Lenovo’s new Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 are both Ryzen powered gaming laptops, but is
it worth paying more money for the higher tier 7?
I’ve compared both laptops to show you the differences and help you decide which is worth
it!
Both laptops are available with different specs, and I’ve got the highest specced
options of each.
As this means I can’t directly compare CPU and GPU performance, I’ll instead approach
the comparison from the point of view of seeing what both laptops can offer in the best case.
They both have a metal lid with a dark grey finish, the Legion 7’s looks a little cleaner.
The interior of both is similar too, same keyboard and touchpad layout.
The 7 is covered in RGB lighting, from the light bar on the front and sides to the vents,
while the 5 Pro has far less bling.
The 5 Pro is a little heavier than the 7, and this is still the case with the cables
as both have large 300 watt power bricks.
The 5 Pro is slightly wider and thicker compared to the 7, so along with weighing a little
less the 7 is also a bit smaller, but it’s not really an amount you’ll notice.
Both have the exact same 16 inch 16:10 165Hz screen, the panel part number is the same
in both laptops.
As a result the color gamut is essentially the same, just small differences within margin
of error, and both also get above 500 nits at maximum brightness, again just small minor
differences due to manufacturing variances.
Both laptops have a MUX switch which can be used to disable optimus after a reboot.
With optimus disabled both have G-Sync, or with optimus instead enabled both have FreeSync.
Both laptops have a screen overdrive mode to boost response time, and with that enabled
they’re both offering similar results.
Again the exact same panel is used on both laptops so this is expected.
There’s going to be a little variance one way or the other.
Basically consider them equal despite my 7 looking slightly better, that’s just luck
of the draw.
Both of my units had basically no backlight bleed, but this will vary between laptops
and panels.
The screen on the 7 goes the full 180 degrees back while the screen on the 5 Pro stops sooner.
Both have a 720p camera above the screen in the middle, and both have a switch on the
right to physically disconnect the camera to ensure privacy.
This is what the camera and microphone look and sound like on the 5 pro, and this is what
they both look and sound like over on the 7.
The 7 also has Tobii Horizon, which tracks your head in supported games and adjusts the
camera angle based on where you look.
The 5 Pro does not have this.
The layouts of both keyboards are the same.
My 5 Pro just has a white keyboard, but it’s also available with a 4 zone RGB option, meanwhile
the 7 has per key RGB lighting with much more customization available.
The RGB on the 7 is controlled with the Corsair iCUE software, while the 5 Pro with RGB does
not use this.
Personally I preferred typing on the 7, the keyboards are quite similar but it felt a
bit sturdier, possibly a bit clicker, it’s hard to really explain but if you look closely
on the 5 you can see when I push a key down the others near it are affected more when
compared to doing the same thing on the 7.
The precision touchpads on both are the same size.
They’re similar, but the 5 Pro just felt like it had a nicer click to me.
It’s possible they’re exactly the same and this is just manufacturing tolerance or
something, but the 5 Pro was a little louder.
Both are the same on the left, air exhaust vent at the back, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port
with DisplayPort 1.4 support and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The right is a little different, both have the camera disconnect switch and an air exhaust
vent on this side too.
The Legion 7 has a Type-C port while the 5 Pro has Type-A, but both are the same USB
3.2 Gen1 speed.
The rest of the I/O is on the back, and both are the same here.
From left to right there’s gigabit ethernet, a 2nd USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, again with
DisplayPort 1.4 like the one on the left, but this one also lets you charge the laptop.
Otherwise there are 3 USB 3.2 gen1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1 output and power input on
the far right.
So for those not keeping track, basically the only difference is that on the right of
the 5 Pro there’s USB Type-A while the 7’s is Type-C - that’s it.
Although both laptops have icons above the rear ports, the 7 actually lights them up,
which I found much more useful when trying to plug in in a darker room, plus we’ve
got the option of turning them on or off with this shortcut.
All display outputs connect directly to the Nvidia graphics, which makes sense given both
let you disable optimus.
The lighting on the lids can be turned on or off with this shortcut, though this only
works on the 7 if there’s no iCUE effect in place.
The bottom panels were similar, clean with air intake vents up the back above the fans.
The internal layout was very similar, both have black metal covers over the M.2 slots
and memory.
Both have the battery down the front, two M.2 storage slots above the battery, two memory
slots towards the middle and the Wi-Fi 6 card to the right.
The main difference is the 7 has a vapor chamber cooler while the 5 Pro uses a regular heat
pipe solution.
It’s also worth noting that the fans and vapor chamber are one attached unit, so there’s
less gaps for air to escape.
Both laptops have a 4-cell 80Wh battery, though they’re slightly different part numbers.
The Legion 7 has a big issue when it comes to battery drain, which I’ve explained in
the full review video linked down in the description, but basically the corsair iCUE software makes
it use more power than it should.
Thankfully fixing this is as simple as stopping the Corsair service and not running the iCUE
software, but then that does mean that you can’t run custom RGB effects.
On the other hand this isn’t an issue with the 5 Pro as it doesn’t have iCUE software
for modifying RGB.
With both on a level playing field, despite the differences in specs, the battery life
is extremely comparable.
It’s also possible to boost the battery life by a couple of hours by changing the
screen refresh rate to 60Hz, which can be easily done with the function plus R shortcut
on both laptops.
The speakers definitely sounded better on the 7, there was more bass and they sounded
clearer - but I’d still say the 5 pro is average for a gaming laptop.
Now although I can’t directly compare thermals fairly as both have different CPUs and GPUs
the differences are still interesting and are worth discussing.
Both laptops have the same performance modes available through the vantage software, but
I’ll just compare max performance modes to keep things simple here, check the reviews
linked below if you want thermal results for all performance profiles.
Despite the Legion 7 having higher specs and being a smaller chassis, it’s running cooler
both at idle and with the stress tests running.
Now it’s only a small difference, but still interesting to point out which I think demonstrates
the benefits on offer with the vapor chamber cooler in the 7.
The Legion 7 is clocking higher too, but that’s expected, the CPU in the Legion 7 for instance
is a 5900HX which is basically just a better binned 5800H which is what my 5 Pro has.
The higher CPU clock speed is despite both running at about the same TDP, so that further
confirms the 5900HX is a better binned chip.
Although both laptops have full powered GPUs, the 3080 has a higher 150 watt limit compared
to the 125 watts of the 3070, at least when the CPUs also fully loaded, so again despite
the 7 using more power it was also a little cooler and hitting higher clocks.
Both laptops are offering the best results I’ve seen in Cinebench R23 out of any laptops
I’ve tested for their class of CPU, so the 7 is at the top out of the 5900HX machines
while the 5 Pro is at the top out of the 5800H machines - great results from both.
Performance lowers on both when running on battery power, but still great results, and
the Ryzen 9 5900HX is still coming out ahead here too.
Both were cool to the touch when just sitting there idle, low 30s is pretty normal for gaming
laptops.
When under load though the Legion 7 was noticeably warmer on the keyboard, it’s still by no
means hot, but the 5 pro was cooler - let’s have a listen to fan noise.
Both were quiet when sitting idle, and when under load the 7 was perhaps a tiny bit louder,
and it’s worth noting that neither laptop offers fan customization, but the different
performance modes will control this to a degree.
There probably isn’t that much point in comparing games as they both have different
CPU and GPU, but I’ve still done it so that you can get an idea of how the best version
of the 5 Pro compares against the best version of the Legion 7, and as I’ve mentioned in
this video over here it is possible to boost the performance of the 5 Pro by changing the
memory, so I’ve included those results too.
Battlefield V was tested in campaign mode, and I’ve got both laptops at stock highlighted
in red and the Legion 5 Pro with the memory change in green.
The memory change alone really lowers the difference between them, and interestingly
puts the 1% low of the 5 Pro ahead.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the games benchmark tool.
Again the Legion 7 is ahead, but simply by changing the memory on the 5 Pro we can get
a much closer result from the cheaper and lower specced laptop.
Far Cry 5 was also tested using the games benchmark, and the memory modified 5 Pro was
almost the same as the 7 in this one, though this is more of a CPU heavier test and I suppose
RAM makes more of a difference there.
It’s worth noting that those memory changes in the 5 Pro don’t seem to make as big of
a difference at higher resolutions, such as the native 2560 x 1600 that the screen actually
offers.
At the same time though, at higher resolutions the differences in 3070 and 3080 GPU might
also make more of a difference.
I have also tested both of these laptops in newer games at higher resolutions in the dedicated
game test videos linked below.
Now let’s check out some content creator workloads, I’ve tested Adobe Premiere with
the Puget systems benchmark.
Again better specs with the 7, so we’re expecting it to win, but the 5 pro is still
stacking up well compared to others.
It’s a similar deal in Adobe Photoshop too, and then they’re closer together in DaVinci
Resolve.
Obviously the Legion 7 has the edge in SPECviewperf too, this is a GPU heavy test and the 7 has
the higher powered 3080.
Both of mine came with the same model of 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, so it’s not surprising to
see that they’re performing about the same.
Out of the box in Ubuntu 20, both had working Wi-Fi, keyboard, touchpad and camera.
The speakers on the 5 Pro worked but not on the 7, though I'm sure with some updates or
extra installs you could fix it.
Basic keyboard lighting and performance modes are baked into firmware so you don't need
software in Linux.
The BIOS on both is essentially the same, similar looking options and more settings
compared to most laptops, granted many of the settings here are also presented through
the vantage software too.
Alright let’s discuss price next, you’re going to have to refer to the links in the
description as prices will change over time, but also neither laptop has launched just
yet in the US, I’ve heard June.
The prices announced at CES in January were that the 5 Pro would start at $1000 USD while
the 7 would start at $1700 USD, but if the minimum specs are different then it’s hard
to compare.
Regardless the 5 Pro is clearly the more mid range option while the 7 is the higher end
more premium product.
Here in Australia with the same specs we’re looking at about $220 AUD more for the 7,
which is about $150 USD once you take away our tax.
Overall the Legion 7 does have some nice extra features, I don’t think any of them are
important requirements by any means and the 5 Pro is still a great laptop, but if you’re
after all the bells and whistles then the 7 is clearly the way to go.
Neither of these laptops is perfect, but nothing in life is.
The biggest issue I had with the 5 Pro is that you seem to be missing out on performance
with the stock memory, that difference alone will probably make the 7 look better even
if you’re comparing both laptops with the same CPU and GPU, which could be by design
to make the 7 look better.
The 7 on the other hand has the battery drain issue with the Corsair iCUE software, fortunately
both of these problems are pretty easy to fix.
You can just stop the Corsair software and that one is solved, and with the 5 Pro you
can install more memory, but unfortunately doing that does cost more money.
Anyway I’d be perfectly happy using the 5 Pro, but if budget permits then the extra
features of the 7 were nice, and if the 7 is around 10% more money compared to the 5
Pro like it is here in Australia I’d probably just pay the little extra and get the 7.
So with all of that in mind let me know which of these two laptops you’d pick down in
the comments, Legion 5 Pro or Legion 7?
Get subscribed for more upcoming laptop comparisons like this one, in particular I’ll be comparing
the 5 Pro against the HP Omen 15 soon.
Come and join us in Discord and get behind the scenes videos by supporting the channel
on Patreon, and if you need any further information on either of these laptops then check out
the full review videos over here as I go into even more information in those, so I’ll
see you over in one of those next.