Lenovo Slim Professional 9i specs:
Worth: $1,599 (reviewed)
CPU: Intel Core i9-13905H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 with 6GB vRAM
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB Samsung PM9A1 SSD
Show: 16-inch, 3,200 x 2,000 Mini LED 165Hz
Battery: 6:12
Dimension: 14.3 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 4.9 kilos
I couldn’t comprise my pleasure when pulling the Lenovo Slim Professional 9i out of its field. Lenovo has been knocking it out of the park this 12 months, with the Lenovo Yoga 9i solidifying itself as my favourite laptop computer ever and the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional blowing my expectations for what a gaming laptop computer might do on a price range. I ready myself for one more house run from the corporate.
In most methods, that remained true. Lenovo has poured its greatest into this beast, developing a productiveness laptop computer with staggering efficiency in each its processor and graphics card, alongside a show that turned my eyes right into a puddle of adoration. Alongside a wonderful keyboard design, stable aluminum exterior, and surprisingly good webcam, there’s so much to like right here.
However productiveness laptops are sometimes designed to be taken on the go, and though this does have gaming capabilities, long-lasting battery life is a necessity for the mainstream. And that’s the place the Slim Professional 9i fails, incapable of getting wherever close to the anticipated eight hours you’d want for a full workday. This flaw has me hesitant, however I nonetheless love the Lenovo Slim Professional 9i and would say it’s one of many greatest 16-inch laptops on the market, so preserve studying to see if it’s best for you.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i value and configuration
Our mannequin of the Lenovo Slim Professional 9i was constructed with an Intel Core i9-13905H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop computer GPU, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of Samsung PM9A1 SSD storage. It additionally encompasses a beautiful 16-inch, 3,200 x 2,000-pixel Mini LED contact show at 165Hz refresh price.
It’s at present not out there at Lenovo, nevertheless it was out there at Costco for $1,599. The same mannequin that’s the similar in each facet besides it bumps the graphics energy to a RTX 4060 is $1,799 on Lenovo’s web site.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i design
Lenovo has remained constant in its fashionable laptop computer sequence, presenting minimalistic silver or grey exteriors with out a lot that stands aside exterior of a reflective firm emblem in one of many corners—on this case, the Slim Professional 9i is darkish grey with the signature “Lenovo” on the backside proper. In contrast to the Yoga sequence, there isn’t any extra textual content that marks it belonging to a bigger set of laptops, however there’s a reflective digicam bar on the prime of the lid with small textual content that reads “SMP f/2.0 Quad Mic Array.”
Lifting the lid reveals a equally minimalist deck with the keys themselves sharing the identical darkish grey tint as the remainder of the laptop computer. The Lenovo emblem makes its return on the underside proper, and two near-invisible speaker openings sit to the left and proper of the keyboard.
I want the corporate had one thing to latch onto right here so far as design goes, because the laptop computer isn’t graced by the long-lasting and glossy Yoga font seen in that sequence. However not less than the aluminum lid and chassis are sturdy and didn’t yield beneath stress, alongside the hinge that may very well be bent at any level and would stay stiff, however not too tough to maneuver.
The Slim Professional 9i measures 14.3 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches and begins at 4.9 kilos. Rivals just like the Acer Swift X 14 (12.7 x 9.0 x 0.7 inches, 3.4 kilos) and Dell XPS 15 9530 (13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches, 4.2 kilos) are smaller and lighter, however the LG Gram 17 (14.9 x 10.1 x 0.7 inches, 3 kilos) is bigger but lighter.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i ports
A bit missing in its general variety of ports, the Slim Professional 9i comes out of the woodworks with an honest choice that may very well be higher. On the left aspect, it encompasses a USB Kind-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.0, Thunderbolt 4 and audio jack. On the precise aspect, there’s a webcam privateness shutter change, SD card reader, one other USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, and worst of all, the ability button.
Sure, Lenovo continues its pattern of together with the ability button on the aspect of the laptop computer, which we’ve beforehand complained about, and it particularly is unnecessary since this isn’t a 2-in-1 laptop computer. In any other case, I want the corporate would have not less than included a further Thunderbolt 4, as a single USB-C port is underwhelming.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i show
Constructed with a surprising 16-inch, 3,200 x 2,000-pixel Mini LED contact show at 165Hz refresh price, nobody will stroll away disenchanted from the Slim Professional 9i’s lustrous shiny display. Throughout each one in all my assessments, whether or not it was involving a recreation or film, the laptop computer effortlessly transported my consciousness into one other world.
I watched the “Spider-Man: Throughout the Spider-Verse” trailer and was enchanted by the colour depth as Miles Morales overlooks an expansive New York Metropolis skyline whereas dusk makes its regular method. And when the vivid set of flashbacks showcase a youthful, extra naïve Spider-Man teaming up with others of his form, the deep orange autumnal forests contrasting with one other scene showcasing our protagonist leaping from a skyscraper throughout the neon-lit metropolis had my eyes glued to the display.
I launched Elden Ring and was wowed. It took only some moments earlier than I murmured an exasperated profanity beneath my breath in amazement. The Slim Professional 9i’s rendition of this stunning world made it pop greater than I’d ever seen earlier than—in spite of everything, laptops with gaming capabilities not often function a show this phenomenal. Witnessing the golden shimmering leaves atop monumental bushes appeared like a group of crystals in search of to welcome me into their embrace. Easy issues similar to the marginally burnt hue of fall’s grass appeared deeper and extra various than I’d ever been used to, and as I witnessed nice castles and stone constructions, their worn grey hue contrasted elegantly towards the colour of nature.
Demolishing our shade assessments and not using a sweat, the Slim Professional soared with its replica of 111.2% of the DCI-P3 shade gamut, which destroyed the 94.7% mainstream laptop computer common. However its opponents did even higher, with the Swift X (138%), Gram 17 (115%), and XPS 15 (137.9%) pulling forward.
| Laptop computer | DCI-P3 shade gamut | Show brightness common |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Slim Professional 9i | 111.2% | 637 nits |
| Acer Swift X 14 | 138% | 359 nits |
| Dell XPS 15 9530 | 137.9% | 371 nits |
| LG Gram 17 | 115% | 438 nits |
It did even higher in our brightness assessments, hitting a peak brightness as excessive as 637 nits, turning the 359 nit common into mincemeat. Whereas the Slim Professional 9i wasn’t the perfect in its shade, it completely demolishes The Swift X (359 nits), Gram 17 (438 nits) and XPS 15 (371 nits) in brightness. I discovered myself squinting even in my harshly lit basement when staring on the Slim Professional 9i’s show at most brightness from sheer luminosity, so it’ll carry out excellently on a sunny day in the event you’re open air.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i keyboard and trackpad
Lenovo not too long ago crafted what I boldly said was my keyboard soulmate with the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional. As you possibly can think about, I used to be fairly excited when seeing that the Slim Professional 9i is comparable on most fronts. It does fail to satisfy my love of regular-sized arrow keys, because the up and down are reduce in half, which will get annoying when navigating pages. In any other case, this laptop computer keyboard is nearly as good because it will get.
I took the 10fastfingers typing check and my preliminary assumption proved true. I achieved 116 phrases per minute with a 99.7% accuracy on my first attempt. This quantity is normally round 96% to 97% accuracy and a bit decrease at 110 phrases per minute on most laptops I check, which works to indicate how comfy it feels to sort on this keyboard.
Its 1.5-millimeter keyboard journey presents an ideal distance, and the marginally smaller dimension of the keys appeals to me. I’m additionally glad that the left and proper shift-keys are full dimension, alongside the enter and backspace key, as that may typically mess me up when typing shortly. I don’t make it a secret that I’m an enormous sucker for full quantity pads as nicely, particularly on gaming laptops once I need to get misplaced in my macros for a World of Warcraft raid.
I got here away completely satisfied from this laptop computer’s monumental 6.1 x 3.9-inch touchpad. Contact gestures are straightforward to carry out, as transferring vertically and horizontally with three fingers to swap tabs is at an honest stage of sensitivity and let me soar between them with ease. Clicking and dragging didn’t require that a lot stress, and transferring from level to level had a stable quantity of friction with out feeling too sluggish.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i audio
Constructed with two practically invisible top-firing audio system positioned at either side of the keyboard, the Slim Professional 9i presents stable audio high quality that may pack a punch when it must. Its largest flaw is that it sounds near-imperceptible throughout moments when a recreation, film or tune is a little bit low, and even when audio will get grandiose, nonetheless I want it might get a little bit louder. This was very true whereas gaming, because the sound of the followers nearly overpowers the audio system themselves.
When watching the “Spider-Man: Throughout the Spider-Verse” trailer, the Slim Professional 9i did an okay job representing its highs and lows. With an unpleasantly quiet opening that barely improved because the nostalgic ensemble accompanied flashbacks to the primary film, sound results just like the slinging of webs have been misplaced to the highly effective music. Alongside this, the dialogue didn’t mesh too nicely with the orchestra, making it come throughout as a bit quiet.
I performed Elden Ring and was nonetheless disenchanted within the laptop computer audio system most audio capability, because it remained on the similar noise stage of the intensely blowing followers themselves. The sport’s orchestral overworld music is gorgeous to get misplaced in, nevertheless it was shortly overshadowed by the extraordinary whirring of warmth emitting from its vents on account of this demanding recreation. In any other case, it sounded good, with the clopping of hooves towards grime and slashing of swords towards foe packing first rate thuds.
I listened to “Stairs to the Attic” by The Antlers and was disenchanted by the quietness of the opening ringing bell towards the acoustic strings. Even inside my small workplace, it was barely audible. However because the vocals started in distinction to a stronger strumming guitar, it reached an honest quantity with a gradual crispness, and when the ultimate explosive act started, I used to be far happier with the general loudness.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i efficiency
Filled with an Intel Core i9-13905H processor, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of Samsung PM9A1 SSD storage, the Slim Professional 9i is a powerhouse. It effortlessly demolished its competitors on practically each efficiency check, and has proven that its lesser battery life and heavier construct are seemingly a results of its beastliness.
On the Geekbench 5.5 general efficiency check, the Slim Professional went above and past with the inspiring energy behind its thirteenth Gen 9i processor, managing a multi-core rating of 14,700. Not solely does this bulldoze the 8,450 class common, however opponents just like the Swift X (Intel Core i7-13700H, 12,168), Gram 17 (Intel Core i7-1360P, 9,945), and XPS 15 (Intel Core i7-13700H, 12,171) didn’t stand an opportunity.
| Laptop computer | Geekbench 5.5 | Handbrake time | SSD Write pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Slim Professional 9i | 14,700 | 3:59 | 1,712MBps |
| Acer Swift X 14 | 12,168 | 7:46 | 1,963MBps |
| Dell XPS 15 9530 | 12,171 | 5:01 | 2,061MBps |
| LG Gram 17 | 9,945 | 9:09 | 1,393MBps |
This powerhouse continued to carry out excellently whereas changing a 4K video into 1080p utilizing the HandBrake app in 3 minutes and 59 seconds, which is healthier than the 7 minute and 47 second class common. It additionally managed to be practically two occasions sooner than the Swift X (7:46), whereas the Gram 17 (9:09) was particularly left within the mud. The XPS 15 (5:01) received the closest of its opponents.
Final however not least, the Slim Professional’s Samsung PM9A1 SSD duplicated 25GB of multimedia recordsdata in 15.7 seconds at a switch price of 1,712 megabytes per second, scrubbing the 872MBps class common out of the image. Whereas the Swift X (1TB SSD, 1,963MBps) and XPS 15 (1TB SSD, 2,061MBps) have been a couple of hundred megabytes sooner, the Lenovo outperformed the Gram 17 (1TB SSD, 1,393MBps) with out subject.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i graphics
Boasting a seemingly underpowered RTX 4050 Laptop computer GPU with 6GB of vRAM, the Slim Professional 9i impressed me with the way it dealt with video games and defeated comparable laptops in efficiency. It’s not nice for these in search of a devoted gaming laptop computer, as its GPU is taken into account one for these on a good price range, however it’s a good addition to anybody who desires to do some gentle video modifying or gaming alongside every part else packed inside this beast.
However why go straightforward on this factor, proper? I needed to place it towards the Elden Ring check, so I launched the sport, set the graphics to most at 3K decision with no ray tracing, and loaded into the world with uncertainty. To my shock, I managed a fairly regular 40 to 45 frames per second whereas galloping all through Limgrave. However I made a decision to take a trek right into a forest that I discovered was notorious for destroying body charges whereas testing the sport on different {hardware}, and it dipped to round 35 fps, which continues to be above our 30-fps playability threshold.
I boldly took this a step additional and bumped these settings as much as most ray tracing to see if the sport might even run with this GPU. Unsurprisingly, it dipped to a fairly constant 30 fps, and when getting into that one demanding forest, it might spike as little as 25 fps. Regardless, I used to be fairly impressed that this RTX 4050 laptop computer might achieve this nicely with Elden Ring.
On our Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm check, we reached 124 frames per second at 1080p, whereas the class common is trapped at 40 fps. Bumping the decision as much as the native 3,200 x 2,000 dropped that quantity right down to 95 fps, although. We examined it towards laptops which can be productiveness centered however boast a discrete GPU, and we used the identical mannequin quantity between each the 40 sequence and 30 sequence.
None have been a match for the Slim Professional 9i, even the Swift X (RTX 4050, 92 fps) with the identical GPU. And naturally, older generations just like the Gram 17 (RTX 3050, 50 fps). We additionally pit it towards the XPS 15 (RTX 4070, 115 fps), but in some way, even with a considerably worse GPU, it carried out higher.
Throughout the 3DMark Fireplace Strike Artificial benchmark, we have been impressed by the Slim Professional 9i’s rating of 20,193, which is sort of 3 times higher than the 7,097 class common. The Gram 17 (7,155) carried out considerably worse, which isn’t shocking, however the Swift X’s (13,642) efficiency caught us off guard contemplating each have the identical RTX 4050 GPU. To take this shock additional, the XPS 15’s RTX 4070 GPU could not compete and solely managed as excessive as 17,340 on this benchmark.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i battery
Battery life is the Slim Professional 9i’s Achilles heel. Delivering excellence in all avenues besides its longevity, I’m fairly hesitant about this laptop computer for individuals who want it on the go. It lasted 6 hours and 12 minutes on the Laptop computer Magazine battery check, which entails steady net looking over Wi-Fi at 150 nits. That is considerably worse than the 9 hour and 21 minute class common.
| Laptop computer | Battery life check outcome (hours and minutes) |
|---|---|
| Lenovo Slim Professional 9i | 6:12 |
| Acer Swift X 14 | 7:26 |
| Dell XPS 15 9530 | 8:58 |
| LG Gram 17 | 12:02 |
Its poor battery life may be attributed to the presence of its RTX 4050 graphics card, as they’re infamous for being battery-killers. Nonetheless, The Swift X (7:26) options the very same GPU but lasted over an hour longer. The Gram (12:02) which is constructed with the RTX 3050, additionally survived approach longer. But the XPS 15 (8:58) comes out essentially the most spectacular right here, managing practically three extra hours of battery life even with its RTX 4070.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i warmth
The Slim Professional 9i stayed fairly cool whereas it wasn’t gaming, reaching a peak at its underside of 90 levels Fahrenheit, which is an honest bit beneath our 95-degree consolation threshold. In any other case, its G/H keys hit 83 levels, which suggests you received’t have to fret about burning your palms whereas typing up a storm. And in an analogous vein, the touchpad’s 75 levels will preserve your fingers cool whereas clicking and swiping.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i webcam
First rate webcams on a laptop computer are fairly the rarity, however the Slim Professional 9i effortlessly breaks the mould. That includes a 5-megapixel lens that snaps high-quality pictures at 2560 x 1440 decision, I used to be impressed with this digicam past simply its crispness.
Taking a photograph inside my harshly lit workplace didn’t lead to a washed-out picture, and even once I shut the lights off and let my warmly glowing lamp present lumination, it adjusted to the right stage to make sure my white ceiling was nonetheless seen. I additionally recognize that the webcam privateness shutter button on the precise aspect of the laptop computer shortly turned the digicam off with out subject, and flipping it again on shortly made it out there once more.
Lenovo Slim Professional 9i software program and guarantee
Coming pre-installed with Home windows 11 and a slew of Lenovo-based software program, the Slim Professional 9i has a couple of helpful instruments. Lenovo Hotkeys showcases out there mixtures like Perform and R, which swaps the refresh price between 60Hz and 165Hz. Perform and Q shortly adjusts efficiency between modes for battery saving, excessive efficiency and funky efficiency. The built-in Sensible Key may launch custom-bound purposes, with the defaults being Lenovo Vantage and Lenovo Sensible Look.
Lenovo Vantage is the corporate’s jam packed software program function that may modify machine settings, view battery info, and replace the system. Settings for energy, audio, show, digicam, enter, equipment and safety are additionally out there, alongside info on guarantee standing and much more. Lenovo Sensible Look is an app that may improve video high quality by smoothing the face, altering the background, and providing filters.
Lenovo Now primarily simply places all the firm’s apps in a single place, so it isn’t value opening until you need to register your {hardware}. It is also fairly obnoxious with tons of commercial pop ups showcasing Lenovo’s help plans, together with Premium Care Plus Assist, Unintended Harm Safety and Lenovo Sensible Lock. It then reveals apps you may want earlier than providing three free months of Amazon Music and in addition suggesting McAfee.
The Slim Professional 9i comes with a 1-year guarantee providing Lenovo’s “higher” Premium Care Onsite Assist. See how Lenovo did in our Tech Assist Showdown particular report.
Backside line
It’s disappointing when an in any other case nice laptop computer makes one misstep that pulls it away from greatness. Don’t get me flawed, the Lenovo Slim Professional 9i is fantastic, boasting wonderful productiveness scores because of its thirteenth Gen i9 energy, gorgeous brightness and vibrancy in its 3K Mini LED show, and surprisingly good gaming efficiency contemplating its RTX 4050 GPU.
Nevertheless it’s laborious to really feel enthusiastic when this unbelievable piece of {hardware} is hindered by as little as six hours of battery life. Whereas that’s not horrible coming from a gaming laptop computer, the Lenovo Slim Professional 9i isn’t one. Sure, it could possibly deal with gaming decently, however its deal with productiveness makes it a mainstream laptop computer at the beginning, so I can’t think about many will stroll away proud of its weak battery. And even in the event you needed to make use of it primarily as a gaming laptop computer, we’d suggest one thing extra highly effective just like the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional.
Because it stands, the Slim Professional 9i was so near being a near-perfect mainstream laptop computer that might additionally deal with gaming, however lengthy battery life is a necessity within the former class. With out it, customers received’t even final a full workday on the go, whereas one other RTX 4050 laptop computer just like the Acer Swift X not less than will get shut to eight hours, whereas Dell XPS 15 exceeds that threshold with an RTX 4070. In the event you think about longevity received’t be a difficulty for you, the Slim Professional 9i is improbable, however in the event you want it for greater than six hours at a time between prices, you’ll stroll away disenchanted.
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