Wasted Potential: Lenovo Legion 5i Pre-Built $1050 Gaming PC Review & Benchmarks

The onslaught of prebuilt PCs continues with the Lenovo Legion 5i Tower. This benchmark & review compares Lenovo vs. iBUYPOWER, Cyberpower, ABS, & the scourge of the Dell G5 5000.
Sponsor: Crucial X6 External SSD on Amazon geni.us/mMN0
Grab a mouse mat, modmat, or other GN products on our store -- get something quality in return for your support (which helps us buy these computers)! store.gamersnexus.net/
You can see why the ABS Challenger is the best prebuilt we’ve reviewed so far: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGPZo6mHrsmJf9k
Or you can see why the Dell G5 5000 is absolutely horrible here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anWwmGmeitqXfqc
And for something different, check out our AMD Super Resolution review here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXTdm4RqprVkaJY
This benchmark and review of the Lenovo Legion 5i Tower (or one of them, anyway) tests the i7-10700 and GTX 1660 Super in yet another configuration. This time, we get revisited by a single stick of RAM and McAfee, which are great friends who have a long and storied history of self-sabotage, and we also see the first sight of a real cooler in a prebuilt. It has some oddities, but is technically a tower cooler, which we haven't seen much of yet (this round). The Legion 5i falls woefully short of its thermal and acoustic potential thanks to its case, the frametime consistency isn't as competitive as configurations with better RAM and lower price, but the components aren't the worst we've seen. That still goes to Dell.
Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: www.patreon.com/gamersnexus
RELATED PRODUCTS [Affiliate Links]
Lenovo Legion stuff on Amazon: geni.us/0jf5wD
ABS Prebuilts on Newegg: geni.us/wAJz
iBUYPOWER gaming PCs on Amazon: geni.us/9BEnIa
Dell G5 5000 i5 Gaming PC on Amazon: geni.us/R6F03Mb
Some random Pre-Built Gaming PCs on Amazon: geni.us/UPWiwC
Or DIY it with an Intel i5-10600K on Amazon: geni.us/9xEIUZ
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Lenovo Legion 5i Review
02:24 - Prebuilt PC Reviews Recap
05:05 - Tear-Down & Disassembly
07:28 - One Stick for $1050
12:05 - Paste, Pressure, & Cooler
15:50 - Thermals of Lenovo Legion 5i
17:01 - Gaming Performance - Cyberpunk 2077
18:00 - Rainbow Six: Siege (1080p, 1440p)
18:39 - Frametime Issues
20:03 - Hitman 3
20:19 - Red Dead Redemption 2
20:42 - Noise Levels & Hysteresis, Time to Ramp
21:53 - Power Consumption - Blender & Gaming
22:30 - BIOS, Setup, & Bloatware
26:05 - Disappointed, Not Surprised
** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! **
Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video ("this video is brought to you by") and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or "sponsored content" (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage.
Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates:
t: gamersnexus
f: gamersnexus
w: www.gamersnexus.net/
Host, Writing, Test Lead: Steve Burke
Testing: Patrick Lathan
Video: Keegan Gallick, Andrew Coleman

[@GamersNexus]

Grab a mouse mat, modmat, or other GN products on our store -- get something quality in return for your support (which helps us buy these computers)! store.gamersnexus.net/ You can see why the ABS Challenger is the best prebuilt we’ve reviewed so far: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGPZo6mHrsmJf9k Or you can see why the Dell G5 5000 is absolutely horrible here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anWwmGmeitqXfqc And for something different, check out our AMD Super Resolution review here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXTdm4RqprVkaJY

[@squa_81]

I have an idea for a video, wich would be a guide on the expectation of a pré built system for manufacturers, to clarify what consumer expect and want, so no flower heat sync, proper packaging etc... Any way thank you for all the work done :)

[@jeffclontz3772]

I plan on pushing this up internally, hopefully notes will be taken for future builds.

[@georgelorimer9452]

Can I message you offline, for a custom order ? I'm out of Canada

[@What_In_This_World]

you consider getting one from microcenter ? they probably wouldnt be too bad if the company wouldnt change the terms of warranties in the middle of the term of your warranty, making the value of your microcenter replacement plan completely useless

[@vezra]

AVA Direct - Been looking into these guys for a couple of months. Their options seem pretty good and pricing is decent just worried about quality. They also have a KZbin channel. Might be a good one to take a look at!

[@Omegapork]

Someone needs to invent 1/2 channel RAM, so system integrators can put it two sticks whilst maintaining a single channel.

[@GamersNexus]

hahahaha

[@mykhaylovarvarin9078]

They still can put sticks in slots 1 and 2 or 3 and 4. Actually, I think, I've seen some strange Chinese Phenom motherboard that had two DIMM slots while being single channel

[@JeoshuaCollins]

Even better idea: Single channel board with four daisy chained slots. So then they can add a second stick and LOWER the performance!

[@Hornbowman]

You know what? Scrap double data rate! Re-introduce the world to single data rate for the sake of nostalgia, and brand your system as 'Retro Gaming PC'.

[@JeoshuaCollins]

@@Hornbowman Is that you, Satan?

[@Imjeezus]

I feel like the “It’s better than Dell” award is really just an “It’s not complete shit” award

[@cmnhrnytoad2003]

Oh it can still be shit AND be better than Dell.

[@JohnPlissken]

@@cmnhrnytoad2003 You stole my comment.

[@Dontmindmeisnotoriginal]

@@JohnPlissken is it possible to steal the truth?

[@darkSorceror]

But this also won the coveted "it's not the worst thing you can buy" award!

[@Dreddy72]

the “It’s better than Dell” award is honestly pretty much a participation trophy.

[@jonirenicus9407]

The moral of all these pre-built "reviews" seems to be "If you're scared or nervous to build your own, what you should really be scared of is paying someone else to do it."

[@tim3172]

FUD in its purest form.

[@Capatron1]

underrated comment

[@taunteratwill1787]

That''s a good one ! 😂

[@mattbailey8599]

@@tim3172 Not really. I feel like the D is missing, so this is more like FU.

[@michaelmonstar4276]

Myea, I feel like most people aren't actually dumb enough to mess up building their own computer. - AND, if they do, it could easily be rectified. - Of course, doing things randomly isn't gonna help, as you CAN mess up some things badly enough to damage parts. but if you generally follow instructions and the like, most people should be good, even if it takes a lot of time.

[@DynoMore]

"We have been let down tremendously and our days are ruined." I'm dead

[@jamesrichardson645]

I am so glad this joke didn't go unappreciated. I came down here in the comments in search for this.

[@sethmoyer]

At least our disappointment isn't immeasurable.

[@jamesrichardson645]

@@sethmoyer 🤣

[@CatsMeow_]

"The e-waste that comes with Dell's warranty" Lol

[@Depl0rable10]

That had me dead 💀😂

[@CatsMeow_]

@@morpheas768 we know, you don't need to write an essay explaining why

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

@@CatsMeow_ I disagree

[@Nova7686]

I love that the start of this video was just Steve being confused and saying "What??" for like 26 seconds 🤣

[@Y0G0FU]

Love these Intros 🤣

[@musikalniyfanboichik]

why is he so handsome though

[@Slamdoxicalz]

I can't remember a pre-built review without

[@obsidian....]

You think it's genuine? Seems like he's constantly searching for anything to 💩 on. . If I sound cynical right now it's because I am. In all honesty I'm just reflecting back the attitude Steve approaches everything with. Because you know... He believes his own 💩 doesn't stink...

[@musikalniyfanboichik]

@@obsidian.... dude these pcs are trash. objectively.

[@KillerKermie]

I would love to see each of these systems get a "user upgrade" amount of 10% of their cost and then see how they stack. The Lenovo could get better ram, Cyberpower a better cooler, Dell a trip to e-waste recycler, etc.

[@cat-.-]

Dell a trip to the e-waste recycler lmao

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

@@cat-.- LMFAO that killed me 😂😂

[@Qalibrated]

"McAfee is speeding up your app" - Press X to doubt

[@YoloMcSwaggot]

"Dis Assembly" would be a cool name for a GN rap crew.

[@hollowheart6537]

😂

[@markclancy5714]

dis assembly play the game make an entry, no Rtx but frames got plenty, I'm on Atx your still up eating Pi's, no heatsinks your chipset bouta die messing with pros get you de lidded, put ina a bin and then locked up in a prison rammed up with sticks to refresh your memory, seems the c mos still complimentary hard to the core but you still need more, power supply's and chiplets to be available in stores.

[@GamersNexus]

First off, build your PC to the spec you claim TechTube, when we test, come equipped with games You claim to be a good build, but I wrekt your RAM We bust on bad builds, please airflow this sham

[@Yuzuki1337]

I'm gonna print this thread out and hang it up on my wall, well played guys 🤣

[@kimadla]

"benchmarks before disassembly" is also like a decent metal/rock band name

[@OldBuford]

you know that little spoiler/cowl on the back would be a great spot for a small display with thermals and/or post code readouts

[@GamersNexus]

Great idea! We don't need any of those at our prebuilt company, though, so please keep further good ideas to yourself! Signed, Dell, Lenovo, & HP

[@JTCF]

@@GamersNexus Wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't true.

[@bofast]

and/or fan speed controls

[@JeoshuaCollins]

@@benisrood They've looked into case design. They don't want to get into the cost of tooling for something that would only be bought by the smartest and most geeky of enthusiasts. That said, I would love to go down to the studio and pick Steve's brain for a while about case modding, and such.

[@bofast]

@AstroCat Only one stripe, though. You need dual channel memory to have two stripes.

[@rikwisselink-bijker]

13:21 "It's not the worst I've seen" That voice is the voice of a man who's seen too many things.

[@wboyd33]

I've had the wire frame mouse mat for a while now & I love it! Cool design, great feel, doesn't slide around, & the most important part to me is my mouse tracks EXTREMELY smoothly! Thank you for having quality products.

[@Verlisify]

How is it 2021 and companies still struggle this much with air intake?

[@Twisterspi0]

Not blocking the fans is now a long lost form of alchemy for case designers.

[@Mr.Morden]

Their designers know nothing about enthusiast designs. They can't shake everything they have learned about making OEM designs. A classic case of it being harder to unlearn what you know than to learn something new.

[@dallatorretdu]

gotta keep those Viruses out

[@AlfaPro1337]

Blame case that support dongle life...

[@ClonesDream]

@@dallatorretdu Lenovo cases can't catch viruses!

[@rare6499]

Those side panel edges are sharper than Steve’s tongue.

[@oetproductions8101]

Pause

[@Terrobility]

You gotta play the kids "yay" sound effect when the award comes on screen. That's the only thing missing

[@slumy8195]

editor needs to slap some fireworks and red amber alert together with the sound effect.

[@nicewhenearnedrudemostlyel489]

@@slumy8195 your editor needs to add descriptors. lol.

[@trewnav9256]

I love this level of detail and analysis! Comparing this build to the version available November 2022 for $850 it really looks like the designers are listening!

[@leesweeney8879]

That odd thermal pad on the video card may have been used as a bumper to protect the board.

[@GamersNexus]

Normally they just use a rubber brick, but you're right. That might be the case.

[@alreed2434]

Protecting smd's from people replacing the video card woulden't be too hard to knock one off if you wern't experienced at seating expansion cards. Maybe?

[@friedrichschwarz1547]

I had a different idea. The thermal pad might actually be an air duct in disguise, so the air going in the direction of the PCIe slot cannot escape to the side.

[@davidreyes9163]

@@friedrichschwarz1547 zg

[@Splanks]

2:48 "The e-waste that comes with Dell's warranty" Holy shit they're already dead, this is just savage

[@Silverhazey_]

These prebuilt videos are the BEST. Do more of these, I watch them in their entirety cause they are just so entertaining.

[@JakeobE]

My dad bought one of these 6 months of ago for himself. It was originally $900, but he got a $200 discount on the OG price of it from Costco. I just checked the inside of it and I'm shocked, it has 2 sticks of ram (16GB in total), but the bottom fan on the front is placed as exhaust instead of intake. lmao, good thing he doesn't use it, which is sad in itself.

[@SandyMiranda]

Hey! Mind if I ask: should the top fan be intake and the bottom exhaust? Or vice versa? Or should both be intake? There's online chatter about some Lenovos being shipping (accidentally) with two in-takes. Some folks online spoke to support and said one should be intake, one should be exhaust (not sure which configuration). What are you findings on this, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks!

[@JakeobE]

@@SandyMiranda Both should be intake on the front, as it creates positive air pressure that leads to less dust accumulation inside the PC, when working with the back exhaust fan.

[@BretBjorkman]

Hey. I just thought Id let you know that I also have this model from Costco and thanks to your comment I realized my front fan was backwards. Apparently this is a common mistake? Also, by opening the machine and poking around I realized my rear fan was actually RGB, but was plugged into the RGB board incorrectly. Three years later and now I have light on my RBG fan.

[@schlitzi2982]

The price of this thing is confusing. Bought a Lenovo Legion 5 desktop (Ryzen 5 3600, 3060, 16gb ram, and yes, 2 ram sticks, mesh front) for "only" 1000€

[@GamersNexus]

Very confusing, then. This is the one that they were promoting on twitter at the time we were shopping, so went for this one!

[@MrBizteck]

Fuck here in the UK currys is selling a 3060 is still £650 on its own .... thats about 755€ or $896 !!!!

[@Carahan]

That's all too normal with Lenovo. They don't seem have to a global pricing system. It isn't unusual to find refurbished laptops on their refurbished sales site more expensive than new for the same specs. It has been that way as far as I can remember.

[@sophie-144p7]

That seems like really fair pricing. My first pc was a Lenovo and it ran for 7 years before I sold it, hope yours does just as well

[@bofast]

They also sell directly on eBay and I think prices there don't necessarily match their website, either

[@joemarais7683]

I just picked up a 2013 Lenovo prebuilt and the chassis is functionally the same. I would say if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but god is it bad.

[@joannaatkins822]

Gamers Nexus: *Slaps Prebuilt* Gamers Nexus: "You can fit so much e-waste in this baby"

[@alexcourchesne2051]

Love the content as always! Very thorough. I would love to see how much a better RAM configuration would benefit this Lenovo, or how some simple changes you would make to these prebuilts would improve their performance, compared to how they were out of box. Just to actually see what kind of difference the OEMs could have had.

[@alienworm1999]

10:00 the weird mismatched dust holes don't technically matter, but they do show that Lenovo clearly didn't care a whole lot while designing the final production dies- it should definitely raise some red flags about what other corners were cut or minor details ignored

[@JeoshuaCollins]

It's weird to me because, wouldn't that increase the cost of the tooling? If they decided the prototype case design didn't have enough airflow, why not increase the amount of holes in the case? Why add different sized holes?

[@alienworm1999]

@@JeoshuaCollins this is clearly a prototype chassis that was nearing the final design, and Lenovo seems to be trying to ship the minimum viable product that still functions

[@CptJistuce]

@@JeoshuaCollins It is weird enough that I'm wondering if it was done on purpose for some reason. My best guess, and it is a wild one, is that it helped with the two fans sharing a chimney somehow.

[@JeoshuaCollins]

@@CptJistuce Like maybe one fan was more restricted than the other and therefore the flow needed to be modified to even it out? Maybe, but then unrestricting the fan would seem like a better option.

[@georgf9279]

It might actually be that the die that stamps out these holes is a replaceable 120x120mm insert into the larger die for the entire panel. Maybe they had one with missmatched holesize lying around from prototypeing and thought "whatever".

[@marebello1210]

"Better than Dell" is setting such a low bar lmao

[@empyrus4854]

These videos are so entertaining to watch. Love Steve's incredulous whys and whats.

[@Tio_Kenobi]

"Saddest, loneliest thermal pad" lol 😂

[@STORMFIRE07]

The new GN motto for prebuilts “We have been let down tremendously, and our days have been ruined”

[@timehathtcg]

can we get a gamer nexus's shirt that just says'.....but why?'

[@Y0G0FU]

And one with "Thank you Steve!"

[@Athrum]

@@Y0G0FU back to you steve!

[@swinnburn]

Yes definitely,a whole range of them!? With all those famous phrases 👌

[@bernds6587]

and don't forget a "You can literally see it!" shirt and a "3080 tie... fighter" shirt

[@zaaajac]

“The e-waste that comes with Dell’s warranty” LMAO

[@ijustsawthat]

"The case spoiler help the Intel CPU when switching gears." - Lenovo

[@SeanMather]

Those “cheap” Lenovo keyboards and mice are surprisingly durable, as they’ve been the default keyboards in several work computers. While not a high performance device, they’re functional and hold up to the abuse of a retail store reasonably well. You should replace it with high performance input devices, but for stock keyboards, they’re not bad and will get your basic computing stuff done.

[@joebot86]

I used one add my main keyboard for like a decade lol

[@bokunogentoo4420]

their "preferred pro" keyboards are good, but the mouse I got from them was like the one in this video and it broke after less than a year of use

[@ctsd623]

The mouse is absolute garbage, it has no dedicated spring mechanism and uses the plastic shell itself as the "spring" in the button. As a result, my mouse came with a right button pre-bent so that it was stuck in the depressed position. Bending the plastic back provided only a temporary fix before it became stuck again. Mice are so cheap, better to not include such junk vs insulting the customer with such garbage.

[@diegobecerra8656]

The Lenovo keyboards are really durable, but their mouses are trash!

[@wollinger]

Not this one but those that come on workstations.

[@anew742]

I like how the case has a ducktail spoiler

[@CaveyMoth]

I know owo

[@whatsanobeen]

This is how Lenovo likes to let you know it is half-assed ready to run forza

[@pedofiliawkosciele]

@@CaveyMoth kinda cringe bro

[@weegle.]

@@whatsanobeen lmfao

[@tysopiccaso8711]

@@CaveyMoth cringe

[@Slamraptor]

My favourite YT series right now. Keep them coming. (:

[@JonBoy470]

The design of the tower cooler is definitely optimized to "survive being shipped to the customer" and just by visual inspection it does better on this front than most aftermarket enthusiast equivalents, which often rely on clipping the heatsink to the board and/or clipping the fans to the heatsink.

[@rokku87]

Thanks for the content Steve and thanks for all your help with building my last computer at the end of 2020. At least half of my computer is gamer's Nexus recommendations and optimizations. You're the man.

[@GamersNexus]

That's awesome! Really glad to have helped you build one. What'd you pick for the case?

[@rokku87]

@@GamersNexus I got the Lian Li Lancool 2 mesh and using Arctic fans across the board. I got a 240 mm liquid freezer II for the top of the case. Cooling the 5800x and RTX 3080. Both of which I had to camp outside of Micro-center overnight for. But I've been having fun since December so it was worth it. Especially since I worked IT in a hospital most of covid up until that point. It was a nice reward for myself. Temperatures are excellent especially after I modded my gigabyte gaming OC with new thermal pads and MX4. The bottom fans giving my graphics card fresh air really lets me get the most out of my hardware especially since I am now gaming on the top floor which gets a little warmer than my old apartment.

[@northeu]

@@GamersNexus Seeing as you paid for all of these systems would be nice to see you "fix" them all and show how much it would cost and resell them... even if i was simple things like putting the systems in proper cases with decent coolers...

[@beargills6378]

@@rokku87 I have the exact same setup, sans the fans. Though I had everything except the cpu (which I got at the end of this march). Great setup, and again, thanks to gn and its community :)

[@gautamdiwan5952]

Thanks Steve!

[@relpmeraggy4207]

Ya know when he starts by saying, “ewwwww, gross” it’s gonna be an interesting video.

[@First-Name_Last-Name]

My interest and excitement starts peaking when Steve said the magic word: "What? but why?"

[@jakubt.4422]

Great video Steve, please don't stop with these videos about pre-built PC's. :)

[@xyrthor]

Thanks for these reviews and especially tear-downs. It gives me a good overview of what to look for when an acquaintance buys one and inevitably asks me to do technical support on it.

[@JimJamMS]

"The only thing we expected when we ordered it was that we'd hate the case. And we do." That timing lmao. Why is it so hard to make a good case? It's not just a box to throw a bunch of parts into. Why is it so rare to find enclosures that aren't hot garbage?

[@mrq1]

"Hot garbage" I see what you did there 😉

[@roundduckkira]

What's bad is that this is actually good for an OEM case, clearly Gamers Nexus didn't dig too deep into them besides Dell and now Lenovo (focusing on SIs), because the rest of them are closer to Dell than to Lenovo's worst Legion case, yikes. And the funnier part is their AMD systems have a faaaarrr better case. Like it's no contest. But then that begs the question, why not have the same case on both systems, why give Intel such an abominable case?! Especially considering their reputation of being expensive and quality?! O_o

[@bshenlow882]

@@roundduckkira I'd assume it's related to product sales figures. OEM probably thought they'd sell more AMD rigs and so in turn invest better parts in that. It happened way back when Intel was the performance leader and they get priority over premium designs. (Matter of fact - the situation is reversed in laptop markets where Intel to this day still gets better OEM support as oppose to AMD.)

[@RuggedKnight]

@@roundduckkira likely the AMD systems were designed more recently than the intel ones. so they get newer batches of parts, updated cases, better thought out designs. Meanwhile, updating the intel systems (especially one thats likely a clearance box given the 'aged' hardware) means throwing out parts that have already been delivered, or cancelling contracts for those parts already ordered but not delivered.

[@roundduckkira]

@@RuggedKnight that could explain it, the Intel casing looks like a hybrid of the AMD design and the previous generation Legion design which still has the spoiler and plastickiness and other issues and the drive caddy connection design (but more proprietaryish), but also lacking the newer and much improved Legion coolers and that "meshy" black front look the AMD system has, just faked. Then again tho the previous gen case did have a small mesh tho, not as nice as the AMD system, but still Edit: oh and the t7i systems, their higher end Intels, use a bigger version of the T5 AMD case, and the same case as their AMD T7 counterpart. Indeed Intel t5i seems to be older.

[@joaomartins4240]

Keep up the good work you been delivering! You are a blessing to the PC hardware community!

[@HighSpeedTV]

Love these videos, keep em’ coming!

[@hybridgaming8341]

All these SIs and other manufacturers should be thanking you for providing actual quality control. I'm certain you can point to changes that have been made in direct response to any number of your teardown videos. Good work as always GN!

[@Everdreamjustplays]

I think that thermal pad is meant to keep the cooler from sagging into the chip in that corner and the big plate on the GFX card is typically used on super cheap cases to spread the weight and stop the screw hole from ovaling out over time. Not sure if that's the case here but I've seen it on builds using cheap cases quite often back in the day.

[@ludwigvanhofer5541]

Hey GN, I love this series. I really appreciate you guys. I ordered a Pre-Built from PCSPECIALIST and I have to say it is amazing. If you could order one from them and review it I would be happy to know what they did right and what they didn't.

[@GameMovieVault]

Hey Steve, I appreciate you making the video. I bought this prebuilt back in May with a 3070 and lately I've been worried about the lack of airflow. Is there a better case that you would suggest? The back of the case gets really hot to the touch and I'm reaching really high temps in HWMonitor when gaming. Thanks!

[@Timbobjr]

I would suggest looking into a Fractal Design Meshify. Very high airflow, and won't break the bank. I don't have one myself but GN has a video on the case and he gives it high praises.

[@Phosphor66]

sorry to necro, but in case you haven't yet bought a new case: I recently built a new system in a Phanteks P400a. the case got decent praise from GN and comes with 3 PWM fans. about $80-90 depending on retailer and whatever sales might be going on.

[@realfeils4655]

İ suggest you look at corsair4000d airflow or corsair 5000d airflow İ think they are pretty cool cases Check on their prices if they are resonable for you. Edit: Just noticed im 1 month late

[@SkyTreeStudio]

Fractal, Corsair, and Phanteks all make great affordable airflow cases.

[@crylune]

Nobody mentioning be quiet's Pure Base 500DX which is one of GN's favorites, smh.

[@VRavTech]

Another day another prebuilt let's goooo

[@fredocuomo5386]

"its better than dell" should be a tshirt...it would be interesting to see a pc from redux, been seeing a bunch of commercials for them on youtube and have been asked by friends if theyre any good...i offered to help them build their own but no go, which is good since i dont want to be their go to it guy

[@ghost_of_m403]

Great work on this review. Thanks for sharing.

[@mattyoaks4012]

Wish that you’d do a review of a system from the actual SI vs a retailer. Either way, great vids and lots of good information!

[@hi_tech_reptiles]

Great review! Id love to see you guys do a PCH/chipset breakdown like you have RAM and other stuff. I have a general idea of what modern ones do, but specifics and history with development and stuff, South bridge etc would be awesome. Just an idea! :)

[@kostasbezaitis2695]

Hey Steve, I didn't know where to request it so I'm doing it here: With the release of Sharkoon's REV300 case, I'd welcome a proper thermal analysis of it's 45degree angled design. Thanks!!

[@seanclarke4061]

Oh, and I received my wireframe mouse mat within like 2 months and I'm absolutely in love with it! great product

[@avgtren]

Just discovered this channel, great video btw! My only complaint is it was kinda quiet, a bit of a tune in the bg would cheer it up!

[@React2Quick]

You know it's a good video when Steve starts off the video by saying "Why would you do that? We can't have nice things."

[@kenpumphrey8384]

What makes these OEM/SI systems so sad is the majority of the people buying them will never see a techtube review like this before purchase. The damn things should just work.

[@Izithel]

I wouldn't be surprised if they were deliberately taking advantage of the fact that there are very few places that offer easily digestible reviews and comparisons for these kind of machines, even less that would also be aimed at people who don't know much about computers in the first place.

[@drcyb3r]

11:15 This is a plate that makes sure that the PCIe cards have proper grounding between itself and the case. A lot of prebuild and workstation PCs have this.

[@grob682]

Woul really like to see a review on a REDUX pre built. Really liking these pre built breakdowns.

[@raaghassi]

I'd love to see you guys review a system from Falcon Northwest, just to show how good a prebuilt can actually be.

[@rodefshalom]

I’m kind of curious about that cooler. It looks like an interesting solution to allow a 120mm fan tower cooler with a lower profile.

[@Derek2k]

No bs I live for these videos. Pls do a lot of them and pls god review the omen 30L so I can laugh at my own pc

[@randoir1863]

I ordered my t-shirt and mouse at on June 28th and picked it up at the post office today. I can't wait to use it!! Very happy with how quickly it arrived as compared to some other companies I've bought stuff from which will make you wait 60days for a refund when your package gets lost ! Ftr it wasn't anything computer related.

[@brett26]

One thing to consider looking into with these pre-builts, especially with something like a 10700 non-K, is whether the BIOS is enforcing the Intel "recommended" TDP limits by default and whether the user can bypass them. The performance difference between the Intel limits being on or off is going to be massive on a 10700 Non-K, and if you get stuck with no way to set your own or bypass them altogether, that is a massive performance difference vs a competing model that will (likely because they are using an off the shelf board).

[@noway9880]

Good question. I always assume if it's a prebuilt, esp HP, BIOS is stripped of anything at all related to tuning power limits etc

[@EnglishMike]

Since you mentioned the issue several times, it would have been interesting (and useful) to see what difference two 4GB memory sticks would have made to the performance numbers, even if just for one game. Just a suggestion.

[@kaidenbrooks7480]

yeah fr he acts like the average person couldn't stick ram in a computer..

[@Kromaatikse]

@@kaidenbrooks7480 In this series, GN is specifically looking at the out-of-the-box experience of prebuilt systems, with the expectation that the end-user *specifically does not* need to futz around inside it to get it working properly. This one was competently assembled, which already elevates it above some of the competition (both in this price range and some substantially higher ones), but the poor RAM configuration seriously lets it down. That's an entirely valid conclusion to draw for the benefit of a GN viewer looking for a prebuilt system to recommend to their tech-illiterate aunt to give to their school-aged child - to construct just one plausible example.

[@Leo9ine]

​@@kaidenbrooks7480You realize it's just as easy for a fucking computer company to do so. You aren't helping your case.

[@grahamsiemers9930]

With what you guys at GN know from suppliers to retailers can you start your own line of pre-built systems. Even just small runs of good equipment that just work right for the money. Thank you for all the hard work you guys do.

[@DMSmith-jd8hj]

Love to see you guys do one from Build Redux

[@clukowski]

I have the Lenovo Legion 7i Tower and I absolutely love the PC. It was more than double to price of this system but it is worth every penny to me. 3 120mm intake fans on the front with a mesh panel and a 240mm AIO exhaust. This cooling setup works well with the 10900k and RTX 2080 Super and keeps temps reasonably low! Also came with 32GB of RAM (2x16), 1TB NVMe SSD and a 1TB HDD. When I bought the PC I also got a nice 15% cash back from Rakuten so it was an even better deal!!!

[@Kman31ca]

Best prebuilt out there besides that Ram situation.

[@jakmere]

4:46 "we have been let down, tremendously, and our days have been ruined...". I mean - this cannot be more true to the spirit of a person who really wants a good gaming pc.

[@kaoskilo]

I kinda like how ingenious the cpu cooler mounting is. Not necessarily user-friendly, but a fairly clever solution.

[@JW-ph8kw]

Love your work, you did the whole teardown I wanted but cannot due to warranty concern. Single ram seems an issue but I also like the possibility I can add more myself later on as sourcing another 16gb is cheaper than getting two 8gb sticks. Also the power supply is good in the sense I actually added one extra disk, replaced its existing slow smr disk with another bigger and larger one, added another nvme SSD, without breaking warranty and within its power capacity

[@theredscourge]

They call it a spoiler because it spoils your hope of being able to use an under-desk PC mount

[@Endonae]

Hahaha Steve sounded so defeated when he was giving the "Not the worst I've seen" award for the CPU cooler.

[@isbestlizard]

I love noctua's fan mounting hardware. Literally a piece of bended wire, and it is PERFECT

[@Vasharan]

The "spoiler" on the Legion 5 is a nod to the classic IBM tower PCs of old that had a built in carrying handle. It looks like the "spoiler" does have a handhold in the back to help carry the case, as well, but I do agree it is an eyesore, and they could probably incorporate a handle that doesn't require the side panels to have pointy bits sticking out to jab you.

[@rwhunt99]

Was wondering if you have a criteria list to follow when it comes to what you should expect in a low end system, a mid range system and a high end system. That would be nice for reference.

[@AsianBear44]

Unfortunately, with part makers constantly adding new parts to the market, and price fluctuations of different parts(ie ram, chips, etc) such a review would rapidly become irrelevant.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

11:11 It's entertaining to see Steve react to the RF shielding. Shows he have not had much experience with the FCC or the EU equivalent. That small piece is steel is used to ensure that ad on cards are properly grounded and to cover up any gaps between the back panel and the back plate on the cards. Yes I know most who watch thins couldn't care less about the FCC, but big companies such as Lenovo can't afford to be as cavalier about it. The fines for selling equipment that pollute the radio frequencies can be quite high so they can't afford to skimp on details like this. That's also why you never see a machine from these manufacturers that has really open airflow. The grills tend to be more restrictive as that keeps the RF emissions under control. Wide open fan intakes and exhausts are not something you will ever find on a Dell or Lenovo machine.

[@WardenOfTerra]

You're talking crap.

[@POPWARisSick]

Loving the prebuilt stuff. Good change of pace

[@jamesf.9079]

Even if these prebuilt pc's don't get the most views I hope you keep making these reviews last time I bought a prebuilt it was extremally hard to find reviews for the models I could afford.

[@_Just_John]

22:31 - Just the glance at the taskbar and seeing the McAfee icon makes me wonder, how much must companies pay to companies like Lenovo to devalue their products.

[@ash36230]

Does the spoiler/wing on the back of the PC case improve the aerodynamics and flow of the air in the case somehow? Does this case have an issue with not enough downforce to keep it on the desk?

[@JeoshuaCollins]

They removed the chipset heatsink to make it go faster and now it's too light to stay on the track. Downforce good.

[@mrq1]

With all that power, the only thing holding it back is a plastic spoiler and a single stick of memory.

[@jamiemahoney2446]

And lack of a red stripe.

[@penguinguyx]

You should do a wrap up video. Maybe once a month/quarter, that collects all the pre-builts that you tested in that time. I get that you are discussing the previously tested ones, but a more comprehensive look at the differences would be fun (and appreciated). I'll definitely be investing in more merch to help you out. Would you ever let your patreons just straight up buy a pre-built for you to test?

[@daniellindemann7968]

You've put this out literally one day after I had to take an actual vacuum to my parents' 7 year old home office Lenovo tower. The few, too large intake gaps is not a new choice for them

[@dragontales1999]

I have that exact keyboard and it's lasted literally 5 years with no issues. It's not that bad.

[@MIK33EY]

The sadistic side of me loves watching Steve reach total confusion whilst taking these systems apart. Also, it reaffirms my decision to learn what things are, watch the hours of YT reviews and finally DIY my first PC and end up with a vastly superior system for not much more money than these pre-builts.

[@Fievel4]

Also the reason they put the thermal pad on that one ram chip is most likely to help give the heat sink some more stability by having another spot where it is actually pushed up against something to help keep it from rocking on top of the GPU and possibly cracking the silicon.

[@odinstorm17]

Because I'm not looking for a pre-built pc so for me the most entertaining one was the Dell review. Weird motherboard, look like a lot of holes in the front but actually not, screw the cpu cooler directly to the chassis. Really fun to watch.

[@nickmayo4889]

Love the review on the New Lenovo Legion 5i (pronounced 5ie)

[@ClonesDream]

5Tie*

[@thomasr7129]

High praise from Steve: "It's not the worst we've seen" AND "it's better than Dell" :D

[@ElijsDima]

I almost got one of these Lenovo towers around new years' time. Eventually decided to throw in some extra money and build a system from parts completely, now very glad I did that instead of going the prebuilt route.

[@bojanmilovanovic747]

@ 11:15 Steve, that bracket(which you refered as ''what, why?'') is for better grounding of the pci-e devices with the case...

[@maou1238]

That one memory module probably bribed someone at lenovo for that thermal pad.

[@alphaLONE]

Will you review stuff from Falcon Northwest in the higher price brackets?

[@GamersNexus]

Not sure yet! Have looked at it, but haven't ordered yet.

[@theredscourge]

I've been impressed with the pre-built systems offered by Memory Express, an up and coming retailer in Canada that's similar to Micro Center.

[@walter274]

I love the virtual confetti! I don't think most people get how badly a single ram chip can gimp a system. I knew it could gimp it, but I didn't think it would degrade the performance a full CPU category. I wonder what ram configuration companies use making required and recommended system requirements?

[@verrat3219]

why didnt u make a review on the amd version of this like u said? its the best oem prebuilt on the market. mesh top and front. 2 fans on the front, 2 on top, 1 at the back and 1 cpu fan. so airflow is literally perfect, and best out of every oem. can get 16gb 3200mhz dual channel with a rtx 3000 gpu and ryzen 5000 cpu. 500gb or 1tb ssd and standard b550 board. i literally cant see any downside to it, feels almost like a self build

[@nakata5452]

All the extra metal around the pci-e slot might be there to help deal with gpu sag or wiggling during shipping since a much tighter hold will rattle less.

[@Aeturnalis]

I'd like to see you review an AVA Direct computer. I custom designed a computer on their website and it turned out great, but it would be interesting to see if that's the normal or was I just lucky.

[@thespicyswede9302]

Hitman 1/2/3 is an underrated option for benchmarks, I appreciate it being included!