Key Takeaways
1. Lenovo has launched the 18-inch Legion 9 18IAX10, its most powerful gaming laptop yet.
2. The laptop performs significantly better in Performance mode compared to Balanced mode, with a 20% drop in graphics performance when using Balanced mode.
3. In Balanced mode, the laptop reduces graphics power usage from 170 W to 95 W, affecting GPU and memory clock speeds.
4. Balanced mode offers quieter operation, with fan noise dropping from nearly 50 dB(A) in Performance mode to 42-47 dB(A).
5. Competing gaming laptops typically show only a 10-15% performance difference between modes, making Lenovo’s model stand out with a larger gap.
Lenovo has just started delivering its largest and most powerful gaming laptop to date, the 18-inch Legion 9 18IAX10. We recently got to try out this model ourselves, and even though it didn’t come with the high-tech glasses-free 3D setup, we were still quite impressed by its capabilities compared to well-known gaming brands such as Razer, Asus, and MSI. To truly maximize the laptop’s potential, it’s crucial to set the system to Performance mode instead of Balanced mode.
Performance Insights
Our Fire Strike tests and accompanying screenshots illustrate that operating the system in Balanced mode instead of Performance mode significantly cuts the graphics power usage from around 170 W down to only 95 W, along with a notable decrease in both GPU and memory clock speeds. This results in graphics performance slowing down by over 20 percent when using Balanced mode. While experiencing a performance dip is common in gaming laptops, Lenovo’s model shows a slightly larger gap; competing models usually see a performance difference of only 10 to 15 percent between Balanced and Performance modes.
Noise Levels
A key advantage of using Balanced mode is the reduction in fan noise. When playing Cyberpunk 2077 in Performance mode, the fan noise reaches nearly 50 dB(A), whereas in Balanced mode, it ranges from 42 dB(A) to 47 dB(A).
Leave a Reply