Get the Lenovo Legion 5 for $1269
Lenovo have been making excellent gaming laptops for the past few years, as Katharine found out when she tested the desktop replacement Legion 7i last year. She said “everything about this laptop just feels perfectly matched, which deserves to be celebrated when so many of its rivals tend to fall prey to needless excess… the RGB lighting might be a tad over the top, admittedly, but the rest of its design feels sleek and modern and pleasingly low-key.”
The Legion 5 featured here is a more portable 15-in option, but it’s arguably more powerful thanks to its use of the very latest CPU and GPU components. The RTX 3060 laptop graphics card is broadly equal to an RTX 2080 laptop GPU from last year, especially with a TGP of 130W. The Ryzen 5800H is a big step forward compared to previous Ryzen laptop CPUs too, so you’re getting what used to be high-end specs in a machine that’s well into the mid-range in price. It also comes with a 165Hz screen, something that only used to be available on the most expensive gaming laptops just a few years ago.
As well as the star CPU and GPU, you get 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Only one slot is filled here, so we recommend you pick up an extra 8GB stick for a comfortable 16GB of dual-channel down the road. Meanwhile, the 512GB SSD should hold you in good stead for some time, but you could always replace it with a larger 1TB or 2TB drive if you like to keep a lot of games or other programs installed at once.
The I/O is impressive too - 4x USA-A, two USB-C, HDMI 2.1, (what I assume is mini) DisplayPort, gigabit ethernet and a headphone jack. Combined with Lenovo’s traditionally excellent keyboards and trackpads, you’ve got a recipe for a really nicely equipped laptop for work or play.
What do you think of this deal? Can you find a better-equipped laptop for a similar price? Let us know in the comments below! Given how strong the reviews are for this laptop and the $1269 price point, I think it’ll be hard to beat!
