Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Review: A Premium OLED Gaming Beast with RTX 5080 Power

If you’re in the market for a high-end 16-inch gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i should be near the top of your list. Priced at $3,500, it’s certainly an investment—but one that delivers serious value for gamers and creators alike. Powered by Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and an RTX 5080 GPU, this machine offers elite-level performance in a refined, premium chassis with one of the best OLED displays in its class.

Premium Build That Feels Premium

Unlike many so-called premium laptops that feel like plastic toys, the Legion Pro 7i stands out with its CNC aluminum body. It feels solid, sleek, and sophisticated. The black finish adds a professional touch—though it does attract fingerprints easily, so keep a cloth handy.

Once “gamer mode” is activated, the laptop reveals its RGB-lit personality. The Legion logo, bottom edge, and back light up with customizable lighting effects. But if you prefer a more understated look, the lighting can be turned off easily for work environments.

Portability and Design Trade-offs

Weighing just under 6 lbs (2.57 kg), it’s not ultra-light—but manageable. The 400W power brick is massive, contributing to the overall bulk. Lenovo made a controversial move by shifting ports from the back to the sides, which might annoy users who rely on a clean desktop setup. Still, the port selection is generous:

• Left side: Proprietary power connector, HDMI 2.1, two Thunderbolt 4 ports (not Thunderbolt 5), and one USB-A port.

• Right side: 2.5G Ethernet jack, webcam kill switch, two USB-A ports, and a combo audio jack.

The enormous 400W charger can refill the battery to 70% in just 30 minutes—great for quick power-ups, not so much for your backpack space.

Display and Input Experience

Open the lid, and you’re greeted by a stunning 16-inch OLED display. It’s vibrant, color-accurate, and perfect for both content creation and gaming. Yes, it’s glossy and prone to reflections, but the overall visual quality is top-tier. Worries about OLED burn-in are overblown—this panel is built to last for years.

PWM flicker at low brightness was not noticeable, making it comfortable for extended use.

The per-key RGB backlit keyboard on a stamped aluminum deck offers satisfying key travel with Lenovo’s signature U-shaped keys. It’s a delight for both gaming and productivity. A full numpad is included, and the keyboard rivals the best in the category.

The touchpad is mechanical, not haptic, and adequately sized. Most gamers will plug in a mouse anyway, but it handles daily tasks just fine.

Performance: A Gaming Powerhouse

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX may not top the charts in single-core speed (the M4 Max MacBook Pro still leads there), but it performs strongly in web and productivity tests. In multi-core workloads, it shines—ranking just behind top-tier 16-inch competitors.

• Photoshop: Fastest performance seen in an RTX 5080 laptop (score: 9,477).

• Premiere Pro: Strong third place, but differences are minimal.

• Blender/3D workloads: Top performance in RTX 5080 category.

In Time Spy benchmarks, it outperformed every other laptop tested, thanks to a fully-powered 175W GPU.

Gaming Benchmarks

Across a wide range of titles, this machine dominated:

• Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 188 FPS at QHD+, beating MSI Titan.

• Dirt 5: 160 FPS, slightly ahead of Titan 18.

• Cyberpunk 2077: 92 FPS, topping the ROG Strix 16.

• Black Myth: Wukong: Tied with Strix Scar 16, beating Gigabyte Aorus 16.

• F1 24: Slightly behind competitors (by 4–6 FPS).

Games with support for Nvidia Frame Generation tech saw huge boosts—Marvel Rivals exceeded 100 FPS, and enabling multi-frame generation nearly doubled performance.

Thermal Management and Fan Noise

Temperatures can reach 94–100°C under full CPU load—hot, but not throttling. The good news is fan noise is impressively low at just 53 dB in performance mode. For those concerned about long-term thermals, switching to custom mode and maxing out the fans brings CPU temps down to 75–80°C.

Software: Clean and Functional

Lenovo’s Legion Space software is among the best in the gaming world. It offers quick access to all key performance and lighting settings in one place—unlike clunky software like Armoury Crate or MSI Center. While some bloatware remains, the UI is intuitive and clean.

Audio and Upgradeability

The Legion Pro 7i features four speakers—two up-firing, two down-firing—for decent stereo sound. Inside, the layout is user-friendly for upgrades. You get:

• Two RAM slots (upgradeable to 96GB)

• Two SSD slots

• Swappable Wi-Fi card

• Vapor chamber cooling

• A third internal fan for lower component cooling

Battery Life

Battery performance varies by use:

• Integrated GPU (productivity): Over 6 hours

• Nvidia Battery Boost (gaming): ~1 hour 15 minutes

• Dedicated GPU (productivity): ~2 hours 50 minutes

Not groundbreaking, but respectable for a powerful gaming laptop.

Final Verdict: Is the Legion Pro 7i Worth It?

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i isn’t perfect—it runs hot under pressure and picks up fingerprints quickly—but it delivers incredible RTX 5080 performance in a beautifully crafted package. The OLED screen, build quality, and cooling options make it one of the best 16-inch gaming laptops available.

Ultimately, whether it’s the right choice for you may come down to price comparisons and aesthetic preferences. But in terms of raw power and visual experience, the Legion Pro 7i is tough to beat.