Lenovo Legion 5 (2020)

I was in need of an upgrade to my laptop to allow for better performance with video editing. As well as some gaming. My old Lenovo that was purchased for the purpose of light duty no longer cut the mustard. Through my research I had narrowed it down to a short list of laptops. 

Short List

Each laptop brought something to the table, but only one came with the ideal blend of all my requirements.

Main Specifications

Other Specifications

Specifications

There are numerous other options with similar specs from each manufacturer. The prices will fluctuate over time. But the list includes the models I was cross shopping. There is a large variation in CPU and GPU performance. The RAM isn’t as critical, as long as it can be upgraded and isn’t soldered to the motherboard. And the HDD isn’t critical as this can also be upgraded. Depending on the task you are doing it’s a pretty tight battle between the Intel i7-10750H and the AMD Ryzen 4800H. The AMD Ryzen 5 4600H also punches above its belt, and is the reason why no Intel i5 CPUs made my short list.

The GPU is the main differentiator in performance on my list. The GTX 1650 is slower than the GTX 1660TI. Which is slower than the RTX 2060. I’d be willing to go with the GTX 1650 if the price was right, say below $700. There is no getting around that it is only 4 Gb of vRAM. While the GTX 1660TI and RTX 2060 are both 6 Gb of vRAM. The GTX 1660TI I’d be willing to pay up around $1100, and the RTX 2060 I’d be willing to pay up to $1250. As can be seen the models in my list mostly meet these requirements.

Acer Nitro 5

Now I need to find a way to split these models. The screen. A screen cannot be upgraded, well neither can the CPU and GPU really. But it’s worthwhile paying a bit extra based on the screen. The 60Hz panel on the Acer Nitro 5 can’t be ignored. If the sole purpose was for video editing, then this wouldn’t be an issue, but for gaming it would. The 60 Hz panel would cause tearing on frame rates above 60 fps. Based on the specs of the CPU and GPU I’d be expecting to see above 60 fps. The remaining options are all 144 Hz at 1080P.

HP Omen 15

So all I have managed to do now is exclude the Acer Nitro 5. Which is a shame because it does have great internal HDD capacity. To split the remaining 4 laptops requires some more mental gymnastics. The HP Omen only comes with 8 Gb of RAM. This can be upgraded to 16 Gb for about $86. This would make this the most expensive option. There are sales at Bestbuy that drop this to around $1050, but it would still be more expensive than the Lenovo Legion 5. Especially considering it has largely the same specs. So it’s out.

Eluktronics RP-15

Next is the Eluktronics RP-15. Otherwise known as a TongFeng and sold under various names. This laptop is hugely customisable when ordering, so the sky, and price, is the limit. Configuring a setup to match the other laptops I’m cross shopping brings a price in a similar range. But ultimately this is crossed off the list due to the price being above budget and no discounts in sight.

Acer Helios 300

This leaves the Acer Helios 300. While this has very good specs, it didn’t make the cut as I picked up the Lenovo for $850. This makes the Helios 137% more expensive, while the 2060 GPU is likely only about 110% better than the 1660TI.

Lenovo Legion 5

This brings me to the winner, and ultimate purchase, the Lenovo Legion 5. I wasn’t a fan of the styling at first, but it grew on me. After seeing it in person, it looks better than in the photos online. While I am still setting this unit up, I already want to look into the upgrades. Playing GTAV  looks to only use 8 Gb of RAM, so no rush there and I can wait for the prices to drop. I’ll put the slave drive from my old laptop in so I can keep working on my Premiere Pro projects. But at some point I can see a need for more than 2 Tb of capacity, which might push me towards a NAS.

November, 2020