The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Is a Budget-Friendly Gaming Laptop That Packs a Ton of Punch (Review)

Gaming laptops are a dime a dozen, but finding one that respects your wallet is not the easiest task. Typically, if you’re trying to find a gaming laptop that doesn’t break the bank? You’re going to need to sacrifice a fair amount of performance to make that happen. Comparing the Legion Slim 5 to something like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, which costs nearly double, proves that Lenovo isn’t messing around when it comes to their more “budget-friendly” line of laptops. It’s not perfect. But it’s hard to find another laptop in the same price range that offers what the Slim 5 can.

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Proves You Don’t Need To Drop Tons of Cash for Power

Starting at roughly $1529.99, it’s hard to think that this is considered “budget-friendly” for a laptop. But when you consider that the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is packing an RTX 4070, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and 1TB of internal storage? You’ll quickly see why it’s a bargain at its asking price. Pair this with an attractive exterior that doesn’t scream “gamer”, and you’ve got a laptop that can do your daily driving, while also being as powerful as you need it to be.

Even comparing it to its more expensive counterparts. There are a few things that the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 does better. The battery life is quite a bit better than the more “premium” model. Seeing as gaming laptops typically have terrible battery life, I was expecting this to be more of the same. But I was pleasantly surprised to see I could use it as a daily driver. Especially without needing to run to the charger every couple of hours.

If I did keep it plugged in, however? I could experience it as it was intended. A 165Hz refresh rate, alongside the beautiful screen, had me feeling like I was in seventh heaven. Some parts of me preferred using this laptop to the Pro 7i, to be completely honest. But mostly, I think it was due to how impressed I was when comparing the price-to-performance of the two laptops.

Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Tech Specs – Listed

Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Tech Specs	PC Specifications
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 8845HS
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
RAM	16GB DDR5-5600 (2 x 8GB)
Storage	1TB M.2 2280 PCIe SSD
Display	16-inch IPS, 2560 x 1600 resolution @ 165Hz
Display	Nvidia G-Sync: (48-165 Hz) 2560×1600
Networking	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
Ports	2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5 mm jack, 1x SDXC slot
Camera	1080p
Battery	80 WHr
Power Adapter	230W
Operating System	Windows 11 Home
Dimensions (WxDxH)	14.16 x 10.25 x 0.99 inches
Weight	5.1 pounds (2.39 kg)

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Delivers a Sleek Laptop That Can Hang With the Best of Them

Besides tossing several different games, from the most graphically demanding titles to indies, I always have to run the proper 3D Mark tests. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 could handle games like Cyberpunk 2077 at near-max settings without breaking as much as a sweat and powered through most other games like a hot knife through butter. As one might expect, the fans can get loud, but thanks to the great thermals inside, it doesn’t get horrifyingly hot. This means that you could actually use this as a Laptop, rather than just as a desktop with a screen on it.

Tossing Fire Strike its way, it scored a reasonable 26,219. The variation I received for testing purposes was equipped with an RTX 4070, and it delivered impressive results on these benchmarks. With a bit of tweaking and overclocking, you can easily improve this score. But even then, it’s still quite the impressive feat for a laptop in this price range.

But What About Time Spy, Though?

Time Spy was just as impressive, with a solid 12,225 score overall. It seems that if players are hoping to get the most out of this system, a bit of CPU overclocking may be necessary. Graphics scored extremely well with a 13,125 score, but the CPU did lag behind a touch with an 8,807 score. Regardless, the vast majority of games on the market can run extremely well on a laptop such as this one. And its easy-to-digest price of entry makes it one to keep an eye out for.

If you’re a player that doesn’t need the latest and greatest when it comes to specs? The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is going to be one to keep an eye on. Seeing as it’s equipped with an RTX 4070, it’s future-proofed for quite some time, and its sleek exterior helps you blend in with the crowd. Pair that with a great display, good battery life for daily driving, and a lightweight chassis, and you’ve got a winner on your hands.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

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The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is available for purchase now. A sample was provided by Lenovo for the sake of review.