Gaming

Lenovo Legion 5i Pro review: A “pro” in professional gaming

Engineered for success from inside and out

Published

August 2, 2022

GadgetMatch

When it comes to a great selection of gaming laptops, no one does it quite like the Legion brand. Lenovo’s dedicated gaming brand produces some of the best in the market for a variety of gamers out there. Whether you’re the brash, highly competitive type or the more subtle one of the group, there’s a perfect one for you.

For 2022, Lenovo’s latest take on a “professional” gaming laptop comes in the form of the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro. Like its predecessors, it’s not the flashiest nor the most color-laden model, yet it boasts the same raw power and performance any gamer needs. Of course, the “Pro” in the model also includes features for an extraordinary young professional on a daily grind.

Is this the all-around option a professional like yourself could be looking for?

An unassuming form factor

Upon first glance, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro has a subtle aura to it, mostly due to its Space Gray finish. As part of the Legion Pro series, it passes off as any work laptop working professionals use in the office. Now, one of the key differences is that this laptop is on the bulkier side of things.

While it is a portable gaming device at its core, it’s quite heavy to bring around on a day-to-day basis. It will fit most laptop bags or backpacks you bring it in, but you will feel a bit of its 2.49kg worth of heft mostly due to the components it has inside. Although, it’s worth it considering what the device rocks with (more on that later).

In terms of overall design and port selection, the Legion 5i Pro doesn’t fall short on the essentials. From the available USB-A ports to the Ethernet jack and Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, this laptop can fully support a wide variety of peripherals at your disposal. Plus, most of the ports are placed at the back, so no cables get in the way when you’re playing.

Delivers incredible performance for the everyday 9-5

Like every other gaming laptop out there, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro packs a punch in the performance department for everything you throw at it. With a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and 32GB of RAM, this machine is as versatile as advertised. For most work-related tasks like creating presentations and creative tasks, the Legion 5i Pro excels at these with ease.

Another facet of the Legion 5i Pro that delivers as advertised is its 16:10, 165Hz refresh rate IPS display. At 500 nits peak brightness, the display provides great color accuracy and doesn’t wash out any deep blacks when watching dark videos. Of course, the high refresh rate makes animations run smoother, which is perfect for both gaming and entertainment.

Gaming worth doing after work hours

Speaking of gaming performance, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro boasts something great with a minor setback in between. First off, the NVIDIA RTX 3060 inside the device handles most games well at relatively high settings. Not only will you enjoy high frame rates, but you will also have the benefit of playing in great detail.

Secondly, if you do decide to turn down graphics settings, the Legion 5i Pro gives you high enough frames to compete at the highest level possible. Of course, this is further supplemented with the 165Hz refresh rate display allowing you to see elements a bit faster. For graphically-heavy games, the RTX 3060 handles these well enough to give you around 60-80 frames per second (FPS).

However, for games that support ray tracing, the RTX 3060 barely scrapes by even with the increased quality in detail. Frame rates for ray-tracing supported games hardly reached 30 FPS and were slow to respond with keyboard inputs, at times. Although, if you only play game modes that don’t demand too much from the GPU, you will appreciate the intricacy in the details and reflections.

It’s a bit too warm in some cases

At this point, no device is safe from the heat when the competition gets intense. As such, Lenovo’s Coldfront 4.0 cooling system kicks into high gear to keep the device as cool as it could be. The thing though, however, is that this isn’t particularly the case with the Legion 5i Pro.

In most cases, the device didn’t feel incredibly hot to near boiling point compared to other devices. However, after about an hour or so of playing games at decent frame rates, it felt uncomfortably warm near the WASD keys even while playing on a desk. Imagine playing games on your actual lap for one hour!

Not the longest lasting machine

This ties in pretty well with the laptop’s battery life when you’re doing all sorts of things. When used for most day-to-day tasks and casual gaming, the Legion 5i Pro lasts for around 10-12 hours before reaching for the charger. If you switch it up to only play games and at decent frame rates, it only lasts for one to two hours at best.

Charging the device, however, doesn’t take too long especially when you want to get back into the thick of things. With Fast Charge enabled, the Legion 5i Pro goes from 0 to 100 in an hour while idle. When you’re using the device while charging, it takes about an hour and 45 minutes, which isn’t too bad.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Starting at PhP 119,995, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is a subtle powerhouse for any type of gamer or professional out there. The hardware inside boasts great power to bolster any task you throw at it, whether it’s for productivity or gaming. Also, if you’re not into flashy designs, this laptop is a perfect fit.

Of course, not every gaming laptop built in this world is perfect. From the heat to the short battery life, these are the sacrifices you’ll deal with for a device as professional-looking as this. Although, Lenovo ensures users that these wouldn’t get in the way too much when you buckle down and get to work.

The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is one versatile gaming device, and a worthy option for anyone looking for a more all-around device to bring around. Whether you’re on that 9-5 work day or that after hour gaming stream, this definitely has the potential to give you what you need, and then some.

Gaming

Life is Strange: Reunion now available on consoles and PC

Max and Chloe return for an emotional finale

Published

March 27, 2026

GadgetMatch

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Square Enix have officially launched Life is Strange: Reunion, the latest entry in the narrative adventure series. Developed by Deck Nine Games, the title is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. A physical PlayStation 5 edition is also available across Southeast Asia.

The launch comes with an official trailer, marking the return of one of the franchise’s most beloved storylines.

A long-awaited reunion

Set 11 years after the original events, Life is Strange: Reunion brings back Max Caulfield and Chloe Price as they reunite to solve a new timeline-spanning mystery. This time, the stakes center on a devastating inferno threatening Caledon University–Max’s workplace as a photography teacher.

Returning from a trip, Max discovers the campus engulfed in flames, with lives lost across the university. She survives only by using her Rewind ability, a power that allows her to reverse time.

The situation takes an unexpected turn with Chloe’s sudden arrival–an outcome tied to the timeline-merging events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Now dealing with fractured memories and an unstable sense of reality, Chloe once again finds herself relying on Max.

Dual perspectives, new gameplay dynamics

For the first time in the series, players can take control of both Max and Chloe, switching perspectives as the story unfolds.

Max’s Rewind power lets players revisit decisions, reshape conversations, and manipulate environments to solve complex, time-based puzzles. Meanwhile, Chloe brings her signature Backtalk ability, allowing her to push conversations in her favor and access situations Max cannot.

This dual-character approach expands both narrative depth and gameplay variety, offering different ways to uncover clues and influence outcomes.

A character-driven finale

Life is Strange: Reunion continues the series’ focus on grounded, emotional storytelling, with choices that carry meaningful consequences. The game builds toward a dramatic climax that aims to close out Max and Chloe’s journey.

As the final chapter in their story, Reunion positions itself as both a continuation and a conclusion–tying together years of narrative threads while delivering a new mystery shaped by time, loss, and choice.

Gaming

Nintendo will make it cheaper to buy digital games than physical

Physical releases will have the same price.

Published

March 26, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The days of lining up for a newly released game are well and truly over. Though some games still experience shortages in brick-and-mortar stores, such as the widely successful Pokémon Pokopia, gamers can get their titles digitally. Now, Nintendo is making digital releases more enticing by offering a tempting discount on the eShop.

Starting in May, Nintendo will start charging different prices for the physical and digital releases of first-party games. While physical releases will still have the same prices going forward, digital releases via the eShop will enjoy a discount.

The discount, of course, will likely depend on the title itself. Nintendo has already given the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book as the first example. The new platformer will cost US$ 70 from retailers. However, it will cost only US$ 60 on the digital eShop.

The company says that the new pricing scheme “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format.” With the prices of chips skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that the physical release is more expensive than the digital one.

To be more technical about it, Nintendo has started skipping a physical game card for a while now. The physical release of Pokémon Pokopia, for example, has only a game-key card or a code to download the game. In this format, physical releases are just pretty cases you can display on your shelf.

Also, digital releases do carry the added risk of getting delisted on the whims of the developers, the publishers, or Nintendo itself. It is, however, still a cheaper option, especially in a world where getting any discount is a welcome thought.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo sues the United States

Gaming

Razer Blade 16 (2026) packs more cores, faster memory

Razer’s thinnest gaming laptop yet

Published

March 26, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Razer has officially unveiled the 2026 version of its Blade 16, doubling down on what it does best: squeezing high-end performance into an ultra-slim chassis.

This year’s refresh focuses on meaningful internal upgrades. That includes a new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, faster LPDDR5X memory, and NVIDIA’s latest RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs — all while keeping the Blade 16 as the thinnest gaming laptop in Razer’s lineup.

Performance gets a serious bump

At the core of the new Blade 16 is the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, featuring 16 cores and up to 4.9GHz boost clock. Razer claims a 33% increase in core count versus the previous generation, translating to stronger performance across gaming, content creation, and AI workloads.

There’s also an integrated NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, enabling faster on-device AI tasks like image generation and live translation.

Memory gets a notable upgrade too. The Blade 16 now supports up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which Razer positions as the fastest available in a laptop today. The result: quicker responsiveness for heavy multitasking, creative apps, and AI-assisted workflows.

On the graphics side, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series (Blackwell architecture) brings DLSS 4 and enhanced AI capabilities for both gaming and creator use cases.

Display and design stay premium

Razer isn’t fixing what isn’t broken. The Blade 16 retains its signature CNC-milled aluminum chassis, measuring just 14.9mm thick and weighing around 2.14kg.

The display remains a highlight. You get a 16-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, now brighter and certified for VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000. It supports full DCI-P3 coverage, Calman calibration, and NVIDIA G-SYNC, making it just as suited for creators as it is for competitive gaming.

Battery life and efficiency improve

Despite the performance gains, Razer is also pushing efficiency. Thanks to Intel’s newer architecture and system-level optimizations, the Blade 16 can hit up to 13 hours of productivity use and up to 15 hours of video playback under ideal conditions.

That’s a notable improvement for a machine in this class, especially given its slim form factor.

Connectivity and audio step up

The 2026 Blade 16 gets a future-ready connectivity suite, including Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. There’s also a full set of ports, from USB-A to HDMI 2.1 and an SD card reader.

Audio gets an upgrade too. The six-speaker system now supports THX Spatial Audio+ with virtual 7.1.4 surround, aiming to deliver more immersive sound both on speakers and headphones.

Price and availability

The Razer Blade 16 configured with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB VRAM) and 32GB LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM is priced at US$3,499.99 / €3,599.99 MSRP.

It is available now, exclusively via Razer.com and select RazerStores worldwide.

Still the Blade, just sharper

At a glance, the 2026 Blade 16 doesn’t reinvent the formula. But under the hood, it pushes performance, memory speed, and efficiency forward in ways that matter.

It’s still the same idea: a no-compromise gaming laptop that looks like it belongs in a minimalist workspace — just faster, smarter, and a bit more future-proof this time around.