Two nearly identical Lenovo Legion 7 laptops let us do something we’ve always wanted to do: test the performance of an Intel Core and Nvidia GeForce machine against an all-AMD (Ryzen and Radeon) comparable. Who wins?
While AMD, Intel, and Nvidia continue to push the limits for laptops’ performance, it raises to ask: what’s the most efficient combination of GPU and CPU that you can find on today’s laptops with power?
This is a challenging one since laptops, in contrast to desktop PCs aren’t easily with configurations that allow you to be compared one-to-one. The different designs of the chassis, different technologies for thermal, as well as many other aspects create a situation that makes head-to-head comparisons of the top processors difficult, or at the very least packed with warnings. (See our guide to understand the fundamentals of laptop processors.)
We did get a unique chance to avoid the majority of these obstacles. Lenovo has just gave us two of the most popular Legion 7 Gen 7 gaming laptops, and the battle was on. One of them has Intel’s Core i9 HX processor, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics, while the other comes with one with an AMD Ryzen 9 HX processor and an AMD Radeon RX 6850MX GPU. Both are most powerful gaming laptops in two identical chassis and we’ll pit the two against each other in a brutal battle with teams Blue as well as Green (Intel as well as Nvidia) together on one hand, and Team Red (AMD Ryzen/Radeon) playing on its own for the second. Let the games begin.
Meet the Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 7 Gaming Laptops
The Legion 7 series comprises Lenovo’s top gaming laptops. These Gen 7 models we tested are available in two versions: the Legion 7i that comes with an Intel processor with Nvidia graphics and one called the Legion 7 (no “i”) that is the one that has an AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon RX graphics. These links will provide our evaluations of both Gen 7 models; more about them is below.
Legion 7 and the Legion 7 and Legion 7i Gen 7 use the same chassis. The only way to differentiate them apart outside of the box is through the obvious labeling of the labels that are placed over the rest of the wrist.
The laptops aren’t hiding their weight, measuring 0.92 in 14.17 and 10.23 inches (HWD) and 5.5 pounds. The chassis is completely made of aluminum , and it feels extremely solid.
The majority of exhaust air is emitted through two large vents in the rear, with smaller vents to the opposite side. The majority of physical connectivity is located on the rear, keeping cables from view.
Similar to Gen 6 models, as with Gen 6 models, the 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio screen of the Gen 7 models provides an amazing image. These laptops are equipped with enough capacity to play games with their native resolution of 2,560 pixels by 1,600 pixels.
The overview is all that’s needed for the moment. For more in-depth details about the two machines, look up our complete analysis on the Legion 7 Gen 7 models by clicking the links earlier. We’ll now look at the latest components in these machines.
High-end Laptop CPUs Battle: AMD Ryzen HX vs. Intel Core HX
Both AMD as well as Intel utilize both the “HX” classification for their most powerful mobile processors. That is, the processors that offer the highest comparable performance to a desktop laptop. Our article on Intel’s Core i9 HX revealed the Core i9-12900HX chip, which is used in the Legion 7i Gen 7, performs amazingly similar with the desktop-class Core i9-12900K often close to 10 percent. It also outperforms Intel’s classic H-class desktop replacement chip which is The Core i9-12900HK. Visit the site for more details on the technical aspects and specifications, but here’s a sneak peek chart that shows these three…
CPU Comparison: Intel 12th Gen
The conclusion is the fact that this Core i9-12900HX comes with the same thread and core count as well as faster clocks, similar to it is the same as the standard desktop model Core i9-12900K. It is also superior to the Core i9-12900H in nearly every single area. The lower power ratings of the K-series will mean it won’t maintain speeds as well in lengthy tasks however, everything else is an acceptable game.
AMD’s closest rival to compete in this Core HX class is the Ryzen HX. Its Ryzen 9 6900HX we’ll testing within this review Legion 7 Gen 7 isn’t the absolute top laptop chip. That honor is awarded to Ryzen 9 6980HX(Opens in an entirely New window). However, it’s pretty close, and is exactly the same way as that of the Core i9-12900HX. As a member of the recent Ryzen 6000 series, it’s built upon the “Zen 3+” microarchitecture and is compatible with DDR5 memory, which is also supported by Core HX. Core HX. (Indeed, both Legion 7 Gen 7 laptops use DDR5.) This is a simple comparison between both chips.”
Thread count and cores greatly are the main reasons to choose the Core 12900HX however, before you lose the possibility of Team Red, take comfort that Intel and AMD processing cores aren’t identical. AMD utilizes the same types of processor cores. However, Intel has, with the release of its 12th Generation (“Alder Lake”) Core chips, utilizes hybrid technology in its chips that have two kinds of cores: Efficient cores and Performance cores. (Our Core i9-12900K Review delves into its new technology.) I won’t ruin the surprise by saying that, despite having twice as many cores that the Core i9-12900HX will not be nearly double the speed of the Ryzen 9 6900HX. (Another possibility is that you’ll be amazed by how efficiently they’ll achieve.)
Top Mobile GPUs Do Battle: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs. AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT
Nvidia has been dominating the debate over the gaming chip in top-end laptops, however AMD has come back by introducing its RX 6000 series of. Legion 7 Gen 7. Legion 7 Gen 7 features the most powerful Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is the main competitor to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti that we have in the Legion 7i Gen 7.
The two massive GPUs Technical tidbits line with each other as follows. The maximum boost clocks are unique to Legion 7 laptops. They differ between laptops and laptops. (See our article to understand how the identical graphics card could perform differently based on the software used.)
AMD and Nvidia utilize wildly different processors which means that they are both very different. Radeon RX 6850M XT’s disadvantage in terms of processing cores isn’t something to fret about. The only thing noticeable is the memory and it’s the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has an expanded bus and greater bandwidth, giving the advantage in games with higher resolutions. In terms of memory that it comes with, the GeForce 3080 Ti comes with an impressive 16GB of memory, however it’s Radeon RX 6850M XT’s 12GB frame buffer should be sufficient. Even on the computer, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has a maximum of 12GB.
I discovered through the GPU-Z logs I discovered that RTX 3080 Ti’s turbo speed is not well-known; it reached 2,002 MHz during 3DMark Time Spy. 3DMark Time Spy benchmark trial. However my logs show that an RTX 6850M XT that Radeon RX 6850M XT didn’t achieve its boost clock and maxed at 2,290MHz. However, given that boost clocks can vary in such a way on laptops, and sometimes even through the use of benchmarks or games I’m not taking points for the variance.
For the power rating of graphics cards as of there is a Nvidia Control Panel listed a maximum power of 175 Watts for the GeForce 3080 Ti. This is extremely high. AMD’s Radeon application doesn’t show an energy rating for the device, therefore I ran a GPU-Z log to find the maximum GPU power draw of around 144 milliwatts. Overall they are robust and comparable.
The Benchmarks: Send Forth the Legions!
These Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 7 gaming laptops that we’re testing come with the following specs…
They’re about as closely matched as they could be, differing only in terms of graphics card and processor. These configurations are expected to be around the $2,000 mark considering Lenovo’s flexible pricing, which varies daily.
