The Lenovo Legion Y7000 ($1,099) is one of our favorite mainstream gaming laptops, as it features premium qualities at an affordable price. But how does this machine compare to our favorite budget gaming laptop, the Dell G7 15 ($899; $1,049 as tested)?
We tested both laptops within the same price range, and the Legion Y7000 forced the G7 15 into submission with its higher-quality components.
Here's how the two gaming laptops stack up.
Legion Y7000 vs. G7 15: Specs Compared
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Lenovo Legion Y7000 | Dell G7 15 |
| Starting Price (as configured) | $1099 | $899 ($1,049) |
| Display | 15.6 inches, 1920 x 1080 | 15.6 inches, 1920 x 1080 (3840 x 2160 available) |
| CPU | Core i7-8750H | Core i7-8750H |
| RAM | 16GB | 16GB (8GB available) |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU |
| SSD | 256GB SSD and 1TB 7,200-rpm HDD | 128GB SSD and 1TB 5,400-rpm HDD (256GB and 512GB available) |
| Ports | Three USB 3.1, one USB Type-C, HDMI 2.0, Mini DisplayPort 1.4, RJ45, Kensington lock slot, headphone jack | Three USB 3.1, one Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0, RJ45, 2-in-1 card reader, Noble lock slot, headphone jack |
| Colors | Iron Gray | Alpine White (Licorice Black available) |
| Size | 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.1 -- 0.9 inches | 15.3 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 5.3 pounds | 6.3 pounds |
Design
You could never place the Lenovo Legion Y7000 and the Dell G7 15 in the realm of gaudy gamer laptops, as both have refreshingly understated designs.
The G7 15 has a plastic lid painted in a sleek Alpine White, while the Legion Y7000 dons an Iron Gray aluminum hood with sports-car-like curves and a stylishly lit Legion logo. The G7 15 has an additional Licorice Black color to choose from, if you're not feeling the white.
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The Legion Y7000 has the edge when it comes to the interior, sporting a black, uniformed look, compared with the G7 15's blue-tinted gamer aesthetic. And while the G7 15's webcam is in the right place (on top), the Legion Y7000 has a cleaner display area with superslim bezels.
At 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.1 -- 0.9 inches and 5.3 pounds, the Legion Y7000 has a slimmer and lighter profile than the G7 15, which measures 15.3 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches and weighs 6.3 pounds.
Overall, the Legion Y7000 crushes the G7 15 with its kickass design.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Y7000
Ports
In terms of ports, the two laptops are relatively similar. With the Legion, you get three USB 3.1 ports, one USB Type-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, a Mini DisplayPort 1.4, an RJ45 port, a Kensington lock slot and a headphone jack. In comparison, the G7 15 has three USB 3.1 ports, one Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI 2.0 port, an RJ45 port, a 2-in-1 card reader, a Noble lock slot and a headphone jack.
So, you have two options: a Mini DisplayPort 1.4 and a USB Type-C port, or a Thunderbolt 3 port and a 2-in-1 card reader. Your choice will depend on what's more important for your needs: speed or an extra display port.
Winner: Draw
Display
Although both the Lenovo Legion Y7000 and the Dell G7 15 have 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 matte panels, the Legion's levels of color and brightness rivaled what you'd expect from a premium gaming laptop.
I watched the trailer for Hellboy; the titular character's red skin glowed on the Legion's panel, but he looked somewhat lifeless on the G7 15's screen. The Legion also provided better contrast, allowing me to clearly see the wall behind the monitors, while the G7 15 covered parts of the background in shadows.
According to our colorimeter, the Legion Y7000 covered a spectacular 153 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, while the G7 15 managed a measly 62 percent.
With 277 nits of brightness, the Legion Y7000 once again surpassed the G7 15, which averaged only 232 nits.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Y7000
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Legion Y7000's keys felt like magic against my fingertips, as they delivered punchy and satisfying feedback. The G7 15's keyboard was clicky, but the shallow key travel made typing slightly uncomfortable.
With the Legion, I hit 78 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, and with the G7 15, I averaged only 60 wpm. This makes sense, because the Legion's keyboard has 1.4 millimeters of travel, while the G7 15's has only 0.9 mm. We typically prefer a key travel of between 1.5 and 2.0 mm.
There's a little more real estate on the G7 15's 4.1 x 3.1-inch touchpad, as the Legion's pad measures 4.1 x 2.7 inches. However, the G7 15's touchpad has a sandpaper-esque matte texture, which isn't nearly as comfortable as the Legion's silky-smooth touchpad.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Y7000
Gaming, Graphics and VR
The Lenovo Legion Y7000 and the Dell G7 15 are armed with the same Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU with 6GB of VRAM. And although the benchmarks are mostly similar, the Legion takes the win.
On Rise of the Tomb Raider (Very High settings at 1080p), the Legion averaged 37 frames per second, and the G7 15 wasn't far behind, at 35 fps.
The Legion took the lead again on the Hitman benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), nailing 70 fps and sliding past the G7 15's 63 fps.
The two laptops were practically gnawing at each other for the top spot on the Grand Theft Auto V test (Very High, 1080p); the Legion and the G7 15 were one frame apart, at 46 and 45 fps, respectively.
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On the SteamVR Performance Test, the Legion scored 7 out of 11, while the G7 15 fell just short with a 6.3, making Lenovo's laptop better suited for virtual reality.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Y7000
Performance
With a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor and 16GB of RAM, both of these babies can power through whatever you throw at them. But the Legion can do it slightly faster.
On the Geekbench 4.1 overall performance test, the Legion scored 22,474, which surpasses the G7 15's 20,812.
The Legion Y7000 took 38 seconds to match 65,000 names and addresses on our Excel test, while the G7 15 took 41 seconds.
On the HandBrake benchmark, the Legion Y7000 transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 9 minutes and 24 seconds, topping the G7 15's 10 minutes and 40 seconds.
The Legion's 256GB SSD copied 4.97GB of data in 8 seconds, for a rate of 636 megabytes per second. In comparison, the G7 15's 128GB SSD took 45 seconds, for a sluggish 113 MBps.
Winner: Lenovo Legion Y7000
Battery Life
For a pair of gaming laptops, the Lenovo Legion Y7000 and the Dell G7 15 offer impressive battery life. After continuously surfing the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the G7 15 lasted a solid 5 hours and 37 minutes. The Legion was over an hour behind, enduring 4 hours and 28 minutes.
Winner: Dell G7 15
Value and Configurations
The Legion Y7000 crushes it on value, but the G7 15 has a plethora of configurations to choose from.
The Legion I tested costs $1,099 and comes with a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 1TB 7,200-rpm HDD. While it's the only configuration available, it offers great components for the price.
In comparison, the G7 15 we tested goes for $1,049 and comes packed with the same CPU, GPU and RAM as the Legion, but instead has a 128GB SSD and a 1TB 5,400-rpm HDD. To match the G7 with the Legion's specs, you'd have to get the $1,299 version.
However, you do have the option to drop the G7 to $899, which will get you a GTX 1050 Ti GPU and 8GB of RAM. You can even max it out to $1,599 to get a 512GB SSD and a 3840 x 2160 display.
Winner: Draw
Overall Winner
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Lenovo Legion Y7000 | Dell G7 15 |
| Design (10) | 9 | 7 |
| Ports (10) | 8 | 8 |
| Display (15) | 14 | 9 |
| Keyboard/Touchpad (15) | 14 | 11 |
| Gaming, Graphics and VR (15) | 13 | 12 |
| Performance (15) | 13 | 11 |
| Battery Life (10) | 7 | 8 |
| Value and Configs (10) | 8 | 8 |
| Overall (100) | 86 | 74 |
The Dell G7 15 held its ground in the later rounds, but the Lenovo Legion Y7000 made short work of the G7 15 when it came to the design, display and keyboard — enough that it completely turned the tide of the battle.
If you want better battery life and more customizable configurations, then the Dell G7 15 is a solid alternative. It's also a strong performer and holds its own against the Legion on most major benchmarks.
But overall, the Lenovo Legion Y7000 is the best gaming laptop you can get in the sub-$1,500 price range.
Credit: Laptop Mag
