Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022) review

You know, top-tier laptop manufacturers have all kinds of laptops, but all of them offer a one-of-a-kind device meant for the super enthusiast. Acer has the Helios 500, MSI sells the Titan GT77, while ASUS relies on the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 with liquid-cooled CPU and GPU. Where does Lenovo stand in this fierce world?

Well, Lenovo has the Legion 7. While it is arguably the most powerful laptop on the company’s roster, it represents an entirely different philosophy than the aforementioned beasts. The Legion 7 (16″, 2022) is elegant, stylish, and it would have been classy if it wasn’t for the Christmas spectacle that’s going on with the RGB LEDs found everywhere around it.

But hold your horses. There is something even more exciting – Lenovo was bold enough to go full AMD on the Legion 7 16ARHA7 specification. It can be equipped with the Ryzen 9 6900HX, and the Radeon RX 6850M XT graphics card. Automatically, this means that you can rely on the AMD SmartShift and Smart Access Memory technologies.

Furthermore, it features a MUX switch, and out-of-this-world display options, both of which come with 2560 by 1600p resolution, with the main difference being the refresh rate – 165Hz vs 240Hz.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-legion-7-16-amd-2022/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Lenovo Legion 7 (16" AMD, 2022) - Specs

  • BOE NE160QDM-NY1 (BOE0A9B)
  • Color accuracy  2.2  1.3
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 2000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 32GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Home, No OS, Windows 11 Pro
  • Battery
  • 99.99Wh
  • Body material
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 358.1 x 263.5 x 19.4 mm (14.10" x 10.37" x 0.76")
  • Weight
  • 2.53 kg (5.6 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 4.0, DisplayPort
  • HDMI
  • 2.1 (8K@60Hz / 4K@120Hz)
  • Card reader
  • Ethernet LAN
  • 10, 100, 1000, 2500 Mbit/s
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.1
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Web camera
  • FHD with e-camera shutter, fixed focus
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Microphone
  • Speakers
  • 2x 2W Stereo Speakers, audio by HARMAN, optimized with Nahimic Audio
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

What’s in the box?

Inside the package, we found something pretty interesting. Of course, the boring stuff you get is the paperwork and the huge 300W power adapter. But on the other hand, you have a dedicated mini box. It holds four blank keycaps, as well as eight scissor mechanisms. That was pretty unexpected.


Design and construction

This machine is entirely made out of aluminum. It has a great build quality, with the lid showing some flex when twisted, while the base is very solid. The laptop looks really stylish and weighs 2.53 kg. Respectively, the profile is 19.4mm, which is absolutely mad.

As we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of LEDs all around the machine – the logo and the keyboard light up, plus there is a strip on the front of the laptop. And if you thought that this is all, the cooling vents are all being illuminated. You can control the lights via the Lenovo Vantage app.

Here, you can see that the lid has a quite big protrusion. It not only houses the Full HD Web camera, but it also serves as a tool for easy lid opening. And it is easy to open the lid indeed, thanks to the smooth hinges. The bezels around the display are also pretty thin, which is amazing.

Taking a look at the base reveals some grills surrounding the power button. It has a ring of light, which shines in a different color, depending on the power mode you have chosen – that’s Blue, White, and Red. In addition, it doubles as a fingerprint reader, which is something rather rare for a gaming device.

The keyboard itself is fantastic. It has large key caps, long key travel, and clicky feedback. This results in a super comfortable typing and gaming experience. Furthermore, the NumberPad makes accountants, who like video games, don’t feel left out.

Ultimately, the touchpad has a size of 75 by 120 mm – the same as the Legion 5 Pro. However, instead of the Mylar surface, you get glass, which has a supreme gliding experience. This results in a smoother gliding experience, as well as very accurate tracking.

If you turn the laptop upside down, you will find the two speaker cutouts. In addition, there is the ventilation grill, which supplies cool air to the two fans. By the way, the keyboard also acts as a vent for cool air. The hot one, respectively, gets exhausted through four grills – two on the back, and one on each side.

Ports

On the left side, there is a USB4, and a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2), both with DisplayPort 1.4 outputs. Then, on the right, you get a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, the camera E-shutter switch, and an Audio jack. Lastly, on the back, there is the power plug, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, an HDMI 2.1 connector, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and a LAN port.


Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance

To access this laptop’s internals, you need to undo a total of 10 Phillips-head screws. Then, pry the bottom panel, starting from the front, and lift the panel away from the chassis.

This device sports a 99.9Wh battery pack. Weirdly, it lasts only for 5 hours of Web browsing, or 30 minutes more of video playback. To take it out, you will need to unplug the connector from the motherboard. Then, undo the two SSD cooling plates, and the 6 Phillips-head screws that keep the battery in place.

Memory-wise, you get two SODIMM slots for DDR5 RAM, working at 4800MHz in dual-channel mode. As for the storage, there are two M.2 PCIe x4 slots, which support Gen 4 SSDs.

In terms of cooling, you get one chunky vapor chamber, connected to four heat sinks, and two fans.


Display quality

Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022) in the configuration we tested has a 165Hz WQXGA IPS panel – BOE NE160QDM-NY1 (BOE0A9B). Its diagonal is 16-inch (40.6 cm), and the resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels. The screen ratio is 16:10, and we are looking at a pixel density of – 189 ppi, and a pitch of 0.13 х 0.13 mm. The screen turns into Retina when viewed at distance equal to or greater than 46cm (18″) (from this distance one’s eye stops differentiating the separate pixels, and it is normal for looking at a laptop).

The viewing angles are excellent. We offer images at 45° to evaluate image quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

We measured a maximum brightness of 470 nits in the middle of the screen and 466 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of 5%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen is 7030K – colder than the optimal for the sRGB standard of 6500K.
In the illustration below you can see how the main display performs from a uniformity perspective. In other words, the leakage of light from the light source.

Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work. The contrast ratio is good – 1260:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 92% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results in factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022) with the default settings – left, and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile – right.

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 10 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)’s display doesn’t use PWM to adjust its brightness at any point. This means it is comfortable for long gaming sessions without harming your eyes in this aspect.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Gloss level measurement

Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 50.7 GU).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022) configurations with 16″ WQXGA IPS BOE NE160QDM-NY1 (BOE0A9B).

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)’s Harman speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are all clear of deviations.


Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/legion-series/legion-7-16arha7/downloads/driver-list

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device’s 99.99Wh battery pack lasts for 5 hours of Web browsing, or 5 hours and 33 minutes of video playback.

In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.


CPU options

You can pick between the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, or the Ryzen 9 6900HX.


GPU options

As for the graphics, the choices are the Radeon RX 6700M (10GB GDDR6), or the Radeon RX 6850M XT (12GB GDDR6).


Gaming tests (internal display)

Metro ExodusFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
Average FPS171 fps73 fps48 fps

Borderlands 3Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Badass (Check settings)
Average fps111 fps99 fps89 fps

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon WildlandsFull HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Very High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average112 fps99 fps76 fps

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Highest (Check settings)
Average141 fps133 fps88 fps

Gaming tests (external display)

StrayFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)
Average FPS269 fps281 fps206 fps


Far Cry 6Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS119 fps98 fps91 fps


 

Diablo ImmortalFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, V.High (Check settings)
Average FPS564 fps495 fps465 fps


Overwatch 2Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Epic (Check settings)
Average FPS433 fps250 fps182 fps


God Of WarFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Original (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS179 fps154 fps132 fps92 fps

Forza Horizon 5Full HD, V.Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
Average FPS210 fps158 fps114 fps


Days GoneFull HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Very High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS220 fps197 fps178 fps125 fps


Death StrandingFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, V.High (Check settings)
Average FPS185 fps180 fps171 fps

Call Of Duty Warzone (Caldera)Full HD, V.Low (Check settings)Full HD, Normal (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS231 fps211 fps176 fps


Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon BreakpointFull HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Very High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS128 fps127 fps121 fps116 fps


FIFA 22Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS268 fps268 fps


Resident Evil VillageFull HD, Performance (Check settings)Full HD, Balanced (Check settings)Full HD, Graphics P. (Check settings)Full HD, Max (Check settings)
Average FPS361 fps354 fps345 fps314 fps


Cyberpunk 2077 BenchmarkFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS152 fps135 fps107 fps107 fps


Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
MIN
MAX
AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT 3466 FPS PLAY VIDEO 151 FPS PLAY VIDEO

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (45W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)3.89 GHz @ 82°C @ 100W3.88 GHz @ 83°C @ 90W3.77 GHz @ 89°C @ 90W
Lenovo Legion 5 (15″, 2022)3.68 GHz @ 82°C @ 90W3.65 GHz @ 89°C @ 90W3.61 GHz @ 96°C @ 88W
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA5073.74 GHz @ 72°C @ 77W3.71 GHz @ 79°C @ 77W3.74 GHz @ 87°C @ 78W
ASUS TUF Gaming A17 FA7073.79 GHz @ 74°C @ 78W3.76 GHz @ 81°C @ 77W3.75 GHz @ 86°C @ 78W
ASUS ROG Strix G17 G713R (2022)3.77 GHz @ 77°C @ 78W3.74 GHz @ 82°C @ 78W3.76 GHz @ 80°C @ 79W
ASUS ROG Strix G15 G513R (2022)3.80 GHz @ 78°C @ 79W3.76 GHz @ 84°C @ 78W3.78 GHz @ 82°C @ 78W

Although it runs at the highest power limit we’ve seen from a Ryzen 7 6800H, the Legion 7 (16″, 2022) trades blows with the 15-inch ROG Strix G15 G513R (2022) in terms of clock speeds.

Real-life gaming

AMD Radeon RX 6850M XTGPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min)Max Fans
Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)2444 MHz @ 76°C @ 140W2451 MHz @ 82°C @ 140W

Two things here – first, this is the first laptop we ever test with this graphics card, so we can’t really tell if the behavior is normal or not. And second – Lenovo is not scared to run its Radeon RX 6850M XT hot. The core temperature reached 82°C at the end of our test, but what was more worrying is that the hotspot touched three-digit territory quite often. 100°C does look scary when you see it. Also, the 140W you see in the table is from a reading called – GPU chip power draw. So, the TGP might be different. At this very moment, neither Lenovo nor AMD with its driver, say what is the TGP of this Radeon RX 6850M XT.

Gaming comfort

The good thing is that even when the power button is illuminated in Red (meaning you are in the Extreme performance preset), the laptop is not super loud. Yes, the external temperature may reach nearly 50°C, but that’s nothing compared to the GPU hotspot.


Verdict

So, ladies and gentlemen, today you have witnessed the laptop embodiment of the Hulk. It looks sleek, if not smart – has a fantastic build quality, and to be frank, not many people would suggest that you are an owner of a gaming device. Unless you turn it on. Unless… you put it in Extreme Performance mode.

Unless… you start playing Metro Exodus at 1600p in Maximum settings and the entire laptop gets bathed in the fiery illumination of the Chinese-made hundreds of LEDs, found beneath each key cap, on a strip on the bottom panel, and on the back, where the logo makes itself visible from space.

Of course, you don’t need to be as obnoxious as we have just described. The Vantage app offers you plenty of customization options. Yes, it looks more like a business tool, than one that is meant for gamers – unlike the Dragon Center of MSI, or the Armoury Crate of ASUS.

Nevertheless, gamers are not the only people that might be interested in this truly remarkable piece of hardware. In fact, content creators are a very important target group. A – because they know what they want, and B – because they need a ton of power.

Lenovo Legion 7 (16″, 2022)’s IPS panel has a 16:10 aspect ratio, high resolution, sports comfortable viewing angles, good contrast ratio, and a non-flickering backlight. Here comes the fun part, it covers 92% of the sRGB color gamut, and its color representation is pretty accurate with our Gaming and Web design profile. Speaking of gaming, the screen features a 165Hz refresh rate and supports HDR and Free Sync. Ultimately, this results in minimal tearing. If you want to get the most out of your battery though, you have to manually change the refresh rate of the display. This happens by pressing the “Function” + “R” keys.

Also, the laptop has a MUX switch, which can be operated both through BIOS and through the Lenovo Vantage app. What it does, is provide you with the full bandwidth available to the graphics card by connecting the internal display directly to the dedicated GPU. This laptop also supports the AMD SmartShift technology, which lets the system shift more power to either the CPU or the GPU, depending on the task it has to execute.

Unfortunately, the battery life puts the Legion 7 (16″, 2022) at disadvantage over some of its competitors. Somehow, the 99.9Wh package gets drained in about five to five and a half hours of light load. This was achieved with 120 nits of brightness and a 60Hz fixed refresh rate. Going for the full 165Hz (or even 240Hz on the top-tier panel) on battery power will diminish the charge even more quickly.

But hey, who needs a good battery life, when you’ve got a ton of power, right? In addition to that, the I/O is absolutely fantastic. Lenovo has done its best to eliminate every disadvantage induced by the lack of Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. Instead, USB4 takes its place, with the help of three more USB Type-C ports. Plus, there is a LAN port, an HDMI 2.1 connector, and two regular ports. No sign of an SD card reader though, which was a bit disappointing.

On the bright side, you get two SODIMM slots for DDR5 RAM, as well as two M.2 PCIe x4 slots for Gen 4 SSDs. This will make your laptop blazingly quick.

On top of that, the keyboard of this machine is absolutely incredible. Its feedback is long, and the feedback is clicky. In fact, it is pretty similar to what a mechanical keyboard feels like. The company has even provided some spare key caps and scissor mechanisms, plus a tool that will help you change them yourself.

And here is where the big question arises. Should you rely on AMD for both your CPU and GPU? Truth be told, Intel wiped the floor with Team Red, thanks to their (Intel’s) 12th Gen processors. Also, AMD has a poor record of driver adequacy, although we had no issues with ours. At this moment in time, we would prefer an RTX 3070 Ti over the Radeon RX 6850M XT. We are going to make a thorough test on this particular GPU, and we are later going to compare it to other graphics cards of its class.

This shouldn’t stop you from buying the all-AMD Legion 7 (16″, 2022). It is fast, aims to be reliable, and even has a MUX switch, and a fingerprint reader.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-legion-7-16-amd-2022/

Pros

  • Very powerful hardware
  • 2x M.2 PCIe x4 Gen 4 slots, 2x DDR5 RAM SODIMM slots in dual channel, Wi-Fi 6
  • Covers 97% of the sRGB color gamut and has accurate color representation with our Gaming and Web design profile (BOE NE160QDM-NY1 (BOE0A9B))
  • Snappy panel with quick response times (BOE NE160QDM-NY1 (BOE0A9B))
  • FreeSync support + MUX switch
  • Has a ton of ports and a lot of RGB LEDs
  • Fantastic keyboard + fingerprint reader
  • Great build quality with an all-metal design
  • Vapor chamber


Cons

  • No SD card
  • Below-average battery life

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Niko
Niko
1 year ago

One usb is USB40 from 28 june 2022 (bios update). It support eGPU and 2xDP1.4 output. It TB4 with another name. There is not enough usb-a on the right and left for the mouse radio transmitter for right-handers and left-handers, because the signal from the radio mouse goes out a lot. if it is farther and especially if it is hidden by metal. This is a disadvantage. Also, the top-end laptop clearly lacks a high-quality 1440p@60fps webcam with autofocus and high sensor sensitivity and coated optics. Like on top smartphones. I would like RJ45 in a top-end laptop to be… Read more »