8745HX is half the performance of others and so DON'T SELECT THIS CPU WHEN CUSTOMIZING THE LAPTOP..
This CPU is similar to most other gaming laptops with 13650HX, 7840HS, 8845HS, AMD 260, AMD 350.
You might find another laptop most likely the Legion 260 or Legion 350 which might be better since
the GPUs on this laptop has maximum of 8GB VRAM and isn't much better than a 5060.
Technical Details:
18k scores instead of 34k in multi-core.
Half the amount of cores.
2.5GHz instead of 3.6GHz Base clock.
5.1GHz insteaed of 5.3GHz.
Half L1, L2 & L3 Cache.
from the other CPUs.
Display: Choose IPS only.
Display Preferences:
Selecting the OLED Panel instead of IPS means 8745HX gets automatically selected you get half the CPU pefromance,
and if you're ready to drop that much CPU performance for an OLED display, it's better to get the Legion 350 or the Legion 260 instead.
GPU: Select comparing price/performance but don't pay a lot for 5070 if you can get a 5070Ti laptop
Since laptop has two slots and if the laptop you're getting has only one slot empty, you can easily add another for much cheaper than what Lenovo gives you and it's very very easy to do so(Surf the internet before doing it for
the first time).
Since AMD eats up RAM for it's iGPU and Windows 11 is getting more and more bloated, 24GB RAM should be the bare minimum.
Second SSD is a full size slot so an SSD from Amazon will be much cheaper.
First SSD: You can't throw away the SSD for the warranty of the laptop which can't be for four years. Even if you buy a new SSD you will have to keep this included SSD for some time. Keeping that in mind:
See the difference in SSD on going from 512GB to 1TB is it more than just buying a new SSD? If yes, get that SSD.
The only exception would be you plan on adding a lot of storage by using the 1TB from Lenovo and getting your SSD in second slot.
OS/Office 2024 NOT yearly Subscription: Buy from Microsoft if the cost is close to the ones given by Microsoft
In UK, you have to pay £90 for Windows and £120 for Office Home 2024 when you can easily get the same from Microsoft directly and that license will not be tied to the mothearboard of the laptop you're
using but to your account.
These license from Laptop Companies are OEM licenses and can't be transferred so it's tied to the current machine.
It's better to get your own license and activate it and when and if needed transfer it to other PCs.
Also, fuck subscriptions and don't get the Microsoft Subscription at all.
Wifi: 7, No Softwares/antivirus, no accessories, Battery: Highest, Camera: Highest, Color, Keyboard: Personal Preference
Pretty Clear from the title. Get the Wifi 7 as it's only a little more than the Wifi 6.
Don't get any extra software bundles like Adobe or something or any antivirus.
Get the maximum possible battery although I only see 80Whr as standard.
Both cameras are terrible but it's okay to spend a bit more for the less shit one.
Accessories from a laptop brand are usually shit and so stick to reputable brands when it comes to accessories like Mouse, Mouse pads, etc...
More information on accessories here.
Summary
India Purchase Decision VideoRest of the World(English)
You pay for excellent CPU perormance and that is exactly what you get. Little things here and there are missing which you might expect from an expensive laptop, just know that all the money went into giving you a powerful CPU, and you should
pay accordingly.
It's a very very powerful CPU and to see that you're spending so much and only getting a 5070 GPU with 8GB VRAM is heartbreaking.
My first advice to be is to check other premium laptops offering 5070Ti or AMD GPU that has more then 8GB VRAM.
Only look into this laptop during sale or extra discounts when it comes down to the cost of other 5060-70 laptops but not as much as a 5070Ti.
Little things you starts to expect when you pay lot for an expensive laptops are just missing.
Cautions
DON'T SELECT 8745HX as it's half the performance. Check this.
Selecting the OLED Panel instead of IPS means 8745HX gets automatically selected you get half the CPU pefromance,
and if you're ready to drop that much CPU performance for an OLED display, it's better to get the Legion 350 or the Legion 260 instead.
Aggressive CPU tuning done by Lenovo. To keep CPU temperatures in check, some tuning is required before running CPU heavy applications without hitting the high temperatures on the CPU.
CPU only supports 64GB RAM. If you're looking for higher RAM, go for other CPUs.
Depending on where you live(most likely china) the Lenovo's subsidary LenovoCool or Lecoo 8945HX 5060 is much cheaper and makes more sense and is much cheaper.
Bilibili showed in his video that the USB-C in this laptop actually is 54Gbps but all the details on Lenovo doesn't say that so this needs to be confirmed.
Those who also saw the Legion Pro 7i blog might wonder why for the Intel variant I said to skip it and for the AMD version I am saying, "you need CPU tuning" but still
recommend it? Isn't this CPU also hitting that high 100°C?
The answer lies in Important Note about Intel. Intel CPUs due to higher temperatures have become unstable and causing the system to crash. Undervolting sounds like a solution but it's not confirmed
if it's actually a soltuion or merely a patch which is what it feels more like instead. And even if you can get the temperatures down on the Intel CPUs, the oxidisation issues of the 13th and 14th gen CPU have shown that Intel
doesn't want to give your warranty support which means they won't give it to laptop brands also and you will end up swapping motherboards after motherboards if you have warranty and you will never be sure when your machine might
die.
Pros/Cons
Pros
CPU: 8945HX/8940HX Some serious performance:
When in controlled <85°C @110W
Multi core performance equal to Desktop Core Ultra 7 265, an i9 14900 or a laptop 13980HX
When allowed to hit 100°C @148W:
Mutli-core perforamnce is equal to a Desktop Latest Ryzen 9 9900X3D or a Destop Intel i7 14700K or Ultra 7 265KF or 13900F
Single-core performance of M3 Ultra Desktop or a Desktop Ryzen 7 7900X3D, 13700.
In gaming or workloads that require both CPU and GPU usage(but GPU heavy) the CPU stays at 86°C and the GPU at 82°C.
Build:
For a "Pro" it is NOT THAT HEAVY. Usually this class of CPU in a lapotp becomes very heavy but it's only 2.3kgs.
When not overclocked: Both GPU and GPU Memory temperatures are really low 80°C for GPU and only 64°C for Memory which is surprising as the memory temperatures are usually much higher than the GPU temperatures proving that the colooing is more
than enough for the GPU itself.
Display is very color accurate so great for people willing to do color accurate professional works like video/photo editing, 3d modelling, etc...
Neutral
Netural Good:
PTM comes pre-applied so no need to change the thermal paste for a long time(fans will need cleaning though).
Two RAM and SSD Upgrade slots.
Both SSD slots are full size although the pre-installed SSD comes of smaller size than usually avaialble.
Left side SSD when you install put some electrical tape so the chips on the SSD are not shorted by the pins on the mothboard.
Keyboard is pretty good.
Darker design pattern with no shiny RGB or logos so it can be passed as a work machine.
Neutral Doesn't Matter:
Laptop is silent in balanced mode also in non-performance heavy tasks.
Neutral Bad:
Laptop body gets dirty easily.
Speakers aren't the best or how would have expected in a laptop this expensive. Lenovo keeps it's best speakers only for the Legion 7 in gaming laptops.
Under the palm area can get hot to touch when under high load.
Cons
CPU is still the older Zen 4 (a rebranded 7945HX)and not the newer Zen 5. Thge 9955HX is much more efficient and gives better scores at lower wattage due to Zen 5 and that laptop is reviewed here.
Due to Lenovo's aggressive CPU tuning when pushing above 110W on the CPU the temperature cross 90°C on CPU heavy workloads
CPU temps are high during gaming(unless you do some manual tuning)
No SD Card reader. Kind of expected with a machine with a color accurate display.
No USB with speeds more than 10Gbps. Even the Lenovo 5 non Pro has it.
Idle power draw is very high so don't expect good battery life at all
Two vent design so the usual issues:
If used in a dusty environment the two fan design will need frequent cleaning by opening the base of the lapop, you don't have to take out the fan module so no thermal paste change needed.
Usually higher temperatures than other laptops with adequate cooling and four vent design(like comparing it to the past year's Legion)
3.5hrs battery life out of the box in normal office use.
No ports at the back so no clean setup.
Since people will be using as a desktop replacement when keeping it always plugged in, this point hurts a little.
Benchmarks
CPUs
In controlled <85°C it can still achieve good scores in C23 of 31k otherwise it can easily hit >34k but that is not what I recommend for long term performance of the laptop.
8945HX temperature vs. Power. : At 110W it still remains under 85°C8945HX drops from 34k to 31k in trying to remain under 85°CAbout 10% performance drops when trying to remain under 85°CRAW data from which charts were drawn
AAA Games: 2560x1600, Ultra Settings, No Ray Tracing, No DLSS 58 FPS→ Assassin's Creed: Shadows Preset: High Ray Tracing: Low DLSS: Quality
63 FPS→ Black Myth: Wukong Preset: High DLSS: Quality
56 FPS→ Moster Hunter Wild 2560x1600 High Quality (Next Highest) No Ray Tracing, No DLSS
101 FPS→ Shadow of the Tomb Raider
75 FPS→ Forza Horizon 5
63 FPS→ Metro Exodus
44 FPS→ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
53 FPS→ Cyberpunk 2077
eSports 1920x1080, Low Settings Overwatch 2 — 408.7 FPS
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail — 165.7 FPS
Total War: Warhammer III — Mirror of Madness — 197.3 FPS
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) — 458.6 FPS
5070 -8GB (+15% than 5060)
Expected 3D Mark Timespy: 14200
Pictures
Two RAM SlotsTwo full size SSD slotsFan module only has two vents and no side ventsThermal paste applications placesPTM comes pre-applied on the laptopSSD Standoffs can be removed so you can install both sided chips SSD.If 2242 small SSDs are installedStandoffs second picture
