The Platinum Collection: Lenovo

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Lenovo is one of the most popular and respected laptop and PC manufacturers in the world, and for good reason. There’s also a good reason its gaming laptops and prebuilt gaming PCs feature so prominently in the Micro Center Platinum Collection: they’re that good.

Although Micro Center sells thousands of different gaming PCs, gaming laptops, components, and systems designed for work and study in mind, the Platinum Collection is one range that you can trust to meet all of your expectations. It offers quality computers made with only the best value-for-money components available today, from trusted brands (like Lenovo), with no customization, tweaking, or setup required.

They look good, work even better, and are priced fairly. The Micro Center Platinum Collection is a great place to go if you want a quality laptop or desktop PC without any of the hassle.

Lenovo Legion T5 26AMR5 Gaming Computer

Buying a Lenovo gaming PC can be one of the most cost-effective ways to get gaming. The Lenovo Legion T5 is one of the most popular systems in the Micro Center Platinum Collection, as it offers solid gaming performance at a reasonable price, along with some great all-around features.

At its heart is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G – a six-core, 12 thread processor, with a 4.4GHz boost clock that you can only get in prebuilt gaming PCs. It’s one of AMD’s APUs, which means it has its own onboard graphics. Although this system has its own dedicated graphics card for added gaming power, it can be really useful to have the ability to boot the system without one for easier troubleshooting in the case of errors, or when performing upgrades in the future.

To give it the extra gaming power it needs to run all sorts of games at high details and frame rates is Nvidia’s standout GTX 1660 Super – one of its most cost-effective, entry-level gaming GPUs of recent years that delivers excellent 1080p gaming performance. Combined with the super-capable AMD Ryzen processors and it has all the gaming grunt you need for playing esports games at maximum settings with high frame rates for lightning-fast action and reduced input lag.

It isn’t restricted to just older or low-fidelity games, though. It’s more than capable of delivering playable frame rates in modern AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil Village, or Deathloop. If you stick to 1080p, you can even peg most of the visual settings on high and get well above 30FPS.

Joining the great CPU and GPU in this Lenovo gaming PC is 16GB of high-speed, DDR4-3200 memory, and half a terabyte of solid-state storage. That means this system will remain snappy and responsive even with many browser tabs open, and it will both boot fast and load your games quickly.

It comes in an attractive chassis with RGB fans, which you can see clearly thanks to the side-panel window. It has USB-A and USB-C ports, supports Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), and comes complete with a capable keyboard and mouse, so you can get gaming right away.

 

Lenovo Legion 5 15 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop

In 2021, gaming laptops have become one of the best ways to game, whether you like to do it at your desk or on the move, and Lenovo’s Legion 5 15 is one of the reasons why. A perfect example of a Platinum Collection gaming laptop that combines a gorgeous, high refresh rate display, with powerful internal components, solid battery life, and an attractive chassis. It’s an all-around excellent gaming machine that has everything you need to get gaming right away.

The heavily-discounted version now available at Micro Center comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, with eight cores, 16 threads, and a maximum clock speed of 4.4GHz. It’s blisteringly quick and one of the best mobile CPUs ever made. It has its own onboard graphics which are good enough for entry-level gaming, but you needn’t take advantage of that when this laptop packs an awesomely powerful Nvidia RTX 3060 mobile graphics chip.

This combination is more than enough to go well in excess of 100 FPS in most Esports games, and will even get you above 60 FPS in most modern AAA games at ultra settings. Better yet, as an Nvidia RTX 3000 graphics card, it supports both ray tracing and deep leaning super sampling (DLSS). That can make supporting games look far better, and with DLSS enabled, you won’t even suffer much of a frame rate hit. Do bear in mind, that the list of games that support both still isn’t extensive, but it’s growing all the time and this Lenovo gaming laptop is a great way to take advantage of either, or both together.

Joining this great combination is 16GB of high-speed DDR4-3200 memory, and a full terabyte of SSD storage – more than enough space for even hefty game libraries.

Whatever you’re playing, though, it’ll look great on the 15.6-inch, 1080p display. Its 165Hz panel makes sure that your games look smooth and stutter-free, with a low input lag making sure you stay competitive with your enemies. This is the premium version of the Legion 5 15 display, offering 100% coverage of the sRGB spectrum, and a 300 nits brightness, so it’s bright and colorful too for a rich and engaging gaming experience.

The overall shape and look of this gaming laptop is typical of its genre, with a slightly chunky, plastic-heavy design, but it still looks good, with an understated black paint job and subtle “Legion” branding. It also has a comfortable keyboard and a responsive touchpad, although you may want an external mouse if you’re playing faster-paced games.

With battery life that should last you five hours on a full charge, support for the latest wired and wireless standards, this Lenovo Legion gaming laptop is a great way to play your favorite games in 2021. In the Platinum Collection, it’s available at a great price too.

 

Lenovo Legion 5 17 17.3-inch Gaming Laptop

 If you prefer to do your gaming in fixed locations, but still want a powerful gaming PC that you can take with you when you travel, the Lenovo Legion 5 17 might be a better fit for you. It enjoys the same high-end internal components as its smaller sibling but has a noticeably bigger display that is a joy to game on no matter what you’re playing.

Under the hood, it enjoys the power and efficiency of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, which has eight cores and 16 threads that help maximize frame rates in your favorite games, as well as make this laptop a multitasking powerhouse. If you like to do a little video editing on the side, or stream while you game, this CPU will make it possible – the extra-large 17.3-inch screen is great for handling expansive editing timelines.

The processor is paired with the supremely capable Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics chip, with 6GB of GDDR6. Together, they enable high FPS gaming in Esports games, modern AAA titles, and everything in between. It’s not enough to game at 4K with ray tracing enabled, but that’s not what this gaming laptop is designed for. Indeed, its display is 1080p, but does have a high refresh rate of 144Hz. That means that when you do hit those high frame rates, you can see the effect, with a smoother and more responsive gaming experience.

It also comes with 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, a terabyte of super-fast SSD storage, and excellent connectivity. Along with Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6 support built right in, it also has a number of USB-A and USB-C ports – a rarity in many modern laptops, and a great addition if you want to connect external accessories and controllers. Even if you don’t, though, it has a comfortable and snappy keyboard and touchpad, making this a great gaming laptop right out of the box.

It looks just as good as its smaller sibling, with neat, understated looks. It is a little heavier, at 6.55 pounds, so try not to haul it around all day, and gaming on your lap wouldn’t be convenient, but with its estimated six hours of battery life, it has plenty of juice if you can find somewhere comfortable enough to play while traveling.

 Want more information on the Lenovo Legion 5? Check out the Nerd on a Budget review!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcg0iWLmovA

Want more information on the Platinum Collection? Check out our breakdown over here. And if you're looking for more fantastic computers, be sure to check out our Platinum Collection, or visit us in person for even more options!