Introduction

Laptops with the mobile RTX 5090 are already on the shelves, but their high price makes them inaccessible for most buyers. Although many users don't need so much power for normal daily tasks, it may be a bit hard to find the "sweet spot" among the new NVIDIA Blackwell laptop chips, because from RTX 5050 to RTX 5070, you end up with 8 GB of VRAM. That's not a huge problem since DLSS 4 exists—and these products aren't exactly meant for native 4K gaming—but the limitations are still obvious until you get to $2k+ laptop territory.



The 12 GB mobile RTX 5070 Ti is the next step-up, but even those laptops aren't exactly budget-friendly. It looks like budget buyers will have to rely on graphics cards with 8 GB of video memory, since the competing AMD and Intel dGPUs are extremely rare in the laptop market. In this article, we are about to dissect the Lenovo Legion 5 15IRX10, armed with an RTX 5060. You might also find this laptop listed as the Lenovo Legion 5i (15", 10) or the Lenovo Legion 5i (15, Gen 10).

The machine that we bought has the second least powerful CPU for this Lenovo series—the Core i7-13650HX. Despite that, its 14 cores and substantial 55 W base TDP provide plenty of grunt for gaming and demanding processor tasks. Lenovo sells this notebook with DDR5-4800 RAM. If you're after 5600 MT modules, you'll need to choose a model with at least a Core i7-14650HX. Speaking of which, the most powerful processor that you can find in this laptop is the Core i9-14900HX. This could really push the cooling system in such a compact chassis, especially when paired with a RTX 5070. Lenovo mentions a max amount of 32 GB of RAM, but you could install a larger amount of memory post purchase, since the processor supports up to 192 GB.

But let's not forget our main goal, which is to find if this laptop is in the sweet spot for gaming on a budget in 2025. Let's continue with more good news. The upgradability looks promising thanks to the duo of SODIMM slots paired with two Gen 4 M.2 slots that are compatible both with the shorter 2242 SSDs and the more common and longer 2280 units. Not bad, Lenovo, not bad.

The wireless card could also be replaced. Some higher-end models come with Wi-Fi 7, while others use the slightly older Wi-Fi 6 standard.

Battery life is always a priority for those who prefer to browse the Web in the park or work while travelling. Here, you get a choice of a default 60 Wh or a beefier 80 Wh upgrade option unit.

Display choices get interesting: models with the optional 15.1" 1600p OLED are thinner and lighter, whereas their 15.3" IPS counterparts have additional layers causing the IPS screens to be thicker, besides the slightly larger screen.

Just like many other Lenovo laptops, the LA1 AI chip is here to manage the device's power for you, based on your workload. Yes, when the "Machine Learning" option is ticked in the Legion Space app, the collaboration between software and the dedicated chip does a respectable job, and it detects gameplay or idle scenarios pretty fast. This is fantastic for users who prefer not to tinker with settings; just leave it on "Auto," and the AI handles everything.

However, if you like to fine-tune your device, Lenovo also gives you this kind of control. There is a Custom 'Extreme' mode that pushes the hardware and the cooling to their limits. However, this preset can also be adjusted manually. You can play with things like 'GPU to CPU Dynamic Boost' (or vice versa), set your desired temperature and power limits, as well as create custom fan curves and even more! Not bad for a budget gaming laptop, right?

Specifications