Wait, the mobile RTX 4090 is actually worth it? - Lenovo Legion Pro 7i RTX 4090 Review

Since NVIDIA launched their latest mobile ADA line-up, the question remained whether the top-of-the-line RTX 4090 was worth its insane asking price.
Since we already tested Lenovo's Legion Pro 7 with the smaller RTX 4080, we thought it might be a good idea to compare both against each other to see how much more usable performance you get for the considerable upcharge.
Since both cards can easily handle modern games in QHD, we tested Lenovo's 4k 144Hz gaming monitor, the Y32P as well.
Please enjoy our full video, and for more details on the RTX 4080 SKU, please watch our review here on YouTube or head over to our written articles on the website:

English review:

German Review:

Our review unit for the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i comes with Intel's i9-13900HX, Nvidia's RTX 4090, 32 GB DDR5-5600 RAM and 2 x 1TB SSDs

Time Stamps:
0:00 – Intro, Specs
0:55 – Overview, Chassis
2:40 – Ports, Setup
3:33 – Legion Y32P display measurements
4:20 – Performance
6:37 – Gaming - Performance/ Benchmarks
8:02 – Fan Noise + Noise Samples
8:55 – Summary

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[sudiptakaran]

Thank you very much for reviewing the PWM factor of displays. I suffer from extremely painful migrane and could't understand why I was unable to stare at a monitor when others could, until I came across your reviews a few years ago. It has been a god send and since then I always check/refer to your reviews before buying monitors or laptops for myself or anyone who asks me. Thank you again.

[MrEstarion]

Damn, the 600:1 contrast of the monitor at this price is different gravy.

[furnitureandbedding]

Would love to see what this laptops performance would look like in quiet mode!

[Juggernautscottie]

Bought this laptop this week. Nothing but issues. Running hdmi 2.1 out to a 75inch Sony TV. There is no audio at 120hz 4k. It sometimes runs at startup then fails everytime.

I've tried a fresh windows install, updated bios and gfx drivers, tried changed cables, lengths of hdmi 2.1 cables. Disabling non essential audio outputs and the issue remains.

Very disappointed in this as I have a 4 year old XMG Fusion 15 1660ti that manages to do the same task with audio all the time.

I would strongly advise avoiding this laptop if you wish to use it as a media centre for a large TV with 120hz gaming at 4k in mind. I've returned mine for testing hoping to get a refund.

[otrOptions]

I really appreciate all you beta testers making my decision to wait on a new laptop so much easier, thank you for your services ❤

[NikolasCruz]

Did you guys notice any battery decrease during long time high performance testing? This model's Asian variant with same GAN 330w charger has several user report battery drain during gaming/testing, BIOS update will not change anything.

[goblin_attourney]

I appreciated the temps shown on the soundcheck. Nice review

[lsp]

Aussie here, EOFY sale meant this laptop with 4090 is even cheaper than some other brand with 4080, and similar price between the rest(5371 with 3 year warranty vs 5399 for ge78 4080, 4799 or 4999 for scar 16 and 18 with 4080), only laptop with 4090 that have similar price are omen 17(4843 with shorter warranty and i7) and scar 17(5599 with 1 retailer dropping down to 5139)

[awaisahmadali]

I got the 4080 version a week ago and man is this thing a beast! I really don’t have much to complain with build quality or whatsoever, With the performance that thing is packing I would say this thing is not that loud. I considered the 4090 variant but the difference was too much as I got a pretty good deal on 4080! Good review as always btw this time you spent too much talking about the monitor. :D

[rob]

I currently have a Razer 16 4080 but stomaching the price was really getting to me, however I just picked one of these up for
I got a two year warranty + the device nearly $1000 cheaper than this blade cost me.
I love the blade build quality but it does not warrant an extra $1500 for a 4090 over this device, even with MINI LED.

[ndifrekeokpo]

Your naming is wrong, the leigon 7 is the amd variant and the leigon 7i is the intel variant. The leigon pro 7 is coming with the 7945HX so pls correct this as its misleading.

[BennyTheChiller]

I hope there will be a Legion 7i with an AMD R9 7945HX + RTX 4080.

Or, even better... a 7800X3D in a notebook would be amazing, since it's so power efficient

[Mettsemmel]

How did you connect the monitor to the laptop?
With USB-C? Or a USB-C-to-Displayport-Adapter?

[jlb]

Mine arrives in a few days, though I've heard many disturbing reports that the 4090 config drains the battery while gaming under full load while connected to power... as much as 10- 15% an hour depending on the game.

[spacemanjupiter]

I have 2 questions:

1. Does the laptop display have a 120hz mode?
2. Does it throttle?

I have the Legion 7 with the 5900HX and 3080 (165W) and even though it is always in performance mode it feels like it never throttles. The cooling system keeps the CPU temp around 82 to 83 at max but it hardly ever gets that high, and the GPU almost never gets into the upper 70s and only into the 70s occasionally. I don't have any of the Lenovo software installed but I can still change the performance modes without issues and keep it on the high performance mode. What are safe temps for these CPUs?

I have been very impressed with the overall performance but the lack of 120hz mode means that even though I may get high frame rates, my frame times can sometimes be bad, which makes high frame rates pointless imo. If the game has no in game frame caps it can be a big problem getting good frame times. If it does, that makes a huge difference but I sometimes have to do weird multiples like a frame cap of 55, 82, or 83 (and of course 60 or 165) since it only has 60 and 165hz options in Nvidia control panel. It's very frustrating, so I really want to see a 120hz mode for the laptop display.

[BattleBear]

Is there a review coming for the Legion Slim 7i 2023?
Would love to see one for the i7/4060/Dualchannel-RAM model

[TotallyNotEvil]

The addition of the comparison graphs on the benchmarks section makes it remarkably more informative. You should definitely keep doing that.

I like how this review felt a bit more opinionated than usual. Somehow, it feels like you've packed a lot more information, even with screentime taken by the very lackluster monitor.

I will say, the previous chassis might be chunkier-looking while this is more angular and "modern", but I do not like how the Legion Pro lineup suddenly feel like its cutting corners. I think a big, big part of the appeal for the series has been the way it's such a well rounded, professional-feeling machine. Much of that is still there, to be clear, but there is a creeping sensation that this generation they are trying much harder to enforce their product hierarchy.

No device costing 2000+ USD should be make nitpicky compromises, like a plastic instead of glass trackpad, or removing I/O illumination, or downgrading the chassis to plastic instead of metal. Especially the ones which no doubt save the manufacturer a bare handful of dollars at most.

There has been talk about a Legion Pro 9, which would bring back the features removed from the 7-series. I see this as a sad development for a line that has been synonym with fairly priced, no compromise solutions.

[denisdavidek]

I would like an AMD option with some form of biometrics like fingerprint reader or windows hello support.

[SystemShock]

Thanks for the video! Focus more on the thermals/cooling/temperatures on future videos pretty please!

[yashj]

Does this laptop have coil whine like asus scar ones? Will it stay completely silent under light browsing or coding? Is the screen's PWM suitable for working/gaming long hours? I'll subscribe if you provide me detailed info on these.