
Overall, the GPU score is pretty good and can easily handle all the latest AAA games at high video settings.
Gaming Test
Based on CPU and GPU benchmark scores, the Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) is expected to perform very well in its gaming tests. We tested some of the latest AAA games to check the gaming performance:
Elden Ring: Elden Ring is one of the latest action role-playing games released this year. This game has a frame limiter setting that doesn’t allow users to get more than 60fps, whether the laptop is capable or not. To test the game, we set the resolution to 2560 × 1600 with the highest image quality. With these settings, we get a stable 60fps gameplay.
World War Z: This is a shooter video game that is also optimized specifically for the AMD platform. To test the game, the resolution was set at 2560×1600, and we got an average frame rate of 126fps.
Forza Horizon 5: 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 achieved an average frame rate of 89fps. In the second test, the resolution was set to 1920 × 1200, and the image quality was set to High. This time, we achieved an average frame rate of 112fps.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The first test was conducted at 2560 × 1600 resolution, and we got an average frame rate of 81fps. At 1920×1200 resolutions, the average frame rate is 120fps.
Total War: Warhammer III: Once again, we tested the game in two resolution modes. The image quality is set to high. At 2560×1600 resolution, the average frame rate is 35fps. However, at a 1920 × 1200 resolution, the average frame rate increases to 55fps. It is recommended to set the resolution to 1920 × 1200 for a smoother gaming experience.
All benchmark results for gaming indicate that the Lenovo Legion 7 (2022) is a smart choice for consumers who want to play high-end games.
Heat Dissipation and Stress Testing
The Legion 7 (2022) is equipped with Legion Coldfront 4.0 technology, which aims to keep sound, CPU temperatures, and GPU temperatures to a minimum. The cooling system on the Legion 7 (2022) has two turbo-cooling fans, and a VC Vacuum Chamber thermal transfer module covers the main components. The company has also added air intakes on the keyboard and bottom cover to improve airflow greatly. We also stress-tested the CPU and GPU separately.
CPU Stress Test:
To stress test the CPU, we used AIDA64 FPU. After running the test for a while, the CPU power consumption increases to 93W, the temperature reaches 100°C, and the frequency stabilizes at 4.0GHz.
GPU Stress Test:
For this stress test, we used the Furmark benchmark, with a resolution of 2560 × 1600. After running for a while, the GPU power consumption rises to 127W, and the temperature exceeds 85°C.
The stress test results show that the Legion 7 (2022) can easily withstand heavy load applications, and there is no need to worry about overheating during gaming.
Final Evaluation
After reviewing every aspect, we can say that the Legion 7 (2022) has an improved and eye-catching design that appeals to many gamers. The RGB lighting around the laptop is also one of its highlights. Its high specification allows it to handle all AAA games efficiently. Not only that, but it also has a great cooling system that eliminates the problem of overheating in this gaming laptop.
The model we reviewed retails for around $2,100 and has the following specifications: Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, Radeon RX 6700M GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The specifications are pretty good for the price. It is worth mentioning that this is the base variant in its lineup. However, if you’re on a high budget, you can opt for other variants, which come with a Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU and 32GB DDR5 RAM.