Recently, Lenovo launched the ninth-generation, gaming laptop series, the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9. Designed to push the boundaries of performance and visual fidelity, the Legion 7i Gen 9 boasts an impressive array of features aimed at gamers and content creators alike. However, potential buyers should be aware of some trade-offs in portability and noise levels with a starting price point of $1,938.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 16, which we tested at $2,441.49, offers strong competition to other high-end gaming laptops at a lower cost. It may not have all the bells and whistles of Lenovo’s top-tier Legion 9 models, but it still offers a high-quality build and powerful hardware. This makes it an excellent choice for those who want premium performance without the premium price tag. Packing an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 driving a 2,560-by-1,600-pixel screen with a 240Hz refresh rate, it’s ready for the most demanding games. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 16 is our Editor’s Choice because it’s best for high-end gaming laptops.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Key Features
- Processor: i9-14900HX
- GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6
- RAM: 32 GB DDR5-5600MHz
- Storage: 1 TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 TLC
- Display: 16-inch 3.2K (3200 x 2000) IPS display with anti-glare coating, non-touch functionality, full 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 430 nits brightness, 165Hz refresh rate, slim bezels, and low blue light technology.
- Color: Eclipse Black
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Design
The Legion 7i Gen 9 ($1,999.99 ) seen here with a Best Buy configuration with a Core i9-14900HX processor, an 8GB GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB NVMe solid-state drive.
Lenovo’s new Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 might look like the last generations of the Legion Pro 7i, but some special upgrades to make it a much better buy. With the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9, the primary problem we faced with the Gen 8 model—the poor color accuracy across gamuts—has been completely fixed. It can now be equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and an Nvidia RTX 4909 graphics card.
Pros:
- This laptop packs in a fairly sleek 16-inch laptop.
- The display panel is now more color-accurate, with better DCI-P3 coverage.
- The keyboard and touchpad are excellent, without overbearing RGB elements.
Cons:
- Battery life isn’t excellent.
- Fans can get loud during extreme workloads.
- Still heavy, weighing over 5 pounds.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Review: Specs
The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 is designed as a powerful gaming laptop to complete the requirements of both gamers and content creators. Here are some specifications with more detail:
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Processor: Intel Core i9-14900HX (E-cores up to 4.10 GHz, P-cores up to 5.80 GHz)
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU with 8GB GDDR6
- Memory: 32 GB DDR5-5600MHz (SODIMM) – configured as 2 x 16 GB
- Storage: 1 TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 TLC
- Battery: 4-cell 99.99Whr
- Display: 16-inch IPS, 3.2K resolution (3200 x 2000), Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 100% DCI-P3 color accuracy, 430 nits brightness, 165Hz refresh rate, Narrow Bezel, Low Blue Light
- Camera: 1080P FHD ( Dual Microphone with Electronic Privacy Shutter)
- Speakers: 2 x 2W Harman speaker system
- Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 4, SD card reader, HDMI 2.1
- Network: Wi-Fi 6E
- Color: Eclipse Black
- Power Adapter: 230W
This laptop is equipped with top-of-the-line hardware, ensuring high performance for demanding tasks and gaming. The Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU have exceptional processing power and graphics performance with 32 GB of high-speed DDR5 memory, multitasking and running intensive applications are handled smoothly. The 1 TB SSD has more storage space with fast data access speeds.
The display is one of the wonderful features, with a 16-inch IPS panel that has a 3.2K resolution, ensuring sharp and vibrant visuals. The 165Hz refresh rate provides smooth gameplay with 100% DCI-P3 color accuracy ensuring excellent color reproduction, making it best for content creation.
The Legion 7i Gen 9 includes a variety of ports, including USB-C, Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI 2.1, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of peripherals and external displays. The laptop also features advanced networking capabilities with Wi-Fi 6E for fast and reliable internet connections.
Overall, the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 is a well-rounded gaming laptop with powerful specs, making it the best choice for gamers and professionals who want the best performance and a premium display.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gaming Laptop Performance
The Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 features now the latest Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and the optional upgrade to Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics. However, the 14th-generation Intel processor does bring marginal — but still notable — performance improvements. Overall, games perform on the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 much like they did on the Gen 8 model with the same RTX 4080 graphics.
If you already have the Legion Pro 7i Gen 8, there isn’t need to upgrade to Gen 9. If you’re upgrading to the Legion Pro 7i from an older or less powerful gaming laptop, you’ll notice that this laptop is incredibly powerful.
We ran the Lenpvp Legion Pro, using the “performance” mode for testing. The Legion Pro 7i comes with a default setting that automatically regulates power and thermal factors for daily use. Selecting the performance setting provides an important benefit when you need the best performance and are plugged into wall power.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Review: Battery Life
Use each laptop and tablet’s battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We ensure that the battery is fully charged, connected with Wi-Fi, and the keyboard is backlighted off during the test.
We use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor to measure display performance, and use its Windows software to measure a laptop screen’s color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can reveal with its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Benchmark Scores
- PCMark 10 (AC): 8,185 (Gen 9) vs 7,570 (Gen 8)
- Geekbench 6 (single/multi): 2,884 / 16,730 (Gen 9) vs 2,760 / 16,745 (Gen 8)
- 3DMark: Time Spy Extreme: 9,428 (Gen 9) vs 8,892 (Gen 8)
- Cinebench 2024 (single / multi / GPU): 122 / 1,481 / 18,347 (Gen 9) vs N/A (Gen 8)
The Legion Pro 7i performed as expected for an RTX 4080 system, scoring much higher than RTX 4070 laptops (like the Alienware m16 R2) and lower than RTX 4090 laptops (like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16). The RTX 4080 graphics card will perform better than other RTX 4080 laptops in some instances, though, because it includes a maximum of 12GB of VRAM. Additionally, the Core i9 14900HX processor pushes the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 decisively ahead of the Gen 8 model in CPU-based tests, like PCMark 10. This year’s version also edges out last year’s in GPU-based tests like 3DMark: Time Spy Extreme. However, for the best performance, upgrading to an RTX 4090 graphics card is recommended. Real-world gameplay supports the benchmarks, showing the Legion Pro 7i is excellent but not better than an RTX 4090 laptop. Most games, including Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, and Forza Horizon 5, support the highest graphics settings by default at varying frame rate ranges. Older and less graphically demanding titles like GTA 5 consistently provided frame rates of over 100 FPS with a lot of movement, with highs of over 200 FPS during more static scenes. In the Forza Horizon 5 benchmark, the Legion Pro 7i finished flawlessly with a score of 127 FPS on the “extreme” preset. While the Legion Pro 7i’s hardware is plenty powerful, it won’t outdo the 240Hz display panel unless you turn down the graphics settings of your games.
I also happened to use the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i while reviewing the Acer SpatialLabs View Pro portable monitor, and can say that the Legion Pro 7i can power its display and a portable monitor while gaming at high levels with no problems at all. Overall, the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 with RTX 4080 graphics easily handles top games at frame rates that are more than playable — even if it isn’t quite at RTX 4090 laptops.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 Price & Availability
The Lenovo Legion 7i 16 Gen 9 price starts at $1,699.99 MSRP, but the model tested by us has a $1,999.99 price at Best Buy.
Who Should Buy Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9?
- You want a high-end gaming laptop in a 16-inch form factor.
- You need a great display with a high resolution, quick refresh rate, and great color accuracy.
- You want the best possible CPU and GPU in a gaming laptop.
Who Should Not Buy Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9?
- You’re looking for a more subtle gaming laptop that can do a lot more tasks.
- You would do fine with a lower-spec CPU and GPU.
- You’re on a budget or simply don’t want to spend over $3,000 on a gaming laptop.
For those who want to buy with the best price a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is the best choice. It was one of our favorite gaming laptops this year, and the upgrade to a 14th-generation Intel chipset helps the Gen 9 version perform better than last year’s Gen 8 model. Additionally, Lenovo fixed one of the few qualms we had with that laptop by including a much more color-accurate display on the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9. Of course, the RTX 4080 laptop GPU found inside this laptop will run even the most demanding games, and there’s the optional RTX 4090 upgrade if you think you need more power. If you are willing to pay a high price for a versatile and well-rounded gaming laptop, the Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 fits the bill excellently.
Final Take
The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 is a superb gaming laptop with excellent specifications, an attractive display, and a solid build. although it has many errors, such as poor battery life and volume, it continues to be an impressive rival in the market for high-end gaming laptops.