Lenovo's new Legion gaming laptops are dressed for business
The Legion Y530 and Y730 go Razer's route dialing back the typical garish gaming PC design. The same goes for its new desktops, too.
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Lenovo's newest Legion gaming laptops designed to give you the gaming performance you want, but in a chassis that won't look too out of place in a conference room.
Not unlike what Razer's gaming laptops such as the updated Blade, the new Legion Y530 and Y730 look fairly reserved finished in black or gray and don't have giant, glowing emblems or huge, flared cooling vents. That's not to say they're dull, though.
Lenovo shifted the display hinge forward, which allowed for better cooling with rear and side air vents. It also gave them space to move power and a majority of its ports to the back, so you don't have a tangle of cords coming from the sides. While the Y530 gets white lights for the keyboard, the higher-end Y730 is fitted with exterior RGB lighting for the keyboard (per key) and fan vents by Corsair.
The Y530 will be available in a 15.6-inch size and the Y730 will come in 15.6- and 17.3-inch models. Slim bezels surround their displays for a cleaner look (though it does move the webcam to below the screen) and each is available with full HD IPS panels with either 60Hz or 144Hz refresh rates, and the Y730 will offer a G-Sync option.
Key specs:
- Eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8750H or i5-8300H
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti
- Up to 32GB of 2,666MHz memory; 8GB + 8GB Corsair Overclocked Memory (Y730 only)
- Y530 storage: 1TB 7,200rpm or 2TB 5,400rpm HDD with up to 512GB PCIe SSD
- Y730 storage: Up to 512GB PCIe NVMe plus 1TB or 2TB HHD
The Lenovo Legion Y730 arrives in September starting at $1,250 for the 17-inch and $1,180 for the 15-inch model. The Legion Y530 will be in stores this month starting at $930. Those convert to approximately AU$1,220 and £695 for the Y530 and, for the Y730, AU$1,640 and £935 for the 17-inch and AU$1,550 and £880 for the 15-inch model
For those US buyers who prefer a slightly more aggressive-looking design, Lenovo is also offering the Legion Y7000. It's a cousin of the Y530 and will have the same components inside and the 144Hz display with narrow bezels as well as the rear-port layout, but it has more of a traditional display hinge. It will start at $960 and arrives in August.
Gaming desktops for home and on the road
Lenovo's new C530/C730 small(ish)-form-factor desktop.
Lenovo redesigned its gaming tower and cube PCs, too. The new Legion C730 and C530 are made to be portable or simply take up less space in your life. The C730 is available with an RGB lighting system while the C530 has red LEDs inside, but both have a fully transparent top panel. As with the laptops, the C730 gets you higher-end component options while the C530 is more mainstream.
Legion C530 specs:
- Eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8700, i5-8400 or i3-8100 processor
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 6 GB; 1050 Ti, 4 GB; 1050, 2 GB
- Up to 32GB 2,666MHz memory
- Up to 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD and 2TB HDD
- Starting at $830 in August (approximately AU$1,090 and £620)
Legion C730 specs:
- Eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8700K, i7 - 8700 or i5-8400 processor
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 6 GB
- Up to 32GB 2,666MHz memory or overclocked Corsair memory
- Up to 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD and two, 2TB HDD
- Starting at $930 in August (approximately AU$1,220 and £695)
The Legion T730 has tool-free upgradability.
If you can't wait till August and/or would rather have a tower, Lenovo will also have the Legion T730 and T530 available in July. Component options are essentially the same as the C530/C730 as are the starting prices, though the T730 will have a liquid-cooling option and Dolby Atmos. The tower also gives you easy tool-free upgradability for memory and graphics along with a clear side panel. And there's a slim DVD combo drive for fans of dead media.