Lenovo Legion 5 (2021) vs Lenovo Legion Slim 5

105 facts in comparison

Based on 876 Reddit opinions. Close race—Slim 5 edges ahead.

876 opinions
Slim 5 leads by 4pts
Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)
86%
A-
Based on
759 Redditors

Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)

~$1,499
418 opinions

tldr; Solid RTX 3060/3070 value laptop. Good thermals, quality keyboard. Watch for soldering issues on early batches.

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VS
Reddit's Pick
Lenovo Legion Slim 5
90%
A
Based on
869 Redditors
Winner

Lenovo Legion Slim 5

~$1,019.32
458 opinions

tldr; Slim RTX 4070 with professional look. 2.3kg weight for travel gaming. No iGPU hurts battery life.

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Gaming PerformanceDisplayThermals & NoiseBattery LifeBuild & Portability
🎮GAM
🖥️DIS
🌡️THE
🔋BAT
🔧BUI
84
Points
88
Points

Score by Category

Gaming Performance
94%91%
Display
86%90%
Thermals & Noise
81%80%
Battery Life
71%84%
Build & Portability
80%89%

Why is Legion Slim 5 better than Legion 5 (2021)?

  • Higher Reddit score (90% vs 86%)
  • Better build quality (89% vs 80%)
  • Better battery (84% vs 71%)
  • Under 5 lbs - truly portable
  • ‍ Clean professional aesthetic
  • RTX 4070 gaming power
Based on 1,628 Reddit opinions
Too Close to Call

Reddit prefers the Slim 5

Winning by 4 points (90% vs 86%)

Better build quality
Better battery
Under 5 lbs - truly portable
High confidence (1,628 mentions)

💬Reddit Sentiment

Based on 1,628 Reddit mentions

Overall Rating

5 (2021)
8.6/10
759 mentions
Slim 5
9.0/10
869 mentions
DISPLAY
5 (2021)8.6/10
Slim 59.0/10
BUILD QUALITY
5 (2021)8.0/10
Slim 58.9/10
VALUE
5 (2021)9.2/10
Slim 59.4/10
BATTERY LIFE
5 (2021)7.1/10
Slim 58.4/10
THERMALS
5 (2021)8.1/10
Slim 58.0/10
GAMING PERFORMANCE
5 (2021)9.4/10
Slim 59.1/10
⚔️

Head to Head

Head to Head

5 (2021): 1|Slim 5: 3
DisplaySlim 5
5 (2021)86%
Slim 590%
Build QualitySlim 5
5 (2021)80%
Slim 589%
Value
5 (2021)92%
Slim 594%
Battery LifeSlim 5
5 (2021)71%
Slim 584%
Thermals
5 (2021)81%
Slim 580%
Gaming Performance5 (2021)
5 (2021)94%
Slim 591%
5 (2021)86%
Slim 590%
Close race - Slim 5 edges ahead by 4 points

Key Specs

SpecLenovo Legion 5 (2021)Lenovo Legion Slim 5
Brand
Lenovo
Lenovo
Manufacturer
Lenovo
Lenovo
Color
Eclipse Black
Eclipse Black
Weight
4.1 pounds
4.62 pounds
Height
0.85 inches
0.94 inches

Key Highlights

Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)
💰 Excellent value on clearance
🔧 Solid 1080p gaming
🌡️ Good thermal management
📌 Great keyboard layout
📌 Check for 2021 soldering issues
Lenovo Legion Slim 5Winner
📌 Under 5 lbs - truly portable
👨‍🍳 Clean professional aesthetic
🔋 RTX 4070 gaming power
🔋 No iGPU = weak battery life
🔧 Solid 165Hz display

Topic Battles

5 (2021): 1|Tied: 1|Slim 5: 3
🎮Gaming Performance
5 (2021) wins
5 (2021)
94%
Slim 5
91%
🖥️Display
Slim 5 wins
5 (2021)
86%
Slim 5
90%
🌡️Thermals & Noise
5 (2021)
81%
Slim 5
80%
🔋Battery Life
Slim 5 wins
5 (2021)
71%
Slim 5
84%
🔧Build & Portability
Slim 5 wins
5 (2021)
80%
Slim 5
89%

Based on Reddit sentiment across 5 categories

📈Where They Rank

💬What Redditors Actually Say

What Redditors Say

Best praise vs top criticism for Lenovo Legion Slim 5

Best Praise
+33 pts
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is better. The 4060 is a much better choice than the 4050 for gaming. The CPU on the Acer is faster but the GPU is bottlenecking it too much. Also the 7640hs on the Slim is one of AMD's newer Zen 4 CPUs which is more than enough for games, whilst also being better on battery. At $899.99 the Legion Slim 5 is a really good deal. Build quality and thermals should be good on both laptops. Screens should be similar, no significant differences. Battery on the Slim is better. I think both are upgradable in RAM and SSD but you should double-check if that's a concern for you.
r/GamingLaptops
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Top Criticism
+7 pts
1. Screen: Slim 5 16" doesn't have OLED, only IPS, it's the 14" that's OLED. Confirm the display resolution/refresh rate. If it's the 1920x1200 panel, decline it, it's only 45% NTSC, around 62.5% SRGB, poor washed out colors. If it's a 2560x1600 panel, confirm whether it's the 165hz-300nit or 240hz-500 nit panel. Both are fine. Avoid the 1920x1200p Panel. 2. Battery: Confirm the battery, these AMD chips are efficient but you shouldn't rely on the chip alone, it could be 60wh or 80wh, you'll want the larger one. 3. Specs: For the price and a 4060, it's not a bad deal, 7640HS + 760M is a binned down (7840/7940HS + 780M) chip. Note: I have a 7840HS + 4060, it's a near perfect combo but the CPU bottlenecks the GPU in certain games like Cyberpunk 2077 when you try to go beyond 60 to 80fps, CPU utilization drops to 80 to 90%. In most games, this isn't a problem. The 7640HS is 6 Cores, 12 Threads VS 8 Cores 12 Threads on the 7840HS. You'll be bottlenecked in some high fps games, if you are like me and play mostly single player games at 60 to 80fps, you should be fine. Conclusion: If it's at least 2560x1600 165hz/240hz, 80wh battery, for $700, I'd say go for it. Model Spec Sheet: [https://psref.lenovo.com/Product/Legion/Legion\_Slim\_5\_16APH8](https://psref.lenovo.com/Product/Legion/Legion_Slim_5_16APH8)
r/GamingLaptops
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3 more quotes available below

What Redditors Say

Best praise vs top criticism for Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)

Best Praise
+42 pts
The legion 5 has the same 16" OLED screen, the same CPU, and a better GPU. For less money. You have no idea what you're talking about.
r/GamingLaptops
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Top Criticism
+14 pts
Yeah, I've had the bad luck of having a corrupted vbios twice in my legion 5. There's no acknowledge nor resolution coming from nvidia for these cases. I have to risk it all and flash my vbios with some random rom from TechPowerUp following a 7 year old video by JayTwoCents. And no, I don't even tweak my vbios.
r/GamingLaptops
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3 more quotes available below

📈Historical Price Data

Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)
Lenovo Legion Slim 5
$900$1200$1500$1800Aug '25Sep '25Oct '25Nov '25Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Low: $1274.99Low: $920.04Current: $1799Current: $1499.99
Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)
All-time low: $1199.99(2025-11)
$140 below 90-day avg
Lenovo Legion Slim 5
All-time low: $899.99(2025-11)
$25 below 90-day avg

Which is Better?

Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Wins
90%
5
vs
86%
(2021)

Close race, but Lenovo Legion Slim 5 edges ahead by 4 points based on 1,628 Reddit opinions.

Why Slim 5Winner
  • 📌 Under 5 lbs - truly portable
  • 👨‍🍳 Clean professional aesthetic
  • 🔋 RTX 4070 gaming power
Why 5 (2021)
  • 💰 Excellent value on clearance
  • 🔧 Solid 1080p gaming

❤️The Love/Hate Breakdown

Sentiment Breakdown

48%Positive
Positive
48%
Neutral
47%
Negative
5%
Based on 869 Reddit opinions

Sentiment Breakdown

48%Positive
Positive
48%
Neutral
44%
Negative
8%
Based on 759 Reddit opinions

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Lenovo Legion Slim 5 or Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)?
Based on 1,628 Reddit comments, Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has a slight edge with 90% positive sentiment vs Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)'s 86%. The difference is small, so both are solid choices.
Should I buy Lenovo Legion Slim 5 or Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)?
Both have similar approval ratings (90% vs 86%), so focus on specific features, pricing, and what matters most to you.
What do Redditors love about Lenovo Legion Slim 5?
Reddit users highlight: Under 5 lbs - truly portable. Clean professional aesthetic. RTX 4070 gaming power. With 869 mentions and 90% approval, it's a well-regarded choice in the community.
What do Redditors say about Lenovo Legion 5 (2021)?
Reddit users highlight: Excellent value on clearance. Solid 1080p gaming. Good thermal management. With 759 mentions and 86% approval, it remains a popular alternative.
How many Reddit reviews were analyzed?
This comparison analyzed 1,628 Reddit comments: 869 about Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and 759 about Lenovo Legion 5 (2021). Data was sourced from Gaming Laptops community discussions.
How accurate are these ratings?
Our sentiment analysis is approximately 80-85% accurate compared to manual review. Well-discussed products with many mentions tend to have more reliable scores than niche items with fewer data points.
Why trust Reddit over professional reviews?
Reddit users bought products with their own money and have no incentive to mislead. You're seeing hundreds of real opinions across different use cases, not just one reviewer's take. This crowdsourced approach surfaces both common praise and recurring complaints.

876 Reddit opinions analyzed · Last updated 6/27/2026