Put an RTX 5090 inside a gaming laptop, pair it with a high-end processor, and you already have the makings of a seriously powerful machine. But there’s a little more to making a great gaming laptop than simply throwing the fastest components into a chassis and calling it a day. The display needs to do justice to the graphics, the cooling system needs to keep everything running smoothly, and the keyboard and other features should be comfortable enough that you don’t immediately feel the need to plug in an external monitor and peripherals.
And that’s where Lenovo’s latest Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 truly excels in.
For its tenth generation, Lenovo has given the Legion Pro 7i a substantial makeover, with a redesigned chassis, a new cooling system, more elaborate RGB lighting, and perhaps the most welcome addition of all, an OLED display replacing the IPS panel of its predecessor.
The internals have received their fair share of upgrades, too. Our configuration comes equipped with Intel’s Core 9 290HX Plus processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 24GB of GDDR7 memory, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB of NVMe SSD storage spread across two drivers.
That’s a lot of hardware to pack into a 16” laptop, but what’s interesting about the Legion Pro 7i is how Lenovo has built everything around it. From the gorgeous OLED screen to the redesigned cooling and comfortable keyboard, there’s plenty here to make the gaming experience enjoyable beyond simply chasing higher frame rates.
An OLED Display Worthy of the Hardware
One of the biggest upgrades Lenovo has made to the Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 is the switch to OLED. The previous generation already had a capable 16” IPS display with a 2560×1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, but OLED brings a substantial improvement to picture quality, particularly for gaming.
Lenovo calls it the PureSight OLED display, and it comes with a rather impressive specification sheet. You get a 16” 2560×1600 panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, NVIDIA G-Sync support, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification. Lenovo also quotes 500 nits of typical brightness, with higher peak brightness available for HDR highlights.
Of course, OLED displays have become fairly common among premium gaming laptops these days, but that doesn’t make them any less impressive. The Legion’s screen produces beautiful colors, deep blacks and excellent contrast, with HDR content looking particularly good. Games with plenty of dark environments and complex lighting effects benefit tremendously from OLED’s ability to control each pixel individually, allowing bright highlights to stand out without washing out the surrounding details.
The 240Hz refresh rate is equally welcome. It’s wonderfully smooth in games, and with G-Sync and VRR support, the display can adjust to fluctuating frame rates without introducing distracting screen tearing. There’s also the near-instantaneous pixel response time that OLED panels are known for, which helps motion looking crisp during fast-paced action.
I am also quite happy that Lenovo has retained the 1600p resolution instead of jumping to 4K. At 16”, the screen is already plenty sharp, and the lower pixel count gives the RTX 5090 more breathing room to push frame rates higher, especially when RT is involved. It’s a sensible balance between visual quality and performance, and one that makes good use of the 240Hz refresh rate.
The glossy finish does mean reflections can become noticeable depending on your room’s lighting, but under the right conditions, the display is an absolute treat to game on.
RTX 5090 Performance: Plenty of Power for Modern Games
At the heart of the Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 is NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, featuring 24GB of GDDR7 memory and a maximum TGP of 175W. It’s paired with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, a 24-core processor designed to handle demanding games and productivity workloads.
On paper, that’s enough power to run just about anything you throw at it. And as our testing showed, the Legion delivers some excellent results across a variety of modern games.
All our gaming benchmarks were conducted at the laptop’s native 2560×1600 resolution, using the highest practical graphics settings and Lenovo’s Extreme Performance mode.
| Graphics Settings | Avg. FPS |
|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | |
| Ultra — Native | 108 |
| RT Ultra — Native | 49 |
| Path Tracing — Native | 27 |
| Path Tracing + DLSS Performance + MFG 2x | 139 |
| Forza Horizon 6 — Ultra Preset | |
| DLAA | 113 |
| RT + DLAA | 82 |
| RT + DLSS Balanced | 116 |
| Gears of War: E-Day — Ultra Preset | |
| Native | 61 |
| RTX Mega Geometry + Hair Strand — Native | 55 |
| RTX Mega Geometry + Hair Strand + DLSS Balanced | 88 |
| RTX Mega Geometry + Hair Strand + DLSS Balanced + MFG 2x | 152 |
All tests conducted at 2560 × 1600 in Extreme Performance mode. MFG results include generated frames.
n Cyberpunk 2077, the Legion managed an excellent 108fps at Ultra settings without any upscaling or Frame Generation. Turning on RT Ultra brought the frame rate down to 49fps, while enabling full Path Tracing reduced it further to 27fps. It’s a good reminder of just how demanding modern rendering technologies can be, even for a GPU as powerful as the RTX 5090.
Thankfully, NVIDIA’s DLSS and Multi Frame Generation technologies can make a substantial difference here. With Path Tracing enabled, switching to DLSS Performance and MFG 2x brought the displayed frame rate up to 139fps, making the game much smoother to play while retaining its advanced lighting and reflections.
It’s worth remembering that Multi Frame Generation creates additional frames rather than rendering every frame conventionally, so the increased frame rate doesn’t translate to an equivalent improvement in input responsiveness. Nevertheless, the visual smoothness it provides, particularly on a high-refresh-rate OLED screen, is quite impressive.
Forza Horizon 6 is another game where the Legion stretches its legs. At Ultra settings with DLAA enabled, it delivered 113fps, while enabling ray tracing brought that down to 82fps. Switching to DLSS Balanced increased performance to 116fps, providing a great balance between image quality and smooth gameplay.
We also tested Gears of War: E-Day, which makes use of demanding rendering features such as RTX Mega Geometry and Hair Strand. The Legion managed 61fps at native Ultra settings, dropping to 55fps with both features enabled. DLSS Balanced improved that to 88fps, while adding MFG 2x pushed the frame rate all the way to 152fps.
These are impressive results for a laptop, particularly considering the visual complexity of these games. More importantly, the combination of powerful hardware, DLSS and the 240Hz OLED display allows the Legion to offer high-quality visuals without necessarily sacrificing smooth gameplay.
Beyond gaming, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus also packs plenty of processing power for demanding workloads. In Geekbench 7, the laptop scored 2,883 in single-core and 26,023 in multi-core performance, while the RTX 5090 achieved 246,640 in OpenCL and 348,996 in CUDA compute tests. So there’s plenty of horsepower here for those who intend to use the Legion for content creation and other processor-intensive tasks alongside gaming.
A Redesigned Cooling System That Keeps Your Hands Comfortable
Packing such powerful components into a laptop comes with its own set of challenges, with cooling being one of the biggest. After all, there’s little point in having an RTX 5090 capable of drawing 175W if the cooling system cannot keep temps under control.
For the Gen 10, Lenovo has implemented its Legion Coldfront Vapor cooling system, combining a larger vapour chamber with an integrated HyperChamber design and three fans to move heat away from the CPU and GPU. Lenovo claims the system can handle up to 250W of combined thermal load, with additional headroom to accommodate demanding workloads.
The redesigned chassis also moves all the exhaust vents to the back of the laptop, unlike the previous generation, which expelled hot air through the sides as well. It’s a change I particularly appreciate because it keeps the hot air away from your mouse hand, something that can become quite annoying on gaming laptops with side-facing exhausts.
During our gaming tests, the RTX 5090 generally remained between 73-77C, with GPU power consumption hovering around 150-155W and occasionally boosting to 170W in Gears of War: E-Day. The CPU, meanwhile, mostly stayed around 80-85C, with occasional spikes to 90C.
The fans do become quite loud when the laptop is running at full performance, which isn’t surprising considering the amount of heat the system has to dissipate. However, one thing that genuinely impressed me was how cool the keyboard deck remained throughout testing.
Even during demanding games, the WASD keys and palm rest stayed comfortably cool, with only the upper-left portion of the chassis getting slightly warm. That’s a welcome improvement for anyone who prefers gaming directly on the laptop rather than using an external keyboard, and it makes extended sessions considerably more comfortable.
A Gaming Laptop That’s Enjoyable to Use
Beyond the display and performance, Lenovo has also paid attention to the physical design of the Legion Pro 7i.
The redesigned chassis looks sleek, with relatively sharp edges and a slightly extended rear section that accommodates the cooling system. Our review unit comes in black, with an aluminium construction that feels reassuringly sturdy. There’s no noticeable flex or creaking when handling the laptop, and the hinges are smooth enough to let you open the lid with one hand.
And then there’s the RGB lighting. Now, I know RGB isn’t everyone’s cup of chai, but I quite like what Lenovo has done here. There’s a lightbar running across the front of the chassis, additional lighting accentuating the redesigned rear exhaust vents, and individually customizable RGB lighting on the keyboard. It’s a lot of lighting, sure, but it’s tastefully implemented and gives the Legion a rather striking appearance, especially in a dimly lit room.
You can customize the lighting through Lenovo’s software, or simply uise the FN + Space shortcut to cycle between presets and turn the lights off entirely. It’s a small convenience, but one that makes changing the laptop’s appearance considerably easier.
The keyboard is another highlight. Lenovo’s TrueStrike keyboard features 1.6mm key travel, well-spaced keycaps, a full numpad and per-key RGB lighting. In actual use, the keys have a nice, slightly poppy feedback while remaining soft and quiet enough for everyday typing. I found it equally comfortable for work and gaming, and the inclusion of the numpad doesn’t make the overall layout feel awkward or cramped.
Connectivity is well catered for, too. The Legion includes three USB-A ports, two USB-C connections (including Thunderbolt 4), HDMI 2.1, 2.5Gb Ethernet and a 3.5mm audio jack. All the ports are located on the sides of the chassis, leaving the rear dedicated to cooling. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 round out the wireless connectivity options.
Lenovo also includes its software utilities for managing system performance, GPU configurations and RGB lighting, allowing you to customise the laptop depending on what you’re doing. You can push the hardware harder for demanding games, or switch to a more conservative performance profile for everyday work.
There’s no pretending that the Legion Pro 7i is a thin-and-light laptop, of course. At around 2.6kg, and with an enormous 400W power adapter to carry around, it’s more suited to spending most of its time on a desk. But unlike a traditional desktop, you still have the freedom to pack it up and take that entire gaming setup with you when needed.
And perhaps that’s what I appreciate most about the Legion Pro 7i Gen 10. Lenovo hasn’t simply focused on cramming powerful hardware into a laptop and leaving everything else as an afterthought. The OLED display, comfortable keyboard, redesigned cooling and extensive connectivity all contribute to making it a machine that you can enjoy using on its own.
