Lenovo’s new Legion Slim 7i has some nice features that aren’t actually present in its bigger
brother, the Legion 7, despite the fact that the Slim version, as per the name, is smaller.
My configuration has Intel’s Core i7-12700H processor, Nvidia’s RTX 3060 graphics,
16 gigs of DDR5 memory, a 16” 1920 by 1200 165Hz screen, and large 99Wh battery.
Now my first thought on the new Legion Slim 7i was “awesome, a thinner machine that can
still pack a punch in gaming”, and while the Slim 7i is absolutely capable of gaming, I get
the impression that it’s more for someone that might be doing some content creation on the side.
This is because the Slim 7 is also available with a Mini-LED screen, which can get up to 1250 nits
bright with DisplayHDR 1000 support. And that’s something that the bigger Legion 7 seems to be
missing for some reason. And don’t get me wrong, a Mini LED screen would still be great for gaming,
but the Slim 7 also has a full sized SD card slot on the right hand side.
Another feature that’s useful for creators that isn’t present in the larger Legion 7.
The screen is also 16:10 this year, so a little taller compared to last year’s version, and this
increases the screen to body ratio from 86% to 93%. There’s just more viewable screen space now.
The i in 7i means Intel processor, and only these Intel configurations
come with Nvidia graphics. There’s also the Slim 7, so without the i,
which has AMD’s new Ryzen 6000 processors but also with Radeon RX 6600S or 6800S graphics.
In terms of size and weight differences, here’s how this year’s Legion 7i looks side by side with
the smaller Slim 7i. The slim is slightly smaller in all dimensions, and of course also lighter too.
Although the slimmer size does mean that it’s obviously more portable compared to that larger
Legion 7, the tradeoff is lower GPU power limits, which will mean less performance comparatively.
Both the RTX 3060 in this one and the higher tier RTX 3070 max out at 100 watts,
and just for comparison that higher tier Legion 7 with the 3070 goes up to 125 watts.
And it also has the option of the even higher 3080 with up to 175 watts.
The lower GPU power limits in the Slim could make it worth considering the 1920 by 1200 screen that
mine has. You still get G-Sync and then you aren’t scrambling trying to run games at the
higher 2560 by 1600 resolution, which would benefit from more GPU horsepower.
Lower power limits do at least mean that the Slim 7 has a smaller and
lighter 230 watt power brick, compared to the larger 300 watt unit found in the Legion 7.
This year’s Slim 7i has an aluminum magnesium metal unibody, and it feels nice and sturdy.
Unlike the larger Legion 7, the only RGB lighting is in the keyboard. The Slim
doesn’t have the light bar, lighting on the lid,
or vent lighting like the bigger version, so just a little toned down.
Just like the larger Legion 7, there’s no Corsair iCUE software here either. The Slim should also
get Lenovo’s new Spectrum software for managing the RGB lighting, but unfortunately this early
engineering sample doesn’t have it installed so I can’t show it to you just yet. But make
sure that you’re subscribed for the upcoming full review where I can show you absolutely everything.
The glass touchpad feels smooth and accurate, and I found that it was the exact same size as
the larger Legion 7, however I did find that the clicks in the Slim seemed to be a little louder.
Last year’s Slim 7 only had a 720p camera, but I’ve been told this year’s
will have either a 720p or a 1080p option. It seems like it’s going to vary by region.
Personally I think it would have been much better to just see 1080p across the board.
We’ve still got the function plus R shortcut to quickly swap the screen’s refresh rate,
but with my 1920 by 1200 panel it goes between 165Hz and 48Hz.
Unlike the 2560 by 1600 panel I had in the larger Legion 7, which could lower to 60Hz,
the Slim 7’s screen flashes black when making this change rather than being instant.
I did ask Lenovo if there were any plans on making this an option that
could automatically happen when you unplug the charger as it’s a good feature that just
saves battery. But unfortunately they said not at this time, maybe in future.
As for the ports, on the left we’ve got two Type-C ports. The one closest to the
back has Thunderbolt 4 support, while the one closer to the front is USB 3.2 Gen 2.
Another difference to the larger Legion 7, which instead has two Thunderbolt 4 ports on this side.
The right has a 3.5mm audio combo jack, a switch to physically disconnect the camera,
and a full sized SD card slot,
another difference to the larger Legion 7 which has a USB Type-C instead of SD card.
The rest of the ports are on the back, from left to right we’ve got the HDMI 2.1 output,
3 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports and the power input on the far right.
So compared to this year’s larger Legion 7, this year’s Slim 7 does not have an ethernet port,
it has two fewer USB Type-C ports, but it has one
extra USB Type-A port. And of course the SD card slot, but half the Thunderbolt ports.
Both the Type-C ports on the left hand side can be used to charge the laptop with up to 135 watts,
which is an increase from the 100 watts in last year’s Slim 7.
The icons above the rear ports still light up, which I think is a great feature because you
can easily see where cables need to go without turning the laptop around, even in a darker room.
And we’ve got the option to press the function + U shortcut to turn these lights on or off.
Just like the bigger Legion 7, the Slim 7 has a MUX switch too,
and it’s also got Advanced Optimus as well.
At least on this 7i version that has Nvidia graphics. I don’t currently know if the all
AMD Advantage version is going to have their equivalent feature, SmartAccess Graphics. I really
hope so though because it’s an awesome feature. You don’t have to reboot to change between
the integrated and discrete graphics. It just happens automatically when you load up a game.
The bottom panel has plenty of holes for air ventilation.
Inside we’ve got the large 99.9Wh battery down the front, two M.2 storage slots just above it,
Wi-Fi 6E on the far left, and a single DDR5 memory slot towards the middle.
So just like last year, this year’s Slim 7 unfortunately makes use of soldered memory,
but you can get it with either 8 or 16 gigs soldered to the motherboard.
My unit only has 8 gigs soldered with an 8 gig stick installed, which honestly for most people
just gaming today is a good sweet spot. But for a device that I’m probably going to use for 3,
4, 5 plus years? I’d try and go for the 16 gig option for that increased flexibility.
Of course, depending on the price difference. Obviously having both sticks of memory being
upgradeable would have been a benefit, but this isn’t exactly unique to Lenovo,
as ASUS does the exact same thing in their thinner Zephyrus series.
It just seems to be a tradeoff in order to get that thinner machine.
Lenovo has made thermal improvements this year. Compared to last year’s model,
the cooler has a 29% size increase with 31% more fan blades that are 40% thinner,
while also being able to spin up to 100rpm faster. That could mean that this year’s Slim 7 is a
little louder than last year’s version, we’ll just have to wait and see. There’s also an extra copper
heatpipe dedicated to the GPU VRM, and it’s also using phase change thermal compound now.
The phase change thermal compound is also seen in this year’s larger Legion 7 as well,
but that larger machine does also use a vapor chamber because it’s got more space,
while the Slim 7 is using more traditional copper heat pipes.
The battery in last year’s Slim maxed out at 71Wh,
now this year there’s a 99.9Wh option, however I’ve been told there will still
be a 71Wh option this year for those that would prefer a lighter machine.
Unfortunately the smaller battery option doesn’t get us anything extra inside, like an extra
storage slot or second memory slot. I suspect it will just be a bit cheaper and make the Slim 7 a
little lighter. And speaking of weight, the Mini-LED screen option would also increase it.
Now I did like typing on the keyboard, it’s got 1.3mm of key travel and although the larger Legion
7 has 1.5mm, when typing on both side by side I couldn’t personally really notice a difference.
However that said, there did seem to be a bit more wobble to the screen when typing on the Slim 7.
The power button lights up so you can easily identify which performance mode it’s running in,
and it also doubles as a fingerprint scanner which I found to work well.
So then, when can you actually buy the new Legion Slim 7i and Slim 7 laptops?
In the US market I’ve heard we’re looking at May this year starting at $1589 USD for
the 7i with i5 processor, and then June for the all AMD Advantage option starting at $1519 USD.
And I’ll also leave some links below the video to updated prices as soon as I can.
Here in Australia we’re not expecting to get the Slim 7 or Slim 7i until July,
so yeah as always just goes to show that it does vary by region.
Personally I think I’m leaning more towards the Slim 7 compared to the
larger Legion 7. The Slim still seems like it still has enough power for me
and I prefer portability and I would like that SD slot.
Check out this video next for more details on this year’s new Legion 7,
which is the bigger version of this Slim laptop. I’ll share things like game benchmarks, thermals,
battery life and everything else about the Slim 7 as soon as I can, so make sure
you’re subscribed for the upcoming full review video! You’re not going to want to miss that!