Lenovo Legion Y740 Laptop Review: Only a small CPU upgrade

[Redaktion]

The Lenovo Legion Y740 returns to our offices, but this time with a small performance upgrade over the version that we originally tested. The 15-inch gaming laptop fared well last time during our tests, so we are intrigued to see the effect that the upgrade from an 8th to a 9th generation Intel Core processor has. Read on to find out what effect this has, or whether it is a superficial upgrade.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Legion-Y740-Laptop-Review-Only-a-small-CPU-upgrade.436302.0.html

[genexis_x]

Tested with Performance mode in Vantage?

[xpclient]

I am very curious if there a performance difference with "Performance" mode of Vantage vs Maximum performance setting of Windows 10 in a clean install.

Also curious how the 17-inch Intel 9th Gen version performs although it doesn't have the newer brighter panel (but does have webcam at the top, and a numeric keypad). It also has switchable graphics with port multiplexers (mux switcher) so battery life will be better with only the Intel GPU, not very good but not "dismal". And if NVIDIA GPU is on, the iGPU is not used at all to drive ANY display - internal or external which gives the ultimate performance.

I also love how quiet and cool Legion Y740 remains under load. The cooling system is simply remarkable. The keyboard on 15 inch is awful though with those macro keys ruining Ctrl to Esc row - a problem which the 17 inch model doesn't have. Macro keys should be placed somewhere else for 15 inch model. The touchpad is awesome in both 15 inch and 17 inch.

This laptop is also amongst a few to have:
2 x USB 3.0 Gen 1 5 Gbps (Type A)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) but Type A
1 x USB-3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) + ThunderBolt 3 (40 Gbps) + DP 1.4a (Type C)
HDMI 2.0, and mDP 1.4 as well and.....TOUCHPAD BUTTONS which many laptops omit despite paying so much

Killer Wi-Fi 1550 is extremely stable for me with my ASUS RT-AC68P. The M.2 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module is of course upgradeable so when Wi-Fi 6 radios come out (maybe the Wi-Fi 6E/6 GHz ones too) and Bluetooth 5.2 with LE audio, I am going to upgrade it.

[JakeSter]

Disappointing that performance mode in Vantage wasn't used, misleading review.

[Archuk]

Performance mode = More Wattage to GPU. (90 instead of 80).

[joo]

no one would spend 2100 dollars on this laptop, lenovo has sales every other weekend and every american holiday which is practically every month.  I got my for in the 1400s, this exact model.

Review is disappointing to me. I love my y740, it has everything.  Why not mention that its practically one of the very few that has a mux switch, and if you dont know what that is its a muxilary switch that is hardware allowing the laptop to switch from discreet graphics to integrated.  They dont ever talk about that because 99% of the crap that is being sold to the public is running off of the integrated chip, reducing framerates. Why buy a gaming laptop if the performance is being reduced simply because manufactures dont wont to go through the hassle of adding a MUX switch to their overpriced gaming laptops.

[Morgan Kenneth Davidson]

The Killer 1550 wifi is terrible. There are literally youtubes of people replacing the wifi for intel. I have one myself and it drops connections, does 5-20mbps vs my macbook doing 100mbps.

I've ordered an intel wifi card myself. Unless this laptop is much cheaper I'd avoid it!

[joo]

Right now the Y740 is on sale for 1439 dollars.  1400!  Their is no other gaming laptop in this segment that can compare to this price let alone all the features that this has. Latest I7 with an 2070 RTX card. What other laptop can you get that has HDR400 screen? That is nearly 500 nits in the center of the screen.  Since Iv been using this screen, I would never want anything less then this brightness as all the games IV played make it so much clearer to see in multiplayer games where you need to see around dark corners and alleys and hallways.

Also this laptop has a multiplexor (MUX) switch that allows us to be able to directly connect to the graphics card from the internal screen so their is no reduction in performance from the internal lcd being ran through the stupid integrates graphics in the intel chips. No reviews ever mention this, but its important feature we all should know about. Also its cooling system is bar none one of the best in any of the laptops in this segment.  I could go on about it, iv been looking for another laptop to purchase but their is none with all these features without sacrificing something.  The Asus S GX502 is nice but the screen is crap, 280 nits? gimie a break. Their is no other laptop with all thefeatures this has. So why is it only rates an 85 I wander?  Thanks for the review regardless.

[Robert Robb]

Where is it on sale for that much?

Right now, I have found these machines meeting all my musts, in order of most to least interesting, with their key differences. 

HP Omen 17 = 144 Hz, i7-9750, RTX 2070, 512GB M.2 for $1650 on Walmart.com.

Alienware M17 = 60 Hz, 8750, RTX 2070 MaxQ, 512GB M.2 for $1500 on Amazon (but Renewed).

Lenovo Legion Y740 = 144 Hz, 9750, 2080 MaxQ, 1TB M.2 for $1800 on Amazon (by Lenovo).

Acer Predator Helios = 144 Hz, 9750, 2070 MaxQ, 512GB M.2, not sure about G-Sync for $1760 on Amazon (by Acer).
 
I haven't found anything with those specs near those prices for ACER (ConceptD), Gigabyte, XMG (Clevo), or Schenker.  Again, no Razers because they don't have a number pad and no ASUS Strix Hero III because there's no camera.

I am shying away from used in general, especially from 3rd party sellers I don't recognize.  I am shying away from MSI because of their dual-power and its positioning toward the front - it would have to be significantly better deal than the HP Omen 17 found on Walmart.  I am shying away from ASUS because of my current machine's issues and past customer service experience plus their generally higher prices by ~$250 or more.

​

[Haakon]

Is the contrast ratio in this review accurate?? I love IPS screens and am used to the poor black levels and low contrast ratio. I cannot say that this monitor is any better in that regard than other monitors I'm used to, so I'm wondering if the reviewer has missed something here. Surely a contrast ratio of 2700:1 on an IPS screen would have warranted more than a single sentence. The laptop does not have any local dimming that I'm aware of either.