The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro last year was one of my favourite gaming laptops of 2021, so I was quite excited to review it again this year. However, the Legion 5 Pro 2022 variant I reviewed is somewhat unavailable in Malaysia. In the official online store, the closest one I can find uses an RTX 3070 GPU, but mine was an RTX 3060 GPU.
Nevertheless, both variants should be more or less the same as both are using the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors. Since there’s no official price tag, I’m guessing it could be easily over RM6-RM7K, depending on the variant. To learn more about the features and performance, check out my Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (2022) review below.
Like last year’s model, the Legion 5 Pro is as big and heavy as before. It still has the same 16-inch display with the 16:10 aspect ratio, the same keyboard layout, and everything else. If anything, the only change it got this year was a 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard instead of the single white backlighting. Also, the Legion logo on the lid was changed into text form.
Still the same ol’ design
I still prefer the previous Legion logo
The side ports
The rear ports
To be frank, there isn’t much to talk about the design. But it’s great that the I/O ports remain the same as before, with most of them located behind for easier cable management. The Legion 5 Pro may still be a laptop, but I don’t find it that convenient to bring around and work on a couch because of how large and heavy it is.
Oh, since it has 4-Zone RGB support now, you can customise the colours in its native Lenovo Vantage app. The app is still the same, albeit with the new Legion Spectrum section for you RGB lovers. You can configure up to three RGB profiles with different lighting options, so that’s nice. Other than that, the features on the Vantage app are just like the typical ones in every other gaming centre program.
Lenovo Vantage is still the same
New Legion Spectrum section for you to customise your own RGB pattern
Yeeaaahhhh boi, RGBAEE
The Legion 5 Pro I reviewed features a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H processor, 16GB of RAM, a massive 2TB SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. Like its other higher variant, you should be able to top up for more memory. Also, needless to say, this laptop can tackle most of the graphics-intensive video games currently on the market.
That said, the i7-12700H processor + RTX 3060 GPU combination has a bit of limitation. It can obviously play games in high-quality graphics settings. But if you want to maximise everything, the laptop would have some trouble running it. Case in point, the Legion 5 Pro actually kind of struggled when I turned on the HD Texture and switched to max settings in Far Cry 6. Personally, the high-quality graphics setting was good enough for me.
This unit can only go up to a 165Hz refresh rate
3DMark benchmark score for the GPU
3DMark benchmark score for the CPU
PCMark 10 score with excellent results
Suffice to say, I believe you would have a great time playing any games on the Legion 5 Pro. During my two weeks testing duration, I have never experienced any gameplay lag, screen tearing and slow launches. However, I did have a weird encounter with my monitor when it connected to the laptop. After a week or so, it suddenly made my monitor’s white light shine brighter than a bald man’s head. I really had no idea what was wrong, but when I switched back to my other laptop, the monitor became back to normal.
The Legion 5 Pro also handled heat like a champ, thanks to the four vents on the back and sides. I also feel that the battery duration has improved from its predecessor. One time, I was working on the couch with the laptop, and it didn’t drain as fast as I thought it would. I would say the laptop can last up to more than three hours, depending on your workload.
A 135-minute HD TV streaming show would drain the battery from 100% to 10%. The RapidCharge function is still good as ever, using only an hour to fully charge
That said, the Legion 5 Pro display performance is superb
The trackpad is larger, so your palm may actually touch it a few times
My dad and I actually quite like typing on it
Thanks to the 2TB 4th Gen SSD, rendering this 4-minute video was super fast
Video conferencing is good with the Legion 5 Pro
It’s also worth mentioning that the webcam and mic performed quite good. For instance, I had a bunch of friends over, and we connected to a friend through a WhatsApp video call on the laptop. After they went back, I was quite surprised that nobody complained about being unable to hear anything. In addition, the sound quality was clear and doesn’t buzz at all at max volume. You will have to take my word for it.
There’s no doubt that the Legion 5 Pro is a great gaming laptop but I can’t seem to justify if you should get it or not. While it has a few improvements over its predecessor in battery duration, video conferencing, video editing and gaming, the differences are minimal. So even if you got the 2021 model, it’s still a good catch.
For some reason, this variant can’t be found in Malaysia
On the other hand, the price tag for this model doesn’t exist. Trust me, I have searched high and low on Lenovo’s official local online store, Shopee and Lazada. So assuming it’s over RM6000, most hardcore PC gamers would rather spend that money building their own gaming PCs. Plus, newer laptop models this year have increased in price. Just saying.
Tech Specs and features of the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (16IAH7H):
- 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H processor
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6
- 16GB of DDR5 RAM
- 2TB PCle SSD (Gen4) storage
- 16-inch WQHD+ 165Hz display
- Ports – 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, x2 USB Type-C (3.2 Gen 2), HDMI 2.1, Headphone/mic combo, E-Shutter Button, RJ45 LAN and Power slot
- Features – 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard, 720p Webcam, Lenovo Vantage, Adaptive Refresh Rate, Lenovo ColdFront 4.0 thermotechnology
- Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, Bluetooth Version 5.0
- Battery – 4 Cell Li-Polymer Internal Battery, supported by 300W AC Adapter Slim (3pin)-UK
- Windows 11 Home
Pros – Still as good as ever in everything that you want to do with it
Cons – Minimal upgrades and changes may determine your decision-making
Conclusion – Still a great laptop to have, only if you have the budget
