For the DIYers, pre-built is a dirty word. But for folks who don’t have the time, patience or know-how to track down the various cables, coolers, power supplies, and other components necessary to build a system, a pre-built system is an easy-breezy way to start playing Black Myth: Wukong in 4K immediately.
Enter Lenovo with the Legion Tower 7i Gen 8, a mid-sized tower that’s swinging for the fences with a 14th-gen Core i9 K Series processor and a Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU. Together with the other components, they make beautiful synergy whether you’re gaming or working. It’s not the most stylish case out there, but it’s upgradable and has plenty of ports, even if it’s on the chunky side. Though I’m not too thrilled that the system lacks dust screens for the air intake and exhaust vents.
But those will be minor issues for most gamers looking to get their game on right out of the box. Otherwise, the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is a great choice for mid-level gamers and enthusiasts alike.
About this review: Lenovo sent us a Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 for the purposes of this review. The company had no input in this article, and did not see its contents before publishing.
Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8
A 4K gaming heavyweight in a mid-sized case
The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is a high-end gaming desktop ready for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming and can be easily upgraded down the line.
- Great productivity and gaming performance
- Upgradable case
- Oodles of ports
- Runs whisper quiet
- Design is a bit meh
- No dust filters
Pricing and availability
You get what you pay for
Lenovo has several different configurations of the Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 on its roster. The unit I reviewed costs $2,205 on Lenovo’s site as well as Newegg’s. It has a 3.2-GHz Intel Core i9-14900KF processor with 32GB of DDR5-5200MHz (UDIMM) RAM, a 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU with 16GB of VRAM, a 250W AIO CPU cooler with a 360mm radiator with three 120mm case fans, and an 850W power supply. I tried configuring a similar PC on PCPartPicker and the price came out to $2,350, though I could probably have swapped some parts for a lower price.
Lenovo also offers two other variations of the Legion Tower both of which have a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU Super GPU with 16GB of video memory. The $2,385 model has a M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC SSD compared to the $2,484 version with its 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC Opal SSD.
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Design and build quality
It’s a box. But unlike some tower makers, Lenovo added enough embellishments to make the Legion Tower 7i visually compelling in spots. There are two thick grilles on the front of the system that, when you look at them dead-on, creates a 3D illusion of tiny little cubes floating in the aether. The effect is only enhanced when the RGB lighting from the fans is gently pulsating. A big ole Legion logo cutout sits in the top-left corner, exuding an alluring glow in sync with the fans. Tags for Intel and Lenovo reside in the bottom left and right corners, respectively.
You’ve got more venting and lighting at the top of the case. Like the front of the system, Lenovo institutes some playful designs with interesting results. The top vent is rather plain with a series of black plastic vertical slats. But just beneath, you’ve got more of the cubes and some diagonal slats that, when paired with the RGB effects found in the Lenovo Vantage app, give me strong Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Rainbow Road vibes.
Although most of the Legion’s chassis is made of Storm Gray plastic, the left side panel is of tempered glass so you can play peek-a-boo with your components. The right side panel is nowhere near as captivating as a plain black slab of plastic. You’ll find the majority of your ports on the tower’s back along with the four thumb screws holding the side panels in place.
Like my Momma would say, the tower’s interior is cleaner than the board of health. The cables are nicely gathered and bound with black zip ties and positioned in such a way that they’re not obscuring your view of the light show. The cables have plenty of slack, so you don’t have to worry about crimping. However, I will say as the owner of two Cane Corso puppies that shed despite being a short-haired breed, some dust filters would have been helpful to keep the dust and errant hair from making its way into the system.
The MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU has a RGB-lined cutout along the top of the card as well as one running along the side. The card is thick, taking up three slots, leaving one free for you to play with. Between that, and the pulsating, glowy effects from the 250W liquid cooling radiator and the side-mounted fan, there’s more than enough light to see your RAM slots (including the two empty slots) and just about everything else on the Lenovo 376A (Intel Z790, ATX) motherboard. However, the PSU is out of sight, hidden beneath a metal shroud.
There’s also a strategically-placed white light at the top of the tower, adding even more light. There’s a switch on the back of the tower to turn off that light, which seems to make the RGB lighting glow brighter. Maybe it’s because I’m an RGB addict, but I definitely would have loved for the RAM to have some of that razzle-dazzle as well. But don’t mind me, I also have rainbow-colored hair.
Like my Momma would say, the tower’s interior is cleaner than the board of health.
Since Lenovo doesn’t use many proprietary parts, it should be easy enough to replace parts as you see fit. That should come in handy if you ever get the urge to strip the case and add new parts. Opening up the back of the case, there’s room for more storage, as there’s a pair of mounting points for a 2.5-inch SATA SSD or even an HDD. There’s also a hard drive caddy. There’s two vertical PCIe slot covers for anyone who might want to change the orientation on that chunky GPU for a vertically-mounted moment.
As expected with a tower, there’s a cadre of ports to accommodate your favorite peripherals. You’ve got a pair of USB-A 2.0 ports on top along with two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, jacks for a mic and headphones, and the power button. And just like a mullet, the party’s in the back as it’s here you’ll find another pair of USB-A 2.0 ports, a quad of USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 port along with one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port and an Ethernet port. For your audio/visual needs there’s jacks for SPDIF out, a microphone, Surround out, a 3.5mm Line-in, a 3.5mm Line-Out, and a CEN/LFE out. And of course, there’s the trio of DisplayPorts and an HDMI that comes by way of the GPU.
I opened up the system and did a quick check and everything was securely screwed or clipped into place. From there, all I had to do was connect the power cord, bundled keyboard and mouse and hit the power button. The tower whirred into life with lights and nearly silent fans. By the way, while it’s nice that Lenovo shipped a mouse and keyboard with the system, I doubt that you’ll be using it long or at all.
At 37.5 pounds, 19.4 x 8.3 x 18.27 inches, you’re not going to be moving the Legion Tower 7i Gen around the house very often. But it’s the perfect size to fit under a desk or in a corner, out of sight, out of mind.
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Parts and performance
A strong showing
The Legion Tower 7i has an Intel Core i9-14900KF processor which all but screams, “I have a high power draw, don’t cool me at your own risk.” Lenovo took the warning seriously, placing that 250W AIO CPU cooler right above that bad boy. I ran a stress test, where I ran the Metro: Last Light benchmark 20 times at 1080p with the Quality set to High and Texture Filtering at AF 16X with the system set to best performance. When I took the temperature by the CPU, I got a reading of 35.3 degrees Celsius which is pretty darn good. It was a litte warmer on the GPU at 52 degrees. And while the fans got louder than their “you have to strain your ears to hear it” normal volume, it wasn’t by much. In fact, when I pulled out my trusty tool to measure, the noise level only reached 43.1 decibels.
|
Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8, Intel Core i9-14900KF, RTX 4070 Ti Super |
Asus ROG G22CH, Intel Core i7-14700F, RTX 4070 |
Maingear MG-1, Intel Core i9-14900K, RTX 4080 Super |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
PCMark 10 |
9,660 |
8,379 |
10,013 |
|
Geekbench 6 (single / multi) |
2,863 / 17,958 |
2,608 / 16,832 |
3,054 / 21,899 |
|
Cinebench 2024 (single / multi) |
120 / 1,933 |
N/A |
132 / 1,866 |
|
Crossmark |
2,173 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
3DMark Time Spy / Extreme |
22,506 / 11,680 |
N/A / 8,091 |
28,036 / 14,166 |
|
DirectX Raytracing Feature Test (3DMark) |
71.6 FPS |
N/A |
88.39 FPS |
|
Nvidia DLSS Feature Test (3DMark, 3840×2160) DLSS OFF/ DLSS ON |
35.7 FPS (DLSS Off) / 105.1 FPS (DLSS On) |
N/A |
40.96 FPS (DLSS Off) / 149.59 FPS (DLSS On) |
But you’re not here to read about temps and decibels, you’re here to learn how well the Legion Tower works and plays. And I’m happy to report that the answer is great. Let’s start with the productivity tests. On PCMark 10, the Legion Tower reached 9,660 which sandwiched between the SFF Asus ROG G22CH (Intel Core i7-14700F CPU) and the Maingear MG-1 mid-tower (10,013). I got similar results on the single and multi-thread tests of Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 as well as 3DMark Time Spy.
The Legion Tower 7i has an Intel Core i9-14900KF processor which all but screams, “I have a high power draw, don’t cool me at your own risk.”
I attempted to put the desktop through its paces by running several taxing games. And while Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong proved to be some of the most demanding titles, the system with its GTX 4070 Ti Super GPU never fell below 30 frames per second. For the purposes of my testing, I chose the highest setting for each title and put the resolution at 3840×2160.
|
Game |
Results (Higher is better) |
|---|---|
|
CyberPunk 2077 |
43 FPS (DLSS Off) / 69 FPS (DLSS On) |
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider |
112 FPS (DLSS Off) / 228 FPS (DLSS On |
|
Forza Horizon 5 |
126 FPS (DLSS Off) / 167 FPS (DLSS On |
|
Black Myth: Wukong |
51 FPS (DLSS Off) / 91 FPS (DLSS On |
I also ran the tests with and without Nvidia DLSS enabled. And I have to mention that throughout my testing, outside a gentle whirring, the tower’s fans stayed nice and relatively quiet.
Should you buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8?
You should buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 if:
- You want an upgradable prebuilt system
- You want a desktop that provides great overall and gaming performance
- You want a desktop with plenty of ports
- You want a quiet system
You shouldn’t buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 if:
- You want a smaller system
- You want a desktop with a flashier design
- You want a system with dust filters
No matter how you slice it, the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is a powerful prebuilt PC. It just so happens that it sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to performance. But before you write it off, sometimes the middle is a great place to be. I mean, what’s the best part of an Oreo, or a jelly donut or éclair? Exactly. That’s where the Legion Tower sits. The mid-tower produces respectable performance on both the productivity and gaming fronts. Speaking of gaming, the Legion is more than capable of gaming on the highest settings at 4K resolution. That’s no small feat. And more often than not, does it without turning into a jet turbine. It’s got plenty of ports and while the design might be a little understated for a such a kickass gaming PC, the lighting makes up for some of it.
However, those who want a smaller system, will want to bypass the Legion Tower 7i. In that case, check out the Asus ROG G22CH. If you want something that packs more punch, the Maingear MG-1 is the way to go. Plus, Maingear offers way more customization options than your average OEM. However, as Maingear is a boutique shop, be prepared to pay more.
But if you’re looking for a desktop that pumps out high-end performance at a reasonable price, the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is the way to go.
Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8
A 4K gaming heavyweight in a mid-sized case