Lenovo Legion 5i Pro review: It’s super effective
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Editor’s Choice
(Image: © Future)
Laptop Mag Verdict
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is a fantastic gaming laptop — a proper powerhouse with a refined aesthetic, tons of I/O, and decent value for money.
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Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Gen 7 Specs
Price: $1,499 (starting), $1,860 (as tested)
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD
Display: 16-inch, 1440p, 165Hz, IPS
Battery: 7:30
Size: 14. 1 x 10.4 x 1 inches
Weight: 5.5 pounds
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro illustrates that 2022 has been a great year for gaming laptops. This year, we’ve seen beastly rigs push the envelope with pure, unadulterated power while others disrupted the whole industry with fascinating new form factors.
Then there’s the third category: really good gaming laptops that have been born through years of iterative development. That’s the category the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro falls into with its supreme thermal performance, great-to-use keyboard and touchpad, and its refined visual design.
I wrote about why you should just get a gaming laptop now and ignore the RTX 40 Series, because chances are you’ll see a bit of a price premium added to them. Does the Legion 5i Pro prove me right? As you can see by that score, the answer is quite the resounding “yes.”
- Lenovo Legion 5i Pro (Gen 7) at Lenovo UK for £1,699.99
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro price and configurations
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro starts at $1,499 .
I would say the retail price is listed as $1,789, but I wouldn’t believe that number for a second. From past experience, we’ve seen Lenovo up its on-site prices significantly to make the actual cost look like a deal.
Inflated pricing is a whole other rant for another day, but to prove my point, a configuration with the same specs is on Amazon for the same price — with no indication of a discount. So, just ignore the original pricing published on the Legion 5i Pro’s page. As of this writing, its current price tag is the laptop’s true valuation.
To match the specs we got in both of our laptops:
- Intel Core i7-12700H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,860
- Same as above, but with 32GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD: $2,050
This puts it squarely in the same territory as the likes of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 ($2,000) and more powerful versions of the MSI Vector GP76 ($2,699).
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro design
(Image credit: Future)
In a tidal wave of super masculine-looking gaming laptops, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro (and 5 Pro) is a sleek system that you would not be embarrassed to whip out in public.
That’s quite the achievement, given the massive 16-inch display this thing is packing.
The external shell is adorned with refined, polished stylings, from its metallic-gray lid to the premium plastic underside and rear chin.
The RGB is kept tastefully minimal so it doesn’t look like you’re hosting a rave party on your deck. Plus, the dimensions are tight and the weight is respectable at 14.1 x 10.4 x 1 inches and 5.5 pounds.
This is a svelte system that, quite frankly, embarrasses the Vector GP76 (15.6 x 11.2 x 1 inches, 6.4 pounds), but doesn’t quite match the svelte nature of the ROG Zephyrus G15 (14 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches, 4.8 pounds). This aside, it’s abundantly clear that you’re getting something nice here.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro ports
(Image credit: Future)
The 5i Pro packs a decent selection of ports for all your gaming and productivity needs; it even packs some on the back to keep the sides cable-free.
Starting at the rear, you’ve got two USB-A 3.
2 Gen 1, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort 1.4 support and power delivery, HDMI, Ethernet and a proprietary power port.
(Image credit: Future)
On the right, there’s another USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, an E-shutter switch, and an audio combo jack. And finally, the left side packs Thunderbolt 4 port and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports.
If you do need more I/O options, check out our best laptop docking stations and best USB Type-C hubs pages. But for the majority of you, this selection should be enough.
(Image credit: Future)
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro display
Sticking true to the previous generation of Legion 5 Pro, you’re getting a 16-inch IPS panel with QHD resolution and an 165Hz refresh rate, and put simply, it’s quite the looker.
In our testing, the 5i Pro blows past the premium gaming laptop average brightness with an impressive 473.8 nits, which destroys the ROG Zephyrus G15 (325 nits) and the MSI Vector GP76 (316 nits).
(Image credit: Future)
When you hear “IPS,” it’s good tech to use for high refresh rates, but the vividness of color is usually a little lacking.
However, Lenovo has proved us wrong in our colorimeter test, reproducing 80% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. That pips the ROG Zephyrus G15 to the post (79.9%), but falters slightly to the GP76 (82.3%).
The end result is a bright, vivid picture that turns web slinging through New York in Marvel’s Spider-Man into a flash flood of color. And on top of that, the deep contrast facilitates every terrifying dark scene of Alien Isolation with an immersive HDR quality that makes hiding from the xenomorph all the more spine-tingling.
The decent accuracy of the display makes this a great workhorse, too, across any and all creative pro tasks, with the responsive touch interactions giving you direct interaction with your work. It’s a beauty, no matter what you throw at it, which you simply cannot take your eyes off of for one second.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro keyboard and touchpad
(Image credit: Future)
Lenovo is well known for delivering a strong typing and clicking experience in a lot of its laptops, and the Legion 5i Pro is no different — it’s a solid set of keys with a tactile feel, which welcomes your fingers with every tap, along with a comfortable plastic base that makes yourwrists feel right at home.
I typed 84 words per minute on the 10FastFingers.com typing test, which trumps my 80-wpm average. The quiet switches have that nice snap that you like to feel on a Chiclet-style keyboard and the RGB backlighting illuminates each key clearly for nighttime gameplay. It’s worth noting that while the RGB is all rainbow by default, you can customize it to be simpler.
Going further south, the 4.7 x 2.9-inch touchpad feels generous in size, which makes for long, glorious gliding moves and graceful Windows 11 multi-touch gestures, followed up with a satisfyingly snappy click.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro audio
(Image credit: Future)
The speaker system in the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is simple: a dual 2W stereo setup with Nahimic Audio. And while the end result is pretty tinny, the clarity at all volumes is surprisingly good.
Four Year Strong’s “Get Out of My Head” blasted the speakers at full volume without a single hint of distortion while preserving the details of the crunchy guitars and soaring vocals.
It’s worth noting that I tested this across all the different tuning options, including gaming, voice, music, and movie. Interestingly, while the differences are clear on other laptops, you’d be hard pushed to hear any tweaks to the tuning here — bar a little extra treble in the voice mode.
This translates well into gaming, too, with the Forza Horizon 5 cars, mixed with the drum and bass of Hospital radio, being nicely balanced at all volumes.
And while this is more about this is more about performance than audio, it’s worth noting that the fan sound is nowhere near as loud as I feared for a system this powerful — but we’ll go into thermal management later.
Of course, for the best audio experience, check out our list of best gaming headsets.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro gaming, graphics and VR
(Image credit: Future)
Let’s get into the good stuff. The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro we used for lab testing comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 video memory.
While the one I personally used double the RAM and the internal storage, the differences in benchmarking were virtually non-existent, so we’ll stick with what we have, which is a pretty damn performant powerhouse.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| 3DMark Benchmark | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 | MSI Vector GP76 | Premium average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Strike | 25482 | 20867 | 26787 | 20,867 |
| Time Spy | 12152 | 8966 | 12054 | 11,733 |
| Fire Strike Ultra | 8805 | 6064 | 7679 | 6,531 |
| Time Spy Extreme | 5903 | 4380 | 5805 | 4,778 |
| Port Royal | 7348 | 5623 | 7212 | 5,855 |
Out of the box on default settings, the Legion 5i Pro more than holds its own against its competitors while blasting past the premium gaming laptop averages.
The MSI Vector GP76 does come close in some areas, and actually beat it in 3DMark Fire Strike, but with scores this high, the difference will be negligible when taking into account the pure performance potential.
But these numbers don’t tell the full story, which is a simple one: this system more than keeps up with higher settings of the best AAA titles out there.
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| Game benchmark (1080p) | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 | MSI Vector GP76 | Premium average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assasin’s Creed Valhalla | 89 FPS | 73 FPS | 86 FPS | 78.9 FPS |
| Borderlands 3 | 98 FPS | 68 FPS | 92 FPS | 86 FPS |
| DiRT 5 | 98. 9 FPS |
67 FPS | 100.3 FPS | 87 FPS |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 81.4 FPS | 54.6 FPS | 78.3 FPS | 67 FPS |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 110 FPS | 82 FPS | 103.3 FPS | 92 FPS |
Once again, there is one game (DiRT 5) where the GP76 beats the 5i Pro, but for the remainder, Lenovo pulls out a nice lead and destroys the average scores we see for a gaming laptop of this class.
One test not completed in the lab (but done by myself) is Cyberpunk 2077 on high settings with ray tracing set to medium and no DLSS activated. At QHD resolution, I comfortably hit a frames per second average, which just goes to show this system isn’t playing around.
Now, it’s time to fiddle around with the internal modes, including a performance one that ups the wattage going into the CPU and GPU.
Surprisingly, it made little to no difference.
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| Benchmarks | Standard mode | Performance mode |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra | 7805 | 7685 |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme | 5903 | 5819 |
| 3DMark Port Royal | 7348 | 7342 |
| DiRT 5 (1080p) | 98.9 FPS | 97.9 FPS |
| DiRT 5 (1600p) | 74.87 FPS | 75.6 FPS |
| Grand Theft Auto V (1080p) | 131.2 FPS | 132.7 FPS |
| Grand Theft Auto V (1600p) | 78. 2 FPS |
79.5 FPS |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p) | 81.4 FPS | 81.2 FPS |
| Red Dead Redemption (1600p) | 53.3 FPS | 53.3 FPS |
But this is really not something to be disheartened about. In fact, it’s something that I would count as a solid win for consumer accessibility. Thanks to the Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus, a MUX switch-esque auto switcher between the iGPU and dGPU through software, you can get incredible performance without lifting a finger.
Of course, there are overclocking options for those who are brave enough to fiddle with them, but for downright gorgeous gameplay, that’s not necessary.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro performance
(Image credit: Future)
Outside of graphics performance, the 5i Pro we tested houses that 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
While the system is good for gaming for sure, the benefit of a laptop like this is its ability to do everything. It can be a fantastic beast for creative productivity, so long as it’s optimized right, and Lenovo knocked it out the park.
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| Performance benchmark | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 | MSI Vector GP76 | Premium average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 5.4 multicore | 13008 | 10017 | 12434 | 8222 |
| Handbrake (transcoding 4K footage to 1080p) | 04:29 | 06:07 | 04:40 | 05:38 |
| SSD speed test | 925. 5 MBps |
1170.2 MBps | 719 MBps | 1338.6 MBps |
In the majority of our testing, the Legion 5i Pro absolutely shined with a stellar Geekbench 5.4 CPU score that’s well above the premium average and a stellar Handbrake time. In fact, it managed to beat the 12th Gen Intel Core i9 of the MSI Vector GP76 in this field.
But then, there’s the SSD speed test, which sees it fall quite a bit behind the premium average and one of its main rivals. While this speed certainly doesn’t make this a slouch, it does mean that loading times will be a little longer, and any sort of big file loads such as Premiere Pro video timelines will be a few seconds slower.
As a whole, though, this won’t let you down when you need that extra horsepower for prosumer needs.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro battery life
(Image credit: Future)
Unlike many big screen laptops, the Legion 5i Pro’s battery life is pretty good.
In our testing, it managed to hit seven hours and 30 minutes in our non-gaming Battery Informant testing. Even though it’s not as power efficient as the ROG Zephyrus G15 (8:48), it completely annihilated the GP76 (2:44) and the premium gaming laptop average in the process (5:38).
Of course, you can run this thing down fast while gaming, as is proven by the 1:20 PCMark 10 result, but given that is 16 minutes longer than the AMD Ryzen 6000-powered Zephyrus G15, Intel is starting to show up with some real stamina potential.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro webcam
The 720p webcam is a potato, and to make matters worse, it’s not outfitted with an IR sensor for quick Windows Hello logins with your visage. Without any biometrics, your login process from startup is longer than it needs to be.
(Image credit: Future)
With a mushy quality that makes me look like a blurry mess, and an overwhelming fuzziness when placed under difficult lighting conditions, it’s not a pretty picture — literally.
I recommend checking out our best webcams page for a camera you won’t be embarrassed to use for the likes of casual streaming.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro heat
(Image credit: Future)
Inside, you’ll find a pretty impressive Legion Coldfront 4.0 thermal system, featuring five heat pipes, a dedicated CPU copper heat transfer block, and a fan that is 140% more powerful with 40% thinner blades for better heat dissipation.The end result is a system that can (just about) keep its cool under the sustained pressure of gaming.
After 15 minutes, the underside clocked in at 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the center of the keyboard hit 95.5 degrees and the touchpad remained at a lower temperature 73.5 degrees. For those who are curious, the hottest part can be found near the hinge on the underside — measuring 114.5 degrees.
For comparison, here’s another table (since I know you all love your numbers):
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Temperature Benchmark | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 | MSI Vector GP76 | Premium average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touchpad | 73. 5 degrees |
77.9 degrees | 105 degrees | 81.5 degrees |
| G/H | 95.5 degrees | 121.5 degrees | 117 degrees | 93.8 degrees |
| Underside | 97.5 degrees | 146.1 degrees | 123.5 degrees | 104.5 degrees |
| Hottest | 114.5 degrees | 160 degrees | 144.5 degrees | n/a |
While there are some areas (such as the keyboard) where the Legion 5i Pro creeps above the temperature of the premium gaming laptop average, the reality is this system has some excellent thermal management abilities.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro software and warranty
(Image credit: Future)
Much like other Lenovo laptops, the Windows install is pretty lean with no bloatware.
The only important app that’s included with the Legion 5i Pro is Lenovo Vantage. This app includes performance modes, fan modes, component monitoring, overall system settings, and hardware scan and troubleshooting features.
The Legion 5i Pro comes with a one-year limited warranty. See how Lenovo performed on our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands ranking.
Bottom line
(Image credit: Future)
2022 has been a fantastic year for gaming laptops, and the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is up there as one of the best. For its price, you’re getting a power-packed system in a sleek chassis with decent battery life, excellent thermal performance and plenty of ports for all your gaming needs.
That’s not to say it’s perfect: the webcam is pretty pants (though we’ve come to expect that from gaming laptops), there are no biometric security options, and the SSD is a little slower than its competition.
But while others brought interesting innovations to the table, such as the convertible nature of the Asus ROG Flow X16, Lenovo stuck to its guns and just gave us a damn good gaming laptop.
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro (Gen 7): Price Comparison
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Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a writer at Laptop Mag. He takes a particular interest in writing articles and creating videos about laptops, headphones and games. He has previously written for Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you’ll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn’t already.
Alienware m17 R5 (AMD Advantage): Meet the king of AMD gaming laptops
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Alienware teams with AMD to make a truly excellent laptop
Editor’s Choice
(Image: © Future)
Laptop Mag Verdict
The Alienware m17 R5 serves up big performance and endurance with a beautiful 4K display and comfy keyboard at a premium price
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Pros
- +
Sleek, futuristic design
- +
Great gaming and overall performance
- +
Super comfortable keyboard
- +
Superb battery life
- +
Loud, clean audio
Cons
- —
720p webcam
- —
Expensive
Why you can trust Laptop Mag
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Today’s best Alienware m17 R5 AMD Advantage deals
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Alienware m17 R5 (AMD Advantage) specs
Price: $2,799
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 6900XT
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6850 XT/AMD Radeon Graphics
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M. 2 SSD
Display: 17.3-inch, 4K
Battery: 6:07
Size: 14.1 x 10.2 x 1.1 inches
Weight: 5.6 pounds
I’ve been reviewing gaming laptops for about 14 years now and I have to say that I love the current state of the industry. We’re now at a place where it’s truly a competition — instead of Intel and Nvidia ruling the gaming laptop space, AMD is here making some serious noise and OEMs are starting to dance to AMD’s beat.
The latest team to make beautiful music with AMD? Alienware with the m17 R5. Boasting a AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and a Radeon RX 6850 XT GPU, the laptop is not to be trifled with. Thanks to AMD Advantage Suite, this system is optimized up the wazoo to ensure that you’re getting the best performance out of the system no matter the situation. You also get Cherry MX keys, a stunning 4K display, great speakers and a slick design to boot.
There are a few flaws, but there’s a lot to love about the $2,799 Alienware m17 R5 so much so that it earned its way onto our Best gaming laptop and Best AMD Ryzen laptops page.
Read on to find out why the notebook is deserving of all the accolades.
Alienware m17 R5 pricing and configurations
I spent a week tooling around the $2,799 AMD Advantage model of the Alienware m17 which has a 3.3-GHz AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor with 32GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, an AMD Radeon Graphics, an AMD Radeon RX 6850 XT GPU with 12GB of VRAM and a 3840 x 2160 display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3ms response rate. It’s pricey, but uber powerful.
The base model is a little more wallet friendly at $1,919. That gets you the 3.2-GHz AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU with 4GB of RAM and a 1920 x 1080 panel with 165Hz refresh rate and a 3ms response rate.
The more I see an Alienware notebook with the current Legend 2.0 design language, the more I dream of electric sheep. Any while I normally review laptops with the Lunar Light finish, this time around I’m on the Dark Side of the Moon with the m17.
It’s a grayish black that exudes mystery. Dare I touch the anodized aluminum lid? I dare. And to my extreme pleasure, it’s very fingerprint resistant.
Just like the other laptops in this line, the number 17 is etched in the bottom left corner in bold, futuristic lettering that’s simultaneously glossy and matte. The hinge gives way to the onyx black vent that hosts a series of ports encased in the honeycomb vents. An alien head tops it off literally and figuratively, waiting for you to customize its color.
(Image credit: Future)
Opening the laptop reveals the keyboard deck done up in some more of that Dark Side of the Moon. The keyboard glows seductively in its default turquoise lighting sandwiched between more honeycomb-shaped vents and the touchpad. Another glowing alien head acting as the power button sits ensconced in the venting.
The 15.6 x 11.8 x 0.6~0.9-inch m17 is a desktop replacement on the weightier side of the spectrum at 7.3 pounds. It’s heavier than the MSI Vector GP76 (6.
4 pounds, 15.6 x 11.2 x 1 inches), the Razer Blade 17 (6.1 pounds, 15.6 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches) and the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (5.7 pounds, 14 x 10.5 x 0.8 inches).
Alienware m17 R5 ports
(Image credit: Future)
Ports aplenty. Enough to give the Alienware m17 a serious battlestation in its own right an even bigger arsenal. Starting on the right, you have a pair of USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. On the left, there’s an expandable Gigabit Ethernet port with a headset jack. Along the back sits a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, another USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a full HDMI 2.1 and the DC-in.
Alienware m17 R5 display
The Alienware m17’s 17.3-inch, 4K display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3ms response rate is simply stunning. I was captivated by the trippy atmosphere in “The Silent Twins” trailer. Actors Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence’s warm brown complexions glowed with each of their faces framed by their gently feathered hairstyles.
The electric blue book cover of copies of “The Pugilist” drew the eye as did the velvet red curtains and the bright pink dress and magenta parrot-headed women with their dead white eyes in the background. I saw the delicate creases in the lead actors’ silk blouses with relative ease thanks to the sharpness of the display.
Was CyberPunk 2077 made for the m17? No, but it sure seemed like it. The neon skyline of Night City glittered almost as brightly as the stars in its sky. And when it was time for a wardrobe change, I chose a metallic red jacket that I really wish I had in real life. I could see every zipper, gear and stripe on this thing, not to mention the slight grooves in my cybernetically enhanced face.
(Image credit: Future)
As I made my way though the world of Cyberpunk 2077, FreeSync Premium was front and center preventing all manner of screen tearing, latency and stuttering which is generally not a vibe when gaming. FreeSync Premium is an adaptive sync technology that synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the GPU to keep your images super smooth.
Premium requires a 120Hz minimum refresh rate at 1080p which is perfect since the 4K iteration of the laptop sports that exact refresh rate. It also has low frame rate compensation (LFC). With LFC, if your game’s frame rate drops below the monitor’s lowest supported refresh rate, frames automatically display multiple times. This ensures you’re within the panel’s supported refresh rate range maintaining that oh-so-necessary smooth gameplay.
The colors seemed incredibly vibrant on the m17 which is why I was really surprised when we measured the panel’s color reproduction capability. It only measured 76.2% on the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is below the 85.3% premium gaming laptop. The Zephyrus Duo 16 did slightly better at 78.2% and the Vector GP76 82.3%. The Blade 17 was the ultimate winner with 117.6%.
(Image credit: Future)
There was a redemption story of sorts for the m17 in terms of brightness with the laptop averaging 436 nits. That score easily surpassed the 344-nit category average as well as the Vector (318 nits) and Blade 17 (294 nits).
But the Zephyrus proved to be the brightest in the land with 578 nits.
In case you want to mess with the display settings, the Alienware has Dolby Vision preinstalled. It includes f three presets (Bright, Dark and Vivid) to help you to achieve your optimal viewing experience. Since I want my colors bright and my contrast deep, I prefer Vivid, but you should definitely play around with the software.
Editor’s Note: The Alienware m15 R5 is the first gaming notebook to feature a panel with a whopping 480Hz refresh rate. Stay tuned for the review of this iteration of the system.
Alienware m17 R5 audio
The Alienware m17 side mounted speakers produce big sound fitting of the laptop’s size. It easily filled my smallish living and dining rooms with loud, crisp audio. Listening to the easy, breezy bop that is WizKid and Tems’ “Essence,” the horns and hypnotic percussion shared the soundscape with the delicate keyboard and had enough separation where I could focus my attention on each part of the instrumental.
The somewhat monotone vocals were silky smooth and clean.
Similar to most laptops, the low end could use a bit more oomph as the speakers were quickly overwhelmed by the thumptastic “Rodeo” by the City Girls.
As I made my way to my next mission in Cyberpunk 2077, I was impressed with the small details. For instance, I could here the tinkling from the many zippers on my jacket as I moved along with the sound of fabric rubbing against itself. And when I hacked a cloaked enemy with my sword, I was rewarded with a meaty, squelchy thud.
(Image credit: Future)
If you there’s Dolby Vision, you can be sure that Dolby Atmos can’t be too far behind. Preinstalled on the m17, Atmos features a number of presets so you can achieve your ideal audio. You get six presets (Game, Dynamic, Movie, Music, Voice and Custom) and some Movie and Music have four additional presets such as Detailed, Balanced, Warm and Off while Game has those presets plus presets for FPS, Racing, RTS and RPG.
There’s even a Performance mode that’s supposed to give you an edge during competitive gaming. And for FPS fans, there’s Sound Radar which pinpoints where an enemy combatant is creeping around. No more getting the drop on you with this enabled.
Alienware m17 R5 keyboard and touchpad
The Alienware m17’s Cherry MX keyboard with its ultra low profile keys is an absolute pleasure to type on. You get ASMR-inducing clicks from the stainless steel key switches paired with firm feedback and a 1.8mm key travel. Buoyed by mini key-shaped trampolines, I hit 80 words per minute on the 10fastfingers typing test, which is significantly better than my usual 70 wpm.
(Image credit: Future)
And while you’ll come for the clickety clack of the island-style keyboard, you’ll stay for the light show provided by the 16.8 million RGB option provided by the AlienFX utility found in Alienware Command Center. It’s here that you can choose individual colors for each individual key, alien heads and rear vent or choose one of the six preinstalled themes (Color, Rainbow Wave, Breathing, Spectrum, Scanner, Static and Color) to customize your rig.
You can also set macros, fan speed and power files.
The m17’s large touchpad meant that I was never in danger of encountering an edge as I performed multitouch gestures like pinch-zoom or three-finger flick. The large touchpad responded with near instantaneous response. The bottom corners of the input device provided a healthy click when depressed.
Alienware m17 R5 AMD Advantage
So what exactly is the advantage? Well, when it comes to AMD Advantage, it’s a suite of smart technologies designed to enhance and optimize your mobile computing experience. That means with the right settings, you can squeeze every precious piece of performance out of the 8-core system and its 16 threads running concurrently. In layman’s term, you’ve got a seriously powerful system by way of AI systems adjusting on the fly to keep the system at the top of its game (no pun intended).
(Image credit: Future)
Some of the technologies utilized include SmartShift Max which uses a series of sensors to measure data such as temperature and power consumption to a machine learning algorithm that controls optimization for both the CPU and GPU.
So when you’re gaming, the system can maintain higher clock speeds because the algorithm tells the machine to prioritize thermals and the total platform budget to the GPU which translates to higher frame rates. Conversely, SmartShift Max performs the same function for the CPU when you’re dealing with a heavy workload, providing the processor a boost when needed. You can monitor everything in real time with AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
Next on the roster is SmartShift Eco. As the name suggests, this technology focuses heavily on power profiles, automatically switching between discrete and integrated graphics when the machine is plugged in or running off the battery, extending the power when gaming. There’s also AMD Smart Access Memory that allows Ryzen 6000 processors to access the entirety of the 12GBs of GPU memory over a fast PCI Express 4.0 link thus eliminating a potential bottleneck caused by forcing the GPU to move data in small chunks due to having access to a small amount of memory at a time.
Alienware m17 R5 gaming and graphics
Alright, alright. Enough talk about algorithms and machine learning. Let’s talk actual game performance. During our testing, the Alienware m17 and its AMD Radeon AMD Radeon RX 6850 XT GPU with 12GB of VRAM showed that it takes its fun and games seriously.
At 1080p on the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla benchmark, the Alienware notched 112 fps, cruising past the 81-fps premium gaming laptop average. The competition didn’t stand a chance with the Blade 17 and Zephyrus Duo 16 with their Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPUs reaching 89 and 85 fps, respectively. The Vector (RTX 3070 Ti GPU) hit 86 fps. Switching over to 4K, the frame rate dropped to 44 fps which is still playable.
There was a reversal on the Grand Theft Auto test, with the m17 achieving 104 fps, which is just below the 109-fps category average and results posted by the Blade 17 (132 fps) and Zephyrus Duo (123 fps). At 4K, the m17 obtained 33 fps.
(Image credit: Future)
During the Metro: Exodus (1920 x 1080) DirectX 11 Ultra benchmark, the Alienware delivered 84 fps, topping the Zephryus’s 68 fps and the 72-fps premium gaming laptop average.
Running the test on 4K saw the Alienware with a result of 41 fps.
When we ran the Far Cry New Dawn test, the m17 reached 89 fps, matching the Zephyrus, but missing the 96-fps average which the Blade 17 managed to achieve. The Vector was the winner at 113 fps. On 4K, the m17 fell to 66 fps.
On the Borderlands 3 benchmark, the Alienware snatched victory with 112 fps, skating by the 85-fps average. The Blade 17, Zephyrus and Vector couldn’t grab the brass ring with scores of 99, 97 and 93 fpsl respectively. The m17 produced 44 fps at 4K.
For our last test, we used the Red Dead Redemption 2 benchmark where the Alienware m17 hit 76 fps, defeating the 68-fps category average. It was slightly short of the Vector and the Zephyrus which got 78 fps. The Blade 17 surpassed them all with 84 fps. During the 4K run, the m17 gave us 24 fps, which is below our playability threshold.
And for those non-gaming moments, the laptop switches over to its integrated AMD Radeon Graphics.
Alienware m17 R5 performance
In case you were wondering if the Alienware m17 worked as hard as it plays, the answer is yes. The 3.3-GHz AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor with 32GB of RAM brushed off everything I threw at it, including the 60 Google Chrome tabs that had a mix of Google Docs, Sheets and Presentations in addition to Tweetdeck, Twitch, YouTube and a mix of news sites.
The laptop did just as good on our synthetic tests, starting with the Geekbench 5.4 test which measures overall performance. The m17 reached 9,851, thrashing the 8,070 premium gaming laptop average. The Blade 17 (Intel Core i7-12800H CPU) managed to edge out the Alienware with a score of 9,875 while the Vector (Intel Core i9-12800HK CPU) achieved 12,434. The Zephyrus with its own Ryzen 9 6900XT CPU reached 10,124.
(Image credit: Future)
The m17 took 5 minutes and 30 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p on the HandBrake test. That’s faster than the 5:49 average and the Blade 17 (7:19).
However, both the Vector and Zephyrus were quicker to the tune of 4:40 and 5:26.
When we ran the file transfer test, the m17’s 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD duplicated 25GB of multimedia files for a transfer rate of 1,766.7 megabytes per second, shattering the 1,334.7MBps average and the Vector’s (1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD) 719.9MBps. However, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Zephyrus (2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD) which obtained 1,828.5MBps.
Alienware m17 R5 battery life
AMD continues to impress on the battery life front. The Alienware m17 managed to last 6 hours and 7 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test which consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. Is that anywhere near the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14’s ridiculous time of 11:32?
No, but the Alienware’s time is still hella impressive for a gaming laptop, it easily surpassed the 4:45 premium gaming laptop average. Meanwhile, the Blade 17 and Vector posted times of 4:33 and 2:45.
The dual screened Zephryus Duo 16 had a time of 5:49 with both screens on and 7:06 with just the main display.
Alienware m17 R5 heat
With every iteration of Alienware, the company tweaks the cooling system. With good reason as gaming laptops have powerful components in a relatively tiny space which is an invitation for a self-inflicted fire crotch. To that end, Alienware has its CryoTech cooling system. Focused on performance, the system consists of four copper heat pipes and a dual intake, quad-exhaust design that draws cool air from the top and bottom vents, and pushes exhaust out the left, right, and rear vents in order to protect your lap. The copper is 1.3% lighter which Alienware says increases the airflow by 6%.
There’s also Alienware’s patent-pending Smart Fan control technology that allows individual fans to spin-up, slow-down or remain steady independent of each other. The action is determined by the various sensors within the system. The CPU and GPU fans have 26% more fan blades that are 17% thinner, and 2% larger in diameter.
Last, but certainly not least the m17 R5 includes the largest vapor chamber Alienware’s ever employed. It’s 3.5 times larger than its predecessor.
To put the revamped system to the test, I played CyberPunk 2077 for awhile, but at 15 minutes, I measured key spots on the system. The touchpad registered 93 degrees Fahrenheit, just a couple degrees below our 95-degree comfort threshold. The keyboard’s center hit 116 degrees while the bottom was a hot 136 degrees. Well, not exactly hot as I used the laptop in my lap with only the thin fabric of my dress between my thighs and the system and came out no worse for wear.
Alienware m17 R5 webcam
A 720p webcam on a laptop that’s almost $3,000? For shame Alienware! Still, the integrated shooter is passable in a pinch, like a quick video chat session. If you want to stream, I suggest taking a gander at our best webcam page and picking out something nice for yourself.
(Image credit: Future)
Despite the resolution, I was really impressed with how well the camera handled my skin tone.
I look like I’m glowing. And while that might be due to genetics, at 5:42 a.m. when I’m dead tired, I’m going to give the m17 some credit. It did a good job of picking up some of the color in my locs, particularly the green and purple. The blue and pink, not so much. And even though there’s visual noise in the test shot, the camera still captured the fine striations in my gray dress.
Alienware m17 R5 software
I’ve already touched on Alienware Command Center which aggregates your games library, creates macros and unique light profiles and controls power and audio profiles. But the Alienware m17 comes with a few more important pieces of software. There’s Alienware Digital Delivery which allows you to purchase software at the time of purchase. When you receive the laptop, everything you bought will be there, waiting to be installed. You also get Alienware Update which keeps all your pertinent software up to date with the latest drivers and updates.
(Image credit: Future)
On the AMD front, you have AMD Link for Windows which allows you to connect to your gaming laptop via smartphone, tablet or TV for a remote gaming experience.
The AMD Radeon Software hub is where you can tweak settings for FreeSync, GPU Scaling Hotkeys and color reproduction. You can also choose between performance presets and factory reset the system.
Outside of Windows 11 software, the Alienware m17 R5 is delightfully free of bloatware. It ships with a 1-year limited warranty. See how Alienware fared during Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands, our annual special reports.
Andre 3000 and Big Boi, Salt n’ Pepa and Eric B & Rakim. Now you can add AMD and Alienware to the list of iconic duos. The collaboration has lived up to the hype and did just what they set out to do, create the most powerful 17-inch AMD gaming laptop in the Alienware m15 R5. Both the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU deliver big numbers on performance, enough to give their Intel and Nvidia-powered competitors a run for their money more often than not.
And that’s with no small help from the AMD Advantage software suite designed to squeeze every bit of performance out of the system no matter the situation.
The lovely 4K display, powerful speakers, ultra-low profile Cherry MX are the literal cherry on top. Oh and with that Legend 2.0 design, it’s just a stunner of a system.
However, for $2,799, I definitely want a 1080p webcam and for the system to be a bit more dominant with that performance. I want to win all the time, not 80% of the exchange. If you’re not convinced by an all-AMD system, check out either the Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 or the MSI Vector GP76 although both will cost you a pretty penny at $3,999 and $2,699, respectively. But if you’re ready to embrace AMD, and I think you are, the Alienware m17 R5 is the absolute way to go.
Alienware m17 R5 AMD Advantage: Price Comparison
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Sherri L. Smith has been cranking out product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011.
In that time, she’s reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones and everything in between. The resident gamer and audio junkie, Sherri was previously a managing editor for Black Web 2.0 and contributed to BET.Com and Popgadget.
Best VR Ready Gaming Laptops
VR is the future of technology and no one doubts it. The pace of development of VR technology has simply increased in 2016, and we are confident that this trend will continue to grow in the coming years.
As a reminder, in 2016 Microsoft introduced its HoloLens VR headset and Xbox One Scorpio capable of running R games. In addition, many PC manufacturers have released impressive virtual machines such as the GT73 and GT83 Titan SLI or the Alienware 15 and 17.
As VR technology becomes more accessible, many potential buyers are already looking for VR capable laptops. To make things easier for you, in this article we will list the best VR-enabled laptops available so you can learn more about the current VR-enabled laptop offering.
Note: offers subject to change. Please note that the price tag changes frequently. We recommend visiting the seller’s website to check the price. By the time you decide to buy, some items may not be available. So hurry up and hit the buy button.
ASUS ROG Strix GL502 Gaming Laptop
ASUS ROG Strix GL502 is a powerful virtual gaming laptop that is sure to blow you away in reality. Unlike traditional gaming laptops, the GL502 is extremely lightweight and strikes the perfect balance between gaming performance and portability.
As expected, it has a stylish design and is aimed at gamers. It features the latest hardware that can power it for heavy gaming or multitasking. The display can be clearly seen up to 160 degrees and there is very little color shift even when viewing from extreme positions.
NVIDIA G-SYNC perfectly synchronizes the display refresh rate with the GPU, eliminating screen tearing, stuttering and input lag. The Hyper Cool Duo-Copper cooling system uses heat pipes and a dual-fan system to independently cool the CPU and GPU.
ASUS ROG GL502 gaming laptop specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ quad-core processor (6MB cache, 2.6GHz-3.5GHz), 45W
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4 2133 MHz | Hard Disk: 256GB + 1TB SSD, 7200rpm.
- Optical drive: No | Operating system: Windows 10 Home x64
- Video card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 | Display: 15.6″ Full HD display (1920 x 1080).
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MSI VR Ready GT73VR Titan SLI-058 17.3″ Extreme Gaming Laptop
Need more information when you see a heading like the one above? MSI VR Ready GT73VR Titan is the perfect gaming laptop for many gamers, and with good reason.
This virtual reality laptop uses SteelSeries Engine 3 to customize lighting with multiple backlight colors, program personalized macros, and sync everything via the cloud. The Cooler Boost Titan technology ensures that no task is too hard for this device. Dedicated CPU and GPU thermal solutions, with a total of 10 heatpipes, enhance the laptop’s performance in extreme gaming environments. The
GT73VR Titan SLI-058 also features the latest Thunderbolt 3 technology supporting data transfer rates up to 400Gbps and dual 4K daisy-chain displays. What else would you like to ask?
With this notebook, screen tearing and shaking are a thing of the past. New IPS-level 120Hz panel with 5ms response time and ultra-fast refresh rate allows you to instantly respond to gaming actions.
MSI VR Ready GT73VR Titan SLI-058 Specifications:
- Display: 17.3″ FHD anti-glare Wide viewing angle 120Hz 5ms 94% NTSC 1920×1080 | Operating system: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6820HK Quad-Core (2.
7-3.6GHz) - Video Card: Latest NVIDIA Dual GeForce GTX1070 [SLI] 16 GB GDDR5 (8 GB x2) graphics card
- RAM: 64 GB (16 GB x4) DDR4 2400 MHz | Hard Drive: Super RAID 4, 512 GB SSD (PCIE Gen3x4) [256 GB x2] and 1 TB (SATA), 7200 rpm.
- Features: VR READY | 120Hz 5ms Monitor | Steel W / Anti-Ghost Key Series Full Color Backlit Keyboard + Silver Lining | Thunderbolt | Gaming Network Dual Killer E2400 | Killer N1535 Combo | Metal Stroy
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Don’t expect this monster to have a friendly price tag!
- Buy now on eBay
If you’re interested, check out its cousin, the MSI VR Ready GT83VR Titan SLI-024 18.4″ Extreme Gaming Laptop.
MSI GT72 Dominator G-831 17.3″ VR Ready Gaming Laptop
MSI GT72 Dominator G-831 uses the latest CPU architecture and DDR4 memory support to quench your thirst for extreme gaming. The Insanely Powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9 SeriesThe 70M delivers incredible gaming performance in an ultra-portable design.
Don’t forget to enable anti-aliasing for smooth and realistic gameplay.
Thunderbolt 3 technology allows you to transfer massive files at transfer speeds up to 40Gbps. Cooler Boost 3 cooling technology with an efficiently designed dual fan cooling system ensures your CPU and GPU can handle hours of intense gaming.
MSI’s exclusive True Color technology delivers vivid colors, stunning game details and crisp images. How about sound quality? MSI GT72 Dominator G-831 lets you fill the room and feel the bass with using high quality speakers Dyanudio . Since gaming is so important, this VR-enabled laptop gives you an unfair advantage day and night thanks to the responsive SteelSeries gaming keyboard.
MSI GT72 Dominator G-831 Specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ quad-core (2.6-3.5GHz)
- RAM: 16 GB (8 GB x2) DDR4 2133 MHz | Hard drive: 128GB M.2 SATA + 1TB (7200rpm)
- Optical drive: SuperMulti DVD | Operating system: Windows 10
- Video card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX970M 3G GDDR5 | Display: 17.
3″ FHD anti-glare IPS, 1920×1080 wide viewing angle - Features: G-Sync | Steel Series Full color backlight with anti-ghost key + silver lining | LAN: Killer Gaming Network E2400 | Wireless: Killer N1535 Combo | True Color Technology | Lightning port
MSI GT72 Dominator G-831 can be yours for less than $1400 now
- Buy now on eBay .
New HP OMEN 17 17.3” VR Gaming & Business Laptop
As you can see, the vast majority of VR-enabled laptops are gaming laptops. The HP OMEN 17 Notebook is one of the few virtual reality notebooks that a business professional can also use.
The Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ processor handles even the most demanding tasks, while the large 17.3-inch ULV IPS UWVA anti-glare display with back-lit anti-glare coating displays high-quality images.
Bang & Olufsen Quad speakers deliver powerful sound, while the HP Wide Vision HD camera with dual digital microphone is ideal for online business calls.
The
HP OMEN 17 weighs just 7.39 lbs / 3.3 kg, making it fairly light to carry around. In terms of connectivity, it offers: 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (data only), 1 mini DisplayPort, 1 HDMI, RJ-45, and 1 headphone/mic combo.
New features HP OMEN 17:
- Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ (2.6 GHz, up to 3.5 GHz, 6 MB cache, 4 cores) + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB for GDDR5)
- 17.3″ diagonal UHD 4K IPS UWVA anti-glare WLED (3840 x 2160), no DVD or CD drive
- 2TB HDD + 512GB SSD, Integrated LAN 10/100/1000 GbE, Intel 802.11ac (2×2) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 Combo
- 16 GB RAM, 6-cell lithium-ion battery, 95.8 Wh.
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You can get the new HP OMEN 17 VR ready laptop for $2,000.
- Editor’s Note: This article continues on the next page. If you’re interested in other gaming laptops, check out our wide collection of manuals.
What is a VR-enabled PC? How to check if your laptop is ready for VR?
Windows seems to be the operating system for PC gamers.
Recently, the power of the PC and virtual gaming has allowed game developers to bring their fantasy worlds to life. Thus, it became necessary to make Windows devices 9-ready.0009 Virtual Games . Fortunately, most devices running the latest version of Windows 10 have this capability. Some may be compatible if they lack this feature. In this post, we will first see what a VR Ready PC is, and then we will show you how to check if your laptop is VR Ready
What does VR Ready PC mean
Virtual Reality or VR Ready PC is a device capable of offering exciting games with rich detail, 3D graphics, comfortable gear and natural movements. This helps create a realistic environment made possible by powerful processors and lightning-fast graphics cards that render breathtaking images and augmented reality.
There are tools such as Oculus Rift Compatibility Check Tool, HTC Vive Check Tool and SteamVR Performance Test which can help you quickly check if your Windows 10 PC is ready for VR.
Let’s look at them.
Oculus Rift Compatibility Tool
Oculus, an American technology company, recently released a great tool that quickly scans your system and lets you know if your system meets the requirements of a VR headset. It performs a thorough scan of your system and gives details if you can adjust to meet or exceed the [recommended] system specifications to make your VR PC compatible.
To check if your computer meets the minimum or recommended system specifications to power your Oculus Rift, download the Oculus Rift Compatibility Tool.
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Now run the Rift Compatibility Checker on your PC.
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After a while, the Compatibility Checker will display the results and let you know if your computer meets or exceeds the recommended system specifications. If your PC meets or exceeds the recommended system specifications, you should be able to use the full Rift experience.
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If not, you can expand the cross-character entries to check what you currently have installed and whatever else you need to do to upgrade.
Please note that if your computer does not meet the minimum system specifications, your computer may not be able to run Rift at all.
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You can download tool by clicking here .
By the way, here are the recommended and minimum system specifications needed to power your Oculus Rift.
Recommended specifications
| Video card | NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater |
| CPU | Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater than |
| memory size | 8 GB + RAM |
| Video output | Compatible HDMI 1.3 output |
| USB ports | 3x USB 3.0, plus 1x USB 2.0 |
| Operating systems | Windows 7 SP1 64-bit or later |
Minimum specifications
| Video card | NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD Radeon RX 470 or higher |
| CPU | Intel i3-6100 / AMD FX4350 or higher |
| memory size | 8 GB + RAM |
| Video output | Compatible HDMI 1. 3 output |
| USB ports | 1x USB 3.0, plus 2x USB 2.0 |
| Operating systems | Windows 8 or later |
Please note that certain Rift experience requires a computer system to exceed Oculus’ minimum or recommended specifications.
Read : How to transfer Xbox One games to your Windows 10 PC using Oculus Rift.
HTC Vive Test Tool
The tool scans your system to see if it meets the minimum recommended specifications to run Vive. the entire scan takes very little time (a few seconds to a few minutes). After the test is completed, results are displayed informing the user if their computer can run the Vive or not.
If your computer does not meet the requirements, it will ask you to upgrade to a fully compatible system.
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click here download it.
SteamVR Benchmark
The tool evaluates PC VR readiness by displaying three colors
- red — Indicates that your PC is not ready or does not support VR.
