Hands On: Lenovo’s 2022 Legion 7 & 7 Slim Gamers Rev Up the Ryzen and Core Chips

Lenovo today announced new 16-inch additions to its gaming laptop lineup, the Legion 7 Slim (and the 7i Slim, denoting an Intel CPU), as well as the refreshed Legion 7 (and the Legion 7i). These machines stick to the Legion-laptop style we’ve seen in the past couple of years, but they up the ante with the latest powerful components, like Intel’s 12th Generation HX mobile processors in the Legion 7i, while the Legion 7 and 7i Slim models emphasize portability.

The two main families (Slim and non-Slim) are largely pretty similar, but there’s plenty to discuss. We were able to go hands-on with each system at a preview event prior to this announcement—watch our initial impressions in the video below.

The Legion 7 Slim and 7i Slim: Balancing Performance and Portability

Let’s start with the 7 Slim and 7i Slim, as they set the baseline and have a lower starting prices. As mentioned, these are all 16-inch laptops, and as the Slim name would suggest, they are pretty thin systems in the world of gaming laptops.

The 7 Slim and 7i Slim are the same in terms of design, so we’ll take them as one laptop until we reach the component discussion. The chassis measures 0.67 by 14.1 by 10 inches (HWD), which is definitively on the upper end of thinness for a gaming laptop. It weighs 4.5 pounds, again good for a gaming machine, and portable enough that taking this laptop with you won’t be a big burden.

(Photo: Weston Almond)

The style sticks with what we’ve seen from Legion laptops from the past few years. This includes a fully gray body, tame logo lettering, a nice keyboard, and a rear block for thermals and ports. It feels sturdy, while retaining a nice balance of maturity and flair in its aesthetic.

(Photo: Weston Almond)

The 16-inch display means a roomy gaming experience at home or once you get where you’re going, too. It’s a 16:10 panel with a 2,560-by-1,600-pixel resolution, and a 165Hz refresh rate for enthusiast gaming. This better-than-1080p resolution will be more demanding for running games at high frame rates, so the components will need to be up to the task. There are a few variations to these panel options, including some with G-Sync and a lower 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution.

On that note, the AMD-based Slim 7 can be equipped with a Ryzen 5 6600H, a Ryzen 7 6800H, or a Ryzen 9 6900H processor. It’s all-AMD on the GPU side, too, offering either a Radeon RX 6600S or a Radeon RX 6800S.

With the Slim 7i, you can choose a 12th Generation Core i5-12500H, Core i7-12700H, or Core i9-12900HK processor. For both CPU brands, the H Series denotes the high-performance power tier, and the “K” in the Core i9 means it’s overclockable. On the GPU side, the Intel version pairs with Nvidia GeForce graphics. (You can choose among RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3060, or RTX 3070 GPUs.)

(Photo: Weston Almond)

For a laptop boasting about its slim design, those parts represent a pretty high power ceiling, though it will come down to power delivery and execution. Lenovo cools the laptop with its Coldfront 4.0 system, and software to balance the GPU and CPU output as needed. As one example, the RTX 3070 option can push up to a 100-watt TGP, which is strong but not top-tier wattage, fitting for the size. Performance can vary widely in modern systems, so check back in the future when we can benchmark the laptop ourselves.

The supporting components are pretty straightforward. Both models max out at 24GB of memory (8GB on board, 16GB slotted) and up to 2TB of storage. On the Intel model, you get two USB-C ports (one with support for Thunderbolt 4), three USB-A ports, an HDMI connection, an SD card reader, and a physical switch to electronically shut off the camera.

The AMD model is similar, but it has one fewer USB-A port and no Thunderbolt support. The webcam will be 720p or 1080p depending on the configuration. The battery is 99.9 watt-hours, which is the largest that manufacturers tend to put in laptops that can hold them, because they are the limit for what’s allowed on a commercial flight.

The general rule (as we also found with Lenovo’s non-gaming Slim laptops) is that there is a price premium on the Intel models, though it’s not as pronounced here. The Legion Slim 7 will launch in June starting at $1,519, while the Legion Slim 7i will launch in May starting at $1,589.

Legion 7 and 7i (the Non-Slims): All-In on Power With ‘Alder Lake HX'

Next, on to the non-Slim sibling laptops, the Legion 7 and 7i. Again, these share a design outside of the components, essentially a souped-up Slim 7 or 7i. The physical shape and dimensions are quite similar, but it’s hard to miss the chassis RGB lighting that these models add.

The logo, vents, and front edges are lit with customizable lighting, marking a clear visual difference from the Slim. Lenovo is also shifting its lighting software from Corsair iCUE to its own in-house lighting control solution. (Not that the user has much of a choice about which is employed!)

(Photo: Weston Almond)

It’s not as trim as the Slim, but at 0.76 by 14.1 by 10.37 inches, the Legion 7/7i models are still well short of an inch thick. The 5.5-pound weight is notably heftier, though, so that’s mainly where the distinction lies on the design—the more powerful parts, the supporting thermal gear, and required vapor-chamber cooling add weight. If portability is your preference, the Legion 7 Slim is right there, but this one goes for power.

(Photo: Weston Almond)

The display is also very similar to the Slim, a 16-inch 2,560-by-1,600-pixel panel with a 165Hz refresh rate. There is no downgraded full-HD version, and the Nvidia model features G-Sync, while the AMD model supports FreeSync.

That brings us to the component options. In short, both the AMD and Intel versions of this laptop have higher power ceilings than the Slim on both the CPU and GPU front. For the processors, that means jumping up to the HX tier, rather than just H Series. Intel’s newly announced HX processors are chiefly for mobile workstations, but high-end gaming laptops can benefit as well. You can read more about this platform here.

The Legion 7 can be outfitted with a 12th Gen Core i7-12800HX, or a Core i9-12900HX, which is about as good as it will get in a consumer laptop. The same is true for GPU options of an RTX 3080 Ti (175-watt TGP) or RTX 3070 Ti (125-watt TGP), which you won’t find in many competing machines.

(Photo: Weston Almond)

On the AMD version, you can choose a Ryzen 7 6800H or a Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, and a Radeon RX 6700M or Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU. On both models, this higher tier of power is what you unlock by choosing the thicker, heftier Legion model. The Legion Slim 7 is no slouch, and it may be the better pick for most users. But this model is clearly meant for the real enthusiasts with deep pockets.

The thicker Legion 7 also offers a mix of USB-C and USB-A ports, but crucially, it’s thick enough to include an Ethernet jack. That’s a boon for hardcore gamers using this as their semi-permanent desk setup at home, another way the Legion 7 and 7i cater more to these players than the Slim 7 and Slim 7i do.

As with the Slim machines, we’ll have to see how these two perform when review samples become available. Also like those systems, the Intel version comes at a higher cost than the AMD model, but the premium is more pronounced here. The Legion 7 will launch in June starting at $2,059, while the Legion 7i will start at $2,449 when it launches in May.