2019 Lenovo Legion Y545 Gaming Laptop Computer review
2019 Lenovo Legion Y545 Gaming Laptop Computer review
Laptop Class
|
Gaming
|
Processor
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Intel Core i7-9750H
|
Processor Speed
|
2.6 GHz
|
RAM (as Tested)
|
16 GB
|
Boot Drive Type
|
SSD
|
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
|
128 GB
|
Secondary Drive Type
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Hard Drive
|
Secondary Drive Capacity (as Tested)
|
Yes
|
Screen Size
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15.6 inches
|
Native Display Resolution
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1920 by 1080
|
Touch Screen
|
No
|
Panel Technology
|
IPS
|
Variable Refresh Support
|
None
|
Screen Refresh Rate
|
60 Hz
|
Graphics Processor
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
|
Graphics Memory
|
6 GB
|
Wireless Networking
|
802.11ac, Bluetooth
|
Dimensions (HWD)
|
1.05 by 14.2 by 10.5 inches
|
Weight
|
5.1 lbs
|
Operating System
|
Windows 10 Home
|
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
|
4:22
|
PROSExcellent 1080p gaming performance as tested (with GTX 1660 Ti).
Bright screen.
Reasonably priced.
Supports two internal storage drives.
Ports are well-placed.
CONSRelatively quiet fans, but chassis gets hot while gaming.
Awkward webcam location.
Number-pad layout isn't familiar.
No media card reader.
Redefining Entry Level
The Legion Y545 sits alongside Lenovo's own 15-inch Legion Y540 in its lineup, an early 2019 debut that was a technology refresh of 2018's Legion Y530. The Legion Y545 is mainly a design change, as it shares its general specifications, pricing, and even port layout with the Y540.
Lenovo's Legion gaming laptop line is sort of a mess at the moment because it's selling new and old models side by side. Both the new Legion Y540 and Y740 sit alongside the older but still excellent Y530 and Y730. The new models have the same understated black slab design of the old ones, but have newer ninth-gen Intel processors and the latest GTX and RTX graphics from Nvidia as well as better display options. Then there's the Legion Y545.
The Y545 replaces the Legion Y7000P, which was only available at retail -- not direct from Lenovo -- and looked more like a typical gaming laptop. It was a great gaming value, though, and that's the case here with the Y545. It has the same chassis as the Y7000P, too, but now you're getting it with updated components that turned out impressive gaming performance for the money.
Because the Y545 is so similar to the Legion Y7000P, you'll see a lot of the same ground covered here. The conclusion is the same, too, for that matter: If you want a gaming laptop with performance that's above entry-level and without the crazy price tag, the Legion Y545 is worth putting on your short list.
Unlike its Acer and Asus competition, Lenovo allows factory customization of the Legion Y545, so you're not limited to preconfigured models. (Lenovo has plenty of those, too.) Our review unit is sensibly equipped with 16GB of RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) for the Windows 10 operating system (Lenovo has sensibly since upped that to a 256GB option), and a 1TB hard drive for storage. The fact that this machine can take a hard drive is a big plus, as it's a more economical way to add mass storage than relying on M.2-format SSDs, or you can swap in a 2.5-inch SATA SSD.
For graphics, Lenovo offers a 6GB GeForce RTX 2060 card as the top option, a upgrade over the GTX 1660 Ti on configurable models. Adding it arguably takes the Legion Y545 out of entry-level pricing territory, at which point the flagship Legion Y740 (15-Inch) becomes a more attractive choice. Its fancier features include an RGB-backlit keyboard, Nvidia G-Sync technology, dedicated gaming macro keys, and a sleeker chassis.
Not Quite Deja Vu
The Legion Y545 is an all-black slab, but not all plastic. The lid backing is smooth aluminum that wraps around the sides of the display...
Stealthy exhaust vents and chiseled chassis edges exude an aggressive look without overdoing it. The backlit Y-gaming logo is less prominent (or should I say polarizing) than Acer's Predator branding, though it's still impossible to miss.
The Legion Y545 delivers acceptable build quality for the money. Priced much further north, though, and I'd start to look for more premium materials. Aesthetically, the soft-touch palm rest is a step up from hard plastic, if less stylish than the brushed aluminum on the Acer Predator Helios 300. At least it's easier to keep clean.
The chassis has plenty of strength. It barely budged when I pressed down on its surfaces or torqued it by its corners. I induced a creak or two when I picked it up by one corner, but that's a bad practice that any user should avoid with any notebook, especially one this large.
The chassis is reasonably trim for a 15.6-inch gamer, at around an inch thick and with a footprint of 14.2 by 10.5 inches. Its side screen bezels aren't as thin as those of the pricier MSI GS65 Stealth (2019), but they're skinny enough to give this Lenovo the modern vibe.
The under-the-chin views it provides are awkward, not to mention grainy. The cam's picture quality and relatively low 720p resolution aren't better or worse than we usually see from gaming notebooks at this price, but don't interpret that as an excuse. Plan to invest in an external webcam for livestreaming.
The available hardware in the Legion Y545 is well-suited for gaming at its 1080p/full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) screen resolution. Even the base 4GB GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card can produce around 60 frames per second (fps) in AAA games and esports titles on this screen. The 6GB GTX 1660 Ti in our tester is leagues faster, so it's a bummer that the display on our test unit has the standard 60Hz refresh rate. (It can only display up to 60fps at once.)
Lenovo offers a different 1080p panel with a 144Hz refresh rate as a steep option on configurable models. The upcharge is worth swallowing for an ultra-smooth experience in esports titles like Fortnite and CS:GO, if those are your favorites.
The Legion's screen otherwise rounds the bases. Its anti-glare surface keeps down reflections, and in-plane switching (IPS) technology grants it good visibility from all angles. Colors don't exactly pop, but they're not lacking for saturation. The maximum brightness is plenty. I dialed it down to about three quarters for use in darker rooms.
The only complaint I have about the screen has nothing to do with its quality, but the fact its hinge only lets it open about 45 degrees past vertical.
Choose your style
A lot of the component options are the same between the Legion Y540 and Y545, so design is much of what sets them apart. The Legion Y540 looks more like a black Thinkpad workstation with subtle Legion branding than a typical gaming laptop. The Y545 is a little more aggressive with flared cooling vents and an angular, iron-gray metal lid with a big glowing Y symbol. It's not over the top, but it's also not your average thin-and-light laptop, especially not at 5 pounds (2.3kg).
The Y545 replaces the Legion Y7000P, which was only available at retail -- not direct from Lenovo -- and looked more like a typical gaming laptop. It was a great gaming value, though, and that's the case here with the Y545. It has the same chassis as the Y7000P, too, but now you're getting it with updated components that turned out impressive gaming performance for the money.
Because the Y545 is so similar to the Legion Y7000P, you'll see a lot of the same ground covered here. The conclusion is the same, too, for that matter: If you want a gaming laptop with performance that's above entry-level and without the crazy price tag, the Legion Y545 is worth putting on your short list.
Unlike its Acer and Asus competition, Lenovo allows factory customization of the Legion Y545, so you're not limited to preconfigured models. (Lenovo has plenty of those, too.) Our review unit is sensibly equipped with 16GB of RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) for the Windows 10 operating system (Lenovo has sensibly since upped that to a 256GB option), and a 1TB hard drive for storage. The fact that this machine can take a hard drive is a big plus, as it's a more economical way to add mass storage than relying on M.2-format SSDs, or you can swap in a 2.5-inch SATA SSD.
For graphics, Lenovo offers a 6GB GeForce RTX 2060 card as the top option, a upgrade over the GTX 1660 Ti on configurable models. Adding it arguably takes the Legion Y545 out of entry-level pricing territory, at which point the flagship Legion Y740 (15-Inch) becomes a more attractive choice. Its fancier features include an RGB-backlit keyboard, Nvidia G-Sync technology, dedicated gaming macro keys, and a sleeker chassis.
Not Quite Deja Vu
The Legion Y545 is an all-black slab, but not all plastic. The lid backing is smooth aluminum that wraps around the sides of the display...
Stealthy exhaust vents and chiseled chassis edges exude an aggressive look without overdoing it. The backlit Y-gaming logo is less prominent (or should I say polarizing) than Acer's Predator branding, though it's still impossible to miss.
The Legion Y545 delivers acceptable build quality for the money. Priced much further north, though, and I'd start to look for more premium materials. Aesthetically, the soft-touch palm rest is a step up from hard plastic, if less stylish than the brushed aluminum on the Acer Predator Helios 300. At least it's easier to keep clean.
The chassis has plenty of strength. It barely budged when I pressed down on its surfaces or torqued it by its corners. I induced a creak or two when I picked it up by one corner, but that's a bad practice that any user should avoid with any notebook, especially one this large.
The chassis is reasonably trim for a 15.6-inch gamer, at around an inch thick and with a footprint of 14.2 by 10.5 inches. Its side screen bezels aren't as thin as those of the pricier MSI GS65 Stealth (2019), but they're skinny enough to give this Lenovo the modern vibe.
The under-the-chin views it provides are awkward, not to mention grainy. The cam's picture quality and relatively low 720p resolution aren't better or worse than we usually see from gaming notebooks at this price, but don't interpret that as an excuse. Plan to invest in an external webcam for livestreaming.
The available hardware in the Legion Y545 is well-suited for gaming at its 1080p/full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) screen resolution. Even the base 4GB GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card can produce around 60 frames per second (fps) in AAA games and esports titles on this screen. The 6GB GTX 1660 Ti in our tester is leagues faster, so it's a bummer that the display on our test unit has the standard 60Hz refresh rate. (It can only display up to 60fps at once.)
Lenovo offers a different 1080p panel with a 144Hz refresh rate as a steep option on configurable models. The upcharge is worth swallowing for an ultra-smooth experience in esports titles like Fortnite and CS:GO, if those are your favorites.
The Legion's screen otherwise rounds the bases. Its anti-glare surface keeps down reflections, and in-plane switching (IPS) technology grants it good visibility from all angles. Colors don't exactly pop, but they're not lacking for saturation. The maximum brightness is plenty. I dialed it down to about three quarters for use in darker rooms.
The only complaint I have about the screen has nothing to do with its quality, but the fact its hinge only lets it open about 45 degrees past vertical.
Choose your style
A lot of the component options are the same between the Legion Y540 and Y545, so design is much of what sets them apart. The Legion Y540 looks more like a black Thinkpad workstation with subtle Legion branding than a typical gaming laptop. The Y545 is a little more aggressive with flared cooling vents and an angular, iron-gray metal lid with a big glowing Y symbol. It's not over the top, but it's also not your average thin-and-light laptop, especially not at 5 pounds (2.3kg).
The subtle design continues inside with a slim bezel around its nice-looking 15.6-inch full HD display. Although it does have a chin where you'll find the webcam that's either pointing at your knuckles or up your nose. Display brightness is average for its class at around 300 nits and color performance is good enough for gaming. If you need a wide color gamut for photo and video work, this won't cut it. You can, however, get it with a 144Hz refresh rate display.
Lenovo Legion Y545 - Design
The Y545 isn't huge, but it's not impressively thin either like a Razer Blade. It's of average size for a 15-inch laptop. It measures 14.22 x 10.5 x 0.97-inches and weighs 5.1-pounds. You'll notice when it's in your backpack or bag, but you're not going to be weighed down by it. Carrying it around the house, I found it portable and not as unwieldy as, say, the Predator Triton 900.
The entire housing is a dark grey, save for the Legion logo on the lid. The logo lights up when you open the 15.6-inch FHD IPS display, as does the power button that's centered just below the display. Right above the power button is the 720p webcam, that almost blends into the bezel under the display. It took me a few minutes to find it once I realized there isn't a camera in the normal spot above the screen.
The biggest downside with placing the camera below the display is feeling like everyone you video chat with is looking up your nose, instead of being closer to eye level.
I'm still fond of Lenovo's approach to putting the majority of ports on the back of their gaming laptops. On the back of the Y545, there are six ports -- a USB-C, MiniDisplayPort, USB 3.1, HDMI, Ethernet, and the charging port. On the left and right side, there are three ports in total. A USB 3.1 port and an audio jack are on the left side, with another USB 3.1 port on the right side.
The ports on the back of the laptop are those that you'll typically plug in and leave plugged in -- whereas the USB ports on either side come in handy for a gaming mouse or portable external drive. It provides a cleaner look when your laptop is connected to a bunch of stuff on your desk.
The keyboard is backlit, but with white lights across the board. To the right of the main keyboard is a miniature number pad that takes some getting used to, to make room for directional arrows. The keyboard itself is spacious, with keys that have a nice smooth feel to each press. The keyboard, even when gaming, is fairly quiet—something roommates and coworkers will surely appreciate.
There's nothing fancy about the Y545's design, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a nearly all-black gaming laptop with a little personality on the lid, and that's it.
Good Keyboard, Strange Number Pad
The keyboard is good, but nothing special. There's 1.7mm of key travel, which is nice, and they readily pop back up when pressed. However, they do have a softness to them that some might not care for, but I found comfortable for long gaming sessions. The shrunken number pad might bother some as well, although it does allow for larger separate arrow keys. There's a single-color white backlight with two levels of brightness.
The touchpad is fine, but missing discrete buttons, which is kind of annoying not to have for casual gaming. It's a Windows Precision touchpad, too, so you get multitouch gesture support. It's smooth and responsive, but you should feel free to adjust the sensitivity to tame your cursor.
A flex-free keyboard deck and a soft, yet precise up-and-down movement make typing on the Legion Y545 a satisfying experience. Its two-level white backlighting is bright even during the daytime. My quibble is the keytop typeface, which is the same as Lenovo uses on its regular IdeaPad notebooks. A bolder font would give it more of a gaming feel.
The layout of this keyboard has surprising bonuses, including a full-size function row (F1 through F12, plus Delete) and full-size arrow keys.
The number-pad layout, though, is a head-scratcher. The numeric keys and the period key are in their expected places, but the others are pushed around and, in some cases, undersize to make the number pad fit above the arrow keys. Getting used to this layout would be tricky if you regularly use other number pads.
The Legion Y545's buttonless touchpad replaces the traditional two-button touchpad of the Legion Y540. It's left of center in the palm rest to line up with the keyboard area, keeping your hands on either side of it while typing. The pad is correctly sized for a 15.6-inch display. With a smooth surface and solid clicking action, it's an intuitive mousing experience.
The preinstalled Lenovo Vantage app has a convenient feature that automatically disables the Windows key and, assuming an external mouse is plugged in, the touchpad, while gaming.
You can temporarily enable them by using a configurable keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+2, by default). There's a toggle to turn this feature off entirely, of course.
Forgetting your headphones isn't a crisis with the Legion Y545. Sound from its speakers emanates from beneath the palm rest. There's enough volume, clarity, and bass for a reasonably immersive gaming or movie-watching experience. I had no trouble hearing the finer details in games over the noise of the cooling fans. (More on cooling later.)
The touchpad is fine, but missing discrete buttons, which is kind of annoying not to have for casual gaming. It's a Windows Precision touchpad, too, so you get multitouch gesture support. It's smooth and responsive, but you should feel free to adjust the sensitivity to tame your cursor.
A flex-free keyboard deck and a soft, yet precise up-and-down movement make typing on the Legion Y545 a satisfying experience. Its two-level white backlighting is bright even during the daytime. My quibble is the keytop typeface, which is the same as Lenovo uses on its regular IdeaPad notebooks. A bolder font would give it more of a gaming feel.
The layout of this keyboard has surprising bonuses, including a full-size function row (F1 through F12, plus Delete) and full-size arrow keys.
The number-pad layout, though, is a head-scratcher. The numeric keys and the period key are in their expected places, but the others are pushed around and, in some cases, undersize to make the number pad fit above the arrow keys. Getting used to this layout would be tricky if you regularly use other number pads.
The Legion Y545's buttonless touchpad replaces the traditional two-button touchpad of the Legion Y540. It's left of center in the palm rest to line up with the keyboard area, keeping your hands on either side of it while typing. The pad is correctly sized for a 15.6-inch display. With a smooth surface and solid clicking action, it's an intuitive mousing experience.
The preinstalled Lenovo Vantage app has a convenient feature that automatically disables the Windows key and, assuming an external mouse is plugged in, the touchpad, while gaming.
You can temporarily enable them by using a configurable keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+2, by default). There's a toggle to turn this feature off entirely, of course.
Forgetting your headphones isn't a crisis with the Legion Y545. Sound from its speakers emanates from beneath the palm rest. There's enough volume, clarity, and bass for a reasonably immersive gaming or movie-watching experience. I had no trouble hearing the finer details in games over the noise of the cooling fans. (More on cooling later.)
Lenovo Legion Y545 webcam
The 720p, 1.0 megapixel webcam is not the best. It’s oddly positioned at the bottom of the bezel, which makes for unfortunate shots. Yes, I did take an accidental photo of my belly button (nobody wants to see that). The quality of the video and photo is poor, and if you’re going to be streaming, it’s best to purchase a Full-HD external webcam. Also, in 2020 having less than a Full-HD cam on a laptop just makes it feel antiquated.
Lenovo Legion Y545 software and warranty
Lenovo’s Vantage software comes standard on the Legion Y545, and I suggest playing with it to tweak settings and performance to your liking. The UI is very user-friendly and provides access to system components and system-optimization tools such as Legion Edge, which gives you access to Network Boost, Auto Close, Hybrid Mode, touchpad lock, quick settings and system updates.
Third-party software includes the Nvidia control panel for managing and tweaking the graphics performance.
As is normal with Windows 10 systems, there's a normal amount of bloatware, including Skype, Netflix, Microsoft Solitaire collection and Farm Heroes Saga.
Well-Placed Ports
Something the Legion Y545 gets more than right is its port placement. The left and right sides of the laptop have just one USB 3.1 Type-A port...
The other feature on the right edge is a headphone/microphone combination jack. The side-mounted ports are located more than halfway back, so plugging in a cable shouldn't get in the way of your space for using an external mouse.
Look to the rear for everything else. Left to right is a USB 3.1 Type-C port, mini-DisplayPort video-out, another USB Type-A 3.1 port, an HDMI video-out, and an Ethernet jack. There's regrettably no flash-memory-card reader. There's no Thunderbolt 3 port either, but that's not expected in a gaming notebook at this price.
The included power brick connects via Lenovo's proprietary rectangular connector next to the Ethernet jack. A Kensington cable-lockdown slot sits further over, an important feature if you're going to use the Legion Y545 in a public place.
The standard Intel 9560AC wireless card provides 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. It doesn't support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), but that technology is only just hitting the market, and it'll be some time before it's mainstream. (And you need a premium-priced supporting router to leverage it.)
Let's Get Testing...
The charts below show how our Legion Y545 review unit stacks against some of its competition. The MSI GS65 Stealth and the Dell G7 15 (2019) are more expensive, while the Acer Predator Helios 300 is about the same price, and the Acer Nitro 5 (2019) is the least expensive .
Here are the fundamental specifications of each unit...
The Acer Nitro 5 has the same processor and graphics card as the entry-level Legion Y545, so it can give you an idea of what to expect if you don't get the pricier configuration I'm testing. The Dell G7 15 configuration is the opposite; its Core i7-9750H and 6GB GeForce RTX 2060 combo is the most potent you can get in the Legion Y545. Our Legion Y545 review unit sits mid-pack when it comes to hardware in this lot.
Productivity, Storage & Media Tests
PCMark 10 and 8 are holistic performance suites developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). The PCMark 10 test we run simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We use it to assess overall system performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet work, web browsing, and videoconferencing. The test generates a proprietary numeric score; higher numbers are better.
PCMark 8, meanwhile has a Storage subtest that we use to assess the speed of the boot drive. This score is also a proprietary numeric score; again, higher numbers are better.
What was I saying about our Legion Y545 being mid-pack? It runs away with a 5,720-point leading score in PCMark 10 while the others fall several hundred points short. (For reference, we consider 4,000 or more points to be an excellent number in that benchmark.) Meanwhile, the PCMark 8 Storage scores for these units plateau around 5,000 points, an expected result for systems with fast SSD boot drives.
Next is Maxon's CPU-crunching Cinebench R15 test, which is fully threaded to make use of all available processor cores and threads. Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The result is a proprietary score indicating a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads.
What was I saying about our Legion Y545 being mid-pack? It runs away with a 5,720-point leading score in PCMark 10 while the others fall several hundred points short. (For reference, we consider 4,000 or more points to be an excellent number in that benchmark.) Meanwhile, the PCMark 8 Storage scores for these units plateau around 5,000 points, an expected result for systems with fast SSD boot drives.
Next is Maxon's CPU-crunching Cinebench R15 test, which is fully threaded to make use of all available processor cores and threads. Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The result is a proprietary score indicating a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads.
The Legion Y545 squeaks past its rival, the Acer Predator Helios 300, to complete this test with the lowest time of the bunch. The other Core i7 units are close enough to almost call this one a toss-up, though. The Core i5 chip in the Acer Nitro 5 again held it back here.
Graphics Tests
3DMark measures relative graphics muscle by rendering sequences of highly detailed, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particles and lighting. We run two different 3DMark subtests, Sky Diver and Fire Strike, which are suited to different types of systems. Both are DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky Diver is more suited to laptops and midrange PCs, while Fire Strike is more demanding and made for high-end PCs to strut their stuff. The results are proprietary scores.
Let's focus on the Fire Strike results with these machines. The Legion Y545 reassuringly kept pace with the Acer Predator Helios 300, while both finished just north of the MSI GS65 Stealth, all three being equipped with the 6GB GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. The Dell G7 15 didn't do much better with its 6GB RTX 2060. The Lenovo Y545 was nearly 60 percent faster than the Acer Nitro 5 and its 4GB GTX 1650.
Next up is another synthetic graphics test, this time from Unigine Corp. Like 3DMark, the Superposition test renders and pans through a detailed 3D scene and measures how the system copes. In this case, it's rendered in the company's eponymous Unigine engine, offering a different 3D workload scenario than 3DMark, for a second opinion on the machine's graphical prowess.
The relative differences between these laptops mirror the Fire Strike results we just looked at, although the Dell is now practically tied with the Legion Y545 and the Acer Predator Helios 300. The MSI GS65 Stealth may have been throttling its performance for some reason, as it's consistently slower than the latter two (and shouldn't be).
Real-World Gaming Tests
The synthetic tests above are helpful for measuring general 3D aptitude, but it's hard to beat full retail video games for judging gaming performance. Far Cry 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider are both modern, high-fidelity titles with built-in benchmarks that illustrate how a system handles real-world video games at various settings. These are run on both the moderate and maximum graphics quality presets (Normal and Ultra for Far Cry 5, Medium and Very High for Rise of the Tomb Raider) at native resolution to judge performance for a given system. The results are also provided in frames per second. Far Cry 5 is DirectX 11 based, while Rise of the Tomb Raider can be flipped to DX12, which we do for the benchmark.
The Legion Y545 makes excellent showings in both games. Given the frame rates well over 60fps on these demanding titles, the 144Hz screen option is indeed an upgrade worth considering if you are a competitive gamer or esports hound. Given these titles are graphically intense, the GTX 1660 Ti should have no trouble pushing into the triple-digit-fps range in less-demanding esports titles at 1080p.
Also illustrated here? It may not be worthwhile to get the GeForce RTX 2060 as an option if the Dell G7 15's numbers are any indication, at least if you're after more raw frame-rate performance. The benefits of the RTX 2060 lie more with the fact that it supports Nvidia's DLSS and ray-tracing technologies. It can be worthwhile if the games you play (or plan to play) support them.
Video Playback Battery Rundown Test
After fully recharging the laptop, we set up the machine in power-save mode (as opposed to balanced or high-performance mode) and make a few other battery-conserving tweaks in preparation for our unplugged video rundown test. (We also turn Wi-Fi off, putting the laptop in Airplane mode.) In this test, we loop a video—a locally stored 720p file of the Blender Foundation demo movie Tears of Steel—with screen brightness set at 50 percent and volume at 100 percent until the system conks out.
Gaming laptops are typically anathema to battery life.The Legion Y545 which consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, lasted only 3:38. That time is still a bit short of the 4:06 mainstream gaming average. Both the Zephyrus and the Pavilion lasted longer with times of 4:48 and 5:06, respectively. But the G3 15 proved it has staying power, clocking in at 6:41.
2019 Lenovo Legion Y545 Gaming Laptop Computer review
Lenovo Legion Y545 graphics, gaming and VRI played, I conquered, I sprained my thumbs, all while pushing the Lenovo Legion Y545 as hard as I could. I wanted to see how much the Legion Y545’s Nvidia GTX 1660 TI GPU with 6GB of VRAM could handle. So I terrorized everyone, crashed every car in GTA V (my settings for GTA V (1920 x 1080 on Very High, averaging a great 62 frames per minute, beating the 59 fps average. The Zephyrus, which also has a 1660 Ti, scored 57 fps, while the HP and its GTX 1650 GPU managed only 39 fps.
I then moved on to one of my all-time favorites, Hitman 2, because there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned assassination to help one relax. Testing Hitman at 1920 x 1080 on Ultra with DirectX 12, the Legion Y545 produced 95 fps, blowing past the 85-fps category average as well as the Zephyrus, which scored 73 fps. The G3 15 and the Pavillion obtained 62 and 57 fps, respectively.
The Lenovo further flexed its gaming muscle during Far Cry New Dawn, coming in at 79 fps. It’s enough to surpass the 65-fps average as well as the Pavillion, the Dell and the Asus, which were within a frame of each other at 54, 53 and 52 fps, respectively.
Get ready to play some Star Wars: Vadar Immortal because the Lenovo Legion Y545 does virtual reality surprisingly well for a mid-tier system. During the SteamVR Performance Test, the Lenovo hit 8.6, which is short of the 9.1 average. That’s still better than both the HP and the Dell, which reached 5.9 and 5.8, respectively. The Asus knocked it out the park with 9.2, while the HP hit 5.8, once again beating its competitors.
Battery life is one area where the Legion Y545 pulls away from the Acer Predator Helios 300, although four hours off the plug isn't long by any measure. (In fact, it's barely enough to keep battery life off the cons list.) The time from the MSI GS65 Stealth is more like it, but the Acer Nitro 5 sends them all packing.
Thermal Performance
The back-facing exhaust vents on this notebook are a departure from the design of the Legion Y540, which also had side exhausts. Sending airflow out the back is ideal, as you don't have to worry about hot air jetting in your general direction or onto a mousing hand.
Thermal Performance
The back-facing exhaust vents on this notebook are a departure from the design of the Legion Y540, which also had side exhausts. Sending airflow out the back is ideal, as you don't have to worry about hot air jetting in your general direction or onto a mousing hand.
Lenovo Legion Y545 heat
The Legion Y545 uses Cold Front cooling technology, a dual-channel cooling system that cools the CPU and GPU simultaneously with dedicated fans and heat sinks. Although the rear and bottom vents are well-placed and flow well with the laptops aesthetic, I found the system ran hot after 20 minutes or so while multitasking, running video or gaming. There were times when the fans were loud, but its fan noise is comparable to other laptops in the same price range with similar specs. Sometimes the fans got louder in short bursts, while other times they quietly kept the system cool.
After 15 minutes of streaming a full-screen 1080p video, the Legion Y545 measured 101 degrees Fahrenheit at the bottom, which is slightly above our 95-degree comfort threshold. The touchpad and middle of the keyboard registered 81 and 90 degrees, respectively.
I spent 15 minutes exploring ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and then measured strategic points along the laptop. The touchpad measured 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just above our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and the laptop’s undercarriage hit a rather warm 109 degrees.
I spent 15 minutes exploring ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and then measured strategic points along the laptop. The touchpad measured 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just above our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and the laptop’s undercarriage hit a rather warm 109 degrees.
Audio
You’ll find two Harman-brand speakers on the deck’s chin, and you can enhance their audio output with the included Dolby Atmos for Gaming software.
Out of the box, the speakers did a great job projecting Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall” throughout my living room, and I could even hear it clearly in the neighboring bedroom, although my Bluetooth speaker is louder. The cheery instrumentals sounded a bit muffled, and the background piano failed to stand out. I took to Dolby Atmos, and the Dynamic profile gave the instruments a boost. You can also tweak the software’s graphic equalizer for relatively crisper noise. But for the clearest, most booming noise you may still want speakers or a gaming headset.
As I explored the beach in Hitman 2 with the sound at max volume, the beach waves were loud, as were the persistent wind, although it sounded a bit distorted. Still, volume was ample, even making the fans that kicked up unnoticeable.
More performance, less $$$
Getting a six-core Intel processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics is pretty great, and while there are other gaming laptops out there, the performance-to-price ratio here is impressive. You'll be able to play the latest games at native resolution and high settings, and it gives you headroom for the future. Not a lot, mind you, but it's room that you won't get by going with a GTX 1650 or the older GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti. Also, if you're toying with the idea of getting a VR headset, the GTX 1660 Ti can handle it.
Despite the laptop's relative portability, battery life is still that of a typical gaming laptop. This configuration hit 4 hours and 59 minutes on CNET's streaming video test. Don't expect to get anywhere near that playing games, though -- you'll be lucky if you get past an hour and a half. Still for day-to-day stuff like web browsing, streaming video and music and office or school work, you'll be able to get four or five hours out of it.
Like its predecessor, the Y7000P, Lenovo's Legion Y545 outperforms its price. The design might not be for everyone (I prefer the Y540's boxier build), but it's hard to argue with its overall value. You'll definitely want to keep an eye on pricing from retailers as well as Lenovo, especially as we push into holiday shopping season. The twin cooling fans take in their air from the slotted cover under the chassis...
The GTX 1660 Ti in this notebook is rated for a 1,455MHz base clock and a 1,590MHz boost clock, but it averaged 1,687MHz during the test. It owes that feat, at least in part, to its ability to maintain relatively low temperatures, which topped out in the upper-70-degree C range.
The blue core clock line oscillates quite a bit, but that's the nature of a boost clock. The temperatures climbed until about halfway through, when the fans kicked into a higher gear to level them off.
The takeaway here is that the Legion Y545 can perform consistently under load. It passed the stability test with a 98.9 percent rating, comfortably above the 97 percent that's required to pass.
The news on the outside of the chassis isn't as good, though. Here's the Legion Y545 under our FLIR One Pro thermal camera toward the end of the test...
Ouch. The center of the keyboard reached 53 degrees C (127 degrees F), which is a bit hot to the touch. The WASD cluster on the keyboard is cool enough, as is the palm rest, but that formidable hot zone goes all the way to the display hinge. For general user comfort, I like to see the surfaces not exceed 110 degrees F. The underside of the notebook didn't get nearly as hot.
Fortunately, the fan noise is acceptably quiet, which isn't a given with gaming notebooks. While discernible at top speed, the noise lacks characteristics that would make it intrusive or annoying, like a whine or buzz. I'd have taken a bit more fan noise if it meant lowering those surface temperatures, though.
A Solid Mainstream Gamer
The Lenovo Legion Y545 checks off the must-haves for an entry-level gaming laptop. As tested with a Core i7-9750H hexa-core processor and a 6GB GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card, it pushes well above the target 60fps mark in our real-world game benchmarks for a smooth gaming experience.
While it has features and performance comparable to those of our current Editors' Choice for entry-level gaming notebooks, the Acer Predator Helios 300, the Legion Y545 falls behind on the details. Some are minor, like the awkwardly positioned webcam that looks up at your chin and the unusual number-pad layout.
But two major details are the heat and the screen choice. The Acer runs cooler on the outside and, as we reviewed it, has a 144Hz screen as standard equipment, while it's a option on configurable Legion Y545 models. The Legion's modest triumph is its longer battery life, although its 4-hour-and-22-minute showing in our video-rundown test is unremarkable in a bigger-picture sense.
All told, the Acer remains our top choice for an entry-level gaming notebook, but that doesn't stop the Legion Y545 from being a close second (or a better choice) if you prefer a more toned-down design and can make use of its extra unplugged life.
At the end of the day, the Lenovo Legion Y545 is an entry-level gaming laptop that under promises and over-delivers. the laptop’s discrete Nvidia graphics chip serves up a surprising amount of power, with above-average results. And when you’re not gaming, the laptop’s Core i7 processor is more than capable of allowing you to create spreadsheets, do some light video-editing and, of course, watch some movies on that beautiful 1080p display.
However, if you want something with longer battery life and comparable performance, you should check out the Asus ROG Zephyrus G GA502. But if you’re looking to game on a budget without sacrificing too much performance, the Lenovo Legion Y545 is a great choice.
2019 Lenovo Legion Y545 Gaming Laptop Computer review
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