The new Lenovo Legion Slim 5i and 5 have just been announced — packing an AI-driven superpower to make the most of a stacked spec list.
Now, I could go on about the introduction of 13th Gen Intel or 7th Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs, the upgrade to RTX 40 series GPUs, the sleek metallic construction (as thin as 0.86 inches), and the full-sized TrueStrike keyboard. But the first two are to be expected, and we’ve already fallen in love with the latter two in past models.
So rather than that, let’s take a look at the five big features that you should get psyched about in these new performant powerhouses
1. Meet the LA1 AI chip
I call it the secret sauce because this AI chip is the key to a lot of the exciting innovations within the new Slim 5. Namely, it is able to intelligently control the thermal performance, and allocate wattage dynamically between the CPU (up to Intel Core i7-13700H or AMD Ryzen 9 7840HS processors) and GPU (up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070).
This physical chip powers the Lenovo AI Engine+ to analyze your usage habits, evaluate the power demands of your games and applications on the fly, and adjust accordingly. In turn, performance is optimized and fan noise is minimized.
2. A truly beasty TDP
And about that Thermal Design Power (TDP), it can go up to a beastly 160W — pumping plenty of power through that max spec RTX 4070 GPU for super smooth gameplay (made even smoother by DLSS 3.0).
That number is pretty impressive for a laptop of this size and spec. For example, the MSI Pulse 15 is capable of reaching 140W, which means you’re going to squeeze extra potential out of similar hardware.
Of course, lower specced options of the Slim 5 will have lower power consumption if you need to keep a close eye on the energy bills. But Lenovo’s done a great job extracting more juice from these beasts.
3. Feeling the ColdFront 5.0
This TDP is possible because of the new Legion ColdFront 5.0 — the next generation of Lenovo’s thermal management tech that increases the size of heat pipes and fins to help the Legion Slim 5 keep its cool.
Beyond these, you’ll find a phase change thermal compound for better heat dissipation, increased air intakes and exhaust ports, and a faster 12V dual liquid polymer fan system. All of this works together with the AI Engine+ to deliver on virtually eliminating throttling.
4. Speedy charging whenever you need it (even on USB-C)
Now, it’s time to turn our attention to the up to 80Wh battery in the system. Lenovo touts up to eight hours of stamina (based on continuous 1080p video playback on the display set to 200 nits of brightness). Translation: in normal daily use, you’re not going to hit that number, and gaming will drain it far quicker than that.
So, is there any way to juice it up quickly when you’re in a bind? With Super Rapid Charge, the answer is “yes.” Of course, you get this fast charging with the dedicated power brick — up to 30% in 10 minutes and a full charge in 80 minutes.
But with a USB-C port that supports a monstrous 140W charging, you could use something a little more portable that doesn’t take up your backpack!
5. That display, though
Now for the portal into your gaming — the PureSight gaming display continues to go from strength to strength. The big jump here when compared to the likes of the Gen 7 Legion 5i Pro is a jump up to a potential 240Hz variable refresh rate.
Alongside this, the productivity (and strategy game) friendly 16:10 aspect ratio and WQXGA (2560 x 1600) resolution keeps details nice and sharp, with punchy contrast courtesy of DisplayHDR 400.
Oh, and if you opt for the 14-inch model, you can even pick an OLED display too, which is sure to make colors pop with vividity on this smaller panel.
Outlook
As you can see, there’s a lot to get excited about with the Legion Slim 5 and 5i. Even better is the fact that prices are set to start at $1,199 with an AMD Ryzen processor (starting cost of $1,349 for the Intel-based 5i).
Look for these laptops shipping in April, and thanks to this stacked spec list, premium construction, and that new AI chip, this system could slap. But we’ll wait until testing it fully to say for sure, though I'm feeling confident about my prediction.
