Lenovo nails it with the Legion Y740. It has a unique design, made with aluminum while featuring the very best from partners: a G-Sync display (NVIDIA), an iCue compatible keyboard (Corsair) and good sound (Dolby). I’ve been reviewing Lenovo gaming laptops for more than 5 years. The Y740 feels like a culmination of Lenovo’s several years of producing gaming laptops in all of the best ways.
Specifications
| Screen size | 15.6 in Full HD LCD (1920 x 1080) NVIDIA G-SYNC 144Hz, 300 nits, Dolby Vision HDR |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8750H 2.20 GHz up to 4.10 GHz |
| Memory | 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 2666 MHz |
| Hard drive size | 1TB SATA, 7200rpm + (128GB SSD – 256GB SSD) |
| Operating system | Windows 10 |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos |
| Video | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB – RTX 2080 8GB Max Q |
| Ports | USB 3.1 Gen 2 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Mini DisplayPort™ 1.4 HDMI™ 2.0 RJ45 Ethernet Kensington® Wedge Lock slot 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / Intel Thunderbolt 3 (DisplayPort, Data transfer) 3.5mm microphone/headphone combo |
| Battery | 3-cell lithium-ion | 57Wh with Rapid Charge (charge up to 80% in 1 hour) |
| Camera | HD 720p with integrated mic |
| Wireless | Killer™ Wireless 802.11 AC (2 x 2) + Bluetooth® 4.1 |
| Dimensions | 361.42mm x 267mm x 22.45mm (14.2” x 10.5” x 0.88”) |
| Weight | Starting at 2.2 kg / 4.8 lbs |
What’s Good
The Y740 is encased in an aluminum lid and base. This is a step up from previously all-ABS plastic Legion laptops. All around the chassis are bold gamer accents. From the lowered rear for grouping I/O, to the beautiful lighting that helps you identify your I/O in the dark. While the Y740 has a gamer distinction, the use of grays and blacks combined with a mostly aluminum body give it professional charm as well. Albeit, not as much as the Razer Blade 15. If you use the excellent Corsair iCue software, you can turn all of the lights off – even the small Legion “Y” light on the lid. If you want to flaunt your lights, you can do that too. There are several pre-configured lighting effects, such as rainbow, wave, and color shift. I use a boring static lighting scheme – dark blue, baby. The keyboard features per-key lighting effects that stack. You can, for example, have the keyboard emulate a spiraling rainbow of colors while WASD are a static white.
Gaming performance is what the Y740 is all about. One of the reasons the display hinge doesn’t line up with the rear of the base is to move the airflow to the rear and away from the GPU, CPU and keyboard. Nobody wants to game on a hot keyboard, and that won’t happen to anyone using the Y740. I tested the included RTX 2070 MQ on Battlefield V and the Division 2. The big draw of RTX cards is Ray Tracing and DLSS support. Ray Tracing in Battlefield V is gorgeous but not necessary for you to enjoy the game competatively or casually. Fortunately, there is more to the RTX cards than these features. In addition, you get more power than the 10 series cards.
Gaming Performance
- Battlefield V
- Ultra: 111 – 115 FPS
- “High Fidelity”: 140 – 144 FPS
- The Division 2
- Ultra: 52-65
- High: 72 – 110
What Needs Improvement
The touchpad is just too small. It works well for what it is, but I’d like to see it larger, particularly for consumers that want to use this laptop for office work and while on the go. While you’re gaming, it’s certainly not an issue as you’ll likely use a mouse. But the other area of improvement I’d like to point out does affect you while gaming: the position of the macro function keys. Props to Lenovo for thinking of gamers and including programmable macro keys on the far left side of the keyboard deck. But, unfortunately, muscle-memory for me and a friend whom I asked to try out the Y740, got in the way of our gaming experience. In particular, Lenovo has a function key in the upper-left corner of the deck that launches their Vantage application. Memory tells me this key is the “esc” key. It was inconvenient. For a 15″ laptop, there isn’t room to move those keys elsewhere. So my recommendation is to remove them entirely.
Who is it For
The Legion Y740 may be the best value in gaming laptops at the moment. Making it a good fit for consumers who want good performance for their dollars but also want a laptop that is well constructed. The Y740 isn’t a stealth gaming machine so if you’re taking it to work with your suit and tie, make sure you’re comfortable with the design. Otherwise, it’s an excellent gaming laptop.