Can You Add Fans to Lenovo Legion T530 Tower
Lenovo's gaming desktops have undergone a rename and a revamp. The Legion T730 Tower (starts at $1,429; $1,529 as tested) under review is the company's fastest play tower, sporting top-of-the-line components like six- and eight-core Intel CPUs and the latest Nvidia graphics. The Horde T730 ticks key boxes on the gamer-essentials number, including an nervy design with RGB lighting, easy expandability, and reflexive processor overclocking, the stopping point courtesy of the unlocked Intel Core i7-8700K central processing unit in our review unit. If your wallet stretches north of two grand, Lenovo offers the Legion T730 with astir to the elite CORE i9-9900K eight-core processor and a GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card. But the price of our review unit is just right for what it offers, topping cancelled its value equation with friendly features equivalent tool-less entry and an integrated carry handle.
It's an Evolution
The Legion T-series towers have completely replaced the emeritus IdeaCentre Y-serial towers in Lenovo's lineup. The presence of a Legion Y-series pillar is gently puzzling, but it's a budget model this clock around.
Our Experts Have Tested 39 Products in the Screen background PCs Category This Year
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to assistant you nominate better buying decisions. (Date how we run.)
Similar Products
The Host T730's built-in carry handle is an optic-backstop. It's like an umbrella: You don't value information technology until you need IT. The handle makes moving the Horde T730 a heap easier than most PCs this sized. The tower weighs 26 pounds therein review configuration.
The 28-l case excogitation means the Legion T730 is slightly smaller than the average mid-tower. IT measures 14.3 inches tall, 7.3 inches wide, and 16.1 inches long, its short acme being the most notable attribute.
Some of Lenovo's past desktops included case lighting, but they were never this bright. The Horde T730 has two LED strips mounted interior the eccentric, one running along the top edge and the other down the front panel. Each is its own kindling zone in the pre-installed Lenovo Vantage app...
You can alternate around the 16.7 1000000 colors of the RGB spectrum, adjust the luminosity and patterns, or turn the lighting off across ternion profiles.
The front empanel is perforated for airflow. The Y logo inside the "O" in Lenovo's conspicuously set Legion branding is backlit in blanched. (It dismiss't be disabled direct the Lenovo Vantage software system.) The slide-prepared top reveals the optical drive, a laptop-style DVD burner in our quizzer.
The connectivity along the top edge of the front panel includes two USB Type-A 3.0 ports, an audio jazz group sea do, and a dedicated microphone jak.
The power button sits along the far right. A media card reader is, unfortunately, absent. The ports' location over here means cables from connected devices will drop down if the Legion T730 is seance on top of your desk. Conversely, the location is convenient if you place the predominate on the floor.
The backside of the Legion T730 is blacked-out, a thoughtful detail. To a lesser extent expensive desktops tend to leave unsightly bare metallic-looking back here. Lenovo put a seamless cover over the motherboard's backplate, As well. The flowing port selection includes six USB Typecast-A ports (4 version 3.0 and two version 2.0), an Ethernet labourer, and a headphone jackstones. The GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card has three DisplayPort video-out connectors, an HDMI TV-out connector, and a legacy DVI-D port.
There are no visible antennae Beaver State protrusions for the Legion T730's interior 802.11ac wireless card and Bluetooth connectivity. To keep things looking neat, though, there's a rubber restraining strip near the power supply for cable management.
The left side case panel comes free with the remotion of two thumb screws.
The interior isn't blacked out, but the mesh stick in in the pull window makes it hard to tell. You can come out the insert for a cleaner view, a clever feature.
The intragroup wiring is managed just well decent not to be called sloppy. The power supply ISN't modular, but at to the lowest degree its cables are all clad. The 80 Positive Bronze-rated model in our screen building block is rated for 450 Watts. Its bottom mounting location means the power line doesn't deliver to cling from the top.
The large processor air tank and its 120mm fan command the pillowcase interior. The GTX 1060 graphics calling card just to a lower place it has a plastic front support angle bracket to forestall it from flexing the motherboard. For eventual graphics card upgrades, the power render has one six-pin and unrivalled eight-pin power connector.
The motherboard, at 7.5 by 9 inches, is slightly littler than MicroATX's level bes size and has an uninteresting look, although I did note a passive heatsink mounted on the 128GB M.2-style SSD in our tester. Cooling is important on M.2 drives, since they can heat energy up and throttle performance under freight. There are only two DIMM slots on the motherboard, constrictive the Horde T730 to 32GB RAM in a two-16GB DIMM configuration. In some cases, there would be four DIMM slots on a motherboard like this, for a 64GB ceiling. Our test configuration has a single 16GB bind and one unconfined slot for easy upgrades. The one-member stick means the memory runs in individualistic-transport modal value, but it didn't seem to dissemble our bench mark scores to any arcdegree that mattered, and certainly not one that I noticed in everyday usage.
The 2 3.5-column inch bays in the bottom of the desktop have slide down-stunned caddies. No tools are required: Just pinch the bracket and pull. No screws are required to keep drives in the caddies, either. SATA and power connectors are handily in come out, so totally you need to do is slide in the drive. A 1TB hard drive is installed in the lower bay laurel of our review unit.
A Mid-Priced Mid-Tower
The Intel Core i7-8700K and GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card in our Legion T730 are a formula for seamless 1080p gaming. Gaming at a 1440p resolution is possible, although you'll likely have to reduce the visual timber settings in the more demanding AAA titles. This frame-up isn't suited to 4K gaming; for that, you dismiss get the Legion T730 configured with a GeForce RTX 2080, as I mentioned in the intro. Only the GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card holds back our Legion T730 revue configuration. (That said, it holds back its price, too.)
For comparison's sake, I configured an Alienware Aurora middle-tower for $1,659, fitted out like our Legion T730. Patc more expensive, it included a faster GeForce GTX 1070 8GB nontextual matter card, liquified cooling for its CPU, and a bigger 2TB hard drive. On the flip side, I found the Acer Predator Orion 5000($1,499.99 at Amazon Canada) middle-tower in its "PO5-610-UR11" guise for $1,349 on Newegg. It matched the GTX 1060 6GB nontextual matter of our Legion T730, just it had a little Core i5-8600K processor, and it lacked a disk drive to accompany its 256GB SSD.
The pricing for our Legion T730 review configuration seems to be honorable where it should glucinium. The better value in Legion T730 lineup, however, is probably the send model. It's $100 less ($1,429), for which the only concession you'll hit is stepping John L. H. Down the Substance i7-8700K to the not-overclockable Core i7-8700. The real-world difference between the deuce processors is minimum for most usage, especially gaming, where the artwork card will be the chokepoint. It would be money well saved for nigh buyers. Spend the extra for the Core i7-8700K only if you need (or want) the overclocking and vaporing rights that you're eligible to with an unlocked Intel processor. Also watch Lenovo's pricing, which is always in flux. (Case in point: I saw the base Legion T730 discounted to $1,229 for a duo of days as I was tapping out this clause.)
Examination: Transcend-Ledge CPU, Meet Middle-Grade GPU
And and then, on to the benchmarks. I compared the Lenovo Legion T730 to a host of competing machines, well-nig of which handily inferior it. Their core components are outlined below...
The MSI Trident X will rule the CPU-impelled benchmarks with its complete-herculean Gist i9-9900K, whereas it should be a stingy race for the other systems. Note that I left the Legion T730's processor overclocking at its default setting of "cancelled" for the performance tests, although it Crataegus oxycantha have kicked in for the gaming-related benchmarks because of the auto-overclock setting in the Lenovo Vantage app.
Graphics-Isaac Mayer Wise, the middle-level GeForce GTX 1060 in the Legion T730 stands no casual against the flagship GPUs in the unusual units, but that's non a defect. Information technology performs equally anticipated for IT's level, atomic number 3 you'll see, and it's certainly a mint less money.
PCMark 10 (Productiveness Test) and PCMark 8 (Memory board Test)
PCMark 10 and 8 are holistic performance suites highly-developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (at one time Futuremark). The PCMark 10 test we break awa simulates distinguishable real-humanity productivity and content-creation workflows. We use it to assess general system carrying out for office-centrical tasks such as password processing, spreadsheeting, Web browsing, and videoconferencing. The tryout generates a proprietary numeric score; high numbers pool are bettor.
PCMark 8, meanwhile, has a Storage subtest that we use to assess the speed of the system's memory subsystem. This seduce is also a proprietary numeric score; again, high numbers are better.
Given the closeness of the PCMark 8 Storage Test results, it's unlikely that entrepot drive performance factored much into the differences in the PCMark 10 Productiveness Test scores. The Legion T730 took a back seat at that place, but its score is still respectable and indicates a very fast PC indeed.
Cinebench R15
Next is Maxon's CPU-crunching Cinebench R15 exam, which is full rib to make use of all addressable central processor cores and togs. Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The result is a proprietary score indicating a PC's suitability for processor-intense workloads.
The Legion T730 put to sleep up a score that does the Core i7-8700K jurist. The Acer Predator Orion 5000 did better with the equal chip; its unsecured multipliers may have got been pushed higher from the factory, as the Core i7-8700K unremarkably doesn't score that high. There was no catching the Core i9-9900K in the MSI Trident X, though. Stilt along more cores and togs will have intercourse every time.
Photoshop Cubic centimetre
We also run a custom Adobe Photoshop image-editing benchmark. Using an early 2022 going of the Creative Cloud version of Photoshop, we hold a series of 10 complex filters and personal effects to a canonic JPEG test image. We time each operation and, at the cease, tot up up the total execution time. Atomic number 3 with Handbrake, lower times are better here. The Photoshop test stresses CPU, storage subsystem, and Read/write memor, but information technology ass also take advantage of most GPUs to speed improving the process of applying filters, so systems with powerful graphics chips or cards may see a boost.
Now, here the Horde T730 is back connected track. Its good repositing execution helped it dungeon the pace as did, of course, its Core i7-8700K.
3DMark Pitch Diver and Fire Strike
3DMark measures relative graphics heftines past rendering sequences of extremely detailed, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particles and kindling. We run two different 3DMark subtests, Sky Diver and Fire Take, which are clad to different types of systems. Both are DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky Diver is more proper to laptops and midrange PCs, while Fire Strike is more demanding and made for high-end PCs to sasha their stuff. The results are proprietary scores.
The GeForce GTX 1060 in the Host T730 is out of its league among this crowd, but that's not a complaint. It performs atomic number 3 expected for what IT is: a great pixel-pusher for 1080p gambling. Information technology's the 6GB version of the poster, too, and non the hobbled 3GB version. The extra video recording retention is important for utmost-resolution gaming.
Unigine Superposition
Next up is other synthetic graphics test, this time from Unigine Corporation. Comparable 3DMark, the Superposition test renders and pans through a detailed 3D vista and measures how the system copes. In this case, IT's rendered in the company's eponymic Unigine engine, offering a diverse 3D workload scenario than 3DMark, for a 2d opinion happening the machine's written prowess. These mountain are reported in frames per second (fps).
The numbers from the Legion T730 are on par for a GeForce GTX 1060 in the 1080p High Preset. It doesn't approximate to the magic 60fps number, but this benchmark is abnormally demanding.
Existent-World Gaming Tests
The synthetic tests above are helpful for measurement all-purpose 3D aptitude, merely IT's hard to beat full retail video games for judging gaming performance. Far Cry 5 and Rise of the Tomb Pillager are both modern, hi-fi titles with improved-in benchmarks that illustrate how a system handles real-world video games at various settings. These are footrace on the maximum graphics quality presets (Ultra for Out-of-the-way War cry 5, Very High for Rise of the Tomb Spoiler) at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions to determine the sweet spot of visuals and smooth performance for a minded system. The results are also provided in frames per second. Far-off Call out 5 is DirectX 11-supported, while Stand up of the Tomb Raider can follow flipped to DX12, which we do for this test set.
The Legion T730 with the GeForce GTX 1060 makes an excellent 1080p gambling platform, scoring 61fps and 70fps on Far Shout out 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, respectively, at those top point presets. The 1440p numbers are playable (43fps and 47fps), although you'll need to via media connected visual prime to engender finisher to 60fps. The 4K numbers were some in the frame-rate mid-20s.
For approximately perspective, the frame rates we saw from the GeForce RTX 2080-high-powered MSI Trident X($1,499.99 at Amazon Canada) (54fps and 59fps, respectively) shows you what you can get if you spend a lot more. (Remember, the Legion T730 also offers the RTX 2080 in its top configuration.)
One-Click Overclocking
The Core i7-8700K processor in our review unit demands a hefty premium. It's clocked higher than the non-K Marrow i7-8700 to begin with, but its real value lies in its unbarred multipliers that allow the chip to run above its rated frequencies.
The Lenovo Vantage software has one-click processor overclocking. Vantage reported the Core i7-8700K in our Host T730 hitting 5GHz in its overclocked DoS, a noticeable bump from the chip's rule Turbo Boost frequency of 4.7GHz, and about as high arsenic you'd wishing to push this CPU on strain cooling. Nevertheless, Vantage didn't fix whether the overclock practical to all processor cores. (The multipliers in Intel K-serial publication CPUs can be set differently for peerless or multiple cores.). I downloaded Intel's XTU software, which rumored a 50x multiplier factor (equivalent to a 5GHz clock) crosswise all six cores. That's aggressive.
Here's how the CPU overclocking artificial the Legion T730's functioning in 3DMark Fire Strike. (For the pre-overclock tests, I disabled the "Enable C.P.U. auto-turbo in games" setting in Vantage).
| 3DMark Fire Strike | Central processor Overclocking Disabled | Central processor Overclocking Enabled (Via Lenovo Vantage) | Percent Improvement With CPU Overclocking |
| Physics Tally | 17,401 | 19,913 | +14% |
| Graphics Seduce | 11,526 | 11,855 | +3% |
| Overall Score | 10,385 | 10,734 | +3% |
Those gains are sane for the overclock. The CPU-based Physics Seduce increased by a double up-digit percentage, although the Boilers suit Score was just 3 percent higher. The GeForce GTX 1060 in our refresh unit of measurement is the bottleneck in this bench mark, not the CPU. Overclocking the CPU certainly won't hurt gaming performance, merely information technology's unlikely to make a playable difference. But for literally one click of the mouse, I'll take my cake and eat it.
Thermals? When Overclocking, Non So Chill
The Legion T730 has two case fans: A 120mm fan draws cool publicise done the perforate front panel, while a smaller 80mm one sends air out the back. The index supply fan also shares use up duty. The airflow didn't feel especially breezy from whatsoever of the fans, but they moved sufficiency air to hold over the Legion T730 cool while play.
During a fractional-hour gambling seance in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I sawing machine the CPU reach reasonable 64 degrees C, and that was with the overclocking enabled. The GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card saw 83 degrees C, a normal temperature for an Nvidia "Pascal"-generation card with a cetacean mammal-style ice chest. The Legion T730's collective fan dissonance measured the Same to me arsenic when it was loafing. IT creates enough instantaneous sound pressure that you can hear it in a quiet room, but its low hum easily melds with setting randomness.
I only noticed more fan noise while running CPU-specific benchmarks with the overclocking enabled for single minutes surgery more than. A quick aspect at the CPU temperature revealed why: It was spiking to 91 degrees C, which is too good. The CPU will likely gun its performance at that temperature, negating the operation benefits of overclocking. The air cooler just ISN't ascending to the dispute. To give an idea of how more extra heat the overclocking creates, I saw the CPU temperature level off in the middle-70-grade C pasture without overclocking during like-minded tests. A liquid-cooling solution would sustain provided more than thermal dynamic headroom, merely Lenovo offers peerless only with the Core i9-9900K in the height-level Legion T730 form.
As I famed, I had no CPU temperature-related problems patc running games with the Nucleus i7-8700K overclocked. This is explainable by the fact that games typically don't monopolise the C.P.U..
A Solid Pick for Gamers
The Lenovo Legion T730 Tower brings the essentials that gamers are look for: Eye-catching looks, solid 1080p gaming performance, quiet fans, and tool-fewer upgrades. It's priced right, too; the model we reviewed matched its competitors in Leontyne Price-to-carrying out. Lenovo added further value with user-customizable RGB lighting, something we usually find out only from aftermarket specialists.
The CPU air cooling was a slack gunpoint in our review unit, as it couldn't deal the heat from the Core i7-8700K when overclocked. While we only had thermal concerns when fully stressing the CPU, there was no hiding the fact that this overclockable K-series CPU should let been chaperoned by a liquid-cooling rig. The base Legion T730 configuration with the non-overclocked Core i7-8700 should operate much ice chest and will be a better value for most users. Its play execution will embody nearly the same As that of the Core i7-8700K, Eastern Samoa it's already powerful enough to not be a constriction for the GeForce GTX 1060 artwork card.
Otherwise, the Legion T730's attending to detail, like a removable incline window lock, is abundant to appreciate. It's a shame that this tower isn't factory-customizable, but Lenovo is known to introduce new configurations, so keep an eye out. Completely said and cooked, we lav safely say the Legion T730 didn't need an integrated carry handle to...hold for it..."get word" our testimonial. (That's not to say it didn't assist, though.)
Lenovo Legion T730 Column
The Bottom Line
Lenovo's Legion T730 Tower is a sensible pick for mainstream gamers with 1080p screens. Sharp looks, quiet fans, and an overclockable Core i7 CPU, as configured, deliver a seamless play experience.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report card to bring fort the latest reviews and superlative merchandise advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may curb advertising, deals, operating theater affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your accept to our Terms of Use and Privateness Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Can You Add Fans to Lenovo Legion T530 Tower
Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/lenovo-legion-t730-tower
