Review: Lenovo Legion Y520

Conclusion

The Lenovo Legion Y520 has the makings of a solid mainstream gaming laptop. Build quality is good, the chassis is relatively sleek for a 15.6in PC with gaming ambition, connectivity options are plentiful and the full-size backlit keyboard is satisfying to use.

All it needs is a well-rounded internal hardware configuration at a keen price point, and here in the UK that is proving difficult to find. Memory is limited to 8GB of DDR4 in a single-channel configuration, SSD capacity doesn't exceed a basic 128GB, and the reviewed £999 model partners a high-end Core i7 processor with an entry-level GeForce GTX 1050 GPU that struggles to delivery the requisite gaming thrills and spills at the native full-HD resolution.

Gaming laptops rarely tick every applicable box, and the Legion Y520 is very much a mixed bag. The display offers good viewing angles and a matte finish, yet isn't quite bright enough, the SSD is fast but small, the CPU is powerful but prone to throttling, and battery life, while decent, isn't a match for similarly priced rivals.

We're intrigued to see what the Legion Y520 could do with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or GTX 1060, and we've seen enough to suggest that Lenovo is a welcome player in the PC gaming space. A few tweaks here and there could make for a very interesting Y520 v2.

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The reviewed Lenovo Legion Y520 will be available to purchase from John Lewis or Very in July 2017.

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