The Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (18IAX10) is a large and heavy 18-inch laptop that is built for gamers and professionals who want super-fast specs in a strong chassis. It features a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HZ CPU, which is paired with 64GB of DDR5 RAM, a 2TB SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics adapter.
If you don’t understand any of this or are not impressed, this may not be the laptop for you. Alongside these specs are Wi-Fi 7 (really fast on your home wireless network), a high-brightness 4K IPS screen, a 1440p webcam, and more ports than you would find on most desktop computers, including 2 x Thunderbolt 5 ports and a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port.
There’s a lot to like about the features and the overall build quality of this laptop, which make it feel like a proper desktop replacement rather than something that should be carted between locations.
But if you do end up taking it anywhere with you, the power adapter will need to tag along – battery life is around 2.5 hours, so this is not one for a long plane trip. Also, it would probably take up most of your carry-on luggage weight. With the adapter, it will be a cool 5kg worth of laptop power in your bag, not including any extra peripherals such as a gaming mouse.
The visual design of the Legion 9i delivers a large dose of flair with ambient chassis lighting and a daunting set of rear exhausts, which are sure to impress those looking for something a bit out of the ordinary. It’s oozing comfort and luxury, and if this is sounding more like a premium car than a laptop, you’re getting the idea.
A keyboard with individually backlit keys can be customised to look colourful across different zones using the included utility software, and they look glorious in the dark.
If this is sounding more like a premium car than a laptop, you’re getting the idea
Peripheral and storage device connections are available along the sides of the laptop, while the back has the external monitor and power brick connections, neatly out of the way. All of the ports are very well spaced and easy to locate.
The keyboard keys possess very good travel and response, with a soft texture and ample spacing for touch-typing. The 3840-2400-pixel screen has deep colours, excellent blacks, superb detail in bright and dark areas, and a viewing angle that’s hard to fault.
A keyboard with individually backlit keys can be customised … and they look glorious in the dark
It has a refresh of 240Mhz, and we didn’t notice any dizzying moments when scrolling websites or looking at games with fast motion. It’s one of the best screens we’ve seen on a laptop, and it’s bright enough to counter reflections that appear in its glossy finish.
A very large touchpad can be used to navigate the screen, but a mouse would be a better solution since you’ll more than likely already be sitting at a desk. The high-end Intel CPU and NVIDIA graphics card will pump out a lot of heat, and even when not much at all is being done on the laptop, some of that heat might be noticeable through the palm rest.
For tough workloads, the rear vents will become a wind tunnel as the fans work to keep the innards cool, so keeping the rear clear of obstructions will be a must. It will be fairly loud, but not an annoying kind of loud.
With the adapter, this laptop will weigh a hefty 5kg, not including any peripherals.
Serious sound
Speaker quality is generally something that shouldn’t be talked about for a laptop – they’re mostly not very good – but for the Legion 9i, we rate its musical output as very good.
The sound was warm overall with well-balanced vocals, while a thump from the bass could be heard, and even felt a bit on the desk. The speakers definitely are useful if you don’t want to don a pair of headphones or hook up to a proper sound system.
Processing power in GeekBench 6 was clocked at almost the same level as Apple’s MacBook Pro 16-inch laptop, with Apple M4 Pro silicon, but that laptop was still faster in this benchmark. The Legion 9i is a fast Windows laptop by any measure, and a powerhouse when it comes to graphics processing.
It easily handled Forza Horizon 5 (our default test) at 4K with all visual details set to their maximum level, returning a frame rate of 82 in that benchmark. A typical consumer laptop without discrete graphics can give half that frame rate and only at low image quality.
Of course, that’s just one game, so performance will vary for other games depending on the resolution and settings that are chosen, but this level of laptop graphics processing is currently the top of the line.
The storage is also among the fastest you can currently get. Its 2TB Samsung SSD recorded sequential read and write rates of 11GBps and 13Gbps in our tests, figures that are more than double what a typical consumer laptop delivers.
This level of laptop graphics processing is currently top of the line
For internet access, the Killer Wi-Fi 7 2×2 BE 320MHz network adapter can also provide swiftness. If you pair it with a high-end Wi-Fi 7 router, then you can expect file transfers of around 2.88Gbps when using the 6GHz band. That’s super-quick, and what you want to see if you’re lucky enough to also have a top-tier 2Gbps NBN fibre plan.
But you’re more than likely to also want to use ethernet to tap into that type of NBN speed, and the 2.5Gbps ethernet port on the side of the laptop will cope with any speeds currently available online.
The webcam is also worth a mention. Its 1440p video was very well lit in bright and dark conditions, and there was plenty of dynamic range that kept both foreground and background scenes illuminated. There was some overexposure in bright areas such as room lights, so a bit of angling might be needed to counter that, but overall the image was highly detailed and rated as very good.
When dealing with a laptop at this price point, you want to be able to keep it as long as possible and the Legion 9i doesn’t disappoint in this regard.
Areas to upgrade include up to 192GB of DDR5 RAM via four SO_DIMM slots; up to four M.2 2280 SSD drives would turn this thing into a data centre. Also, both the Wi-Fi M.2 card and battery can be replaced.
The webcam was very well-lit in bright and dark conditions, and there was plenty of dynamic range.
Performance and specifications – the hard data
Keen on specifications, speeds and benchmark scores? Check out the numbers below:
Performance and benchmarking
Battery life: 2 hr 25 min
Charging time: 56 min
Screen brightness (measured): 456 nits
GeekBench 6 CPU multi-thread score: 19942
GeekBench 6 GPU score: 241072
Storage read speed (megabytes per second): 11041 MBps
Storage write speed: 13364 MBps
Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 1018IAX10 (18in)
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (24GB)
Memory: 64GB
Storage: 2TB SSD
Wi-Fi: 7 (Killer Wi-Fi 7 2×2 BE 320MHz)
Bluetooth: version 5.4
Screen size: 18-inch
Screen resolution: 3840 x 2400
Ports: Ethernet (LAN) with 2.5Gbps, 3 x USB-C (2 ports supporting Thunderbolt 5.80 Gbps) 3 x USB A; 3.5mm headphone jack; Full sized SD card slot.
External monitor support: Yes (via HDMI)
Backlit keyboard: Yes (RGB light for each key plus front chassis and lid logo)
Touchpad size: 130 x 74mm
Dimension (mm, H x D x W): 37 x 296 x 403
Weight: 3.8kg (laptop) 1.25kg (power supply)
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Elias Plastiras tests a range of technology in the CHOICE computer lab, from laptops to smart home innovations and interconnected devices.
Prior to CHOICE, Elias spent 17 years working for Australian PC World, testing and writing about PCs and other small business gear. Elias tested almost everything in the PC realm, from 56K modems to network printers, as well as more mainstream consumer gear such as media players and PVRs.
Elias enjoys testing products in a rigorous fashion, to highlight the good and the bad for the benefit of the consumer.
Elias Plastiras tests a range of technology in the CHOICE computer lab, from laptops to smart home innovations and interconnected devices.
Prior to CHOICE, Elias spent 17 years working for Australian PC World, testing and writing about PCs and other small business gear. Elias tested almost everything in the PC realm, from 56K modems to network printers, as well as more mainstream consumer gear such as media players and PVRs.
Elias enjoys testing products in a rigorous fashion, to highlight the good and the bad for the benefit of the consumer.
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