Lenovo's Legion 9i gaming laptop packs integrated liquid-cooling and top-tier hardware

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Lenovo has introduced a powerhouse of a gaming laptop complete with top-of-the-line hardware and a self-contained liquid cooling system. It's due out in October, which may or may not be enough time to save up for it.

The Lenovo Legion 9i ship with a 16-inch PureSight 3.2K (3,200 x 2,000 resolution) mini-LED display with a 165 Hz variable refresh rate and support for DCI-P3 and sRGB color spaces. At the heart of the machine is Intel's 13th generation Core i9-13980HX processor, which can be paired with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU, 64 GB of overclocked DDR5 memory, and up to a 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

The integrated liquid cooling solution, meanwhile, was designed in collaboration with Cooler Master. Lenovo said it runs over the GPU VRAM to help manage heat during extreme gaming sessions, kicking on when the temp reaches 84 degrees Celsius. It's paired with an AI-tuned, triple-fan air cooling system which, combined, can manage a maximum TDP of 230 watts.

Speaking of power, Lenovo's latest packs a 99.99Whr battery that can be charged using the included 330 watt slim adapter or the 140 watt Type-C adapter, both of which come included in the kit.

Join us for a first look at the world's first liquid-cooled gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion 9i. Boasting advanced Lenovo AI+ tech & a unique forged carbon exterior, this revolutionary device is definitely a game-changer.

Learn more: https://t.co/YG2twO9c6X | #LenovoTechLife

– Lenovo (@Lenovo) September 1, 2023

The port selection is extensive and includes multiple USB ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 jack, an Ethernet jack, a combo audio jack, and an SD card reader. Other amenities include dual 2W speakers with Nahimic Audio, per-key RGB keyboard lighting, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, and a unique carbon A-cover.

The system isn't as gargantuan as you might expect, either. It measures 357.7 mm x 277.7 mm x 18.99 – 22.7 mm (14.08 in x 10.93 in x 0.74 – 0.89 in) and starts at 2.56 kg (5.64 pounds).

Lenovo's Legion 9i will be available from October. Pricing is a bit of a grey area as Lenovo's press release only mentions EMEA pricing, which starts at €4,499 (inc. VAT). Other publications have reported a USD starting price of $4,399 but I've been unable to confirm that as of this writing.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100003-lenovo-legion-9i-gaming-laptop-packs-integrated-liquid.html

 

[pcnthuziast]

Very impressive!

 

[VitalyT]

Wait for the first leak, or electrical shorting over condensation...

 

[Homerlovesbeer]

It's not a proper 4090 but rather a "Mobile" version which is a cut down version....

the laptop model is trimmed by about 60% compared to the desktop card across all facets with clock speeds at about 80% of the desktop card's level. Based on this alone there is no way the laptop variant and desktop variant will perform anywhere close to each other, so it's highly misleading to give both GPUs basically the same name

 

[neeyik]

It's not a proper 4090 but rather a "Mobile" version which is a cut down version....

It's not really a cut-down version of the desktop 4090 (AD102). The RTX 4090 Mobile uses the exact same chip as used in the desktop RTX 4080 (AD103). The clocks are significantly lower, of course, and it's paired with slower GDDR6 to keep the TDP right down.

 

[godrilla]

It's not really a cut-down version of the desktop 4090 (AD102). The RTX 4090 Mobile uses the exact same chip as used in the desktop RTX 4080 (AD103). The clocks are significantly lower, of course, and it's paired with slower GDDR6 to keep the TDP right down.

Unless I missed it in the article the mobile version is limited to 16 gigs of vram at least for the other laptops that come with the 4090m*.

 

[neeyik]

Unless I missed it in the article the mobile version is limited to 16 gigs of vram at least for the other laptops that come with the 4090m*.

Which it will be as the AD103 has a 256-bit total memory bus — so the VRAM options will be 8, 16, or 32 GB (and the latter would only be used on a workstation platform).

 

[godrilla]

Which it will be as the AD103 has a 256-bit total memory bus — so the VRAM options will be 8, 16, or 32 GB (and the latter would only be used on a workstation platform).

Do you know how much the 32 gig vram version goes for? I believe someone was interested for a mobile workstation for vr in the other thread.

 

[neeyik]

Do you know how much the 32 gig vram version goes for?

I've not seen any on the market yet but when/if they do appear, I'll be extremely expensive -- for example, Dell's Precision 7780 with a 12GB RTX 4000 Ada (which is a 4070) is $5600.

Biggest problem with having 32 GB on the AD103 is that the GDDR6 modules need to be in clamshell mode, which means that there needs to be VRAM on both sides on the motherboard. While perfectly possible to achieve, the likes of Dell likes to use one motherboard design for almost all of its Precision range so there's a good chance it won't ever release a 32 GB version.

But if you're happy to go down the desktop route, there is a 32 GB RTX 5000 Ada Generation card for an eye-watering $4000:

Buy Professional Graphics Cards & Workstations | NVIDIA RTX

Buy professional graphics cards, desktop and mobile workstations, and more in the NVIDIA RTX Store

store.nvidia.com

 

[toooooot]

Can't wait for a teardown to see that cooling system

 

[amghwk]

A laptop is a laptop. I always prefer my laptop to be cool and quiet with integrated graphics with the highest end CPU and jack up my my desktop processor and GPU to tha max, anytime of the day.

No compromise!

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

Does anyone have any recommendations on gaming laptops in a feasible range? Nothing too special, but something that can at least cover PS2/GC/WII. Looking for an upgrade from the Acer Aspire E575G from 2016 while the desktop is N/A