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Sony’s new InZone H9 2 headset leaves its predecessor in the dust — it isn’t cheap, but the audio quality is near perfect

9:00 pm | March 15, 2026

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless: one-minute review

I had high hopes when the first Inzone H9 wireless headset landed on my desk. Sony, a company renowned for its audio clout, its exceptional studio-grade headphones and microphones, and outstanding modern noise cancelling, was developing a gaming headset at long last.

The thing is, though, it just wasn't good enough. This wasn't one of the best wireless gaming headsets money could buy, not by a long shot. Instead, what we got was a product that was so focused on gaming and ensuring that it looked like it came straight off a PS5 Pro production line, that it missed that critical ethos that defines all good headsets, aka top-notch audio.

The good news, then, is that the H9 2 does a complete 180 compared to its predecessor. Sony has flipped the switch in terms of that very mantra. Not only does it dial up the aesthetics way past 11, but it delivers outstanding audio quality no matter what noise you push through it on whatever platform you can think of. The microphone (now detachable) equally is light years ahead of the rather lackluster fixed one found in the original H9, and the comfort and ergonomic design likewise holds its head high.

The downsides? Battery life is still a pretty standard 30 hours (or a little less in my testing, albeit that is with ANC switched off), and we have seen a slight price increase compared to the first gen's launch RRP, which is also quite high, but literally that's it. Sony's gone above and beyond with this thing, and it really shows.

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless review: price & availability

Costs $348 / £299 / around AU$489
Available in both black and white
$30 / £30 more than the Gen 1

There's no beating around the bush here; this is one seriously expensive wireless headset. Available now from most major retailers on either side of the pond, you can buy this directly from Sony's webstore too, and it's available in either a black or white finish.

There is a catch. It is exceptionally good, but you need to ask yourself if you're willing to pay for that quality and versatility, particularly given how competitive that market is right now with the likes of the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro and others still holding strong in that arena.

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless review: specs

Price	$348.00 / £299.00 / around AU$489
Weight	9.2oz / 260g
Compatibility	PC, Xbox Series X/S (Xbox version), Playstation 4/5, (PlayStation version), iOS/Android
Connection type	2.4 GHz Wireless / Bluetooth / USB Wired / 3.5mm Analog
Battery life	30 hours (With ANC disabled)
Microphone	Super wide band detachable cardioid mic

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless review: design and features

Much improved lightweight design
Outstandingly classy style
Wildly broad connectivity

This has to be one of the best-looking gaming headsets I've seen to date. There's something about that cord-wrapped adjustable headband that just screams modern to me, and it's quite difficult to pinpoint why that is. There's a Converse-esque, Levi’s vibe to it, regardless of whether it's in black or white (although the white model is certainly more striking with its high contrast black and white styling), that just resonates, blending modern-day outdoor style with a crisp gaming aesthetic.

It manages that all while being remarkably comfortable thanks to that ski-band style head rest, that's not too dissimilar to those found on the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and other such cans. What that does is make it remarkably comfortable over long periods of time, particularly given the weight comes in just shy of 260g without the microphone.

The earcups, too, are massive over-ear closed-back designs, complete with memory foam and soft padding, which are really over-engineered for what they are, but comfortable nonetheless.

As for connectivity, although you're still not blessed with modern Xbox support (perhaps unsurprising given the brand on offer here), there's practically every other medium you could muster. Bluetooth 5.3? Check, low-latency Wireless 2.4 GHz? Check. 3.5mm audio? Also, check (missing from the original model). It's just great to see.

As for the hardware inside, Sony's kitted this out with its WH-1000XM6 30mm carbon fiber composite dome drivers, the exact same ones found inside the legendary lifestyle headphones of the same name. I'll touch on why these are so good in just a second, but they're built around solid noise cancelling and ambient activation too, and it really pays off.

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless review: performance

Excellent audio
Outstanding microphone
Standard battery life

So, good looks aside, how did it perform? Well in my time testing it audio quality was solid all around. The H9 2 has this almost reference sound-scape (or at least the sample I had) that really is quite clear over wireless. It's impressively balanced on the bottom-end, particularly for 30mm drivers; it's not too bass-heavy where it's drowning out the mids and the trebles, or the high-end, yet you still have enough there to hear those deeper notes, the thrum of explosions, and the kick of a bass drum. There's a lot to love, either with music or in-game.

It is theoretically meant to be an FPS gaming headset, but to be frank, I found the higher-end to be a bit too soft for that. Compared to some gaming headsets, it lacked the crispness required for you to really pick up on every footstep and every sound around you, despite the spatial audio and Windows' best efforts to muck that all up.

However, if you're looking for a highly versatile headset that's not only broad in its connectivity but also more than capable of delivering across multiple media and game genres, the H9 2 wireless checks all those boxes.

The microphone was on another level, too. I did some light testing in Audacity, recording voice-overs for comparison, and compared to my classic Shure 55SH Series 2, plumbed in via one of Elgato's XLR DACs, it was hard to tell the difference between them, much to my chagrin.

Noise cancelling is here as well, and it's more than enough to handle any busy home. It does eat into battery life, though, so do bear that in mind, as it's already kind of a bit average, which is again one of the few negatives, particularly given the price.

Still, for the money, this thing is stylish, potent, and remarkably adept for what it is, and compared to the first generation, on a whole other level.

Should I buy the Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless?

Buy it if…

You're looking for ultimate compatibility
With wireless, bluetooth and analog connectivity, there's not a lot of devices out there that this thing won't connect to.

You want solid all-around audio with no frills
Thanks to an exceptionally clean soundstage and well-balanced 30mm carbon composite dome drivers, the H9 2 keeps a well-balanced and smooth audio profile.

You're looking for style and comfort
As classy out on the street as it is in any gaming space, the H9 2 balances comfort, style, and is remarkably lightweight, as it does that too.

Don’t buy it if…

You're looking for the best value
At 300 big ones, it isn't cheap, and there are far more affordable alternatives out there that deliver just as much connectivity, albeit with some caveats.

You want multi-day battery life
Although the H9 packs in a 30-hour battery (with ANC off), it pales in comparison to some of its competition, which nearly doubles that at times.

You're buying it for its FPS clout
It lacks that unbalanced sound stage needed to really make those footsteps shine in-game, which is a pro if you like music, less so if you're a cutting-edge eSports gamer.

Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless review: also consider

	Sony Inzone H9 2	Razer BlackShark V3 X Hyperspeed	SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Price	$348.00 / £299.00 / around AU$489	$99.99 / £99.99 / around AU$141	$349.99 / £329.99 / around AU$649
Weight	9.2oz / 260g	9.5oz / 270g	11.9oz / 337g
Compatibility	PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S (wired only), iOS/Android, Switch, Switch 2, Steam Deck	PC, Xbox Series X/S (Xbox version), Playstation 4/5, (PlayStation version), iOS/Android	PC, PS4/PS5, Handheld, Switch, Switch 2, iOS/Android
Connection type	2.4 GHz Wireless, Bluetooth, USB Wired, 3.5mm Analog	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (Hyperspeed dongle), USB wired	Dual USB, Wireless 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth,
Battery life	30 Hours (with ANC disabled)	70 hours	44 hours of battery life (22 hours per hot swappable battery)

Razer BlackShark V3 X Hyperspeed
A more budget-friendly gaming-oriented headset, the BlackShark V3 takes everything about the V3 Pro and condenses it down into a solid package. You do sacrifice audio quality but it comes with a superb 70-hour battery life.

For more information, check out our full Razer BlackShark V3 X Hyperspeed wireless headset review

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Don't let that price tag fool you, the Nova Pro Wireless is an outstanding classic design backed up with plenty of modern tech and an exceptional sound profile. It may have more of a classic gamer finish, but it delivers where it counts. It's reduced in price now too.

For more information, check out our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review

How I tested the Sony InZone H9 2 Wireless

Two weeks of continual use as a daily driver
One week's use at the gym to test ANC
Comparisons made to the original H9 Wireless

I spent a good two weeks with the Inzone H9 2, testing it in all manner of scenarios, gaming, and working at home. I also took on several day trips, replacing my traditional ANC headphones at the gym with them instead, to really see if it could hold up in a more public-facing environment.

On the gaming front, I tested it in a multitude of RTS and RPG games, including Total War: Warhammer 3, along with Stellaris, and The Witcher 3.

First reviewed: February 2026
Read more about how we test

I tested MSI’s new convertible laptop, and its build and performance are top-drawer — but content creators will be left wanting more

1:10 pm | March 11, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Laptops Windows Laptops | Tags: Acer Chromebook Spin, CPU, Total War, USB | Comments: Off

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+: Two-minute review

The MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ is a convertible laptop marketed for business users, and includes a stylus to unlock its full creative potential.

It cuts a sophisticated figure, thanks to its dark grey finish and minimal aesthetic. The ultra thin chassis with its soft, curved edges also help to make this an easy laptop to live with, especially if you’re frequently on the move.

Build quality is also excellent. Every material feels premium, and while the hinges for the lid are a little incongruous, they provide a very smooth pivot, which ranks among the best 2-in-1 laptop actions.

The included Nano Pen is engineered to an equally high standard. Like the laptop itself, it’s very compact, and stows away neatly under the front edge of the base, where it also charges wirelessly. It’s easy enough to remove, but putting it back is a little more awkward, since its integrated magnets encourage it to orient incorrectly.

For a laptop this small, it’s impressive that the Flip AI+ manages to include four USB ports (two type-C and two type-A), an HDMI port, and a headset jack. It’s a small shame, though, that a productivity-focused laptop such as this doesn’t feature an SD card reader of any kind.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 355 in my Flip AI+ review unit handled productivity and entertainment workloads with aplomb, while the 32GB of RAM meant it had no problem multitasking. It even managed to run AAA games in a playable state — surprising given there’s no dedicated GPU on board. However, this absence was felt when the Flip AI+ failed to even complete a benchmark test for Adobe Premiere.

Front view of MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ open on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

A fair amount of noise is generated even when moderate workloads are undertaken. Some heat can be felt towards the rear as well, reaching the top rows of the keyboard, but thankfully temperatures remained comfortable.

The OLED display of the Flip AI+ is sharp and clear, although it lacks the brightness of the best monitors. Reflections and fingerprints are also visible at times. The touchscreen functions well, though, especially when used with the included Nano Pen; both combine to offer precise and responsive inputs.

MSI Center S is the utility app for the Flip AI+, housing system information and performance tweaks, as well as the ability to enable and customize the Action Touchpad. In the case of the latter, I had to manually update the app for these to work properly, even though I had automatic updates enabled.

The default quick controls for the touchpad are useful and operate smoothly for the most part. However, the brightness slider on the right edge would often trigger unintentionally when I typed, which was frustrating. Another frustration was the momentary freezes and jumps I sometimes experienced when attempting to navigate the cursor.

Fortunately, typing on the Flip AI+ is less fraught. The keys are snappy, although they’re perhaps a little heavier and harsher than I would’ve liked, resulting in the occasional press failing to register. Nonetheless, this is still a board suited to quick typing.

The battery life of the Flip AI+ easily ranks among the best in class. It lasted over 30 hours when I left it to playback a movie on a continuous loop, which is very impressive. It’s also quick to charge, making it a great laptop for those constantly on the move.

The Flip AI+ is undeniably expensive, but considering its premium design, powerful spec, and convertible capabilities, it represents good value. There are certainly cheaper 2-in-1 laptops that offer sufficient everyday performance, but the Flip AI+ is a more complete package. If its touchpad was less frustrating and it had a dedicated GPU, it’d be a hard laptop to beat at this price point.

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: Price & availability

Close-up of webcam on MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

$1,699.99 / £1,349.99 / AU$$2,999
Available now
Good value for the spec

The MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ costs $1,699.99 / £1,349.99 / AU$$2,999 and is available now. Various Intel Core Ultra processors are available depending on region, and in Australia, only the unit with 2TB of storage appears to be available.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly convertible laptop, the HP Pavilion x360 14 is a solid alternative. It has a weaker spec than the Flip AI+, and you’ll have to provide your own stylus, but it’s a great device for everyday tasking.

If you want to save even more money on a 2-in-1, the Acer Chromebook Spin 312 is one of the best Chromebooks in this class. Of course, you’ll have to forgo Windows, but if you don’t need the versatility of Microsoft’s OS, a Chromebook can be a useful companion for your studies and light entertainment.

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: specs

Price	$1,699.99 / £1,349.99 / AU$$2,999
CPU	US: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (1.5GHz, 16 cores) UK: Intel Core Ultra 7 355 (2.3GHz, 8 Cores) Aus: Intel Core Ultra 9 386H (2.1GHz, 16 cores)
GPU	Intel Graphics (integrated)
RAM	32GB LPDDR5x
Storage	1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD Aus: 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display	14-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200), OLED, 16:10, Touchscreen, 100% DCI-P3 (Typical), Low Blue Light & Flicker-free certified by SGS, MSI Nano Pen support
Ports and Connectivity	2x USB-A (3.2 Gen2), 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort, PD 3.0), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x combo audio; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0
Battery	81Wh
Dimensions	12.4 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches (316 x 222 x 14mm)
Weight	3lbs / 1.37kg

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: Design

Close-up of touchpad on MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ — (Image credit: Future)

Thin and premium design
Plenty of USB ports
Discreet Nano Pen storage

Credit where credit’s due, MSI has done an admirable job of making the Flip AI+ a stylish machine. Its steely grey finish and minimal proportions impart an elegance not usually found in brand’s designs. What’s more, it’s impressively thin and free from extraneous bulges, even underneath (save from two full-width feet). All this helps to make it an easy device to travel with.

I also appreciated the rounded edges, which are curved more prominently than most. This makes it comfortable to hold and pick up. The thin bezel around the display is another facet of the laptop’s overall sleekness.

All the materials employed in the construction of the Flip AI+ feel premium, especially those of the keyboard and touchpad. They put me in mind of the best MacBooks, which are pretty much the standard bearers for laptop build quality.

Close-up of keyboard on MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ — (Image credit: Future)

However, the minimalist appearance of the Flip AI+ is somewhat upset by the lid hinges. They look a little cumbersome in relation to the rest of the unit, and create a somewhat unsightly gap between the lid and base. At least they operate smoothly, allowing for easy conversion when you want to use the touchscreen exclusively.

The included Nano Pen is just as compact as the laptop itself. It’s much smaller than many others, but no less upmarket in its design. It charges wirelessly, and the compartment to stow it is discreetly integrated into the underside of the Flip AI+, near the front edge.

This makes it easy to remove, requiring a slight tilt of the base of the Flip AI+ to access. You can even do this one-handed. However, it’s a little more awkward to put back: whenever I tried, the magnets inside the Nano Pen kept trying to flip it around from its correct orientation, requiring more encouragement than I would’ve liked to insert the right way up.

The Flip AI+ features all the essential outboard connections: there are two USB-A ports on the right and two USB-C on the left; the latter support charging of the Flip AI+ as well as external monitor signals. An HDMI port and a 3.5mm combo audio jack are also present, split across either side. Considering how thin and compact the unit is, including this many ports feels generous, although I always lament the omission of an SD card reader on a laptop designed for productivity.

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: Performance

Hand holding MSI Nano Pen with MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ and pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Impressive general performance
Loud under load
Action Touchpad misfire issue

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ benchmarks

3DMark: Night Raid: 31,643; Fire Strike: 6,517; Steel Nomad: 607; Solar Bay:12,337; Solar Bay Unlimited: 12,434; Solar Bay Extreme: 1,793; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 1,793
Geekbench 6.5: Multicore: 11,670; Single-core: 2,752
Cinebench R23: Multi Core: 10,177; Cinebench R24: Single Core: 116; Multi Core: 628
Crossmark: Overall: 1,785; Productivity: 1,700; Creativity: 2,037; Responsiveness: 1,392
Passmark Overall: 6,809.7; CPU: 22,456.1; 2D Graphics: 780.2; 3D Graphics: 5,363; Memory: 3,581.1; Disk: 48,869.8
BlackMagicDisk: Read: 4,221MB/s; Write: 3,500MB/s
Total War: Warhammer III: 1080p, Medium: 30.2fps
Total War: Warhammer III: 1440p, Ultra: 19.2fps

The Flip AI+ performed well in most of the tasks I conducted. It handled light productivity and entertainment – including 4K streaming – without issue. It also proved to be a capable multitasker, although this was hardly a surprise given the 32GB of RAM my review unit was crammed with.

Even though the Flip AI+ doesn’t have a dedicated GPU, I was impressed with its gaming prowess. It ran Cyberpunk 2077 on the Ray Tracing: Low preset remarkably well. Granted, the visuals were rough around the edges and frame rates were well short of those delivered by the best gaming laptops, but it was still enjoyable enough for casual play.

Video editors and creators will be more disappointed with the Flip AI+, though. It failed to even complete PugetBench’s Adobe Premiere benchmark, despite repeated attempts, due to a certain GPU effect failing to render.

The Flip AI+ also has a tendency to emit a fair amount of fan noise when undertaking workloads, even those that could be described as moderate. This is usually accompanied by some prominent heat at the rear of the unit and on the top row of the keyboard. Mercifully, the temperatures are far from being intolerable, but you’ll certainly notice them.

Hand holding MSI Nano Pen against display of MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

As for the display of the Flip AI+, its 1920 x 1200 resolution is clear and sharp, and the OLED technology helps with contrast. It reveals reflections and fingermarks a little too easily, and I wish the maximum brightness setting was higher, but thankfully these grievances aren’t ruinous to the overall visual experience.

Another important aspect of the Flip AI+’s display is its touchscreen functionality. It’s precise and responsive, if a little grabby when used with fingers. However, it handles the included Nano Pen much better. This glides smoothly across the surface, making it ideal for navigation, handwriting, and drawing.

However, the sheer slenderness of the Nano Pen makes using the two side buttons — which are used to erase content, take screenshots, and activate the inbuilt microphone — very awkward when adopting a writing position. Those with daintier digits might have an easier time, but I struggled.

Another standout feature of the Flip AI+ is its Action Touchpad. I found this useful for controlling various parameters, such as volume and screen brightness, quickly. You can also double-tap the left and right corners to open Windows’ Calculator app and the MSI Center S respectively.

However, my initial experience with these functions was beset by various bugs, from the aforementioned quick controls failing to register, to the three custom slots refusing their assignments.

Three-quarter view of MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ open on white desk with MSI Nano Pen leaning on it, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Thankfully, a manual download to update the MSI Center S to its latest version seemed to fix most of these issues. I was disappointed, though, that this update failed to initiate automatically, since I had this option toggled in the app settings.

I was also disappointed that there was still no way to customize the six default quick controls. But a bigger frustration was the frequent accidental triggering of the brightness quick control, caused by the palm of my thumb when typing. To prevent this I would have to disable all quick controls, since you can’t disable them individually.

This issue aside, typing with the Flip AI+ is mostly pleasant. The keyboard features plenty of useful shortcuts on the top row, including those for Bluetooth settings and Windows’ Snipping Tool. However, disappointingly for a productivity-focused machine, there’s no number pad or even a navigation cluster. There is backlighting, though, which is always cause for celebration in a laptop.

In action, the keys are snappy thanks to their short actuation, which makes for quick typing. However, they’re a little heavier than those in your average laptop, which, in my experience, results in the occasional hit failing to register. Dampening is minimal as well, which can make presses feel a little harsh. These are minor grievances, though, and only stand when compared to the best keyboards around.

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: Battery life

Close-up of MSI Nano Pen in compartment underneath MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Phenomenal endurance
Quick to charge

The battery life of the Flip AI+ is truly spectacular. MSI quotes a longevity of 30 hours, but according to my testing — which involved playing a movie on a continuous loop — it actually exceeded this already remarkable figure by a couple of hours.

To put this into perspective, the most enduring laptop I ever tested was the HP OmniBook 7 14-inch, but even this fell someway short of the Flip AI+ in the same test, mustering just under 26 hours. The Flip AI+ is also quick to charge, taking about two hours to replenish from total depletion.

Should I buy the MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+?

Scorecard

Category	Notes	Rating
Value	Aside from the lack of a dedicated GPU, the Flip AI+ offers a lot for the money.	4 / 5
Design	Super-thin and with a premium construction, the Flip AI+ ticks all the right boxes in terms of design. Port selection is also reasonable, given the compact form factor.	4.5 / 5
Performance	The Flip AI+ offers great all-round performance, although the absence of a dedicated GPU might disappoint creatives. The touchscreen and Nano Pen are both great, but the Action Touchpad can frustrate.	4 / 5
Battery Life	Pretty much unbeatable. It has a video playback time of over 30 hours, and it’s quick to charge, too.	5 / 5
Final Score	The MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ is a very competent, convertible laptop that represents good value when you consider its build and performance. Only a few minor gripes hold it back from a full-throated recommendation.	4 / 5

Buy it if…

You want an easy-to-use convertible laptop
Light, thin, and well made, the Flip AI+ is easy to use in its converted mode, and the touchscreen and pen function very well, too.

You want a strong spec
Integrated graphics aside, the spec of the Flip AI+ is certainly powerful enough for the needs of many productivity users.

You want to go all day unplugged
I haven’t come across a laptop with a better battery life: it comfortably lasts more than a full day’s worth of use.

Don't buy it if…

You want serious graphical power
Even though I was impressed by how well it ran AAA games, the Flip AI+ isn’t a patch on machines with dedicated GPUs.

You want a fuss-free touchpad
The Action Touchpad is most excellent, but the frequent misfiring of the brightness slider when typing was frustrating.

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ review: Also consider

HP Pavilion x360 14
Another 2-in-1 Windows laptop, the HP Pavilion x360 14 is a competent everyday machine with a premium design and a sharp display, but a much lower price tag than the Flip AI+. There are models without backlit keyboards, but I recommend steering clear of those, given how hard it is to make out the key symbols even in the light. Read our full HP Pavilion x360 14 review.

Acer Chromebook Spin 312
If you want a seriously budget convertible option, the Acer Chromebook Spin 312 is a solid choice. Since it’s a Chromebook, you’ll have to forgo the versatility of Windows, but it’s still a strong-performer with a great display and a compact design that’s suited for travel. Read our full Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review.

How I tested the MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+

Close-up of ports on left-hand side of MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, on a white desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Tested for several days
Ran our series of benchmarks

I tested the MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ for several days, during which time I used it for all manner of tasks, from general browsing and productivity to streaming and gaming.

I also ran our extensive series of benchmarks, designed to assess every facet of a laptop’s performance. I also tested the battery life by running a movie on a continuous loop while the Flip AI+ was unplugged until it died.

I’ve been using laptops for decades and have reviewed a large number of them, from budget affairs and Chromebooks to mid-range productivity machines and high-end gaming models.

First reviewed: March 2026
Read more about how we test

The Galaxy Book6 Ultra proves Samsung can make a MacBook killer – it’s just a shame about the price

8:00 pm | February 11, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Laptops Windows Laptops | Tags: Battery Life, Total War | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra: Two-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is the very latest premium laptop from the South Korean tech giant. While Samsung is better known for its TVs, smartphones, and home appliances, in recent years it’s been steadily releasing some of the best laptops we’ve ever tested through its Galaxy Book lineup, and the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra was launched at CES 2026 alongside the Book6 Pro and more affordable Galaxy Book6.

They all come with Intel’s brand-new Core Ultra Series 3 mobile processors (also known as Panther Lake), which have been seriously impressing us, as well as Samsung’s increasingly sophisticated ecosystem that allows these laptops to interact with other Samsung devices, especially smartphones and tablets, and gives, in my mind, the closest experience to Apple’s slick Mac/iPhone/iPad integration for Windows 11 and Android devices. More on that later.

As a Galaxy product, this is naturally a high-end flagship device, and with a price tag of £2,999 (around $4,000 / AU$6,000) for the base model, this isn't going to be a laptop for everyone.

However, if you can afford it, you should be pretty happy with what you get for your money. The latest hardware from Intel and Nvidia means this is a brilliant performer for basically any task you require, and Samsung has made sure this is a solidly-built laptop with excellent build quality - and comes with one of the best screens you can get.

But that high price and abundance of power mean a lot of people simply won't need the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, and a more affordable laptop (such as the standard Galaxy Book6) will be a much better choice.

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra laptop in an office environment — (Image credit: Future)

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra: Price & Availability

Starts at $2,449.99 / £2,999 (around AU$6,000)
Launch seems to have been delayed

As with Samsung’s other Galaxy products, the Galaxy Book6 series of laptops are premium devices with designs, specs, and price tags to match. The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, as the name suggests, is the highest-end model, and starts at $2,449.99 / £2,999 (around AU$6,000) for the model that comes with an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU and 1TB of storage.

That’s expensive for a laptop. Very expensive. It makes the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5) from last year seem like a bargain at $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,499, and while you can argue that the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is a much more powerful laptop, mainly thanks to its high-end CPU, discrete GPU and more RAM, if you’re making a product that’s a more expensive rival to an Apple device, you’ll need to justify the extra cash.

Arguably, comparing the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra to the more powerful 16-inch MacBook Pro with either M4 Pro or M4 Max chips (which, despite being last-generation, are more powerful than the M5) is more fair. The MacBook Pro 16-inch with M4 Pro and 24GB of unified memory is $2,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,999, while the model with an M4 Max chip and 36GB of unified memory is $3,499 / £3,499 / AU$5,699.

Value: 2.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review: Specs

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Specs
	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Base Config	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Review Config	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra High end Config
Price	$2,449.99 / £2,999 (around AU$6,000)	TBA	TBA
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 series 3	Intel Core Ultra 7 series 3	Intel Core Ultra 9 series 3
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
RAM	32GB LPDDR5X	32GB LPDDR5X	64GB LPDDR5X
Storage	1TB PCI Express NVMe 4.0 (M.2)	1TB PCI Express NVMe 4.0 (M.2)	1TB PCI Express NVMe 4.0 (M.2)
Display	16-inch Touch AMOLED, Anti-Reflective, WQXGA+ (2880×1800), 1000nits	16-inch Touch AMOLED, Anti-Reflective, WQXGA+ (2880×1800), 1000nits	16-inch Touch AMOLED, Anti-Reflective, WQXGA+ (2880×1800), 1000nits
Ports and Connectivity	Thunderbolt 4 (2), USB Type-A, HDMI 2.1 port (Supports 8K@60, 5K@120), SD, Headphone/Microphone	Thunderbolt 4 (2), USB Type-A, HDMI 2.1 port (Supports 8K@60, 5K@120), SD, Headphone/Microphone	Thunderbolt 4 (2), USB Type-A, HDMI 2.1 port (Supports 8K@60, 5K@120), SD, Headphone/Microphone
Battery	80.20Wh	80.20Wh	80.20Wh
Dimensions	14.05 x 9.76 x 0.6 inches / 356.9 x 248 x 15.4mm	14.05 x 9.76 x 0.6 inches / 356.9 x 248 x 15.4mm	14.05 x 9.76 x 0.6 inches / 356.9 x 248 x 15.4mm
Weight	4.2lbs / 1.89kg	4.2lbs / 1.89kg	4.2lbs / 1.89kg

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review: Design

Very smart looking
Excellent display
Manages to be slim

As with previous Galaxy Book laptops, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is a great-looking product, with a sleek, understated design in silver that is reminiscent of Apple’s Intel-based MacBook Pros (before they underwent noticeable redesigns with the switch to Apple’s own M-series processors). This won’t be the last time I’ll mention the Book6 Ultra’s similarities to a MacBook.

Unlike the Galaxy Book6 Pro and Galaxy Book6, which come in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, the Galaxy Book6 Ultra comes in a single 16-inch size. While this might mean that if portability is your biggest concern when buying a new laptop, you might not want a large-screen device like the Book6 Ultra, Samsung has done a good job of keeping this laptop feeling thin and relatively light.

It measures 14.05 x 9.76 x 0.6 inches (356.9 x 248 x 15.4mm) and weighs up to 4.2lbs (1.89kg). This means it’s slightly thinner than the 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5), despite its larger screen and discrete GPU, although because this is a 16-inch laptop, the overall footprint is larger than the M5 MacBook Pro.

Despite the thin design, there’s a decent selection of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, a standard USB Type-A port, HDMI 2.1, and an SD card reader. Thankfully, Samsung’s decision to drop the headphone jacks from its smartphones hasn’t made it to its laptop division, as the Galaxy Book6 Ultra comes with a port for plugging in headsets and microphones.

Fans of USB-C formats (come on, there must be some) will note that the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra’s two ports are Thunderbolt 4, rather than the newer (and faster) Thunderbolt 5. While this means the Book6 Ultra isn’t quite packed with the very latest components, it’s worth noting that its main competitor, the MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025), also comes with Thunderbolt 4 ports.

The keyboard, which again invites comparisons with the MacBook Pro, is decent, and while the keys themselves are rather shallow, they still feel responsive and comfortable to use. As with Apple’s laptops, there’s a dedicated button on the top-right of the keyboard that’s used to scan your fingerprint. This allows you to securely log into Windows 11 with just a touch, and it also means you can use features such as the controversial Recall tool that require advanced biometric security.

The main appeal, design-wise, of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra, however, is its screen. Samsung is known for using excellent screens for its devices, especially TVs and smartphones, and the Galaxy Book6 Ultra continues that tradition.

The 16-inch touchscreen comes with a sharp WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800) resolution, and AMOLED screen technology that results in an incredibly vibrant and detailed image quality. That, combined with a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz, makes Windows 11, its apps, and pretty much any media you play on the Galaxy Book6 Ultra look absolutely fantastic.

The display is surrounded by a thin, modern bezel, which means Samsung can maximize the screen size without bulking up the rest of the laptop, and there’s no controversial ‘notch’ that modern MacBooks have around the webcam.

Design: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review: Performance

Excellent Windows 11 performance
Can even play games
Gets very hot

Coming with Intel’s latest, and very impressive, Panther Lake processors, and able to be configured with up to an Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics card, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra offers an exemplary Windows 11 experience, with the operating system and apps all running smoothly.

Whilst testing the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, I had no problem at all running various apps, and with plenty of RAM, multitasking between apps is smooth and responsive.

The model I reviewed comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 laptop GPU, something that’s often found in the best gaming laptops. The inclusion of this high-end GPU doesn’t mean the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is a gaming laptop, however, as it can be used for graphically-intensive workloads, such as ultra-high-definition video editing, 3D animation, and advanced AI tasks. So, this model of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is a great choice for creative professionals, especially thanks to its gorgeous OLED screen.

The Galaxy Book6 Ultra certainly had no issues while I was editing a 4K movie in Adobe Premiere, with clips loading quickly, and scrubbing through the video’s timeline was instant. This was also while I had numerous apps and websites open at once, and Windows 11 felt incredibly fast and smooth.

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra: Benchmarks

Here's how the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
3DMark: Fire Strike: 26,767; Time Spy: 12,309; Steel Nomad: 2,758; Port Royal: 7,687
Geekbench 6.5: Multicore: 16,655; Single-core: 2,852
PCMark 10: 6,827
Crossmark: Overall: 1,880; Productivity: 1,669; Creativity: 2,275; Responsiveness: 1,514
Cyberpunk 2077: (1080p, High, DLSS Quality): 111.86fps
Assassin's Creed Shadows: 1080p, Medium: 54fps; 1080p, Ultra High: 32fps, 1080p, Medium, DLSS Quality: 65; 1080p, Ultra High, DLSS Quality: 39fps
Total War: Warhammer III: 1080p, High: 101.3fps
Battery Life (TechRadar video test): 13 hours, 39 minutes
Battery Life (Battery Informant): 15 hours, 11 minutes

Also, while the RTX 5070-toting Galaxy Book6 Ultra is not a gaming laptop, it can still play games, though you’ll want to enable DLSS upscaling where possible. At 1080p with DLSS on and graphics set to ‘High’, I got Cyberpunk 2077 running at a very impressive 111.86fps. Meanwhile, Assassin's Creed Shadows at ‘Medium’ settings with DLSS switched on hit 65fps.

Sure, these aren’t the most mind-blowing numbers, and there will be plenty of PC gamers who turn their noses up at the need to use DLSS, but the fact that such a thin and light laptop can play these games at all, let alone at those kind of frame rates, is really impressive, and again thanks to the OLED screen, they look incredible.

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra also remains impressively quiet. Even when performing intensive tasks, fan noise was kept to a minimum. The lack of distracting whirring is nice, but it does mean that at some points, primarily just above the keyboard, the laptop can get very hot to the touch. Using it for prolonged periods of heavy workloads (including gaming) could lead to the performance getting throttled to stop the Galaxy Book6 Ultra from overheating, though it didn’t happen during my tests. Packing such powerful components into such a slim chassis does mean that this is a risk, however.

One of the key features of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is how it can work with other Samsung devices, much like how MacBooks can work with iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.

Screenshot showing Samsung's apps in Windows 11 on the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra — (Image credit: Microsoft / Samsung)

I connected the Galaxy Book6 Ultra to my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and with a bit of tweaking, I was able to easily share documents between the laptop and the smartphone. 'Multicontrol' is a particularly impressive feature, whereby dragging the mouse cursor to the edge of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra’s screen, the cursor will jump to the smartphone, and you can use the Galaxy Book6 Ultra’s trackpad and keyboard to interact with the phone.

I used this to type out some long messages that would have been a pain to write using the phone’s touchscreen. You can also use Samsung’s tablets as a second display for the Galaxy Book6 Ultra, a nice touch if you have invested in Samsung’s ecosystem.

If the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is going to be your first and only Samsung device, then sadly you won’t be able to make use of most of these features, though Windows 11’s Phone Link feature remains a great way to access your phone via your laptop, and it’ll work on the Galaxy Book6 Ultra without the phone needing to be a Samsung model.

You’re missing out on some really useful features, though, many of which make life easier – and Samsung has made it the furthest out of any of its rivals when it comes to providing an Apple-like experience with its ecosystem.

This is all the more impressive as Apple has complete control over its ecosystem: it builds both the hardware (including many components) in its Macs, iPhones, and tablets, as well as the software those devices run on. That means making everything interact with each other is a lot easier (relatively speaking, I mean. I’m certainly not downplaying the hard work and effort that’s still required).

Meanwhile, Samsung’s laptops and smartphones are mainly made of components made by other companies, such as Intel, and the software they run (Windows 11 for laptops, Android for smartphones and tablets) is also made by other companies (Microsoft and Google, respectively).

Samsung apps in Windows 11 — (Image credit: Microsoft / Samsung)

So, making its various products all work together is an impressive feat, and for the most part works well. It does mean that you need to use Samsung’s own apps for a lot of things, and you need to sign into your Samsung account (on top of your Microsoft account, Google account), so if you’re not a fan of extra apps (sometimes uncharitably called ‘bloatware’) on your laptop or smartphone, then you’ll be frustrated with Samsung’s penchant of preinstalling its own apps.

Also, it’s not quite as slick as Apple’s implementation, and there are a few performance niggles. While using Multcontrol to use the trackpad and keyboard of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra on my Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphone was helpful, it prevented the onscreen keyboard on the phone from appearing when I moved control back over to the laptop. Not the end of the world, but a bit annoying if you forget and then wonder why you can’t type out a message. It’s easy to fix by reenabling the touch keyboard, but it’s an example of how Apple’s ecosystem works so much better.

As well as the excellent OLED screen, which offers beautifully dark blacks, high contrast, and vibrant colors, the Galaxy Book6 Ultra comes with six Dolby Atmos speakers with four force-cancelling woofers and two tweeters, which allows the laptop to handle both deep bases and high details. It can reach loud volumes without the audio distorting, and there are no annoying vibrations thanks to the speaker design.

As a Copilot+ PC, it’s also been designed with on-device AI in mind, but even though both Microsoft and Samsung seem fully committed to AI, I’ve yet to find a compelling case for it in a laptop. Sure, it’s nice to have and means this laptop is certainly future-proof, but it’s the least exciting part of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra.

Performance: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review: Battery Life

Over 15 hours
Gaming drains it in 2 hours

Despite what many companies, including Microsoft, insist, AI is not the most interesting or exciting feature of this new generation of Copilot+ PC laptops (ugh, I hate that name) – but rather, it's the battery life.

The processors powering these laptops are getting ever more efficient, which means they can offer excellent performance as well as longer times between charging, and the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is an excellent example of this, managing over 15 hours in our benchmark tests. That’s not the longest we’ve seen, and the MacBook Pro comfortably beats it by about five hours in the same test. It’s still very good for a laptop that offers this kind of performance.

I was able to use it for multiple workdays without needing to plug it in, and when I did, the battery charged quickly. I used the included power adaptor, but any USB-C charger should do the trick – and it’s worth noting that in the UK and EU, the Galaxy Book6 Ultra does not come with a power adaptor, similar to the MacBook. This is supposed to help reduce e-waste, and while that’s an admirable goal, it does add to the expense if you’ve not got a spare charger already.

Battery Life: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Acer Aspire 16 AI?

Acer Aspire 16 AI Scorecard
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	This is a stylish and very powerful laptop that predictably comes at a very high price that will likely put off a lot of people.	2.5 / 5
Design	The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is one of the nicest-looking laptops on the market right now, and its AMOLED screen is a particular highlight.	4.5 / 5
Performance	Windows 11 is incredibly fast, and even the most intensive workloads are handled with ease. It can also play games.	4.5 / 5
Battery Life	Scoring over 15 hours in our tests, this is very impressive for a laptop that offers this level of performance.	4.5 / 5
Total	The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is one of the best laptops you can buy right now thanks to its awesome performance and stunning design. It's especially great if paired with a Samsung phone, though the high price means it won't be for everyone.	4.5 / 5

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra if...

You have other Samsung devices
The Galaxy Book6 Ultra really comes into its own when you pair it with a Samsung smartphone, tablet or headphones.

You want a thin and light creative workstation
Intel’s latest chips and the ability to configure the Galaxy Book6 Ultra with an RTX 5070 GPU mean this is an incredibly powerful laptop that’s ideal for creative workloads, all wrapped up in a thin and light chassis.

You want a fantastic screen to work on
The 16-inch AMOLED screen of the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is one of the best displays you can currently get in a laptop.

Don't buy it if...

You have a tight budget
The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is a flagship laptop with cutting-edge components and features, which makes it very expensive.

You want a gaming laptop
Despite coming with an RTX 5070 GPU, this is not a gaming laptop, and while it certainly can play games, you’d be better off buying a machine specifically designed for gaming, as they will offer better cooling and other gaming features.

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

Tested for several weeks
Used for various tasks
Connected it to my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphone

I tested the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra over the course of several weeks, using it for work and writing the bulk of this review on it. I also played a few games on it to see how the dedicated GPU copes.

I also edited a 4K video using Adobe Premiere Pro and streamed several movies and listened to music. I've been reviewing laptops for nearly 20 years, and I've used my extensive experience to rate this device.

First reviewed: February 2026
Read more about how we test

I tested the Asus V16 and it’s as portable as large gaming laptops get — but this isn’t the only aspect that impressed me

12:13 pm | January 30, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Gaming Computers Gaming Laptops | Tags: Battery Life, Total War | Comments: Off

Asus V16: Two-minute review

The V16 is a large gaming laptop with a strong spec at an appealing price point. It looks understated yet elegant, thanks to the smooth finish and lack of gaming-related embellishments. The rounded edges and smooth planes further add to its minimalist appeal.

What’s more, the V16 is remarkably sleek by the standards of its class. Despite the large 16-inch size display, its body is very thin and light, making it a contender for the best gaming laptop you can realistically carry around with you.

The build quality of the V16 is also commendable, featuring materials that feel premium and well put-together. It’s more solid than some of its rivals, although it’s perhaps not the sturdiest gaming laptop in existence.

There are enough connectivity options to satisfy most gamers, although the lack of an RJ-45 port might disappoint keen online players. The fact that all but one of the V16’s interfaces are located on the left – and none on the rear – might also be a pain point for some.

Rear three-quarter view of Asus V16 open on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

MyAsus is the utility software bundled with the V16, used to view system information and make performance tweaks. It gets the job done, although the interface and odd loading times make it less polished than rival software.

Thanks to the RTX 4050 in my review unit, the V16 managed to hold its own when contending with today’s AAA titles. I didn’t manage to achieve 60fps at full resolution when playing Cyberpunk 2077, but I still had a smooth and enjoyable experience at around 50fps with Ray Tracing enabled.

Heat made its way onto the keyboard while playing, with the space bar experiencing the most intense temperatures. It was still comfortable to use, though, and more impressively, the fans were relatively hushed.

The 16-inch display on the V16 provides a large vista for showcasing blockbuster titles at their best. The 1920 x 1200 resolution is just about sharp enough for its size too. However, while colors are vibrant enough, they lack the intensity of the best gaming monitors, and reflections can reveal themselves all too readily.

The starting price of the V16 makes it a tempting proposition, although there are others with similar costs that offer a better spec, such as the Acer Nitro V 15, which features an RTX 5050 in its base model instead of a 4050. However, the portable design, large display, and excellent keyboard are all points in the V16’s favor, resulting in a strong contender in the mid-range gaming laptop market.

Asus V16 review: Price & Availability

Close-up of webcam on Asus V16 with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Starting from $949.99 / £849.99 / AU$1,399
Available now
Some rivals are better value

The Asus V16 starts from $949.99 / £849.99 / AU$1,399 and is available now. The base models in each region differ: the US gets an Intel Core 7 and an RTX 3050, the UK a Core 5 and an RTX 4050, and the Australian a Core 5 and RTX 3050. In the UK, we’ve also seen the RTX 5050 variant on sale for less than the 4050 counterpart.

This is a reasonable starting price for an RTX 40 series-equipped laptop. However, there are some rivals that represent better value, such as the Acer Nitro V 15, which has a significantly lower starting price (in the US, at least) but features an RTX 5050 rather than a 4050. Its display is an inch smaller, though, and it's decidedly bulkier and therefore less portable.

If you want to spend even less money, the MSI Cyborg 15 is a strong budget pick. You’ll have to settle for an RTX 30 series GPU to keep the costs down, but this still offers passable performance, and the overall design and brilliant keyboard of the Cyborg certainly haven’t fallen victim to cost-cutting.

Value: 3.5 / 5

Asus V16 review: Specs

Asus V16 review configuration
CPU	Intel Core 5 210H (8 cores) 2.2GHz
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 6GB
RAM	16GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM
Storage	512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
Display	16.0-inch, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10, 144Hz, Anti-glare
Ports and Connectivity	1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery	63Wh
Dimensions	14.06 x 9.87 x 0.71 ~ 0.87in (357 x 251 x 18 ~ 22mm)
Weight	4.30lbs / 1.95kg

Asus V16 review: Design

Close-up of right side of keyboard with blue backlighting on Asus V16 — (Image credit: Future)

Impressively light and thin
Decent build quality
Sufficient utility software

To look at, the V16 cuts a very un-gamerish figure. Only a small and discreet Asus logo adorns the lid, while the perfectly flat contours, unsullied by any of the protrusions or sharp angles typical for this class of device, further belie its gaming prowess.

Setting the V16 apart even more from its equally large rivals are its weight and dimensions: even the best laptops would envy just how light and thin it is. This makes it much easier to carry around than you might imagine – although you’ll still need plenty of space in your bag to accommodate its 16-inch diagonal.

Materials are impressively premium, too. The chassis has a super smooth finish, while the keys have a very subtle texture that enhances their tactility. What’s more, the whole construction feels quite solid, with minimal – but still noticeable – flexing to the panels.

Port selection on the V16 is adequate. There’s no ethernet port, which online gamers might lament, but you still get an HDMI port and a headset jack. There are also two USB-A ports and one USB-C port, the latter of which supports both power delivery and external displays.

Close-up of left side of keyboard with blue backlighting on Asus V16 — (Image credit: Future)

All ports are loaded on the left-hand side, except for one of the USB-A ports, which is on the right. This lack of balance might prove inconvenient depending on your setup, especially for those who like some on the rear.

The utility software for the V16, MyAsus, doesn’t exactly have the most enticing interface, and the fact it shows loading bars every time you open it is a little disconcerting, even if they don't take long. The app contains some useful system information and various settings you can adjust. Along with the usual fan profile selections, you can also adjust the GPU operation, with modes ranging from Standard to Optimized, that control when and where the GPU and integrated graphics are employed.

Design: 4.5 / 5

Asus V16 review: Performance

Close-up of left-side ports on Asus V16, on a desk — (Image credit: Future)

Smooth but unspectacular performance
Surprisingly quiet
Excellent keyboard

Asus V16 benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 2,400; (Multi Core): 9,093
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 11,766
Cinebench R24 (Single Core): 104 (Multi Core): 684
Crossmark Overall: 1,598
3DMark Night Raid: 45,660; Fire Strike: 17,587; Steel Nomad: 1,543; Solar Bay: 30,689; Solar Bay Unlimited: 32,976; Solar Bay Extreme: 6,387; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 3,515
BlackMagicDisk Read: 1,689MB/s; Write: 204MB/s
Civilization VII (1200p, AMD FSR, High): 77fps; (1080p, High): 105fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1200p, Highest, Balanced upscaling): 120fps; (1080p, Highest, SMAA x4, no upscaling): 69fps
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1200p, Ultra): 35fps; (1080p, Ultra): 37fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1200p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 60fps; (1080p, Ray Tracing: Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 36fps; (1080p, Ultra, no upscaling): 50fps
Marvel Rivals (1200p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 35fps; (1200p, no upscaling, Low): 58fps

The combination of the Intel Core 5 and RTX 4050 in my review unit resulted in respectable, if not outstanding, gaming performance. I got around 50fps when I played Cyberpunk 2077 at the Ray Tracing: Low preset. More importantly, I experienced virtually no slowdown or stuttering, even during busy scenes, which is always something to prize.

A small amount of heat was generated on the keyboard during my play time, but this was never uncomfortable. Oddly enough, the space bar experienced the highest temperatures, rather than the rear, as is the case with many other gaming laptops. Also unusual was the fact that the sides and underneath stayed remarkably cool as well.

As expected, the fans in the V16 whirred continuously while playing demanding titles, but the noise was suppressed quite well. Also, the tone and pitch was far less grating than in other gaming laptops I’ve tried.

The large 16-inch display of the V16 is certainly great for gaming, with the thin bezels around the screen enhancing the visual experience further. The 1200p resolution also offers sufficient sharpness for the size of the screen.

Close-up of right-side USB-A port on Asus V16, on a desk — (Image credit: Future)

Colors are vibrant enough, although they do seem a little washed-out compared to those rendered on the best gaming laptop displays. What’s more, the display can be quite reflective, although minor positional adjustments were enough to remedy this.

I had no qualms with the keyboard, though. The keys are generously spaced (which is impressive given a number pad is present), so they’re comfortable to use, and the WASD keys are easy to locate thanks to their translucent design and subtly different texture.

While they feel clicky and snappy, the keys also have plenty of dampening, so they never feel harsh when you hammer down on them. They also have a pleasing amount of travel, which further enhances their feedback and tactile nature. The above qualities make the keyboard great for typing as well.

The touchpad on the V16 is probably the biggest I’ve seen on a laptop, which is useful for navigation purposes. Yet despite its size, it didn’t get in the way when using the keyboard for either gaming or typing.

Performance: 4 / 5

Asus V16 review: Battery Life

Close-up of touchpad on Asus V16, on a desk — (Image credit: Future)

Decent battery life
Outlasts rivals

For a gaming laptop, the V16 has a respectable battery life. It managed to last over 12 hours during our movie playback tests, which is several hours better than many others in the sector, and almost double that of the Acer Nitro V 15.

It also posted a commendable result in the PCMark Gaming battery test, lasting just shy of two hours. The Nitro V 15, by contrast, managed a little over 90 minutes.

Battery Life: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Asus V16?

Asus V16 Scorecard
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	The three-figure starting price is always good to see in a gaming laptop, but there are a few rivals that offer even better value.	3.5 / 5
Design	For a large gaming laptop, the V16 is phenomenally light and thin. The quality materials and sturdy construction are further plus points.	4.5 / 5
Performance	AAA performance is pretty good, while the keyboard is enjoyably tactile. The large display is also pleasing, although it’s a bit too reflective.	4 / 5
Battery Life	An enduring lifespan for this class of device. It beats many rivals, although it still flags behind more general laptops.	4 / 5
Total	The V16 might not have cutting-edge AAA performance, but it acquits itself well in other areas. It has some strong rivals at this price point, though.	4 / 5

Buy the Asus V16 if...

You want something portable
The thin, lightweight body of the V16 is quite the feat for a gaming laptop, making it much easier to travel with than other similarly-sized rivals.

You want a great keyboard
The deep travel, satisfying clickiness, and generous dampening of the keys make them a joy to use, whether you’re gaming or typing.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best performance
The RTX 4050 in my review unit was good, but no match for the later 50 series GPUs.

You're on a tighter budget
Although the V16 is well-priced, there are cheaper alternatives with less powerful GPUs, if you can settle for them.

Asus V16 review: also consider

Acer Nitro V 15 Intel
The base model of the Nitro V 15 is arguably better value than the V16, since its starting price (in the US at least) is less, yet it boasts the more recent RTX 5050 GPU. It’s an inch smaller than the V16, though, yet is nowhere near as portable. Read our full Acer Nitro V 15 Intel review.

MSI Cyborg 15
If you’re on a really tight gaming laptop budget, the Cyborg 15 could be a great prick. It’s currently one of the best budget gaming laptops around, thanks to its low price point. You’ll have to settle for an older RTX 30 series GPU to keep the costs down, though, which is a significant downgrade on the 40 series options in the V16. Read our full MSI Cyborg 15 review.

How I tested the Asus V16

Tested for several days
Ran games and benchmarks
Extensive gaming laptop experience

I tested the V16 for several days, during which time I used it for gaming and general browsing.

I played Cyberpunk 2077 at various settings, and ran TechRadar's series of benchmarks tests, designed to comprehensively assess all facets of performance. I also tested battery life by running a movie on a continuous loop until the V16 shut down.

I have been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used a number of systems and components during that time. I've also plenty of experience reviewing gaming laptops of all kinds, from budget offerings to state-of-the-art machines.

First reviewed: January 2026
Read more about how we test

I tested the HP Pavilion 16 and it feels more premium than its price suggests – but don’t expect a powerhouse performer

5:42 pm | January 21, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Laptops Windows Laptops | Tags: Battery Life, Total War | Comments: Off

HP Pavilion 16: Two-minute review

The HP Pavilion 16 is aimed at those looking for a capable everyday machine for a reasonable price.

It’s clear that HP has paid attention to the aesthetics of the Pavilion 16. Not only does the Sky Blue colorway add more interest than the monochromatic tones typical of mid-range laptops, but the materials employed look premium as well.

Its elegance is further emphasized by its sheer slenderness; I don’t recall having seen a thinner 16-inch laptop, making it one of the best laptop designs around. While this aspect helps with portability, the deceptively hefty weight doesn’t.

I can’t complain about the build quality of the Pavilion 16, though. There’s little flex to any part of it, despite its aforementioned lean form, while the parts that are plastic are pleasing to the touch. This is especially true of the keys, which have a slight texture for added tactility.

There are some useful ports on the Pavilion 16, including two USB-A, two USB-C (which support both Power Delivery and DisplayPort standards), and an HDMI port. However, most are loaded on the right-hand side, and the two USB-C ports are placed closest to the user, which can be inconvenient as the power cable has to be plugged into one of them.

Three-quarter view of HP Pavilion 16 open on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

The Pavilion 16 handles general tasks rather well, from light productivity to 4K video streaming. However, since it lacks a dedicated GPU, graphics-heavy workloads are handled with less aplomb. Some light gaming is still possible, but you’ll have to dial back the settings and settle for unremarkable frame rates and visuals.

Fan noise is noticeable, even when the Pavilion 16 is running at a moderate intensity, but I would still describe it as being within acceptable bounds. Nearly all of the heat is confined to the very rear of the underside, which I also appreciated.

The 1200p WUGXA display is sufficient for this size of laptop, providing a clear and sharp image. Color reproduction and brightness levels are also commendable, although reflections can be a little too prominent at times.

If you’ll be doing a lot of typing, the Pavilion 16 is likely to meet your needs. The wide spacing of the keys, coupled with their deep travel and dampening, makes them satisfying to use. And if you’ll be dealing with lots of numbers in your work, you’ll be pleased with the inclusion of a numpad, too.

However, the touchpad is less impressive. It’s quite small for this size of laptop, yet at the same time manages to intrude while typing; I would often trigger cursor movement with my thumb palm. In the main, though, it’s still sufficient enough for everyday use.

An area where the Pavilion 16 excels is battery life. It lasted over 20 hours in our movie playback test, and charging times are very fast as well. On this front, it beats most of its similarly-priced rivals.

When you combine this aspect with its other plus points, the Pavilion 16 adds up to an enticing proposition, given its reasonable starting price. There are certainly other great laptops at this end of the market, some of which may have the edge in terms of performance, but the Pavilion 16 remains one to consider if you’re after a mid-range, workaday machine.

HP Pavilion 16 review: Price & Availability

Close-up of webcam on HP Pavilion 16, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Starts from $459 / £569 (about AU$700)
Available now in various configurations
Reasonable price point

The HP Pavilion 16 starts from $459 / £569 (about AU$700) and is available now. Models with different Intel and AMD processors are available, as are models with touchscreens. RAM configurations also vary from 8GB to 16GB.

This is a reasonable price for a large laptop of this spec. For a similar price, you could also get the Acer Aspire Go 15. I was impressed with its performance when I reviewed it, which is perhaps marginally better than that of Pavilion 16. However, its display is less impressive than the Pavilion 16’s.

If you’re looking for another budget alternative, the HP OmniBook 5 14-inch (2025) could be one to look out for. It features a cutting-edge and vibrant OLED display, and impressively long battery life.

Value: 4 / 5

HP Pavilion 16 review: Specs

HP Pavilion 16 review configuration
Price	£569 (about $745 / AU$1,140)
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 5 125U (3.6GHz, 12 cores)
GPU	Intel Graphics (integrated)
RAM	16GB LPDDR5
Storage	512GB PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display	16-inch (1920 x 1200), 16:10, IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare
Ports and Connectivity	2x USB-A, 2x USB-C (Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4a), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio; Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery	59Wh
Dimensions	14 x 10 x 0.7in (358 x 255 x 18mm)
Weight	3.9lbs / 1.77kg

HP Pavilion 16 review: Design

Close-up of keyboard on HP Pavilion 16, on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Exceptionally thin
Premium feel
Mixed connectivity options

The Pavilion 16 cuts an elegant figure, thanks to its minimalist design that’s free from fuss and unsightly bulges. The Sky Blue colorway also helps to distinguish it from many others in this sector, endowing the unit with enough interest while maintaining a professional appearance.

More impressive is just how slender the Pavilion 16 is. For a 16-inch laptop, it’s remarkably thin, which certainly helps with transportation. Its weight, on the other hand, is more of a hindrance, since it’s heavier than I expected it to be.

The plastics used in the Pavilion 16 feel premium, especially that of the keys, which are finished with a subtle texture that offers a pleasing amount of traction. They’re also secured firmly in place, without a hint of looseness.

Close-up of touchpad on HP Pavilion 16, on a desk — (Image credit: Future)

This same level of solidity applies to the overall construction of the Pavilion 16, too. There’s remarkably little flex to the chassis or the lid, despite how thin both are. What’s more, the hinge holds the display in place with impressively little wobble, no matter the angle, while being very easy to adjust at the same time.

There are two USB-A and two USB-C ports on the Pavilion 16, as well as an HDMI port – an increasingly rare sight on modern laptops. There’s no SD card reader, though, which is a small shame.

A bigger point of contention is the placement of the ports. All but two are on the right, which might prove inconvenient for some. And while I was glad to see the USB-A ports split across both sides, the two USB-C ports are both on the right.

What’s more, they’re located in front of all other ports, nearly mid-way along the chassis, which can cause issues when connecting the USB-C power adapter. Personally, I always prefer the power port to be the furthest away, in order to prevent the power cable from trailing over others or being obstructed by things you may have next to your laptop.

Design: 4.5 / 5

HP Pavilion 16 review: Performance

Close-up of left-side ports on HP Pavilion 16, on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Reasonable everyday performance
Not ideal for gamers or creative pros
Tactile keyboard

HP Pavilion 16 benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 2,166; (Multi Core): 9,496
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 7,730
Cinebench R24 (Single Core): 94 (Multi Core): 411
Crossmark Overall: 1,433
3DMark Night Raid: 18,673; Fire Strike: 4,717; Steel Nomad: 352; Solar Bay: 6,519; Solar Bay Unlimited: 6,993; Solar Bay Extreme: 737; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 734
BlackMagicDisk Read: 2,639MB/s; Write: 2,494MB/s
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Low): 22.7fps

The everyday performance of the Pavilion 16 is commendable. It handles light productivity, browsing, and entertainment tasks well, which is what one would expect from this grade of laptop. More impressively, it can stream ultra-HD video without issue.

Such content is enhanced by the large display, which is allowed to make full use of its space thanks to the thin bezel. There’s enough brightness and vibrancy to make the viewing experience an enjoyable one, and while reflections can reveal themselves at points, for the most part the Pavilion 16 does an admirable job of keeping them at bay.

Even when performing moderately intense workloads, the fans in the Pavilion 16 were audible. However, the noise never rose above a muted whir, so I didn’t find them disruptive. Most of the heat was confined to the rear underside, with commonly-touched surfaces remaining cool.

Since it has no dedicated GPU, the Pavilion 16 isn’t the best choice for gamers or creative types. Cyberpunk 2077 was just about playable on Medium settings, but even here I experienced some stuttering and the occasional slowdown. Naturally, it wasn’t very pleasant to look at, either. You'd be better off checking out our list of the best gaming laptops instead.

Close-up of right-side ports on HP Pavilion 16, on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Thanks to the wide chassis, the keyboard fits comfortably in the Pavilion 16, even with its number pad. However, while the keys have plenty of space between them, they don’t seem as large as those on other laptops. I had to adapt my typing accordingly, but as the size difference is that great, this didn’t take long.

Better is the considerable amount of travel and dampening they have, especially by laptop standards. This makes them more tactile and engaging to use.

Despite its relatively small size, the touchpad got in the way as I typed. The palm of my right thumb frequently triggered cursor movement; thankfully, no clicks or taps registered, which would’ve been much more disruptive.

Its small size also means navigation isn’t as expansive as it could’ve been. What’s more, it lacks the smoothness of some of the best in class, and I felt a slight rattle whenever I tapped or clicked, which made such actions feel awkward. Having said all this, I’ve certainly experienced more frustrating laptop touchpads, and it’s perfectly usable in the main.

Performance: 3.5 / 5

HP Pavilion 16 review: Battery Life

Three-quarter rear view of HP Pavilion 16, open on a desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Lasts long
Beats many rivals
Quick to charge, too

The battery life of the Pavilion 16 is very impressive. It lasted a mighty 20 hours and 15 minutes during our movie playback test, a score that bests many of its rivals by a large margin. The Acer Aspire Go 15, for example, only managed close to 12 hours.

Equally as impressive is just how quickly the Pavilion 16 can fully recharge, taking about 90 minutes.

Battery Life: 5 / 5

Should I buy the HP Pavilion 16?

HP Pavilion 16 Scorecard
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	The HP Pavilion 16 offers a lot for the money, but it stands alongside some equally-capable rivals.	4 / 5
Design	The HP Pavilion 16 is remarkably thin for its size, while the looks and build quality are admirable at this price point.	4.5 / 5
Performance	For general tasking, the HP Pavilion 16 suffices. The display and keyboard are great, but gaming and creative applications suffer from the absence of dedicated graphics.	3.5 / 5
Battery Life	The HP Pavilion 16 can outlast many of its rivals by a long way, and it’s quick to recharge, too.	5 / 5
Total	The HP Pavilion 16 represents good value considering what it offers, but you’ll have to settle for poor graphical performance.	4 / 5

Buy the HP Pavilion 16 if...

You’ll be doing a lot of typing
The tactile keyboard is a cut above many others at this price point, owing to its deep travel and comfortable layout.

You want all-day battery life
Its impressive score in our battery test means the HP Pavilion 16 should last you a full day or more unplugged.

Don't buy it if...

You want to game or create
Since it doesn’t have a dedicated GPU, the Pavilion 16 can only handle very light gaming and creative tasks.

You want the best touchpad
The touchpad on the HP Pavilion 16 is quite small for a 16-inch laptop, and it’s not the smoothest operator. It can also get in the way when typing.

HP Pavilion 16 review: Also Consider

Acer Aspire Go 15
The starting price of the Acer Aspire Go 15 is much lower than that of the Pavilion 16, but you’d be wise to ignore this base model, since its spec is frankly unfit for modern use. The model that most closely matches the Pavilion 16 is also similarly priced. But while it performs well, its display is far less impressive, so I wouldn’t recommend the Aspire Go to those wanting the best visual experience.

Read our full Acer Aspire Go 15 review.

HP OmniBook 5 14-inch (2025)
Another HP laptop, the OmniBook 5 is a little more expensive than the Pavilion 16, but it features an OLED display, which impressed us with its vibrancy. Its light build and enjoyable keyboard and touchpad were further highlights. Build quality and top-tier performance are somewhat lacking, but the OmniBook 5 is a solid offering all the same.

Read our full HP OmniBook 5 14-inch (2025) review.

How I tested the HP Pavilion 16

Tested for a few days
Used for multiple purposes and benchmarked
Experienced laptop reviewer

I tested the HP Pavilion 16 for a couple of days. I used it for a variety of tasks, from productivity and browsing to streaming video and gaming.

I also ran our series of benchmark tests, designed to comprehensively assess every aspect of a laptop's performance. This included a battery life test, where I ran a movie on a continuous loop until the HP Pavilion 16 shut down.

I am an experienced laptop reviewer, having tested a large number across a broad range of price points, form factors, and specifications.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10: Two-minute review

The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 is an elegantly designed laptop, marketed for gamers and other power users requiring its high-end specs.

With its brilliant white finish, the Legion 7i stands out from the drubness of the gaming laptop crowd. The minimal branding and bright RGB keyboard backlighting impart a combination of elegance and vibrancy as well.

The Legion 7i has one of the best gaming laptop designs I’ve seen. It's remarkably thin and has some interesting touches, such as the brushed metal sides with their supremely flat surface and rounded corners.

More importantly, it’s supremely well built, with those aforementioned sides being a particular highlight thanks to their solid feel. However, the top panel can flex a little, and the lid even more so. Thankfully, the hinge offers more than enough stability, and pivots very smoothly.

There are a sufficient number of ports on the Legion 7i, but given the amount of empty space on the sides, it’s a shame there aren’t more. Still, you get two USB-C and two USB-A ports, handy for peripheral connections, while the power jack and HDMI interface are sensibly placed at the rear.

There’s also an SD card reader, an uncommon addition for a gaming laptop. More peculiar is a switch for toggling the webcam, placed on the left behind the aforementioned reader. Why there isn’t a physical slider for covering the camera is beyond me, and doubtless many would prefer this failsafe method instead.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 and RTX 5060 proved capable enough to run AAA titles at high settings. You might need Frame Generation and DLSS upscaling set to Balanced to get the highest fps, but this is pretty much par for the course in the current landscape.

As I expected, the fans whirred constantly during my sessions. The noise they generate can be quite loud, but the best PC gaming headsets should be able to drown this out.

Rear three-quarter view of Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 open on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Less expectedly — and more worryingly — the portion above the keyboard became incredibly hot, to the point of being untouchable. However, this spike only lasted a few moments, before returning to a comfortable temperature. Nonetheless, this was still something I found concerning, and haven’t experienced with other gaming laptops to the same extreme degree.

The display of the Legion 7i lives up to its impressive specification. The high 2560 x 1600 resolution is as crisp as you would imagine, while the OLED technology offers fantastic contrast and color representation. I did notice some prominent reflections, but in the main these weren’t too bothersome.

Despite the keyboard looking rather typical for a laptop, the depth and dampening of the keys exceeded my expectations. This imbues presses with a reassuring thud, while their snappy response should see you perform at your best.

These same qualities, coupled with the spacious layout, make the Legion 7i’s board great for typing, too. The touchpad also feels delightful, thanks to its silky finish. However, its small size and alacrity to trigger at inopportune moments make it impractical.

The battery life of the Legion 7i is quite impressive by gaming laptop standards, lasting close to eight hours in our movie playback test. It’s also quick to charge, taking just under two hours to do so from empty to full.

The starting price of the Legion 7i is fairly reasonable: it undercuts some of its rivals, but there are cheaper alternatives with more powerful componentry. However, these often fail to match the superlative design and build quality of the Legion 7i, so if these are priorities for you, the Legion 7i is one of the best gaming laptops around.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Price & Availability

Close-up of webcam on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Starts from $1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759
Available now
Some cheaper rivals with stronger specs

The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 starts from $1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759. For this, you get a unit with an Intel Core Ultra 7, an RTX 5060, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. In the UK, the base (and only) RAM capacity is 32GB. The highest spec of the Legion 7i features an Ultra 9, an RTX 5070, and 32GB of RAM. There are also two display options to choose from, varying only in their refresh rate (165Hz or 240Hz).

This is undeniably a lot of money, although it’s worth mentioning that we’ve seen both low- and high-spec models with considerable discounts on Lenovo's website. But while there are certainly more expensive 16-inch gaming laptops out there (the Razer Blade 16 comes to mind), there are also some considerably cheaper rivals.

One such model is the Asus TUF Gaming A16 (2025). This is one of the best budget gaming laptop options around right now: it impressed me with its performance and surprisingly elegant design when I reviewed it. However, it can’t match the premium construction, slender form, or visual fidelity of the Legion 7i.

Value: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Specs

	Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 base config	Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 max config
Price	$1,779.99 / £2,069.99 / AU$3,759	$2,179.99 / £2,600 / AU$4,159
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (up to 5.2GHz)	Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (up to 5.4GHz)
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, 8GB	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 8GB
RAM	16GB DDR5 (US); 32GB DDR5 (UK)	32GB DDR5
Storage	1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD	1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display	16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, Glare, Non-Touch, HDR 1000 True Black, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, 165Hz, Low Blue Light	16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, Glare, Non-Touch, HDR 1000 True Black, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, 240Hz, Low Blue Light
Ports and Connectivity	2x USB-C (1x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gb/s, DisplayPort 2.1, power delivery 65W-100W), 1x 10Gb/s, power delivery 65-100W, DisplayPort 2.1), 2x USB-A (5Gb/s), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Combo audio; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	2x USB-C (1x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gb/s, DisplayPort 2.1, power delivery 65W-100W), 1x 10Gb/s, power delivery 65-100W, DisplayPort 2.1), 2x USB-A (5Gb/s), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Combo audio; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Battery	84Wh	84Wh
Dimensions	0.7 x 14.2 x 10.4in (17.9 x 361.7 x 263.4mm)	0.7 x 14.2 x 10.4in (17.9 x 361.7 x 263.4mm)
Weight	4.39lbs / 1.99kg	4.39lbs / 1.99kg

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Design

Close-up of top of keyboard on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 — (Image credit: Future)

Light, thin, and elegant
Great build quality
Missed opportunity for more ports

You won’t see too many gaming laptops as elegant as the Legion 7i. The fetching white finish marks it out from the usual bland shades of black seen in this sector, and puts me in mind of MacBooks of yore. The subtle branding and RGB backlighting also help to liven up appearances.

Strange as it is to say, the edges of the Legion 7i are a real highlight. The completely flat surfaces and rounded corners are reminiscent of the best iPad and best MacBook designs, while the brushed metal finish only adds to the appeal.

What’s more, their aluminum construction feels incredibly dense, so there’s little chance of denting them. The top panel that houses the keyboard has more give, but it’s still more solid than many others in this price range. This is all the more impressive given how thin and light the base is. There are no extraneous protrusions either; even the rear ventilation bulge is much smaller than its rivals’.

Even thinner than the 7i’s base is the lid. It’s equally impressive in its resistance to flexing, and its hinge offers a remarkable amount of sturdiness while operating with the utmost smoothness. I also appreciated the slight jut at the top of the lid, which allows you to open the Legion 7i easily with one hand, which isn’t the case with many other gaming laptops.

Close-up of left side of keyboard on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 — (Image credit: Future)

The rear features two ports: one for the power adapter and one for HDMI cables. On the left are three USB ports — two Type-C and one Type-A — and a combo audio jack. On the right, you’ll find another USB-A port and, unusually for a gaming laptop, an SD card reader.

Also on the right is a switch for disabling the webcam. This doesn't work as well as a mechanical cover, and its small size and stiff operation meant I wasn't a huge fan, though it's still nice to have this additional privacy feature.

Overall, though, the port selection on the Legion 7i should prove sufficient for most users’ needs. However, given the large gaps present on both sides, I can’t help feeling that more could’ve been squeezed in.

Lenovo’s main utility software, LegionSpace, is simple to use and functions well. It ran without issue during my time with it, and it was quick and easy to view system information and change performance modes.

Design: 5 / 5

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Performance

Close-up of touchpad on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 — (Image credit: Future)

Good gaming performance
Some general performance issues
Odd temperature spikes

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 Benchmarks

Here are the results for the benchmarks I ran on the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10:

Geekbench 6 (Multi Core): 18,459; (Single Core): 3,008
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 28,264
Cinebench R24 (Multi Core): 1,664; (Single Core): 132
Crossmark Overall: 2,120
3DMark
Night Raid: 79,720; Fire Strike: 27,345; Steel Nomad: 2,730; Solar Bay: 56,673; Solar Bay Unlimited: 57,277; Solar Bay Extreme: 11,267; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 11,429
BlackMagicDisk Read: 5,208MB/s; Write: 4,343MB/s
Civilization VII (Max resolution, AMD FSR 3, High): 92fps; (1080p, High): 178fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Max resolution, Highest, Balanced upscaling): 162fps; (1080p, Highest, SMAA x4): 132fps
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Ultra)66fps; (Max Resolution, Ultra): 43fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Max resolution, Ultra, Balanced upscaling)74fps; (1440p, Ray Tracing: Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 48fps; (1080p, Ultra): 93fps
Marvel Rivals (Max resolution, Balanced upscaling, Ultra): 61fps; (1200p, Low): 106fps

When it came to gaming, the Legion 7i conducted itself well. While playing Cyberpunk 2077, I was getting fps figures in the mid 60s with the Ray Tracing: Low preset selected and DLSS upscaling set to Balanced. Turning on Frame Generation resulted in significant improvements, boosting the rate to about 100fps.

Some general performance issues did blight my time with the Legion 7i somewhat. I experienced occasional lock-ups when navigating Windows 11, with clicks on icons and app windows failing to register. I also encountered stuck loading wheels.

Under load, the Legion 7i’s fans are certainly noticeable, but given many gaming laptops sound like jet engines when running demanding tasks, the sound isn’t too disruptive.

Despite the noise, however, the fans failed to provide consistent cooling. It didn’t take long for the section just above the keyboard to reach worrying high temperatures.

Thankfully, it cooled down to touchable temperatures in the midst of gameplay. The rear of the Legion 7i also became very hot, although thankfully not to the same extent, while the keyboard at least only became lukewarm.

Close-up of left-side ports on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 on desk — (Image credit: Future)

On a more positive note, the display of the Legion 7i is exquisite. The 2560 x 1600 resolution is as pinpoint-sharp as you would expect, while the OLED technology allows for superb contrast. Color reproduction and brightness levels are also hard to fault. The only minor gripe I had was the reflectiveness of the screen, but this wasn’t bad enough to ruin the visual splendor of the Legion 7i.

The keys are solid and very well damped. They have a greater travel and a more emphatic thud compared to other gaming laptop keyboards I’ve experienced, which makes them very satisfying to game with. The space bar was a particular highlight in this regard, putting it on a level with those fitted in the best gaming keyboards.

What’s more, the keys rebound superbly, which further improves their performance. This applies whether you’re gaming or typing, while the latter activity additionally benefits from the comfortable layout, which, despite the main keys being pushed to the left by the number pad, doesn’t feel cramped.

The touchpad is also a joy to use, thanks to its super-smooth surface and solid clicks. However, it’s relatively small given the overall size of the Legion 7i, which hampers navigation somewhat.

It’s also overly-sensitive. Unintentional swipes and taps frequently registered when I used the keyboard — especially the common Alt and Tab combination, resulting in a very frustrating productivity experience. However, all this might be a moot point if, like many gamers, you plan on using a mouse exclusively.

Performance: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Battery Life

Close-up of right-side ports on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Decent longevity
Some rivals more enduring
Quick to charge

By gaming laptop standards, the Legion 7i has a respectable battery life. It managed to last just shy of eight hours when I ran a movie on a continuous loop, which means it can outlast many of its rivals, although both the Asus V16 and TUF Gaming A16 (2025) beat it comfortably, with each lasting over 10 hours in the same test.

Fortunately, the Legion 7i is very quick to charge, taking just two hours to fully replenish.

Battery Life: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10?

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 Scorecard
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	The price is good considering its upmarket design, but there are cheaper rivals with better performance.	3.5 / 5
Design	This is one of the lightest, thinnest, and sleekest 16-inch gaming laptops around, not to mention the build quality is excellent.	5 / 5
Performance	Gaming performance is pretty good, but there are some issues with general performance. Some temperature spikes also sully the experience somewhat.	3.5 / 5
Battery Life	Pretty good for this class of laptop, and it’s very quick to charge. Some rivals can outlast it, though.	4 / 5
Total	You’re mainly paying for the superb design of the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 rather than its outright performance, but this is still sufficient for high-end gaming.	4 / 5

Buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 if...

You want a sleek, elegant design
You’ll struggle to find a thinner, lighter, and better-made 16-inch gaming laptop than the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10.

You want a fantastic display
Super sharp, bright, and vivid, the WQXGA OLED display in the Legion 7i is excellent all-round.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best performance
Gaming performance is great, but don’t expect to run AAA titles smoothly with the highest settings applied. Some hiccups occur with general tasking, too.

You want the best cooling
I experienced some odd temperature spikes during my time with the Legion 7i, with some parts (thankfully, not those you’d often touch) becoming blistering hot.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 review: Also Consider

Asus V16
The Asus V16 is another thin and light 16-inch gaming laptop, but at a much cheaper price. Granted, with its RTX 40-series GPU, it isn’t as powerful but I still found the V16’s performance to be capable. It can’t, however, match the build or display quality of the Legion 7i, and it’s prone to getting hot, too.

Asus TUF Gaming A16 (2025)
Another budget-friendly offering, the TUF Gaming A16 can be optioned with an RTX 5070 and an AMD Ryzen 9 and still undercut the base Legion 7i. Again, though, its display isn’t nearly as impressive, and it can get very loud under load.

Read our full Asus TUF Gaming A16 (2025) review.

How I tested the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10

Close-up of rear ventilation on Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10, on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Tested for several days
Used for gaming and other tasks
Plentiful gaming laptop experience

I tested the Legion 7i for several days, during which time I used it for gaming, working, and light entertainment.

I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and ran our series of comprehensive benchmark tests, including those for the battery life.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used many systems in that time. I’ve reviewed a large number of gaming laptops professionally, varying greatly in their specs and price points.

First reviewed January 2025
Read more about how we test

This might be one of the best value 1080p gaming laptops I’ve tested – if you can put up with a few missteps

6:54 am | November 4, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Gaming Computers Gaming Laptops | Tags: AMD, Battery Life, Total War | Comments: Off

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1: Two-minute review

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 seeks to strike the ideal balance between price and performance with the Erazer Deputy 15 P1, featuring an auspicious spec and a reasonable price tag.

It doesn’t make the best first impression, though, as it looks like a budget laptop. Its utilitarian focus leaves little room for style or elegance, and there’s little to signal its gaming prowess.

However, I was pleased to see that the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is surprisingly free from bulk, lacking the thickness or unsightly protrusions of many others in this sector. It won’t trouble the best gaming laptop constructions, though, since the materials aren’t the most premium, and the chassis flex doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Thankfully the lid is more sturdy and also easy to use. There’s quite a large gap between it and the bottom chassis when opened, which I found helped with ventilation.

There’s a decent selection of ports on the Erazer Deputy 15 P1, too, including three USB-A and two USB-C ports. There’s also a Mini DisplayPort, an HDMI port, and an ethernet port, all of which are welcome additions.

The Erazer Deputy 15 P1 impressed me with its gaming performance, handling AAA titles at high and even max settings very well. Cyberpunk 2077 and Dying Light: The Beast ran more smoothly than I was expecting given the RTX 5060 installed in my review unit: I experienced little in the way of stutter or significant frame rate drops.

Close-up of WASD keys on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 — (Image credit: Future)

What’s more, the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 stayed remarkably cool throughout, with the hottest temperatures confined to the very back of the unit. There’s plenty of fan noise, though, so you’ll want to use a good pair of headphones to deal with this.

I found the image impressively sharp given the 1920 x 1080 resolution, since quality can suffer when this many pixels are stretched across a large display such as this. It’s also quite vibrant, although it’s perhaps a little more washed-out than some of its rivals. It’s quite reflective in suboptimal lighting conditions, too.

The full-size keyboard is a welcome sight, and there’s plenty of space between the keys. The floating keycaps are a nice touch as well, and they’re tactile enough for gaming purposes. They’re quite narrow, though, which I found to be problematic when typing.

The touchpad is smooth and quite small. Despite this, it can still get in the way when using the WASD keys, so you might want to disable it when gaming (easily achieved via an Fn shortcut).

The battery life of the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is nothing spectacular, but it’s not the worst in this sector, either. It managed to last close to seven hours in our movie playback test, but fared worse in the PCMark gaming battery test, where it only just managed to eclipse 90 minutes.

In many other regards, though, the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is a very capable 1080p gaming machine, offering a great experience for the money. There are other strong performers at this price point – and some considerably cheaper – which might have the edge in certain areas. But the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is still a worthy choice if you’re looking for a capable gaming laptop at the budget-end of the market.

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Price & Availability

Close-up of webcam on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Starts from £1,099.99 (about $1,500 / AU$2,200)
Available now
Strong similarly-priced rivals

The Erazer Deputy 15 P1 starts from £1,099.99 (about $1,500 / AU$2,200) and is available now. Various configurations are available, including models with an Intel Core 9 and an RTX 5070. RAM and storage amounts vary between 16 and 32GB and 1 and 2TB respectively.

This is similar to the Acer Nitro 16 AMD, which is one of the best budget gaming laptop picks around. You’ll have to settle for a 4000 series RTX card, but the 165Hz refresh rate helps to elevate the experience.

For something even cheaper, there’s the Nitro V 15, another 1080p machine. You can configure this laptop with an RTX 5060, although the performance isn’t as good as the Erazer Deputy 15 P1’s.

Value: 4 / 5

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Specs

	Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 base config	Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review config	Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 max config
Price	£1,099.99	£1,349.00	£1,699
CPU	Intel i7-13620H (10 cores, 3.6GHz)	Intel Core 7 250H (14 cores, 2.5GHz)	Intel Core 9 270H (14 cores, 2.7GHz)
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 8GB	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 8GB	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 8GB
RAM	16GB DDR5	16GB DDR5	32GB LPDDR5X
Storage	1TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD	1TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD	2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display	15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) IPS, 16:9, 144Hz	15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) IPS, 16:9, 144Hz	15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) IPS, 16:9, 144Hz
Ports and Connectivity	USB Type-C x 1 (with DisplayPort), USB 3.2 x 2, USB 2.0 x 1, HDMI x 1, Mini DisplayPort x 1, 3.5 mm jack x 1, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2	USB Type-C x 1 (with DisplayPort), USB 3.2 x 2, USB 2.0 x 1, HDMI x 1, Mini DisplayPort x 1, 3.5 mm jack x 1, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2	USB Type-C x 1 (with DisplayPort), USB 3.2 x 2, USB 2.0 x 1, HDMI x 1, Mini DisplayPort x 1, 3.5 mm jack x 1, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery	51.6Wh	51.6Wh	51.6Wh
Dimensions	0.9 x 14.2 x 9.7in (24 x 361 x 247mm)	0.9 x 14.2 x 9.7in (24 x 361 x 247mm)	0.9 x 14.2 x 9.7in (24 x 361 x 247mm)
Weight	5lbs / 2.25kg	5lbs / 2.25kg	5lbs / 2.25kg

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Design

Close-up of rear ports on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 — (Image credit: Future)

Basic appearance
More portable than expected
Generous keyboard layout

It’s clear from even a cursory glance at the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 that it isn’t trying to win any style awards. Its austere looks are purely functional, with no fanfare in sight. The Medion logo on the lid is small and discreet, finished in a slightly darker shade of black than its surroundings.

There are a few unsightly juts and angles, but compared to others in this class, it’s pleasingly free from bulk. It’s reasonably thin, and although it features a rear protrusion for ventilation purposes, this isn’t as bulbous as many other examples. It’s also not as heavy as you might expect, meaning the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is one of the more portable 15-inch gaming laptops out there.

It’s not exactly built to the highest standards, though. The materials are far from the most premium, and the chassis has a fair amount of flex to it. Thankfully, the lid is a more solid affair, while still being easy and smooth to pivot into position.

There’s a noticeable gap between the display and the bottom half of the unit, which I haven’t seen before. This seems like a good idea for cooling purposes, though, helping to prevent heat radiating onto the display itself.

The bezel around the display is thin on most sides except the bottom. This is somewhat of a shame, but it does at least help to emphasize the widescreen effect.

Close-up of right-side ports on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 — (Image credit: Future)

Since it’s quite a wide unit, the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 manages to fit in a full-size keyboard, complete with a number pad. The keys themselves don’t feel cramped, either, and I appreciated their floating design. They’re narrower than you’ll find on many other gaming laptop keyboards, though.

There are a generous number of ports on the Erazer Deputy 15 P1. There are three USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, spread across both sides, which improves convenience when connecting various peripherals. There’s also the obligatory headset jack.

On the rear you’ll find the power port, sandwiched between an HDMI port and an ethernet port. This location is a little impractical, since the included power adapter has an L-shaped barrel, meaning the cable will have to trail over your HDMI or ethernet cable, depending on your setup.

There’s also a Mini DisplayPort on the rear, which is a rare sight on a gaming laptop, but one I welcome all the same. One of the aforementioned USB-C ports can also handle external display connections.

Design: 3.5 / 5

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Performance

Close-up of right lid hinge on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1, open on desk with green wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Great 1080p performance
Sharp but reflective display
Impressive cooling abilities

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 Benchmarks

These are the various benchmark scores for the Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1:

Geekbench 6 (Multi Core): 14,639; (Single Core): 2,826
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 17,525; (Single Core): 2,056
Cinebench R24 (Multi Core): 1,111; (Single Core): 120
Crossmark Overall: 2,001
3DMark
Fire Strike: 26,820; Steel Nomad: 2,693; Solar Bay: 47,158; Speed Way: 2,938; Port Royal: 7,322
BlackMagicDisk Read: 3,917MB/s; Write: 2,458MB/s
25GB Copy Test: 278MB/s
Civilization VII (1080p, Medium): 190 FPS; (Max Resolution, High): 148 FPS; (Balanced Upscaling, Max Resolution, High): 121 FPS
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, Medium): 150 FPS; (Max Resolution, Highest): 140 FPS; (Balanced Upscaling, Max Resolution, Highest): 159 FPS
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Medium): 117 FPS; (Max Resolution, Ultra): 59 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Medium): 258 FPS; (Max Resolution, Ultra): 215 FPS; (Balanced Upscaling, Max Resolution, Ultra): 240 FPS
F1 2024 (1080p, Medium): 254 FPS; (Max Resolution, Max Quality, No RT): 113 FPS; (Balanced Upscaling, Max Resolution, Max Quality with RT): 87 FPS

The RTX 5060 and Core 7 250H combination in my review unit proved more than capable of keeping up with the latest AAA titles. When I played Dying Light: The Beast, I was getting fps figures in the low-to-mid 200s. This was with maximum graphics settings applied, DLSS upscaling set to Balanced, and Frame Generation turned on.

It didn’t run Cyberpunk 2077 quite so impressively, but it was still a great experience nonetheless. I was getting frame rates in the low hundreds on the maximum Ray Tracing: Overdrive preset, again with DLSS and Frame Generation turned on.

What’s more, its 1080p resolution looked sharper on the 15.6-inch display than I expected. It’s also surprisingly vibrant, although colors are still a little washed-out compared to other gaming laptops, and especially to the best gaming monitors. It’s also quite reflective in certain lighting conditions, and not even the highest brightness setting can mitigate the effect.

The cooling, on the other hand, is more impressive. During my play time, none of the touchable surfaces became anything more than lukewarm, not even the underside. The hottest part was just above the keyboard, but even this area wasn’t too hot to handle.

Close-up of touchpad on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 — (Image credit: Future)

What’s more, that aforementioned gap between the lid and chassis prevented any heat leaking onto the screen. To achieve this all-round cooling, you will have to endure a fair amount of fan noise, but the best PC gaming headsets should keep this at bay.

The keyboard is great for gaming with. The keys have just the right amount of travel to make them tactile, and the WASD keys are textured and colored differently to make them easier to locate.

However, the keycaps are quite narrow, which can make them awkward to use. They’re well-spaced, which helps to prevent mispresses when gaming, but I found typing more of a challenge.

The touchpad isn’t as large as you might expect given the size of the Erazer Deputy 15 P1, but its smooth surface makes it easy to use. I still triggered it accidentally when using the WASD keys, but thankfully there’s an Fn shortcut to quickly disable it.

Performance: 4.5 / 5

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Battery Life

Close-up of left-side ports on Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 — (Image credit: Future)

Average battery life
Relatively fast charging

The battery life of the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is fairly average for a gaming laptop. It managed to last six hours and 47 minutes when I played a movie on a continuous loop. This is about the same as the cheaper Acer Nitro V 15.

It lasted one hour and 47 minutes when I conducted PCMark’s battery benchmark for gaming scenarios, which again is similar to the score achieved by the Nitro V 15, although it’s down on the two hours and 26 minutes of the Nitro 16 AMD. It is at least quick to charge, taking about two hours to replenish from empty to full.

Battery Life: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1?

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 Scorecard
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	I haven’t encountered similarly priced 1080p laptops that can game as well as the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 can, although some come close – and some of those are cheaper.	4 / 5
Design	It’s not the most exciting or the most premium, but it’s surprisingly compact and portable for its size.	3.5 / 5
Performance	The 1080p performance is superb for the price, while the sharpness of the display belies its 1080p resolution, although it's quite reflective.	4.5 / 5
Battery Life	Not the best, not the worst. Some cheaper gaming laptops have similar endurance levels.	3.5 / 5
Total	The Erazer Deputy 15 P1 hits all the right notes at this price point, although the reflective display and lackluster design mar it somewhat. There’s strong competition at this price point, but the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 can hold its own against them.	4 / 5

Buy the Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 if...

You want high-end performance
The Erazer Deputy 15 P1 can handle high-to-max settings on demanding titles very well, keeping cool all the while.

You want to carry it around
Despite its 15.6-inch size, the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 is surprisingly portable, thanks to its thinness and relatively light construction.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best display
Despite how sharp it looks, the display isn’t as vibrant as others, and it can be overly reflective.

You want something quiet
The price you pay for that excellent cooling is fan noise. Get yourself a good pair of headphones.

Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1 review: Also Consider

Acer Nitro 16 AMD
The Nitro 16 is similarly priced to the Erazer Deputy 15 P1, but it has a slightly bigger screen and a sharper resolution. You won’t be getting the latest RTX GPUs, so performance won’t be as good, but the 165Hz refresh makes up for the shortfall somewhat in certain games.

Read our full Acer Nitro 16 AMD review.

Acer Nitro V 15 Intel
The Nitro V 15 is cheaper than the Erazer Deputy 15 P1, yet still gets RTX 5050 and 5060 cards. However, even with the latter equipped, it can’t quite match the performance of the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 in my experience, perhaps due to the inferior i7 chip in the unit I tested.

Read our full Acer Nitro V 15 Intel review.

How I tested the Medion Erazer Deputy 15 P1

Tested for several days
Used for gaming and other tasks
Plentiful gaming laptop experience

I tested the Erazer Deputy 15 P1 for several days, using it for gaming, working, and general entertainment.

I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk and Dying Light: The Beast at various settings. I also ran our series of benchmark tests, designed to ... every facet of a laptop's performance.

I've tested plenty of gaming laptops before, from budget offerings to range-topping powerhouses. I've been PC gaming for over a decade and have experience with plenty of other machines and systems as well.

First reviewed November 2025
Read more about how we test

I’ve tested several of the latest budget gaming laptops recently, and the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 is the best value of them all

10:20 pm | October 30, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Gaming Computers Gaming Laptops | Tags: Battery Life, Total War | Comments: Off

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9: Two-minute review

The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 aims to take the lead as the best budget gaming laptop on the market, and in terms of performance for the price, it pretty much nails it.

At first glance, you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish it from any other workaday laptop. It lacks the bulk and RGB lighting of its rivals, which may be a positive or a negative depending on how you feel about the modern gamer aesthetic.

Regardless, it certainly looks and feels premium. Smooth materials with elegant finishes are featured all over, with the keyboard being a particular highlight, thanks to the solid placement and subtle texturing of the keys.

What’s more, the LOQ Essential 15 is pleasingly light, which makes it more portable than a lot of the competition. However, while build quality is good, the LOQ Essential 15 isn’t as sturdy as the best gaming laptops on the market, since there’s a fair amount of flex to both the chassis and the lid.

There’s a welcome selection of ports on the LOQ Essential 15, featuring all the interfaces a gamer would need. There’s even an SD card reader, which isn’t something you often see on a gaming laptop. Most of these ports are located on the left, and there are none on the back, which may prove inconvenient depending on your particular setup.

Close-up of number pad and power button on Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9, open on desk — (Image credit: Future)

The LOQ Essential 15 comes preinstalled with Lenovo Vantage, a utility app for viewing system information and adjusting performance settings. This is one of the best utility apps I’ve come across, providing plenty of useful information and tweaks. It also has a very clear interface, and during my time with it, it ran without a hitch.

Less impressive, however, was the outright performance of my review unit. The Intel i5 and RTX 3050 combination in my review unit struggled to run the latest AAA titles smoothly, especially if you enable even the slightest amount of ray tracing. At least the heat and fan noise were kept to a minimum throughout.

Thankfully, the display on the LOQ Essential 15 is more impressive. Despite the 1080p resolution stretching across 15 inches, the interface always looked clear and sharp. There’s plenty of vibrancy, too, and although the maximum brightness isn’t particularly high, the worst reflections are kept at bay.

The keyboard feels a little cramped when gaming, and the lack of travel and dampening hampers feedback somewhat. It’s a different story, however, when typing, as the snappy clicks and ergonomic layout make this easy. And since the touchpad is quite small, it doesn’t get in the way when typing, either.

With its reasonable price tag, the LOQ Essential 15 is certainly a tempting proposition. While there’s plenty of quality here, the middling performance and keyboard hamstring its gaming prowess somewhat. If you can live with these drawbacks, though, the LOQ Essential 15 is still worth considering if you’re after a budget gaming laptop.

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Price & Availability

Close-up of left-side ports on Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9, open on desk — (Image credit: Future)

Starting from $569 / £689 / AU$742.35
Available now
Budget end of the market

The LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 starts from $569 / £689 / AU$742.35 and is available now in the US, UK, and Australia. Various RTX GPU options are available as well, from the RTX 2050 all the way up to the RTX 5050. There are also different Intel and AMD CPUs available. RAM capacities range from 8GB to 32GB, while storage ranges from 512GB to 4TB.

The starting price on the LOQ Essential 15 is about as low as I've seen for a laptop of this quality. Better yet, I’ve seen the latest models with their RTX 50-series GPUs on sale at a significant discount, making them an even better value despite being more expensive.

However, there might be cheaper gaming laptops out there, depending on your region. The MSI Cyborg 15, for example, starts at a cheaper price in the UK and is similarly specced with a high-quality design.

If you're able to spend a little more, there’s also the Acer Nitro V 15, which—while more expensive than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 in the US—is a better gaming laptop right now, in my view, thanks to its more capable performance.

Value: 4 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Specs

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review configuration
Price	£799
CPU	Intel Core i5-12450HX (2.4GHz, 8 Cores)
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 6GB
RAM	16GB DDR5
Storage	1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display	15.6" FHD (1920x1080), IPS, 144Hz, Anti-glare
Ports and Connectivity	2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x RJ-45, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x SD card reader; Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
Battery	57Wh
Dimensions	14.15 x 9.29 x 0.78-0.90in (359.3 x 236 x 19.9-22.95mm)
Weight	3.9lbs (1.77kg)

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Design

Close-up of touchpad on Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9, open on desk — (Image credit: Future)

Premium feel
Not the sturdiest
Great utility app

If you didn’t know, you could easily mistake the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 for a mainstream laptop. It has the same form and looks, without any of the extraneous bulges or aggressive aesthetics typical of many gaming laptops.

It looks quite elegant, owing to the subtle sheen of the finish. It’s also impressively thin and light for a laptop in this class, which makes carrying it around easier. The materials look and feel fairly premium, although the LOQ Essential 15 isn’t as sturdy as others, with some flex to various panels and the display enclosure.

The keyboard is a more premium affair, with a smooth yet noticeable texture to the keycaps. They have the typical Lenovo ergonomic shape, although they seem less indented than other models from the brand.

There are plenty of handy shortcuts on the F row, including one to open Windows 11 settings, which I wish would feature on every laptop. There are also some unlabelled Fn shortcuts, such as Fn+Q, which toggles performance modes. I only happened to chance upon it when looking at Lenovo’s website.

You can also find it listed in a pre-installed app called Lenovo Hotkeys, in addition to a plethora of other useful shortcuts. For instance, you can also instantly toggle the refresh rate between 60 and 144Hz with Fn+R.

Close-up of right-side ports on Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9, open on desk — (Image credit: Future)

One of the most disappointing aspects of the keyboard, though, is the lack of backlighting. Higher spec models have it, but it’s still a fairly egregious omission on base models. Not only does it add spectacle, it also serves a practical purpose by helping with key location when gaming in dimly-lit rooms, as is often the case for many.

What won’t disappoint is the number of ports on the LOQ Essential 15. All those relevant to gamers are present: there are two USB-A ports and one USB-C, as well as ethernet and HDMI interfaces. There’s even an SD card reader, which isn’t always seen on gaming laptops, but it's great for creator-gamers who might use their laptop for both work and play.

The placement of the ports might prove more divisive, though. All but two are loaded on the left-hand side, and there are none on the back. This layout might be inconvenient for certain setups; personally, I like to see at least the power port on the back.

The LOQ Essential 15 comes preinstalled with Lenovo Vantage, which is one of the best first-party utility suites I’ve come across. It contains a wealth of useful information and settings to tweak, especially the gaming section, which naturally has various cooling and performance modes to choose from.

What’s more, Vantage is clear and easy to navigate, and I didn’t experience any bugs or glitches when using it—not something that can be said about every first-party software.

Design: 4 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Performance

Rear three-quarter view of Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9 open on desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Middling 1080p performance
Vibrant, non-reflective display
Keyboard lacks gaming prowess

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 2,207; (Multi Core): 8,297
Cinebench R23 (Single Core): 1,588; (Multi Core): 9,774
Cinebench R24 (Single Core): 94 (Multi Core): 562
Crossmark Overall: 1,441
3DMark Night Raid: 37,229; Fire Strike: 11,392; Steel Nomad: 998; Solar Bay: 23,855; Solar Bay Unlimited: 25,530; Solar Bay Extreme: 4,391; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 4,436
BlackMagicDisk Read: 3,502MB/s; Write: 3,063MB/s
Civilization VII (1080p, AMD FSR, High): 200fps; (1080p, High): 136fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, Highest, Balanced upscaling): 98fps; (1080p, Highest, SMAA x4, no upscaling): 53fps
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Ultra): 28fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 57fps; (1080p, Ray Tracing: Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 34fps; (1080p, Ultra, no upscaling): 37fps
Marvel Rivals (1080p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 33fps; (1080p, no upscaling, Low): 49fps

My review unit of the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 was equipped with an Intel Core i5 CPU and an RTX 3050 GPU, so as you might expect, gaming performance wasn’t exactly top-tier. When I played Cyberpunk 2077 with the Ray Tracing: Low preset, fps figures were in the high thirties and early forties on average, with some significant stuttering in busy scenes.

Personally, this stuttering didn’t derail the experience for me, but it was certainly noticeable and will likely bother more elite players. Disabling Ray Tracing altogether and applying the Ultra preset barely made a difference to frame rates or the stuttering, albeit the latter occurred with slightly less frequency.

Almost as soon as I started playing, the area around the WASD keys warmed up, but thankfully, it never peaked above lukewarm. The rest of the chassis stayed cool, save for the portion above the keyboard – but even this area remained touchable.

There is some fan noise during heavy workloads, but it’s quieter than others in this category, and nothing the best PC gaming headsets couldn’t drown out.

The display is also quite impressive. It’s remarkably clear and sharp, especially when you consider its 1080p resolution is stretched out over 15 inches. It’s also pleasingly vivid, and although it isn’t quite as bright as I would’ve liked, it still does enough to fend off troublesome reflections.

Close-up of webcam on Lenovo LOQ Essential Gen 9, open on desk — (Image credit: Future)

Harder to praise is the keyboard. It’s great for typing, thanks to the light and snappy actuation, as well as the generous spacing and aforementioned shape of the keys. What’s more, despite the inclusion of a number pad, the layout doesn’t feel cramped.

For gaming, however, the keyboard is less fit for purpose. In the WASD position, my fingers suddenly felt more confined, perhaps due to the relatively small size of the keys themselves. They also have little travel and next to no dampening, both of which result in a lack of feel, certainly when compared to the best gaming keyboard switches.

Thankfully, the touchpad on the LOQ Essential 15 rarely gets in the way when gaming or typing, thanks to its small size. However, this also means that navigation is more awkward than with larger pads, although this may be a moot point, since even the best touchpad is no match for the best gaming mouse.

Performance: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Battery Life

Great playback result
Power-hungry Balanced mode
Very quick to charge

The battery life of the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 is quite good by gaming laptop standards. It managed to last close to eight hours during our movie playback test, which bests many others in this sector. However, this is still below the standards of the best laptops for general use, as some can achieve more than double that time.

In my PCMark Gaming battery test, the LOQ Essential 15 lasted about 32 minutes, which is significantly down on rivals. This was with the Balanced mode applied in Vantage, which also applies the Balanced mode in Windows 11 itself (the same mode used for the movie playback test).

This score doesn’t seem to square with its playback result, so your day-to-day use will land somewhere in the middle of the two results. I can only presume this is because Vantage’s Balanced mode is more eager than its rivals’ counterparts to boost power to the GPU while gaming. Charging performance is much better, though, taking a mere hour to go from empty to full.

Battery Life: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9?

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 Scorecard
	Notes	Score
Value	The LOQ Essential 15 offers exceptional quality for its starting price, but different configurations will vary in overall value.	4 / 5
Design	Remarkably thin and un-gamerish with premium-seeming materials, though it's not the most solidly constructed.	4 / 5
Performance	It won’t handle the highest settings in AAA titles, but it still just about suffices to have a good time. The display is good, too.	3.5 / 5
Battery Life	Good for this class of laptop, but still behind more general laptops. Vantage’s Balanced mode lets the side down a little, too.	3.5 / 5
Total Score	The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 is a well-made gaming laptop that's even more impressive thanks to its low starting price. The design quality makes up for the middling AAA performance, but overall it’s one of the best values you're going to find in a budget gaming laptop.	3.75 / 5

Buy the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 if...

You don’t need a flashy design
It might not be the most exciting thing to look at, but the materials look and feel more expensive than its price tag suggests.

You want a good display
Vivid and surprisingly sharp for a 1080p resolution. It also does a fine job of combating reflections, despite not being the brightest around.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best gaming keyboard
Although it’s perfectly fine for typing, the keyboard isn’t ideal for gaming.

You want top-tier performance on a budget
With an RTX 30-Series GPU inside, the LOQ Essential 15 couldn’t achieve the high frame rates of more recent GPUs, so you'll have to pay extra for better performance.

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Also Consider

Acer Nitro V 15 Intel
Although it's considerably more expensive than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9, it’s still within the budget realm as far as gaming laptops are concerned. What’s more, it has a much beefier spec, featuring an RTX 5050 in its base model. This means the 1080p performance is far superior, although the corollary is a fair amount of heat.

Read our full Acer Nitro V 15 Intel review

MSI Cyborg 15
The Cyborg 15 is another gaming laptop with an invitingly low price. In fact, even the model with the RTX 3050 is significantly cheaper than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9. It doesn’t have the same level of quality, though, and the display isn’t quite as good, but the keyboard is much better.

Read our full MSI Cyborg 15 review

How I tested the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9

Tested for several days
Gamed and benchmarked
Wealth of gaming laptop experience

I tested the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 for several days, during which time I used it for gaming, working, and general entertainment.

I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 at various settings, and ran our comprehensive series of benchmark tests. This included those for the battery life.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade and have experienced numerous systems and components during that time. I’ve also reviewed many gaming laptops before, ranging in their price points and specs.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Two-minute review

The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 is a high-end gaming PC with a formidable spec designed to handle modern games without sacrificing much in the way of graphical fidelity.

It looks understated yet elegant as far as tower PCs go, thanks in no small part to the matte finish and rounded corners. The vibrant yet tasteful RGB lighting on the fans and through the front panel logo also adds to its allure.

What’s more, its premium appeal is more than skin deep: the Legion Tower 5 can lay claim to having one of the best gaming PC cases in terms of build quality. Every material feels solid and durable, including the glass side cover.

The only aspect I disliked was the top ventilation panel, since its sharp undulating design is uncomfortable to hold. Thankfully, there’s a grab handle at the front for when you need to move the Legion Tower 5; and you’ll certainly need the purchase it provides, since it’s a monstrously heavy unit.

There’s some scope to expand the potential of the Legion Tower 5, but not by much. Three M.2 drives and one HDD can be installed simultaneously, but 32GB is the maximum RAM allowance. I could see two spare SATA ports and one PCIe slot free, but that’s all.

The usual ports can be found on the Legion Tower 5, with plenty of USB-A ports and audio ports on the rear. The front panel is quite sparse though, and the inclusion of a USB-C port at this end might be disappointing to some, depending on the peripherals they have.

As you would expect given its components, the general performance of the Legion Tower 5 is excellent. It’s also free from bloatware, with Lenovo’s bundled software proving unintrusive and even useful. Lenovo Vantage offers some useful system functions and details, while LegionSpace is a simple and effective way to adjust performance settings and fan speeds.

Gaming with the Legion Tower 5 is a joy. It effortlessly runs AAA titles with fps figures in the hundreds. What’s more, it does so in near-silence and without approaching temperatures beyond the mildly tepid.

All this quality and performance does come at a price, but it’s not as eye-watering as some rivals. There are cheaper 5070 builds, but considering the quality of the case and components, not to mention its exceptional cooling abilities, the Legion Tower 5 might just be worth it for those after top-draw performance without sacrificing peace and quiet.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Price & availability

Close-up of Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU inside the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, on a desk with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Starts from $1,449.99 / £1,395 / AU$2,069
Available now
Decent value

The Legion Tower 5 is available now in the US, UK, and Australia, starting at $1,449.99 / £1,395 / AU$2,069 for the AMD Ryzen 10th Gen builds, while the Intel-based Tower 5i Gen 10 starts at $1,319.99 / £1,116 / AU$2,519.

For the AMD builds, numerous configurations are available, peaking at builds with a Ryzen 9 7950X3D and an RTX 5070 Ti, while the Intel builds feature up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti. Maximum capacities for RAM and storage are 32GB and 2TB, respectively – although the latter is expandable with separately purchased drives, thanks to its three M.2 slots and an extra space for a HDD (although storage bays are only available on some models).

This isn’t a bad price considering what’s on offer, but there are still cheaper alternatives. The HP Victus 15L and HP Omen 16L cost significantly less, but you will have to settle for much lower specs. However, we found their performance capable enough for 1080p gaming and their relatively small size and generous front port selection add to their appeal.

A more closely-matched rival to the Legion Tower 5 is the NZXT Player PC, which is similarly priced to the Legion Tower 5 and likewise features an RTX 5070. Like the Legion Tower 5, it’s built to a very high standard, yet it just about undercuts it on price in some regions.

Value: 4 / 5

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Specs

Close-up of rear fan with RGB lighting on inside the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Lenovo Legion Tower 5 (30L, Gen10) review specs
CPU		AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (8 cores), 4.2GHz
Graphics		NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 12GB
RAM		32 GB DDR5-5600MT/s (UDIMM) - (2 x 16 GB)
Storage		1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Ports		Front I/O: 1x USB-A (5Gbps), 1x USB-C (5Gbps), 1x combo audio Back I/O: 1x RJ45, 1x USB-C (10Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), 4x USB-A (hi-speed USB), 3x audio
Wireless		Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Design

Close-up of ports on front panel of the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 — (Image credit: Future)

Superb case
Very heavy
Limited expandability

The Legion Tower 5 makes a good first impression, with its steely but elegantly designed case. The bright RGB lighting of the fans and front “Legion” logo livens up the unit without being brash.

It’s built to a high standard, too. The materials feel as premium as they look, and every panel feels sturdy and durable, even the glass side cover. The downside, however, is that the Legion Tower 5 is quite large and very heavy, so moving around can be difficult.

And you won’t want to grab it from the top, as the ventilation mesh has a spiked design that can dig uncomfortably into the hand. Fortunately, there’s a useful grab handle just behind the front ports you can hold instead.

There’s some scope for expanding components, but not much. There are four DDR5 memory slots, but only a maximum of 32GB is supported. Up to three M.2 SSDs and one HDD can be installed simultaneously, and there are two spare SATA ports and a spare PCIe 4x slot.

On the rear you’ll find the usual selection of ports. There are six USB ports, although only two of them utilize the SuperSpeed standard. There are also the obligatory headphone, microphone, and line-in connections.

Birds-eye view of black mouse and keyboard and bottom portion the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, on a grey desk — (Image credit: Future)

Oddly, the PSU is located at the top, resulting in a dangling power cable: this is never ideal, but here it can potentially obscure other rearside connections, too. What’s more, this placement effectively shortens the length of the cable if your outlet is close to the floor.

At the front, port selection is more scarce. There are two USB ports, although one is type-C, which could prove contentious depending on what you’re connecting. Personally, I would’ve preferred both to have been type-A, given most of my peripherals use this standard – and I suspect many others’ do as well.

My Legion Tower 5 review unit came with a mouse and keyboard: basic affairs that were perfectly functional, but clearly designed for productivity rather than gaming. The keys’ short travel and lack of feedback make them better for typing than WASD use, while the mouse has no DPI selector or even side buttons. Needless to say, Lenovo certainly hasn’t provided the best gaming keyboard or the best gaming mouse here.

Design: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Performance

Close-up of power button and grab handle on the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Excellent AAA performance
Impressively cool and quiet

Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 (30L AMD) CPU benchmarks:
Benchmark	Score
Geekbench 6.4 Single-core	2,594
Geekbench 6.4 Multi-core	13,554
Crossmark Overall	1,846
Crossmark Productivity	1,734
Crossmark Creativity	2,127
Crossmark Responsiveness	1,454
Cinebench R23 Single Core	1,693
Cinebench R23 Multi Core	17,376
Cinebench R24 Single Core	104
Cinebench R24 Multi Core	934

The performance of the Legion Tower 5 is excellent, with the RTX 5070 in my review unit delivering on its promises.

As you would imagine, everyday tasks are handled equally well. Document and spreadsheet workloads are processed instantly, while 4K streaming is seamless, lacking the significant buffering times that can plague less capable machines.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 (30L AMD) GPU benchmarks
Benchmarks	Score
3DMark Fire Strike	43,845
3DMark Steel Nomad	5,495
3DMark Solar Bay	107,638
3DMark Solar Bay Unlimited	105,290
3DMark Speed Way	5,960
3DMark Port Royal	14,302
3DMark Wild Life Extreme	43,652
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	42,947

More impressive, however, is just how quiet the Legion Tower 5 is. During my entire time with it, the fans never rose above a gentle whir, even when the system was set to Performance mode.

What’s more, the unit remained remarkably cool throughout, never exceeding lukewarm temperatures. The Legion Tower 5 is exclusively air-cooled, utilizing six fans that offer up to 180W of power – and they certainly seem effective.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 (30L AMD) gaming benchmarks
Game	Average FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra)	72
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest, 1080p)	208
F1 2024 (Max, 1080p)	119
Total War: Warhammer III (Ultra, 1080p)	172

Thankfully, the Legion Tower 5 isn’t saddled with bloatware. In fact, the two included utility apps, LegionSpace and Lenovo Vantage, are unobtrusive and quite useful; the former for viewing detailed system specs and performing functions such as BIOS updates, and the latter for adjusting performance and fan settings.

The Wi-Fi card was also exemplary. My connection speeds were fast, and I experienced no dropouts or instability.

Performance: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 5?

Close-up of bottom-rear portion of the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, with pink wall in background — (Image credit: Future)

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	The Legion Tower 5 is expensive, but the value is good considering the performance and build quality.	3.5 / 5
Design	The case feels very premium and durable, although it’s very heavy. It’s not the most expandable, either.	4.5 / 5
Performance	The Legion Tower 5 tears through AAA titles without breaking a sweat. It’s also eerily quiet.	5 / 5
Average rating	The Legion Tower 5 is a top-tier gaming desktop that delivers superb gaming performance. It’s large and heavy, and not the most expandable, but the premium design and its hushed operation might be enough to justify its cost.	4.34 / 5

Buy it if...

You want great build quality
The case is as premium as they come, looking smart and seeming very durable.

You want excellent gaming performance
The 5070 in my review unit blasted through AAA games without issue, all the while staying perfectly cool and incredibly silent.

Don't buy it if...

You want plenty of expandability
You can only have up to 32GB of RAM, and there aren’t many other slots left spare for upgrading.

You want minimal real estate
The Legion Tower 5 is no mini PC; it’s large and heavy, and the sharp vent panel on the top doesn’t exactly help with ergonomics.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5: Also Consider

Here are some equally desirable alternatives to the Lenovo Legion Tower 5:

NZXT Player PC (5070 Intel Edition)
Despite having the same RTX card and the same RAM capacity, but twice the installed storage, the NZXT Player PC is a little cheaper than the Legion Tower 5. It doesn’t skimp on quality, either: we were impressed with its ample ventilation and smart, solid construction. The lack of visible expansion slots was about the only drawback we could find.

Read the full NZXT Player PC (5070 Intel Edition) review

Alienware Aurora (ACT1250)
The Alienware Aurora ACT1250 offers an excellent experience at 1440p and beyond, as well as a host of configuration options that allow you to build up the perfect gaming PC for performance needs. It's not great on expandability, though.

Read the full Alienware Aurora (ACT1250) review

How I tested the Lenovo Legion Tower 5

Tested for two days
Used for gaming and benchmarked
Plentiful PC gaming experience

I tested the Legion Tower 5 for a couple of days, during which time I used it for a variety of tasks.

I used it for working, browsing, streaming video, and, of course, gaming. I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 at various settings, including the highest preset. I also ran TechRadar’s series of benchmarks, to assess various aspects of its performance.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used a variety of systems and components during that time, and have built my own machines. I’ve also reviewed plenty of gaming hardware and laptops.

First reviewed October 2025

MSI Stealth A16 AI+ review: thin, light, and hot

6:27 pm | September 29, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Gaming Computers Gaming Laptops | Tags: OLED, Total War, UK, US | Comments: Off

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Two-minute review

Some of the best gaming laptops are those that are portable enough for you to take on the go with you, whether it's because you’re a commuter or just because you want to use your laptop in various places - and love to game.

With more options hitting the market over the past year thanks to the release of Nvidia’s 50 series graphics cards, we've been eagerly awaiting MSI's new edition of its Stealth series, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+.

The good news is that the new MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is once again a formidable gaming laptop, deftly balancing powerful performance with a sleek design, making it a candidate for our best thin and lightweight gaming laptops buying guide.

While its battery life leaves something to be desired and it can run hot under pressure, its vibrant OLED screen, robust build, and exceptional gaming capabilities make it a compelling choice for those looking for a portable powerhouse.

It's a strong contender in the competitive gaming laptop market, offering a premium experience for both work and play, but it comes at a (high) price: $2,899 / £2,199. While this is the average price for laptops featuring these specifications, that doesn’t take away from the dent it leaves in your wallet.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+ on wooden surface — (Image credit: Future)

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Price and availability

How much does it cost? $2,899 / £2,199
When is it available? Now
Where can you get it? US, UK, and some European regions

You can pick up the Stealth A16 AI+ for $2,899 / £2,199 which is an average price for laptops which feature the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. You can customize the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ to come with the more powerful RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 GPUs, but this will increase the price by quite a bit - however, even then, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ remains reasonably priced compared to the competition.

Currently, you can purchase the Stealth A16 AI+ in the US, UK, and select European countries.

While there’s currently no confirmation as to when the device will be coming to other markets, MSI does typically release its products in other regions later down the line.

Value: 3 / 5

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Specs

The Stealth A16 AI+ impresses with its potent specs: an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X memory, and a 2TB SSD, making it a future-proof powerhouse for demanding tasks and gaming.

	MSI Stealth A16 AI+ 5070 Ti	MSI Stealth A16 AI+ 5080	MSI Stealth A16 AI+ 5090
Price:	$2,899 / £2,199	$3,299 / £2,249	$3,999 / £3,399
CPU:	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
Graphics:	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
RAM:	64GB LPDDR5X	64GB LPDDR5X	64GB LPDDR5X
Screen:	16-inch Widescreen Display - QHD+ (2560 x 1600) - OLED - 240Hz	16-inch Widescreen Display - QHD+ (2560 x 1600) - OLED - 240Hz	16-inch Widescreen Display - QHD+ (2560 x 1600) - OLED - 240Hz
Storage:	2TB SSD	2TB SSD	2TB SSD
Ports:	2x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet port, 1x Audio jack	2x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet port, 1x Audio jack	2x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet port, 1x Audio jack
Wireless:	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Camera:	HD Webcam	HD Webcam	HD Webcam
Weight:	2.1kg	2.1kg	2.1kg
Dimensions:	355.8 x 259.7 x 19.95 mm	355.8 x 259.7 x 19.95 mm	355.8 x 259.7 x 19.95 mm

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Design

Thin and light for its size
OLED display is fantastic
Good selection of ports

The Stealth A16 AI+ features a sleek and understated design, perfect for both professional environments and gaming setups. Its chassis feels robust yet surprisingly lightweight, making it an excellent companion for those who need to work or play on the go.

The narrow bezels around the display add to its modern aesthetic and maximize screen real estate, drawing you deeper into your content.

MSI has been generous with port selection, ensuring you're well-connected without the constant need for adapters.

You'll find a versatile array of ports, including multiple USB-A and USB-C ports, an HDMI output for external displays, and an Ethernet port for reliable wired internet.

This comprehensive connectivity is a significant advantage, especially for gamers who need a load of peripherals or frequently switch between setups. However, if you’re hoping to run a streaming setup from this laptop you may need a USB adaptor so you can hook up a webcam and microphone too (though the included webcam and mic array do a fine job if you're not planning on doing professional-level streaming).

The OLED screen itself is a highlight, offering vibrant colors and sharp detail that enhance everything from those AAA story games to high-definition movies. Its ample size provides an immersive viewing experience, whether you're deep into a creative project or enjoying a casual browsing session. The more I use OLED screens, the more I wish they would become the industry standard.

Despite its large screen, the overall size and weight of the Stealth A16 AI+ remain impressively manageable for a gaming laptop at less than 2cm thick. It’s also relatively lightweight when compared to alternative gaming laptops on the market at 2.1kg - for example, the MSI Raider A18 HX comes in at 3.6kg.

Design score: 5 / 5

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Performance

Excellent gaming performance
Good at multitasking
Can get hot

Benchmarks

These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the MSI Stealth A16 AI+:

3DMark: Night Raid: 38,762; Fire Strike: 30,723; Time Spy: 13,384
GeekBench 6: 2,930 (single-core); 15,398 (multi-core)
CrossMark: Overall: 1,897 Productivity: 1,982 Creativity: 1,765 Responsiveness: 1,729
Total War: Warhammer III (1080p, Ultra): 176fps ; (1080p, Low): 380fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra): 105fps ; (1080p, Low): 176fps
Dirt 5 (1080p, Ultra): 206fps ; (1080p, Low): 287fps
PCMark 10 Battery Life: 4 hours 57 mins
TechRadar movie test: 4 hours 45 mins

During our testing, this laptop consistently delivered exceptional performance across a variety of demanding applications and, crucially, in the latest AAA gaming titles.

Whether it was playing Cyberpunk 2077 at ultra settings or engaging in fast-paced combat in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the Stealth A16 AI+ maintained impressively high frame rates, ensuring a smooth and immersive experience.

This was with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti inside, so if you buy a model with the more powerful RTX 5080 or 5090 GPUs, then you're going to get even better gaming performance.

I was able to render breathtaking visuals without a hitch. Even with ray tracing enabled, the laptop held its own, providing a stunning level of graphical fidelity that truly elevates the gaming experience.

Beyond gaming, the processor handled intensive multitasking and content creation with ease, making it a truly versatile machine for power users.

One thing to note is that the laptop did get quite hot and loud when running games at ultra, opening a lot of intensive programmes at once, or when benchmarking. While it wasn’t too hot to use the keyboard - an issue I’m seeming to face more and more in the world of gaming laptops, it was certainly worth noting.

The speakers on the laptop are decent - they certainly get the job done - but you won’t be able to take advantage of directional audio within games.

Performance score: 4 / 5

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Battery life

Not brilliant battery life
Very short when gaming

While MSI promised up to 13 hours of video playback, I found that the Stealth A16 AI+ just didn’t deliver anywhere near this.

During my time testing the MSI Stealth A16 AI+, I noticed that the battery life was closer to around six hours when using the laptop for general browsing or watching videos, which came down to about an hour when playing intensive games.

In our battery life benchmark, we got just shy of five hours in both the PCMark 10 edition and our own TechRadar movie test.

Battery life: 2 / 5

Should I buy the MSI Stealth A16 AI+?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Price	The value of the laptop is pretty average when compared to alternatives on the market with the same specs.	3 / 5
Design	This laptop has an immaculate design featuring a decent array of ports and remaining light when compared to alternatives.	5 / 5
Performance	You get exceptional performance from this laptop but it does get quite hot and loud.	4 / 5
Battery life	The battery is significantly below the promised lifespan which is very disappointing.	2 / 5
Total Score	This is a well-priced thin and light laptop with some excellent components that means it offers fantastic gaming performance. However, it can get quite hot, and battery life isn't the best.	3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You need a sleek gaming device
You want a gaming laptop that's also highly portable and can be used for work on the go.

Screen quality is important to you
If you want a vibrant OLED screen for an immersive visual experience, then this could be the laptop for you.

You want a powerful device
This is a powerful machine that can handle demanding AAA gaming titles and intensive multitasking with high frame rates.

Don't buy it if...

You want to go all day without charging
If you want a long battery life for extended use away from a power source then this isn’t the laptop for you.

You are on a tight budget
While this laptop is priced fairly compared to alternatives, this doesn’t mean it won’t put a dent in your wallet.

You are sensitive to laptop heat and fan noise
This laptop gets very hot and loud when you’re using intensive software or playing demanding games.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+ review: Also consider

	MSI Stealth A16 AI+	Asus Zenbook A14	Apple Macbook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)
Price:	$2,899 / £2,199	$1,399.99 / £1,099.99 / AU$2,899	$2,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,999
CPU:	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	Snapdragon X X1 26 100 Processor with Qualcomm Hexagon NPU up to 45TOPS	Apple M4 Pro (14-core)
Graphics:	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	Qualcomm Adreno GPU	Integrated 20-core GPU
RAM:	64GB LPDDR5X	4GB DDR4	24GB unified memory
Screen:	16-inch Widescreen Display - QHD+ (2560 x 1600) - OLED - 240Hz	14.0-inch, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio, LED Backlit, 0.2ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate, 400 nits	16-inch, 3456 x 2234 Liquid Retina XDR display (mini-LED, 1,000 nits sustained brightness, wide color P3 gamut, ProMotion technology)
Storage:	2TB SSD	16GB LPDDR5X on board	512GB SSD
Ports:	2x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet port, 1x Audio jack	1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm Audio Jack	3x Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C), HDMI, SDXC card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3
Wireless:	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual band) 2*2 + Bluetooth 5.3	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
Camera:	HD Webcam	FHD camera with IR function to support Windows Hello	12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Weight:	4.6 lbs (2.1kg)	2.16 lbs (0.98kg)	4.7 lbs (2.2kg)
Dimensions:	355.8 x 259.7 x 19.95 mm	31.07 x 21.39 x 1.34 ~ 1.59 cm (12.23 x 8.42 x 0.53in ~ 0.63in)	14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches (356 x 248 x 17mm)

If you're in the market for a new laptop, here are some alternatives to the MSI Stealth A16 AI+...

Asus Zenbook A14
For those seeking a premium, ultra-lightweight, and highly portable laptop, the Asus Zenbook A14 is an excellent choice. It offers a powerful processor and a stunning OLED display, all within a design optimized for superior portability.

Read our Asus Zenbook A14 review

Apple Macbook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)
For intensive tasks such as 3D animation or demanding video rendering, the Apple MacBook Pro, with its M4 Pro processor, offers superior performance. Read our Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) review.

How I tested the MSI Stealth A16 AI+

Tested for two weeks
Used in a variety of scenarios
Ran benchmarks and played games

For two weeks, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ served as my primary laptop for both work and leisure.

I thoroughly integrated it into my daily routine, using it for typical workdays, evenings spent gaming and watching movies, and even general browsing. To assess its portability and performance outside my usual setup, I also brought it to various remote work locations.

Beyond everyday use, I conducted comprehensive benchmark tests using software like 3D Mark and in-game tools to evaluate its performance.

First reviewed September 2025
Read more about how we test