LEGION T5 REVIEW - GOOD GAMING PC VALUE, NOT GREAT FOR ENTHUSIAST – (T5-26AMR5)
REVIEW: Lenovo - Legion Tower 5 AMD Gaming Desktop - AMD
Ryzen 7-3700X - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super - 256GB SSD+ 1TB
HDD - Phantom Black Model:90RB000EUS
GOOD GAMING PC VALUE, NOT GREAT FOR ENTHUSIAST – (Legion T5-26amr5)
The LEGION T5-26AMR5 (being specific as there are many
variants), is a good all-around computer and an acceptable gaming computer for
medium to casual gaming. [I can
benchmark at 80 FPS (frames per second) ultra settings 1080p 60hz] The price to
performance ratio is pretty good, especially considering RAM and GPU shortages
(as of APR 2021). Boot time and
program loads are zippy. Storage speed
is competent. Features are great (such
as GTX 1660 Super, PCIe v4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, WiFi AX 2x2, and lots of pretty
lights). I’ve looked hard at 3rd party
motherboards for AMD and only a few have both USB-C 3.2 and WiFi AX built
in.
My advice, is to get it for what it is, use it as is, and
don’t try to make it into a foundation for an enthusiast gaming machine. You really can build your own from scratch
for the same price range.
PRO’s
- Attractive
enough, Lots of lights
- Feature Packed
- Great
overall value
- Good GPU
– GTX 1660 Super
HOWEVER
-
RAM does not overclock and has high latency (22)
-
Low RAM compatibility (must use only a few types
of RAM or speed dropped by 50%)
-
Build Quality is pretty bad (inside) lots of
loose wires, taped on parts that come off, bare contacts too close to other
metal (sometimes covered with tape, sometimes not)
-
Cramped interior means you have to remove GPU to
get to NVME (slot 2) Storage and the NVME (slot 1 for PCIe V4) is mostly under
the CPU heat sync. Since NVME drives
pump out a lot heat this mean the heat is going directly into your GPU or CPU,
neither are great.
-
Power Supply is just barely enough for what is
in the system. 400 Watts. Don’t add
anything or you will probably have problems.
-
Lenovo support (website) has really gone
downhill these past few years and I use Lenovo everywhere (30 at work, 5 at
home, 5 recommended to relatives)
THE ORIGINAL PLAN
My plan was to use this as a foundation for a pretty good
gaming rig. To do that justice, I need
to upgrade the GPU, Upgrade the RAM, Upgrade the Power Supply, Upgrade the
Storage, etc. Due to the GPU shortage,
I’ll still head down that path, but with the assumption that this is a stop gap
solution for about a year until there is better GPU availability, at which
time, I’ll move all my “good” components into a more enthusiast build, once
prices stabilize.
SUMMARY / CONCLUSION / RECOMMENDATION
The LEGION T5-26AMR5 is not a great enthusiast gaming
computer. I would not judge it as such
(although Lenovo does try to sell it as such, so maybe some criticism is
justified). It is the best bang for the
buck as of this review, and does a good enough job for casual gaming. I would not invest heavily in upgrading
this, unless you already have the parts, and (like myself) are a glutton for
punishment. I mainly got it because I
got greedy and sold my GPU on ebay before I had a replacement GPU so I grabbed
the first computer I could find that had a GPU.
Overall I’m happy enough with it, and I like to dork around
on projects like this anyway.
I wanted PCI v4 support for my NVME. I wanted a dedicated GPU. I wanted Upper/Mid-Tier CPU performance. I wanted USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 support for my
backups to external NVME storage.
It delivers on all of these fronts. Once I upgrade the Power Supply, it should
be fine for a while as my primary computer.
I got mine openbox at Bestbuy for $850, so I’m very happy
with that and happy to play around upgrading it to fit my needs.
Stay Tuned for upgrade Tips as they come along.
I will be upgrading the RAM, FANS, POWER SUPPLY, DRIVES, and GPU (in short, everything except MB and CPU). As I explained I am a glutton for punishment and like to tinker. I kind of like the looks of the Legion case, and once I'm done fussing, I'll leave it all alone. I don't want to mess with the MB and CPU they are working just fine.
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