We tested the Legion 7 Gen 7 and the Legion 7i Gen 7 to confirm what we already knew about the Lenovo Legion series- it is an impressive line of gaming laptops that can compete with desktop rigs. Both had high-level AMD and Intel CPUs, respectively.
Although the more budget-friendly Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Gen 7 (starts at $1,279.99; $1,749.99 as tested) may not have the same power as other notebooks, it is a surprisingly portable 16-inch laptop that can be taken to both gaming gatherings and cafés with ease.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Gen 7
The Slim 7 edges close to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 when it comes to being a great larger-screened alternative, but falls short of the latter’s record of having earned Editors’ Choice honors.
Pros
- Find a lightweight gaming laptop
- Modern minimalist style
- Keyboard with a large touchpad that is full-sized
- SD card reader and webcam toggle for security
Cons
- Short-lasting battery life
- No Ethernet port
- Cooling fans become noisy when overworked.
- The thin lid may bend if handled improperly
Appearance
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has been designed to contrast the usual loud noise and outward appearance of a typical gaming laptop. It offers high-performance gaming abilities without ostentatious RGB accents or branding.
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Measurement
This 16-inch gaming laptop is 0.67 by 14.1 by 10.2 inches (HWD) and 4.9 pounds, making it smaller and lighter than other 15.6-inch gaming laptops.
Its lightweight is probably a result of its anodized aluminum body which runs cool to the touch and does not attract fingerprints as much as I expected it would.
Processor
The basic model of the Legion Slim 7 has an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor and a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel screen. However, our review unit also had an eight-core 3.3GHz Ryzen 9 6900HX chip and a 2,560-by-1,600-pixel IPS panel with a 165Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync support.
This machine also offers 16GB of memory, 1TB NVMe solid-state drive, and AMD’s 8GB Radeon RX 6800S laptop GPU.
Ventilation
Due to a massive set of vents on the underside, the Slim 7 Gen 7 is able to stay cool even during intense gaming.
Two fans are installed at each end, acting as air intakes. The back of the chassis is designed for more ventilation used for exhaust. To avoid collecting dust, it’s best not to place the intake below your laptop when gaming.
Ports
The design of the Slim 7 clearly serves as a testament to its gaming laptop status. As do other Legions, it has a bulky back to make room for the necessary cooling and extra ports.
Although there is a good selection of ports for such a slim laptop, some gamers might be unhappy that there isn’t an Ethernet port available, especially since there is a space between the power and USB-A ports with plenty of room for one.
Moreover, with the world transitioning to USB-C, it would have been great to have a side-mounted USB-A port.
Conclusion
Every year, gaming laptops get more powerful; this usually translates to an increase in mass and energy consumption with a higher price tag. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Gen 7 is a potent device that easily surpasses non-gaming notebooks of similar size.
The Slim 7 is a good pick if you’re wanting an easy-to-carry laptop that can play the newest titles, though the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 still remains our top lightweight choice—albeit more pricey and gamer-like in styling.
