I always get a little more daring as we round the corner to Black Friday. I’m usually scouting out gaming laptop deals on RTX 4070 or RTX 4060 configurations to find the best value, but anything can happen at this time of year. That’s what led me to find the best price I’ve seen on an RTX 4090 model yet, and the best news is that rate is currently sitting on the best gaming laptop I’ve tested so far.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 has just taken a price tumble at the brand’s own retail store. Previously sitting at a lofty (though still fair compared to the rest of the market) $3,534.99 MSRP, you’ll now find the high-end configuration for just $2,934.99 (you’ll need to hit ‘Build your PC’ and select RTX 4090 for the full saving) That’s considerably cheaper than other machines that haven’t fared as well in my testing. These kinds of machines rarely drop below the $3,000 price barrier – this is more like the price of an RTX 4080 rig.
For reference, the majority of comparable machines (well-known brands backed by a high-end build quality and luxury display) listed on Newegg right now are between $3,139 and $5,000. That $3,139 device? Yeah, that’s a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 with an extra SSD. Best Buy‘s cheapest RTX 4090 rigs crash out at $2,999 – a solid rate you wouldn’t find further out from Black Friday gaming laptop deals, but still technically pricier.
Should you buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9?
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 blew me away in testing – enough to replace the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 as the best model on the market. The RTX 4080 configuration I tested a couple of months ago bested a similarly specced Asus in both FHD and QHD benchmarks, posting particularly speedy framerates that edged out ahead of the Razer Blade 16 and Alienware M16 R2 in most tests as well. Considering you’re going to be getting even better performance out of that RTX 4090 GPU, I’d say this is easily a perfect fit for those chasing high fps gaming. What’s more, it does all this without pushing its MSRP. As today’s discount proves, this is a far more affordable flagship gaming laptop than others on the market – an MSI Titan 18 HX with a similar set of components under the hood will set you back $5,000 after all.
Its IPS display does step it back from high-speed OLED developments in the best Razer laptops, but Lenovo has upped the color contrast significantly for this year’s iteration. I was particularly impressed with this panel, and I’ve been testing all sorts of high-end laptop display technologies all year. Games feel more energetic thanks to that vibrant picture – to the extent that even the anti-glare screen cover doesn’t leave its traditional dulled mark.
The Legion Pro is a gaming laptop for those who can invest in a high-end machine that will put the latest components to work for years to come, without over-spending at the same time. If you’ve budgeted for a premium gaming laptop this holiday season, there are only two scenarios in which I wouldn’t recommend the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 – and they’re pretty niche.
The first is if you use high-end peripherals that make the most of Gen 2 USB-A speeds. Not only is that going to be particularly rare even today, but you’ll have to be at the top of your competitive game to even notice the difference from these slightly slower Gen 1s.
The second is if you want to travel with your laptop. This is a bigger problem as, while the Legion Pro is still svelt for a performance-focused 16-inch laptop (it certainly sits better on the desk than the Strix Scar line), it’s one of the heavier models on the market. Its 2.79kg weight is higher than that of Alienware and Razer equivalents, and considerably moreso when compared to slimline machines like the 1.95kg Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. If you’re on the hunt for a work / play hybrid machine that won’t make itself known in your backpack, I’d recommend checking out the Zephyrus. You’re dropping framerates by opting for a slimmer rig, but still picking up a gorgeous OLED display panel and a slick design to boot.
Of course, Black Friday gaming deals have plenty more in store for us. If you’re after something more permanent, check out the latest on Black Friday gaming PC deals. Or, take a look at Black Friday PS5 deals for the console experience.