The Legion Y740’s design is like a little black dress: subtle, classy and versatile. The slim display chops down the footprint of the chassis, and the metal lid sports a Legion logo and vents.
The keyboard is a joy to type on, with keys that have just the right amount of resistance. However, it suffers from poor battery life thanks to a tiny 57 Wh cell.
1. Intel Core i7-8750H processor
The Legion Y740-15 packs in the raw power of an RTX 2070 GPU and NVIDIA G-SYNC technology in a surprisingly compact package. This year’s model looks similar to last year’s Y730, but is a full pound lighter and has better battery life.
Lenovo’s new Intel Core i7-8750H six-core processor delivers strong performance in gaming, multitasking and other productivity applications. The Y740 easily handled 40 Google Chrome tabs and five 1080p YouTube videos while playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
In our Geekbench 4 overall performance test, the Y740 earned a 21,629 score, beating the Asus Zephyrus S but falling behind the Razer Blade 15. The CPU and memory are upgradable by removing a few screws in the bottom of the laptop.
2. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card
The Legion Y740-15 is built with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card, which offers a substantial upgrade over last year’s model. At reference, RTX 2070 offers rasterisation performance comparable to GTX 1080 and with some OCs can rival GTX 1080 Ti.
The RTX 2070 is also capable of supporting 1440p gaming and can manage 4K resolution with some tweaks. It can even hit 144/165Hz refresh rates on the display, depending on your settings.
The RTX 2070 uses two fans that push air through a fin stack and into an acrylic window on the back of the PCB. It is supported by a backplate that touches the front shroud at both ends for clean, unbroken lines and better heat transfer.
3. 15.6-inch FHD IPS display
The Legion Y740’s austere iron gray aluminum lid almost hides its gaming nature. Inside, however, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 makes for a powerful machine.
The 15.6-inch FHD IPS display offers a near-edgeless visual experience thanks to thin bezels and an 144 Hz refresh rate. It also supports Nvidia G-SYNC and Dolby Vision HDR, for immersive images that will make you forget you’re looking at a laptop screen.
The keyboard is comfortable, with short travel and minimal noise. Its trackpad is made of Mylar polyester material and is smooth, and it supports Windows gestures. Other IO includes a mini DisplayPort, three USB-A ports and an RJ45 Ethernet port on the back.
4. 8GB DDR4 RAM
Lenovo’s Legion Y740 checks most of the right boxes and costs significantly less than comparable performance laptops. Its only downfalls are its typing experience and battery life, but if you can live with those, you’ll have a tough time finding a better value in this category.
The 15.6-inch display delivers a near-edgeless visual experience thanks to slim bezels, which work in tandem with the GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and NVIDIA G-SYNC technology to deliver tear-free video playback.
The ports are arranged on the back of the machine, with a 3.5mm jack and USB-C port flanking each side of the hinge. This isn’t ideal if you plan to use the laptop in cramped spaces but it helps keep wires out of sight.
5. 512GB M.2 SSD
The Legion Y740’s gunmetal-painted aluminum frame is stylish and sturdy. A Legion logo adorns the lid and there’s RGB lighting on the vents, keyboard, and the Y in the O of the Legion logo.
There’s a column of extra keys to the left of the main keyboard that you can customize through Lenovo Vantage software to launch gaming apps, record gameplay, and more. Lenovo also included a pair of customizable macro keys.
You can access all of the laptop’s rear-facing ports on the back, including a Mini DisplayPort, two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and power. That’s good if you want to use this laptop as a desktop replacement.
6. Windows 10
The Legion Y740 15 scores well on our Geekbench 4 single-core benchmark. That’s thanks to its dual channel cooling system that splits the CPU and GPU fans and provides individual cooling for each.
This helps it keep temperatures down and avoids overheating even when the laptop is under heavy load. The system also delivers impressive performance on our graphics benchmarks, putting it in the same league as the Razer Blade 15 and Asus Zephyrus S.
The Y740’s mature design is another big selling point. It avoids the science fiction-inspired angular finishes and bright colorways of other gaming laptops in favor of a tasteful iron gray finish. The keyboard is also a joy to type on, with square keys that are ever so slightly rounded for great tactile feel.
