I’ve been reviewing Lenovo’s Legion gaming laptops since 2019 and been always impressed with their offerings. This year, they offered me to review a new but familiar gaming laptop – the Lenovo Legion 5 in Stingray White. We are very excited to review this machine because not only does it look pristine, it is packed with the latest powerful internals.
Table of Contents
LENOVO LEGION 5 STINGRAY WHITE REVIEW SPECS:
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 5800H |
|---|---|
| RAM | 16GB DDR4-3200 |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0x4 NVMe |
| Display | 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 165Hz IPS sRGB |
| Ports | 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ; 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C DisplayPort; 1x HDMI 2.1; RJ45 Ethernet; 1x 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6 802.11ax; Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Webcam | 720p |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| SRP | P89,995 |
THE LOOKS AND FEEL
Once again, we are greeted with the familiar design of a Lenovo Legion gaming laptop. At first look, we already know that this machine is from Legion. Body is still made of plastic, which I don’t mind anymore given that the price of this laptop is lower than a high-end one. I love the soft-touch texture which adds some premium feel to the Legion 5.
The Legion 5 has a thickness of 23.57mm when opened and 26.13mm when closed. On the left side of the Legion 5 is a Type-C USB 3.1 port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the other side is a USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 port and a webcam switch.
Like its predecessors, the Legion 5 has an extended rear where the vents and several ports are found. These ports are for RJ45, USB Type-C, HDMI 2.1, three USB Type-A and one for the power brick. I always appreciate the placement of these ports for easy cable management at the back.
The keyboard layout of the Legion 5 is similar to its predecessors with the number pad on the right side. The blue LED backlight on the keyboard goes really well with the white overalls. It also makes it easier for the user to identify the keyboard. Tactile feedback is good whether for typing or gaming.
My complaint in this area is the placement of the trackpad which is off-center to the left. Whenever I game, there is a tendency that my right hand touches the trackpad. I know I can avoid this especially when using an external keyboard, but it’s still an annoying mess.
Overall, the looks of the Legion 5 in Stingray White looks very immaculate and at the same time professional. My problem here is – how hard is it to clean a white gaming laptop? Will the white paint turn yellowish after a year or two? Hopefully, not. The weight, though is now a problem for me because I’m not used to lugging around a 2.5kg gaming laptop.
THE SOUND AND DISPLAY
The Lenovo Legion 5 has a 15.6″ Full HD resolution IPS display with 165Hz refresh rate. I don’t mind the black bezels that surround the display, it actually blended well. Thankfully, Lenovo didn’t change the position of the webcam again and retained it on top of the display. However, the webcam switch, as I mentioned earlier is found on the right side of the laptop. Silly old me didn’t know that the webcam switch is on the right side of the laptop when I couldn’t find the damn thing for weeks! I would’ve appreciate it if Lenovo simply placed the switch right beside the webcam, just like in their previous models.
The Legion 5’s display offers 100% sRGB so this could be used by graphic artists for work. So far, colors on the display are bright and excellent whether for work or for entertainment.
On the sound department, I found the speakers to be on the weaker side. Turning on Nahimic’s surround sound doesn’t seem to help in all the games I’ve used it with.
THE PERFORMANCE
Under the hood of the Legion 5 Stingray White is the latest AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor paired with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. I have high regards for AMD’s newest processors and have high expectations from them. Let me share the benchmark scores we got for the Legion 5 Stingray White:
Comparing these scores with Legion 5 with AMD Ryzen 5 4600H and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, the newer Legion 5 with AMD Ryzen 7 5800H has a wide lead over its predecessor.
The Legion 5 Stingray White review unit was used extensively for office work, blogging, video editing and gaming. Absolutely, the Legion 5 can do all these tasks and much, much more. Storage is aplenty with 1TB SSD and memory is 16GB. Not sure if both storage and memory are upgradeable, I believe it depends on the SKU of the laptop.
I played three FPS games on the Legion 5: Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege and VALORANT. On Overwatch, I averaged 151 fps under Epic Settings, 226 fps in Rainbow Six Siege, and 261 fps in VALORANT. These framerates were almost similar to the results I got from my test sessions with the MSI GE66 Raider I reviewed last summer, which has an Intel 10th Gen Core i7–10870H processor. Honestly, I couldn’t feel the 165Hz fast refresh rate but I could definitely notice the silky smooth play on all the games I’ve played.
Lenovo has this Coldfront 2.0 Technology which I am a fan of since reviewing the Lenovo Legion 5i. My experience with the Legion 5 Stingray White is different though as I’ve experienced higher temps whenever I play. In Performance mode, I averaged between 86 degrees Celsius – much higher than the Performance mode in the Legion 5 with AMD Ryzen 5 4600H and GeForce GTX 1650 at 65 degrees Celsius. Fans were also loud under Performance mode. Thankfully, the heat isn’t felt in the keyboard and palm rest areas so the laptop is definitely playable while it’s literally hot.
THE BATTERY LIFE
So far, I have the Legion gaming laptops I’ve reviewed have long battery runtime and I’m confident that the Legion 5 Stingray White will not disappoint. With a built-in 80Wh battery, I was able to have a runtime of 7 hours unplugged from its charger. I reckon it would have a longer runtime but I had to leave and shut down the laptop. Take note that the 7 hours of runtime was mainly used for office work and blogging and an hour of YouTube. Not advisable to game whenever the charger is not plugged.
The 300W charging brick is big as usual, and can be a chore to bring along whenever you travel.
DR’S CONCLUSION
The Legion 5 Stingray White is another proof that gaming laptops shouldn’t always be black and have loud colors. The White Stingray color is the true definition of the Legion tagline: Stylish Outside, Savage Inside! You can play all the latest AAA games and or for creative work involving photo and video editing. It’s a bit pricey but aside from getting a unique white color, you’ll also be eligible for Lenovo’s 3-Year Premium Care Warranty.
PROS:
- White color looks really good on Legion 5
- Good built quality
- Powerful processor
- Good battery life
CONS:
- Thermals seem to be hotter than previous Legion models
- Large battery charger
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