Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 Laptop computer Overview: An 18-Inch Gaming Monster in Performance and Measurement

Pros

• Staggering efficiency from an RTX 5080
• Sharp and easy show
• Loads of quick I/O
• Elegant appears to be like and shocking weight for its measurement
• Four RAM and storage slots for upgrades

Cons

• It’s nonetheless big
• Diminishing returns and a excessive sticker worth
• So-so battery life
• Display continues to be simply IPS

The Legion 9i Gen 10 is the highest canine in Lenovo’s gaming laptop computer steady. It goes large, and it goes quick, packing in top-end CPU and GPU choices and offering loads of energy to run them each at full tilt. It even has a wild show offering each 2400p/240Hz and 1200p+/440Hz modes, although it is solely an IPS panel. 

Unsurprisingly, all of that comes with a excessive worth that’ll value you wherever from $4,680 to shut to $7,000 totally loaded (thanks, RAMageddon). Our check machine right here is available in at $5,685. Its 7.8-pound weight virtually feels affordable contemplating all that the 18-inch Legion 9i squeezes in. You can nonetheless get much more efficiency in your cash from a gaming desktop, and less expensive gaming laptops have higher returns, however for those who want all of the efficiency you may get and have to take it on the highway, the Legion 9i simply may make sense.

The Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (18IAX10), as configured above, wasn’t provided as a preconfigured mannequin from Lenovo. Instead, Lenovo provides an analogous configuration with 32 gigabytes of reminiscence (32GB SODIMM) and 1 terabyte of storage for a beginning worth of $4,680 on the time of writing. Doubling the reminiscence provides $650 to the value and doing the identical for storage provides $355, elevating the value to $5,685. 

For an extra $785, Lenovo will improve the GPU to an RTX 5090 24GB. A $50 improve to Windows 11 Pro additionally unlocks the choice to get 192GB of reminiscence, which comes with a pointy $3,770 uptick from the 32GB base worth. With a 2TB drive chosen, Lenovo additionally provides a second 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD choice for an extra $510. Yes, it is all painfully costly, and albeit, laborious to imagine. But that is the place we’re all at proper now. 

Lenovo’s product particulars point out a glasses-free 3D show choice, however it wasn’t on any preconfigured fashions or within the customized configurations on the time of writing. 

Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 efficiency

Just one take a look at the specs sheet ought to inform you that the Legion 9i Gen 10 can cruise. Just about the one issues that appear able to bogging it down are the type of video games and excessive settings that can lavatory down even future CPU and GPU generations. Even then, the Legion 9i exhibits its may. It proved as much as the duty of easy and steady framerates in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and Forza Horizon 6 with demanding graphics settings. 

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX proves mighty, providing excessive single- and multicore efficiency. The Legion 9i could be a foul selection for that CPU energy alone, as you may get the identical CPU and related efficiency from a machine lower than half the value, just like the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI. It’s the Legion 9i’s means to mix that CPU efficiency with a potent Nvidia RTX 5080, working each components at excessive energy ranges and preserving them cool, that units it aside.

The Legion 9i chewed by the 3DMark benchmark, seeing the RTX 5090-powered Alienware 18 Area-51 solely lead it by about 12% on common regardless of being 29% costlier. The hole narrowed additional in video games, the place the Alienware solely has a 2% benefit for the video games examined. The Legion 9i maintained triple-digit framerates in all of our recreation benchmarks besides Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and even that hit a satisfying 84 fps. Gaming at 4K even proved doable, with the system working Shadow of the Tomb Raider with its highest settings at its native 3,840×2,400 pixels with a median of 100 fps. 

You’ll wish to ensure the system has each its Windows and LegionHouse efficiency modes enabled to get full energy. Dropping both can’t solely harm peak efficiency but in addition sustained speeds. In the Performance mode, the system readily maintained 98.8% consistency working 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Stress Test with scores starting from 5,588 to five,658 factors. With Balanced mode, the system had not solely decrease scores, starting from 3,647 to three,848, but in addition had a decrease 95% consistency, which is technically a failure. That decrease setting is useful when you do not need the followers working at full pace, although, providing a method to get pleasure from still-strong efficiency with out all of the noise. 

Even the storage included within the Legion 9i rips, hitting over 12,200 megabytes per second in sequential reads and over 13,300MB/s in sequential writes in CrystalDiskMark 8.

All the ability on deck can put some severe demand on the battery and wall charger, although. In a few circumstances, I ran demanding exams and performed video games whereas the battery was already pretty low and even with the system plugged in, the battery ranges continued to empty till the Legion 9i routinely went to sleep. This concern did not crop up if the battery was above about 25%. I’m undecided if each Legion 9i may have this drain. We reached out to Lenovo however it did not reply earlier than we printed. Either manner, one thing to regulate for those who get one.

The battery is a giant one, packing in 99.9 watt-hours — slightly below the authorized restrict for air journey. Even with such severe {hardware} to run, it managed a good 4 hours in our battery check. I used to be additionally capable of get some workplace work executed on the system and received an analogous battery life. Some of the laptops I’ve examined have significantly longer life, however they’re smaller and never practically as highly effective.

Somehow mild for an 18-inch monster

The Legion 9i is a large tank prepared for struggle, particularly with the carbon-fiber-infused high cowl that appears someplace between frost forming on glass and black-and-blue camouflage. The aluminum framing feels extremely sturdy with minimal flex, even on the show. The show lid, regardless of having a really agency hinge, additionally opens readily with one hand. 

All that mentioned, the Legion 9i is maybe not as hulking because it might be for a gaming beast with an 18-inch show. Tipping the scales at 7.8 kilos, the Legion 9i weighs greater than most laptops, however you might definitely do worse. The Alienware 18 Area-51, for example, weighed 9.2 kilos. Even the smaller Alienware 16 Area-51 weighed 7.2 kilos. 

You’ll nonetheless want a reasonably sizable bag to hold it round in, although. The Legion 9i measures 15.9 by 11.7 by 1.1 inches, with the show alone accounting for a few quarter-inch of that thickness. The rubber ft on the underside deliver the thickest level to 1.5 inches. My backpack (an Able Carry Daily) was capable of match Lenovo’s smaller 16-inch Legion 7i Gen 10 into its laptop computer sleeve, however the Legion 9i could not match even in the primary compartment. 

The Legion 9i’s measurement has its advantages. In addition to the preinstalled PCIe 5.0×4 SSD, you will discover behind a little bit metallic cowl three extra M.2 slots inside for PCIe 4.0×4 SSDs. Similarly, the system has 4 SODIMM slots, so you may improve from the 64GB configuration without having to surrender the preinstalled reminiscence. 

Lenovo manages cooling with 4 consumption followers on the underside of the system and exhausts all on the rear. It can get a little bit loud at max load, however it’s fortunately not shrill, and the keyboard does not get sizzling both. 

Keeping all of the exhaust on the rear additionally supplies loads of area for an abundance of ports. The Legion 9i has 4 10Gbps USB ports with one Type-A on the left and two extra on the fitting, alongside a USB Type-C. That proper edge additionally features a full-size SD card slot and a webcam kill change. Also on the left are two Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports for ultrafast connections, docking, DisplayPort 2.1 output and as much as 100-watt energy supply. USB PD will not energy the laptop computer at full throttle, however it could actually assist maintain the battery topped up when working casually, so you do not have to deliver the cumbersome, 400-watt energy provide round. The left edge additionally features a 3.5mm audio combo jack and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port. The Legion 9i finds area for the system’s main energy enter and an HDMI 2.1 port on the rear among the many exhaust vents. 

The system’s built-in 5-megapixel webcam captures crisp visuals, and it is paired with mics that seize my voice clearly and with a pleasant fullness. 

Aside from the carbon-fiber cowl, per-key back-lit keyboard, glowing Legion brand on the lid and lightweight bar that wraps across the entrance half of the bottom, the system is definitely comparatively refined. Its design is not aggressively angular, and even its beefy exhaust vents look extra industrial and fewer fighter jet engine. It can go for a workstation with all of the lighting off. All that lighting is RGB, although, and it appears to be like good, evenly illuminating each the first and secondary keycap legends. 

The Legion 9i’s keyboard offers you a reasonably stable typing expertise. The keys have dish, nice stabilization and fast, poppy journey. On their very own, they seem to be a pleasure to sort on. I received as much as a good typing pace of 106 phrases per minute with 98% accuracy pretty rapidly. 

The measurement of the laptop computer makes the keys a far attain, although, and my wrists ended up resting uncomfortably on the entrance lip of the laptop computer. It’s nice for fast typing, however much less so for in depth writing. Lenovo consists of full-size, offset arrow keys which are nice for navigation. It additionally has a near-full-size quantity pad that is useful for knowledge entry, although a bit more durable to adapt to when you have large arms. The large glass trackpad makes for easy, snug mousing round and has a delicate, silent bodily click on.  

Lenovo squeezes six audio system into this laptop computer, with two pairs of woofers and two tweeters. The mixture can pump out a great deal of sound, although even with 4 woofers, you should not count on deep bass. I even discovered the audio system might distort on some actually punchy bass tracks performed at increased volumes. 

Still, the audio system do their job nicely, offering highly effective sufficient recreation audio to listen to over the sound of the followers whereas gaming. I zipped by a couple of hours of Forza Horizon 6, typically counting on the audio system to inform me once I wanted to shift gears and located them a lot passable for informal play. Blitzing by maps in Trepang2, they saved the motion intense and soundtrack bumping, however they did not fairly have a robust sufficient stereo impact to assist me hear the place enemies had been hiding.

The 18-inch show is a superb one. It maxes out at 3,840×2,400-pixel decision and might run at a easy 240Hz. It’s a brilliant, colourful IPS panel hitting 510 nits and 99% protection of the DCI-P3 colour area in testing. The colour is correct as nicely, measuring at a max dE1976 of 1.58. You will not get the distinction or pixel response of OLED right here, although, because the monitor solely manages a few 1,200:1 distinction ratio and exhibits faint ghosting in quick movement. Gaming at full decision continues to be nice, and movement blur is minor. The monitor can change over to 1,920×1,200 pixels and attain a 440Hz refresh charge for even smoother visuals. This swap requires a system restart, although, so it is not seamless. Glare, nonetheless, is a matter with the shiny display screen, so be careful for brilliant home windows. 

Is the Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 price shopping for?

The Legion 9i packs a ton of muscle you could deliver on the highway. It’s not precisely skinny or mild, however at 7.8 kilos, it is hardly unreasonable for an 18-incher with large specs. Whether it is severe work or severe play, the Legion 9i has the grunt to get issues executed, and it has sufficient I/O to allow a rigorous workstation or decked-out battlestation. 

The worth is excessive — however so is the competitors at this level — and there are at all times diminishing returns at this degree. Don’t be shocked for those who see a laptop computer half as costly hitting 75% of the efficiency (or worse, a desktop at that worth virtually matching it). If you want that modern efficiency paired with portability, although, the Legion 9i shall be laborious to beat.