Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8 (AMD) Review: The Smoothest Midrange Gaming Laptop

4 weeks ago

With a slim build and powerful processing, this mid-range gaming laptop delivers ultra-smooth gameplay.

Rear of nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8.

Key Takeaways

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) is simply a powerful gaming laptop pinch a slim and portable design, packed pinch features that group playing games should enjoy.
It offers soft gameplay and accelerated charging speeds, on pinch a vibrant 2.8K show and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU for high-fidelity graphics.
The laptop's creation is aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, though it uses difficult integrative successful immoderate parts of nan chassis and lacks RGB backlighting. The representation is besides not upgradeable.

Lenovo's gaming laptop statement brings powerfulness and portability to nan forefront pinch nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8). Packed pinch features gamers love, for illustration an NVIDIA GeForce GPU and a 2.8K display, this instrumentality is simply a coagulated contender for gamers who want a laptop that almost does it all.

Many of Lenovo's Legion laptops aren't what I'd telephone lightweight, truthful gamers person to sacrifice powerfulness for portability. But that's wherever nan Slim type of these powerhouses comes in, and nan Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) does a darn bully occupation of maintaining non-negotiable features while shedding immoderate weight. I've dealt pinch nan bulkier extremity of nan Legion line, having precocious reviewed nan Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 8, and while location are immoderate cons to grabbing this slimmer exemplary (such arsenic soldered representation and a lesser NVIDIA GPU), nan Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) makes up for it pinch a hardy capacity that'll suit casual to mean gamers who are consenting to walk some rate without going complete $2,000.

Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8)

$1205.27 $1439.99 Save $234.72

With a 2.8K display, Nahimic audio, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU, nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) is simply a gamer's delight. Its slim assemblage is simply a pro for those who worth portability without sacrificing power.

Operating System Windows 11 Home

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS Processor (3.80 GHz, up to 5.10 GHz Max Boost, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 16 MB Cache)

GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6 (105W) 2370MHz Boost Clock

RAM 16GB

Storage 1TB

Display (Size, Resolution) 14.5in WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800) OLED

Camera FHD 1080p, pinch E-shutter, fixed focus

Speakers Stereo speakers, 2W x2, Nahimic Audio

Colors Storm Grey

Memory Up to 32GB 6400MHz LPDDR5X (soldered, not upgradeable)

Ports 1 x SD Card reader, 1 x HDMI 2.1 (up to 8K/60Hz), 1 x 3.5mm Headphone / microphone combo jack, 1 x Power connector, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1 x pinch Always On), 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ( 2 x pinch support information transportation and DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x Power Delivery 140W)

Dimensions 12.89 x 9.87 x 0.70-0.84in (327.49 x 250.62 x 17.9-21.29mm)

Weight 3.86lbs (Less than 1.75kg)

Brand Lenovo

Model 82Y5

Adaptor and Battery 170W slim extremity (3-pin) AC adapter (100-240V), 4-cell integrated 73.6Whr battery, supports Rapid Charge Boost (get 2 hours of runtime pinch a 15-minute charge)

Card Reader 1 x Full Size SD Card Reader

Keyboard 6-row, spill-resistant chiclet keyboard pinch multimedia Fn keys, switchable keycaps, and backlighting

Audio High Definition Audio, Realtek ALC3287 codec

Connectivity Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.1, M.2 card

Box contents 1 x Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8 laptop, 1 x 170W adapter, 1 x manuals

Starting Price $1,439.99

Pros

Smooth gameplay
Fast charging speeds
Comfortable and lightweight
Excellent cooling system
2.8K graphics and NVIDIA RTX 4060

Cons

Memory not upgradeable
No RGB backlighting
Hard integrative utilized connected respective parts of chassis
So-so microphone

Design and Comfort: The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) Continues nan Tradition

Homescreen of nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8.

Lenovo's Legion Slim 5 14 looks aesthetically pleasing and feels comfortable. Its sturdy assemblage has rounded corners and soft edges—something I admit aft utilizing immoderate laptops pinch sharper corners. On nan apical lid is simply a stunning "Legion" logo successful a gunmetal gray. Flip nan lid, and there's a 14.5-inch show pinch an FHD camera integrated into nan bezel and 2 microphones connected either side.

The laptop's assemblage features a 10-keyless chiclet keyboard and a 2.95 x 4.72-inch multitouch touchpad. Above nan keyboard is nan LED-backlit powerfulness fastener (which shines reddish erstwhile charging).

The bottommost of nan instrumentality is wherever you'll find nan bulk of nan Legion Coldfront 5.0 cooling strategy (though location are different venting areas connected nan sides and laptop body), positive nan 2 2W speakers (one connected each bottommost corner).

While nan apical and bottommost of nan laptop person sturdy aluminum, it's a spot disappointing to spot nan remainder of nan chassis pinch difficult plastic—but this is an understandable tradeoff for a lighter weight.

Side and Rear Ports Galore

There's nary shortage of ports connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) laptop. On nan near broadside of nan laptop are 2 USB-C ports, while nan correct broadside of nan instrumentality has a headphone/microphone combo jack and a full-sized SD Card reader, successful summation to an e-privacy move for nan integrated camera.

The backmost of nan laptop is wherever nan remainder of nan ports are located, including an HDMI port, 2 USB-A ports, and nan powerfulness connector port. As personification who hates each nan wires that travel pinch charging devices, I appreciated nan location of nan powerfulness larboard astatine nan backmost since this meant nan AC adapter's wires were ne'er successful my way.

The Inputs: Keyboard and Trackpad

Keyboard and Trackpad connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8.

I'm a large instrumentality of nan saccharine spot of a laptop keyboard that lies location betwixt loose yet responsive and springy. For a gaming laptop, nan Legion Slim 5 pulls disconnected this equilibrium of speedy keyboard action while giving nan typist a beautiful spring-back consciousness and a pleasantly clicky sound while typing. Most gamers should beryllium happy pinch nan keyboard's action, moreover if they're awesome proponents of mechanical keyboards. The only bummer to maine was nan deficiency of RGB backlighting. Lenovo's different Legion offerings thin to person RGB backlighting arsenic standard, including nan akin Slim model, nan Legion Slim 5 16 (Gen 8), but it's absent connected nan Slim 5 14.

If you want an RGB experience, though, you tin ever put successful a mechanical keyboard to heighten your gaming.

The touchpad, meanwhile, was wonderfully responsive for scrolling, zooming, tapping, and navigating my measurement done activity and games, isolated from for those that required a USB mouse.

Display: Vibrant 2.8K Graphics

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8 laptop playing section 1 of

"Life connected Our Planet"

Whether I was streaming "Life connected Our Planet" connected Netflix, catching up connected my "Watch Later" playlist connected YouTube, aliases playing games for illustration "Life of P" and "Warhammer 40,000: Darktide," imagery sprang to life connected nan 14.5-inch OLED screen. With a maximum brightness of 400 nits and a 120Hz refresh rate, everything I watched aliases viewed looked unthinkable connected this device, nary matter what lighting I recovered myself in.

While there's a large push for 4K successful laptops, and I work together it's difficult to walk up nan thought of 4K everything, I didn't miss thing pinch nan 2.8K resolution, arsenic it was fantastic. The truth that nan Legion Slim 5 14 has an OLED show makes up for nan glare I noticed successful immoderate lighting and astir apt accounts for nan fidelity of colour opposition I enjoyed successful each media.

YouTube videos of Columbia and Scotland showed elaborate scenery of 2 different coastal locales, and features for illustration heavy mist aliases Atlantic puffins looked clear capable to touch pinch my hands.

Gaming besides brought drool-worthy graphics, nary matter erstwhile and wherever I was playing. The opposition and colour value were accordant astatine each angles.

I was particularly impressed pinch really NVIDIA's GeForce RTD 4060 GPU handled ray-tracing and opposition successful games. I've played "Warhammer 40,000: Darktide" connected respective different laptops, for illustration nan Razer Blade 18, and nan smoothness of nan graphics connected nan Legion Slim 5 made maine consciousness for illustration I was playing it for nan first clip again, marveling astatine each nan fume and occurrence and shadows.

Performance: Smooth Heavy-Load Processing

How-To Geek unfastened connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8.

I utilized nan Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) for my regular activity tasks, including but not constricted to Zoom and Google Meet calls, drafting articles, editing photos successful Adobe Photoshop, researching pinch measurement excessively galore tabs open, and listening to tunes successful nan inheritance via Spotify aliases taking a time-out pinch YouTube.

While I thin to favour Intel processors, nan AMD Ryzen 7 7840 handled tasks without skipping a beat, and AMD is notably amended for gaming. I did announcement a flimsy drop-off successful velocity erstwhile utilizing a batch of browser tabs (about 30 aliases more). The capacity stutter was negligible capable to overlook, and for nan astir part, I was sailing done workdays without emotion nan request for other cores and threads. (For reference, nan 7840 has 8 cores and 16 threads.)

I was besides impressed pinch really cool nan Legion Slim 5 14 stayed during charging aliases dense usage. I ne'er felt nan laptop's guidelines go truthful basking that I didn't want to usage it, isolated from for 1 lawsuit erstwhile I was charging while gaming and utilizing nan Legion connected my thigh alternatively of astatine a desk.

Gaming: AI-Powered High Fidelity Graphics and Smooth Gameplay

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8 laptop playing nan crippled

"The Outer Worlds"

I utilized nan default settings connected nan Legion Slim 5 14, but Lenovo's Vantage app offers plentifulness of elasticity to customize your gaming experience, including an Adaptive Refresh Rate setting, GPU Overclock, and different powerfulness proviso modes. I besides had nan Lenovo AI Engine+ mounting switched on, which automatically tunes nan CPU and GPU performance. I person to say, nan gaming capacity was 1 of nan smoothest I've seen successful a while, nary matter if I was playing games via Steam aliases Xbox PC Game Pass.

While playing "The Outer Worlds" and "Warhammer 40,000: Darktide," I noticed zero latency during combat and watched arsenic nan surface seamlessly sped done scenes. Both games played beautifully pinch nan settings connected precocious for nan eventual schematic fidelity. Similarly, "Life of P," "Forza Horizon 5," and "Apex Legends" managed an mean of 60 to 120fps and precocious settings, pinch nary capacity drops owed to nan demanding graphics.

While gaming, nan laptop's instrumentality does get alternatively loud—something gamers are utilized to. I occasionally utilized immoderate headphones to termination nan sound and enjoyed a soft thrust done countless gaming worlds.

Camera and Audio: Clear Streams and Nahimic Audio

The camera connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8 laptop.

The FHD integrated camera connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) offers clear pictures and streams pinch a bully equilibrium of colour and saturation. Many times, I find laptop cameras to beryllium somewhat disconnected successful this department, and not each 1080P cameras connection adjacent crispness. The webcam included successful nan Legion Slim 5 14 is astir arsenic bully arsenic it gets, capturing a clear watercourse successful dim aliases agleam lighting.

Although nan Legion Slim 5 14 only has 2 down-facing speakers, these mini speakers managed to put disconnected immoderate unthinkable sound. I ne'er expected fantabulous bass aliases thing adjacent to immoderate Bluetooth speakers' capabilities, but this device's speaker strategy was bully capable to make games, music, and movies immersive, acknowledgment to Nahimic Audio. From Sam Cooke to Tom Odell to Hozier, I was pleased to perceive nan sound value for tunes and recovered nan saccharine spot betwixt 60 to 85% of nan volume. Once I deed past 85%, though, things started to sound a spot crunched and muddy pinch a harsher treble, nary matter nan media.

I regularly utilized nan Nahimic app to set nan sound to my liking, but nan auto-detect characteristic did a awesome occupation of nailing down nan type of audio I was listening to, whether a movie, music, aliases gaming.

The microphone gave maine immoderate problem pinch connectivity successful Google Meet aft utilizing nan Sound Recorder app. Unfortunately, location was nary measurement to resoluteness this than to rejoin nan gathering aliases restart nan laptop—but I consciousness this was an rumor pinch Google Meet and my browser. The existent sound from nan microphone was so-so. In a quiet setting, nan mic worked fine, but successful noisy settings, nan sound was often clipped.

Microphone Test connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) successful a Quiet Environment

Microphone Test connected nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) successful a Noisy Environment

Battery and Charging: Fast Charge, Fast Drain

Charger for nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 Gen 8.

While utilizing nan Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8), I noticed a drain of astir 30 to 40% per hr while streaming pinch nan brightness astatine astir 60 to 70%, which equaled maine streaming astir 2 to 3 episodes of a show earlier having to plug in. When utilizing nan laptop during my workday, it drained astatine a velocity of astir 0.32% per minute, aliases astir 20% per hour.

Gaming, however, had a faster drain mean of 1.70% per infinitesimal aliases conscionable complete a afloat drain successful 1 hour. Staying plugged successful while gaming was a must.

Charging up was a pleasure, particularly pinch nan Rapid Charge capability. The mean velocity I saw nan Legion Slim 5 complaint up was 1.15% per minute, pinch an mean of 69% complaint per hour—and connected occasion, I did spot my artillery scope 50 to 70% successful 30 minutes of charging.

Should You Buy nan Lenovo Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) Laptop?

For gamers who want a little bulky mid-range gaming laptop, nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) offers plentifulness of note-worthy features. From nan AMD Ryzen CPU and nan NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU to its Nahimic Audio and nan 2.8K OLED display, astir casual to mean gamers will find a batch to emotion astir this device. You tin bargain nan Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 (Gen 8) coming starting astatine $1,205.27.

If you're looking for thing different, nan Lenovo Legion Slim 7i Gen 8 offers stand-out capacity for a somewhat higher price.