Lenovo 2022 Laptop Roundup -Pepcom 2022 Summer

by Young · 06/27/2022

Back to: Pepcom Digital Experience Main Page (June 2022)

The newest models in Lenovo’s laptop lineup have 12^th gen Intel Alderlake and AMD Ryzen 6000 series CPUs. The biggest changes being made to most (if not all) Lenovo laptops this year include:

A new, humongously sized trackpad
1080p webcams
A protruding lip (aids in opening the lid)
Electronic camera shut-off switch (disconnecting power to the camera – device manager no longer recognizes that a camera is even installed)

Legion Gaming Laptop

Lenovo’s Legion laptops have so far been a gamer’s go-to choice for excellent cooling design that provides great stability for the most power-hungry graphics chips. This year’s design improves its cooling performance even more, and with less fan noise for quieter operation (in part by adding additional fan blades and thinning the blade material, according to Lenovo.)

Lenovo Legion Hero — *^{Click image to enlarge}*

Lenovo Legion specs — *^{Click image to enlarge}*

The Legion 7i (i for Intel) and Legion 7 (AMD) sports RGB lights not only on the keyboard, but also around the laptop edge and from the vents. The Legion logo on the lid is now lit as well.

For cleaner cable management, major ports like HDMI and USB are now found at the back between the left and right air vents, along with appropriate port labels that light up. The case has an industrial look and feel, with polished aluminum sides.

There are some monstrous component choices with top specs being:

Intel 12^th gen Core i9HX / AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX
16″ 500 nit display with Nvidia G-Sync / AMD FreeSync
Nvidia RTX 3080Ti 16GB / AMD Radeon RX 6700 10GB (no info on TDP at this time)
Anti-ghosting keyboard
Thunderbolt 4 for the Intel model (that’s 40gbps throughput on USB-C)
Battery: 99.9Whr
Weight: about 5.5 lbs

Legion Slim

The above Legion is probably overkill for most people, so a slimmer, slightly toned down version can be had for gamers and content creators (who game) with the Legion Slim 7i and Legion Slim 7. Same naming scheme as above (i for Intel), the Slim is lighter and thinner than the full-fledged 7 and has an SD card reader built into the chassis.

Since the cooling system has a large say in overall weight, the highest available specs are:

Intel 12^th gen Core i9HK (not HX) / AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (same as Legion 7)
Nvidia RTX 3070 Q 8GB / AMD Radeon RX 6800 S

Pretty powerful, yet weighs only 4.5 lbs (a 20% reduction in weight). For content creators who lug around a lot of gear, every ounce counts and the Nvidia 3070 is still a beast. For most gamers, the Nvidia 3070 will be the sweet spot for best price/performance and future-proofing.

* NOTE: unlike previous generations of Nvidia graphics, higher model numbers aren’t necessarily better. For example, a high watt 3060 can outperform a low watt 3070 -BUT- if the manufacturer’s cooling system is sub-par, the laptop can freeze/blue screen, or at worst, fry/kill the laptop. I’ve noticed many gamers recommending Lenovo for their highly stable cooling system. The Legion, it seems, can deal with heat without issues – AND does it more quietly (less fan noise) than the competition.

And speaking of power, these Legion laptops can charge via the USB-C port (135W) when doing light work like browsing the web or hashing out emails. So you don’t always need to carry around the heavy power brick.

Slim 7i Pro X / Slim 7 Pro X

For content creators, the Pro X series has a 120Hz display at 3K resolution, and also offers discrete graphics (Nvidia 3050). It’s fine for light gaming, has Thunderbolt 4 for fast data transfer (40gbps), and weighs 3.5 lbs.

Slim 9i 14

The Slim 9i 14 is a premium, luxury model based on the design of the Yoga 9i, but is a clamshell. It’s got a tempered glass lid and rounded edges of polished aluminum (no sharp angles anywhere). It’s very pretty to look at and weighs very little at 3 lbs.

Of all the specs, the display is the main event:

14″ OLED touchscreen display, 4k resolution
100% DCI-P3, 125% sRGB
16:10 aspect ratio

With such a wide color gamut, a photographer would be really pleased with this screen, though it’s maybe too small for photo editing work. But at least it’s got speakers made by the high-end B&W company.

Slim 7i Carbon

Built with carbon fiber exteriors and magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis, the Slim 7i Carbon reminds me of Formula-1 cars; both use highly engineered, light and reinforced materials to keep the weight as low as possible. This laptop offers performance in an ultra light system, weighing in at just 2.2 lbs.

The CPU is an Intel 12^th gen i7 (P chip @28W) for ultrabooks. It’s got a minimal number of ports that include 2 USB-C, a power button and webcam e-shutter.