Lenovo Legion Pro 5i 16" Gen 10 Black 2026 Review

The Core Ultra 7 255HX scores in the 94th percentile for CPU performance, which puts this laptop among the fastest we've tested. The 165Hz OLED is a standout, and 32GB of RAM means you won't hit a snag. Downside? It's heavy, and the 80Wh battery won't last long. Buy it at the $1799 Newegg price, not the absurdly marked-up ones.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 doesn't just try to be a fast gaming laptop. It lands a CPU score in the absolute top tier of our database, thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX. Combine that with a 165Hz OLED panel that sits among the best screens we've tested, and you've got a machine that seems laser-focused on creators and gamers who want thing to look stunning while it runs smooth. The RTX 5070 inside also pulls its weight, delivering enough frames for high-refresh play at the native 2560x1600 resolution.

But this isn't a featherweight. At 2.52kg and over an inch thick, it's a desktop replacement through and through. Port selection is generous, with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, and plenty of USB-A, which makes up for the lack of a second USB-C if you're plugging in a ton of peripherals. Our only real eyebrow raise is the 80Wh battery, which we suspect will struggle to keep this power-hungry config alive away from an outlet.

Our benchmarks put the 20-core Ultra 7 255HX well above average, scoring in the top decile among all laptops. In plain terms, that means compile times, renders, and heavy multitasking are going to be seriously snappy. The RTX 5070 laptop GPU with 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM further pushes frame rates in AAA titles to a comfortable level, even if the 115W power limit (plus 15W Dynamic Boost) isn't the most aggressive implementation out there. For creator workloads that leverage AI, the 798 TOPS of NPU power adds a welcome future-proofing layer.

The OLED display is the real showstopper. 500 nits of brightness, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and a buttery 165Hz refresh rate combine to make games and HDR content pop. And with 32GB of fast DDR5 memory, you're not going to bottleneck under a pile of browser tabs, editing timelines, or virtual machines. The SSD is solid, landing in the 81st percentile, so load times are snappy, though we wouldn't have minded a 2TB option at this price point.

The price story here is wild. Newegg has the sane listing at $1799, which is frankly a steal for a current-gen RTX 5070, 32GB of RAM, and that OLED panel. But we've seen other sellers listing this exact config at outrageous markups, with a spread of over $76,000 between the lowest and highest. We'd steer you hard toward Newegg's price and away from anything that doesn't start with a one. At $1799, you're getting a top-performer that undercuts several competitors while offering a superior screen. Just don't overpay.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro with M4 Max, the Legion Pro 5i loses the portability battle badly but wins on gaming and display refresh rate. The MacBook's Mini-LED is great for HDR, but a 165Hz OLED simply outclasses it for motion clarity. If you want a thin-and-light gaming experience, the ASUS ROG Flow is a third of the weight and far more compact, but its GPU and thermal headroom can't keep up with the Legion's full-fat RTX 5070. The MSI Prestige is a better pick for ultralight productivity, but it's not a gaming machine. For pure desktop replacement grunt that still happens to have a screen and keyboard, the Legion Pro 5i is the one to beat.

Frequent travelers or anyone who values a light bag should look elsewhere. The Legion Pro 5i weighs over 5.5 pounds and is over an inch thick, and the compact score sits at a disappointing 56.4 out of 100. If you need all-day battery life without scouting for outlets, you'll be unhappy here too. Creators who rely on Mac-exclusive workflows will be better served by a MacBook Pro M4 Max, though they'll miss out on PC gaming.

If you're okay with a laptop that lives mostly on a desk, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 is an easy recommendation. The CPU and GPU combination is among the best we've seen, and the OLED display is a treat for both work and play. At the actual retail price of $1799, it's a performance bargain that trades blows with laptops costing far more. Just pack the charger and maybe a cooling pad if you plan to push it hard.