Just last June, I managed to build my own PC through countless research and price haggling. I figured that I should invest in a gaming setup that will last for about two good years while playing games at high frame rates. With building a PC, I ensure some level of upgradability and flexibility down to every last detail.

Before I decided on this endeavor, I was dead-set on wanting to just stick to a pre-built system. Imagine getting an entire package with all the parts you’re looking for, without the hassle of building it yourself. Plus, it’s already optimized to some extent so you don’t have to worry about tinkering as much.

In essence, a prebuilt like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i offers such promise. But, as someone who has already built a gaming system, is it really a good idea to get this pre-built system?

On its own, it’s a great system for intensive workloads

I will go out and say that on its own, the Legion Tower 5i is a well-built system. It comes with an Intel Core i5-10400 processor and an NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER inside. Right off the bat, I thought that the hardware was great for gaming, and it showed when I ran some games on it.

The NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER inside the Legion Tower 5i

More than anything, it’s a solid device for a variety of workloads. With 16GB of RAM and a  512GB M.2 SSD inside, Windows managed to boot up pretty fast — which is great. This means that I could get into my work immediately, especially when I’m in a rush to get some done.

Intensive applications like Google Chrome, Adobe After Effects, and even Blender ran with relative ease. As a content-creating machine, I felt that it has potential to accommodate whatever project you throw at it. However, don’t expect the world from it since the hardware isn’t the most powerful available.

Gaming performance is great

I touched on this in the previous section, but it’s true: Lenovo managed to create a great gaming system here. Some graphics-intensive games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Fortnite ran pretty well under this system, provided you adjust a few settings. Throughout my hours of gameplay, I didn’t experience lag caused by the hardware.

Valorant’s FPS on the Legion Tower 5i when nothing is happening in the game

Most games I tested on this system ran at consistent frame rates, which is what you should expect out of gaming systems. Games like VALORANT and Counter Strike: Global Offensive ran at above 200 FPS, considering you really don’t need much to run them. Those two games I mentioned earlier, however, ran at close to 50-60 FPS.

By all means, this isn’t a perfect gaming system to both record and stream content out of. But, if you wanted to start somewhere — again, on its own — this system provides great gaming value.

Putting up a great (Cold) front

Like gaming laptops, I feel that gaming PC builds are only effective when proper cooling is present. While the Legion Tower 5i doesn’t come with fancy liquid cooling, it does come with Lenovo’s Coldfront 2.0. Essentially, it’s an optimization feature for the overall airflow between all the components.

From my experience, I actually think Coldfront did its due diligence. Throughout long hours of gameplay, I didn’t hear the fans whirring loudly. Plus, I felt that the air coming out of both the front vent and rear fans wasn’t as warm. Inside, components do feel a little warm but it isn’t scalding hot.

I even cranked up the system to run on Performance Mode, with overclocking enabled and I don’t hear any fans whirring too much. Again, even without all the liquid cooling tubing you see in custom builds, the Legion Tower 5i delivers while staying relatively cool.

Going against a custom build? Well…

I know I’m practically raving about the Legion Tower 5i, but the big question is whether it’s a better investment over a custom build. My short answer: not really, unless you’re committed to not build a PC from scratch. See, my custom build actually comes pretty close to the Legion Tower 5i across most of the hardware.

CPU Performance (Intel vs. AMD)

My custom build comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, which comes with the same core and thread count as the i5-10400. On paper, performance should be right about the same but the big difference is in my AMD’s base clock speed of 3.9Ghz. This means that my AMD performs at a much faster rate.

I tried running two Google Chrome tabs simultaneously between the two systems, and both showed stable clock speeds. However, when I tried switching tabs, I noticed a slight delay on the Legion Tower 5i. At face value, it doesn’t really mean much but that split second of a delay could come back to haunt you.

In case you were wondering, the two Chrome tabs I ran were a Google Doc and a YouTube music video at 1440p.

GPU Performance (NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER)

Here’s the thing: both these systems run a 6GB VRAM, NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER. Both systems can run the games I just listed with relative ease, which was what I expected. At first, I thought I couldn’t discuss anything more beyond these points. However, when I started to play for longer hours, I noticed something.

Performance between my AMD build and the Legion Tower 5i for Fortnite Battle Royale

Because they’re both running the same type of GPU, what set them apart would be its CPU performance. However, based on avg. frame rates, the Legion Tower 5i outperforms my build by just a few frames per second. It comes at a slower clock speed during gaming, though so it resulted in some levels of bottleneck.

Performance between my AMD build and the Legion Tower 5i for Valorant

Price (The most important aspect)

At the end of the day, you’ll be spending your hard-earned money on either one of these systems. At this point, I’d like to stress out once more that both systems perform well — although not as identical. Both systems are suitable for long hours of gaming and productive work, and cooled roughly the same way. Except, my build doesn’t have Coldfront 2.0.

Yet, this is where I draw the line between a custom build and a pre-built system. See, the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i comes in at Php 72,995 and the package you get already comes with Windows pre-installed, and all the optimizations in place. My build, when sourcing the parts individually, comes in at close to Php 42,000.

I don’t think a 30,000-peso difference sounds like a great financial investment. Personally, I believe that a working version of Windows 10, PC optimization software, and a Legion-branded tower is not worth that much. Also, this doesn’t even factor in the amount you will spend for all the other peripherals.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

All in all, the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is a great gaming system to consider. If you’re looking for a great PC to start off your streaming career or to just play games, this build is a great pickup. With powerful hardware and a fast SSD inside, you will get straight into the action once you boot it up.

On its own, it’s a product of great value. But, when you have the option to just build your PC and get the parts individually, it doesn’t look too good. You can even look for the parts that the Legion Tower 5i has, and get them for way less than this finished product.

If you have some extra cash to spare and you’re too afraid to build a PC, the Legion Tower 5i is a great fit. Otherwise, you’re better off building your own PC and grabbing more powerful yet compatible parts.