While Lenovo may not be a brand you think of when it comes to PC gaming, they are actually one of top producers of budget-friendly and mid-range gaming laptops. And, in this guide, we’ve highlighted five of the best Lenovo gaming laptops currently available to help you find a solid option for your needs.
Typically, when you think of the top gaming laptop brands, you think of ASUS gaming laptops, Acer Predator laptops, MSI gaming laptops, and Alienware laptops (to name a few). However, Lenovo is another brand worth considering. While they have made a name for themselves offering a range of laptop options, their gaming laptops often edge out the competition due to the attractive prices they come in at.
In this post, we’ve covered five of the best Lenovo gaming laptops currently on the market across a handful of categories and pricepoints. So, whether you’re looking for a higher-end laptop, or a solid gaming laptop under $1,000, there is likely a Lenovo laptop option listed below that will work for you.
Table of Contents
Our Picks for the Best Lenovo Gaming Laptops
The table below showcases our picks for the best Lenovo laptops for gaming. We’ve made a pick for the top Lenovo option overall, the best option for users who need a lot of storage capacity, the best Ryzen 7 option, the best Ryzen 5 option, and the best budget-friendly option, too.
|
NAME | SPECS | RATING | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK
|
Legion 5 Pro |
|
/10 | ||
STORAGE
|
Legion 5 15.6″ |
|
/10 | ||
RYZEN 7
|
Legion 5 R7 |
|
/10 | ||
RYZEN 5
|
IdeaPad (3060) |
|
/10 | ||
BUDGET
|
IdeaPad (1650) |
|
/10 |
*Read more about our choices for the best Lenovo gaming laptops listed above by clicking the “Read Review »” jump link.
1. Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
The best Lenovo gaming laptop overall
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is our current pick for the best Lenovo gaming laptop. It combines a powerful set of hardware with a unique display at an attractive price.
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Its standout feature, though, is its display. It comes with a 16.0-inch screen that has a 2560 x 1600 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate.
So, not only do you get a faster refresh rate, but you also get a higher resolution screen as well. And, the combination of the Ryzen 7 processor and the RTX 3060 GPU will be powerful enough to allow you to max out games and maintain a high enough average framerate to utilize the faster refresh rate.
The Legion 5 Pro gives you all of that for just under ~$2,000, making it one of the best RTX 3060 laptops on the market as well as one of the best Lenovo laptops, too. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a laptop option that will give you upgraded visuals and excellent in-game performance, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is worth checking out.
2. Lenovo Legion 5 15.6″
Lenovo’s top RAM and storage option
If you don’t necessarily need the higher resolution display that the Legion 5 Pro listed above comes with, but, instead, you’d like an option that has amore storage, then this Legion 5 edition laptop from Lenovo might be the better option for you.
It has the same Ryzen 7 5800H processor and RTX 3060 GPU. However, rather than coming with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, it comes with an insane 64GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD. While the extra RAM and storage space won’t give you a bump in in-game performance, it will help for anyone who is a creator as well as a gamer.
Of course, you could always upgrade the memory and the storage in the Legion 5 Pro as well. Because, in the end, while this Legion 5 edition laptop does come with more storage, it does not come with the upgraded display that the Pro edition comes with—and, this lapto comes in at ~$400 more expensive, too.
So, our recommendation would be, if you need the extra storage space and/or RAM, choose the Legion 5 Pro and add extra storage and memory as needed. However, if you don’t feel comfortable upgrading the laptop on your own and you absolutely need the extra storage and memory, the Legion 5 laptop is a solid alternative.
3. Lenovo Legion 5 R7
Lenovo’s best value Ryzen 7 gaming laptop
While the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is probably the best overall Lenovo laptop for gaming, Lenovo’s best value options are probably the next two options. This Ryzen 7-based Legion 5 laptop is an awesome option for anyone who has ~$1,000 to spend.
It comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, an NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 15.6-inch 1080P display that has a 120Hz refresh rate. The combination of the Ryzen 7 5800H processor, the RTX 3050 Ti GPU, and the 1080P 120Hz display will make for a very solid gaming experience—especially for budget-oriented competitive gamers.
Of course, the Lenovo IdeaPad listed below comes in slightly cheaper and has an upgraded GPU. Although, it does have half the RAM and a slightly weaker Ryzen 5 CPU.
In our opinion, either option is worth considering if you have ~$1,000 to spend on a gaming laptop. It will just come down to whether or not you require the bump in GPU performance, or the bump in CPU performance. If you want a budget-friendly Ryzen 7 laptop, though, this Legion 5 edition laptop is probably your best bet.
4. Lenovo IdeaPad (3060)
Lenovo’s best value Ryzen 5 gaming laptop
As mentioned above, this Lenovo IdeaPad is an excellent value gaming laptop option. At just under $1,000, it is easily the cheapest RTX 3060 laptop on the market right now.
Along with its RTX 3060 GPU, it comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080P 120Hz display.
The combination of the RTX 3060 and the Ryzen 5 5600H will be good enough to max out any game you throw at it. And, while the 8GB of RAM isn’t ideal, it is easy and inexpensive to add more memory to a laptop. In fact, you can add an additional 8GB of RAM for ~$30-$40.
Overall, this Lenovo IdeaPad Ryzen 5 laptop is one of the best gaming laptop options under $1,000. With the RTX 3060, you’d be hard-pressed to find an option in this price range that will offer as much in-game performance.
5. Lenovo IdeaPad (1650)
The best cheap Lenovo gaming laptop
If you’re looking for an even cheaper option, this Lenovo IdeaPad edition laptop might be what you’re looking for. With a pricetag of just under $700, this IdeaPad comes with a solid set of hardware for the price.
It has a Ryzen 5 5600H processor, a GTX 1650 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It also comes with a 15.6-inch 1080P display that has a 120Hz refresh rate.
While the GTX 1650 GPU isn’t going to deliver optimal performance, it is still good enough to run any game on at least lower to medium settings. And, for non-demanding games (like Rocket League or League of Legends) this laptop will handle them with ease.
So, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly gaming laptop that will perform well in non-demanding titles (especially competitive titles that will benefit from the higher 120Hz refresh rate display) this Ryzen 5 laptop from Lenovo is worth checking out.
Which Lenovo Gaming Laptop is Right for You?
Lenovo has a solid lineup of gaming laptops and the option that is right for you will depend on how much money you have to spend and your specific needs. If you’re looking for a high-end gaming laptop option, the Legion 5 Pro is probably your best bet. If you’re looking for a good value option, the Legion 5 with the RTX 3050 Ti or the IdeaPad with the RTX 3060 are awesome options. And, for an ultra-cheap option, the IdeaPad with the GTX 1650 will serve you well.