Introduction

There are a slew of products out there specifically designed around catering to a select niche of the market, if not every single product. Some of those niches are pretty small, some of them large. One that I don't think gets enough attention is content creators that also play games, as that as a niche comprised of two, often contrary objectives, yet, every once in a while, a product comes out that catches my attention as being so designed. It also seems common for 16:10 panels to be forgotten these days, but the added screen real estate offered by 16:10 panels should not be overlooked by those that find themselves being both creators and players. The 16:10 aspect ratio has nearly disappeared from the market these days, with 2560x1600 or 1920x1200 panels few and far between, although 1080p is still quite common. Content creation and a 16:10 2560x1600 resolution work quite well together. It just so happens, they also combine well in the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, a gaming machine.



Lenovo has been around for a long time, with a reputation and reach that many brands envy. From full desktop PCs and high end servers, down to laptops and peripherals Lenovo has a full product suite, including their Legion line-up, that caters directly towards the gaming sector, including many of those product categories we enthusiasts all favor, including the Legion 5 Pro, which might be the first gaming laptop to feature that 2560x1600 resolution. Lenovo say this themselves:

"Legion 5 Pro Series give you the ultimate competitive edge by pushing framerates to the limit with zero thermal throttling. Looking for a more functional experience? The Legion 5 Series delivers AI-Tuned performance with minimal fan noise so you can game anytime, anywhere."

Laptops that stay quiet and don't throttle? Color me interested.

Paired with NVIDIA RTX-series GPUs, the Legion 5 Pro is tuned for e-sports and professional users, and features an aluminium and magnesium blended metal body, support for dual M.2 devices, and of course, that 2560x1600 IPS panel.

Packaging and Contents

What arrived on my doorstep was a well-used and well trodden box. Yet even so, the inner packaging has held up pretty darn good.


Here's a list of everything I found with the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro:

• Laptop in cloth bag
• Warranty card and quick start guide
• Battery charger and cable

The provided adapter has Lenovo branding on it, stating a 300 W output capacity. That is fairly high for any laptop in the Alder Lake platform.

A Closer Look

I really like the top of the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. Subtle angles across the lid give it a nice "racy" feel. The underside is perfectly smooth other than the fan grille on one side. Several rubber feet poke out the bottom, so fresh air can flow, feeding the fans.


On the left side we find two USB-C ports, one capable of Thunderbolt 4. The right ports feature a Type-A port, a headphone jack and a switch that disables the camera.


On the rear we find Ethernet, USB C Power, HDMI, two USB Type-A ports, and the power plug. The front mic array sits low on the screen bezel, two dots above the power button.


Below the power button is the keyboard, featuring four independent RGB zones. The trackpad on the bottom edge of the deck is fairly large, with a decent feel to it and solid click action.

A look Inside

Peering inside the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro reveals a fairly standard layout, with plenty of heat shielding and some huge heatpipes all around. The two fans at either corner feature a large number of fine blades, helping the cooling system stay quiet under load, while still moving a fair amount of air.


We find a 80 Wh battery installed on the bottom edge of the internals, while the DDR5 system memory is installed in the middle, above the battery, under a black metal protective square. It's worth noting that although this model only has 16 GB of DDR5, comprised of two 8 GB modules.


There are two M.2 drive locations, on either side of the board. These also feature metal covers over them, as is becoming fairly standard these days. All this heat shielding should help evenly disperse system heat, making the fans have less of a job to do under general usage models.