There have been some great gaming laptops announced at CES 2021 so far, with a visible trend for the "best of both worlds" to combine powerful gaming hardware with a muted, professional exterior that's suitable for working and gaming alike.
Not to be outdone, not only is Lenovo throwing its own contender into that ring, but we're seeing a small regiment of new additions to the Legion gaming range to battle various niches in the gaming laptop industry. Details for the launch dates and prices of the four Legion laptops and the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming laptop can be found below.
US Launch dates and prices
- The Lenovo Legion 7 | $1,669.99 (around £1,250, AU$2,200) | June 2021
- The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 | price unknown| May 2021
- The Lenovo Legion 5 | $769.99 (around £590, AU$1,000) | March 2021
- The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | $999.99 (around £740, AU$1,300) | March 2021
- The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 | $669.99 (around £510, AU$900) | June 2021
The new Lenovo Legion line for 2021 promises a exciting few things across the collection, starting with an 18% improvement on airflow when compared to the previous generation of Legion gaming laptops. This is credited to something called the Legion Coldfront 3.0 thermals that can improve both heat and noise management.
AI is also being integrated into the laptops to automatically enable the best settings and framerates for your game, making for a more seamless experience when you're playing. This Lenovo Legion AI engine promises to channel power between your CPU and GPU for optimal performance based on what style of game you're playing.
Whilst individual specifications have yet to be confirmed, Lenovo has stated that the range will feature next-gen AMD Ryzen mobile processors and the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX laptop GPUs, both of which are also expected to be announced at CES 2021.
The Lenovo Legion 7 is looking to be a perfect choice for gamers who don't want to compromise on power or aesthetics. A next-gen Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU and AMD Ryzen mobile CPU will be housed in a compact metal chassis, with the laptop sporting an almost edgeless 16:10 ratio display, giving you 11% more screen to display your favorite games. That's free real estate!
The display itself is 16-inches and will sport a 165Hz refresh rate, perfect for any competitive FPS players. The Corsair iCUE RGB lighting is present in several zones, such as the air outlets, bottom lip, and even individual keys on the keypad, and can be fully customized to suit your preference.
Its skinny cousin, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is also making some exciting claims, promising to outdo its previous record of being the world's lightest RTX gaming laptop with a 15.6-inch display by sporting an even thinner profile in this latest release and weighing in at just 4.2lbs.
You'll also get to enjoy the upcoming Nvidia GeForce RTX laptop GPUs and AMD Ryzen CPUs in this machine, with the option to enjoy your visuals at 4K 60Hz, or Full HD at 265Hz for those who need to hit some high frame rates.
The Lenovo Legion 5 has a minimalist appearance that makes it more suitable for anyone looking to buy a single machine for both gaming and working. You get a choice of two screen sizes at 15-inches or 17-inches.
The price is mentioned as 'from $769.99', so we don't currently know if the difference in screen size will affect the cost. once again, this laptop will feature a currently unreleased next-gen CPU and GPU from AMD Ryzen and Nvidia GeForce RTX respectively and is available in Phantom Blue with optional 4-zone RGB lighting, or in Stringray White with blue backlighting effects.
For something a little more recognizable as a gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is touted as the choice for esports competitors. Available in Stringray White or Storm Grey, it has everything mentioned in the standard Legion 5 model, with additional features such as amplified rear venting to keep the device cool during intense gaming sessions and a 16:10 aspect ratio for increased display, giving you the edge over your opponent in competitive games.
We don't currently have any information for the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 outside of its provided images, price and expected US launch date, but the previous version of the IdeaPad gaming lineup has been a solid choice for casual players who need to combine work or study with their gaming hobby. The muted, professional-looking aesthetics are a familiar sight, and we're excited to hear more updates as this information goes live over the next few days.
- Check out all of TechRadar's CES 2021 coverage. We're remotely covering the online-only show to bring you all the breaking tech news and launches, plus a smattering of hands-on reviews.
