Another CES, another flood of gaming laptops promising the moon and maybe a few extra frames per second. You know the drill, right? New year, new silicon, same old song and dance. But here’s the thing, Lenovo, they always kinda… deliver on the gaming front. And what they just dropped for their Legion and LOQ lines? Well, it’s not exactly reinventing the wheel, but man, they’re making that wheel spin fast.

Okay, So What’s the Deal with These Legions?

Look, if you’re into gaming laptops, you know Legion. They’re usually the big, beefy boys that don’t mess around. This year, they’re not holding back. We’re talking about the Legion Pro 7i/7 and the Pro 5i/5, and the Slim 5 and 5i. The “i” just means Intel, the non-“i” is AMD. Simple enough, right?

The headline act? Intel’s 14th-gen Core processors – specifically, the i9-14900HX, which, let’s be honest, is a mouthful to say but sounds pretty darn powerful. And for the AMD folks, you’re getting the new Ryzen 8000 series chips. On the graphics side, it’s NVIDIA’s RTX 40-series GPUs all the way up to the glorious RTX 4090. Seriously, an RTX 4090 in a laptop? That’s just wild. And expensive. Really expensive, probably.

They’re touting “AI chips” and “AI accelerators” in these things, which, if I’m being honest, makes me roll my eyes a little. Everyone’s slapping “AI” on everything now. Does it actually make your games run better, or is it just for, like, better background blur on your Twitch stream? I’m skeptical. But hey, if it somehow magically boosts frame rates, I’m not gonna complain.

The Pro models, naturally, are for the hardcore. They’ve got this fancy ColdFront Hyper thermal system, which sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. Basically, it’s a super-efficient cooling system, because when you cram that much power into a laptop chassis, things get hot. Like, “cook an egg on the keyboard” hot if they don’t do it right. So, good on ’em for focusing on that.

And the Screens, Oh the Screens

You can’t have a beastly gaming laptop without a screen that can keep up, right? Lenovo’s not slacking here. We’re talking 16-inch QHD+ (2560×1600) displays with refresh rates up to a frankly ludicrous 240Hz. And G-SYNC, of course, because nobody wants screen tearing when you’re trying to land that headshot. It’s bright too, 500 nits. So, yeah, your games are gonna look crisp. Really crisp.

The Slim 5 and 5i, those are interesting. They’re still powerful, with up to an RTX 4070, but they’re designed to be, well, slimmer. More portable. I’ve always been a bit torn on “slim” gaming laptops. You often pay a premium for the thinness, and sometimes the cooling suffers. But if you absolutely need to carry your rig around without dislocating your shoulder, I guess this is a solid option. You’re still getting serious power, just in a slightly less chunky package.

But Wait, What About the LOQ Guys?

Okay, so the Legions are the top dogs. But what if your wallet isn’t quite as thick as those laptops? That’s where the LOQ series comes in. Lenovo’s LOQ line (that’s L-O-Q, not ‘lock’ or ‘loque’ – I had to ask too) is supposed to be the more budget-friendly option, but still capable of proper gaming. And they’re getting a refresh too.

You’ll find Intel 14th-gen or AMD Ryzen 8000 series processors here as well, and NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPUs, up to an RTX 4060. Not quite the 4090 beast, but an RTX 4060 is still perfectly capable of running most modern games at respectable settings. And they’re also getting those AI chips. Again, who knows what that actually means in the real world, but it’s there. It’s a checkbox, I guess.

“It’s about getting good enough without having to sell a kidney. That’s what most gamers really want, isn’t it?”

They’re offering 15-inch and 16-inch models, with QHD+ displays and 165Hz refresh rates. That’s a good sweet spot, honestly. 165Hz is plenty fast for most people, and QHD+ on a 15 or 16-inch screen looks fantastic. The cooling systems are a bit simpler than the Legions, but still feature dual fans and copper heat pipes. It’s a sensible compromise for the price point.

The Elephant in the Room: AI, Baby!

I gotta circle back to this AI thing. Every tech company, from your toaster manufacturer to your car company, is screaming about AI. And now it’s in gaming laptops. Lenovo’s calling it an “AI Engine+” which uses a “LA2Q AI chip.” Sounds very sci-fi, right? The idea is that it optimizes your system – CPU, GPU, memory – for specific tasks, especially gaming. It’s supposed to learn your usage patterns and adjust power and thermals on the fly.

I mean, it sounds great on paper. Like a personal pit crew for your laptop. But is it just a fancy name for what dynamic boost or power management has been doing for years, just with a little more machine learning thrown in? Time will tell. My gut says it’ll offer marginal gains for most people, but maybe some hardcore benchmark chasers will see a difference. It’s not entirely clear yet how much of a game-changer this truly is, or if it’s just marketing fluff for the current buzzword trend. My money’s on a bit of both.

What This Actually Means

Okay, so what does all this actually boil down to for you, the person who just wants to play games without their laptop sounding like a jet engine taking off?

It means more power, obviously. Intel and AMD are pushing their chips, NVIDIA’s got the GPUs. You’re going to get better performance than last year’s models, no question. The screens are still fantastic. And the cooling seems to be a real focus, which is crucial.

But it also means prices are probably going to stay pretty high, especially for the top-tier Legions. An RTX 4090 laptop isn’t exactly pocket change. The LOQ series, however, seems like a solid play for people who want good performance without completely emptying their savings account. That’s probably where the real value is for most folks.

The “AI” stuff? We’ll see. It feels a bit like 3D TVs from a decade ago – everyone rushed to put it in, but did anyone actually use it in a meaningful way? Maybe this is different. Maybe it’s truly the future of dynamic performance. Or maybe it’s just another line item on the spec sheet that sounds cool but doesn’t really change your gaming experience all that much. Either way, Lenovo’s certainly not sitting still, and that’s good news for anyone looking to upgrade their gaming rig this year…