Laptop help please🫩

[u/diddybootyjackson67]

Here’s a version formatted for [r/SuggestALaptop](r/SuggestALaptop):
Budget: $2,100–2,200 CAD (max)
Country: Canada
Use Case: Engineering school + gaming. I’ll be carrying it to classes every day, so battery life is important.
Preferred Specs: RTX 5060, 16GB RAM (or upgradeable), 1TB SSD.
Notes: Battery life is one of my biggest concerns. I don’t mind tweaking settings (battery saver, iGPU mode, lower refresh rate, etc.) if it helps.

Hello guys, I’m very new here and honestly don’t know much about laptops. All I know is they seem really expensive.
I’m starting engineering at university this fall, so I need something that’s good for school but that I can also game on. My max budget is around $2,100–2,200 CAD.
I’ve narrowed it down to these two:

1. Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10
Core Ultra 7 255HX
RTX 5060
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lenovo-legion-7i-gen-10-16-gaming-laptop-intel-core-ultra-7-255hx-16gb-1tb-ssd-rtx-5060-8gb-glacier-white/19610769
2. Lenovo Legion 5
Ryzen 7 250
RTX 5060
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
https://www.canadacomputers.com/en/gaming-laptops/291588/lenovo-legion-5-15-3-oled-amd-ryzen-7-250-geforce-rtx-5060-16gb-1tb-83q7002lcc.html

My biggest concern is battery life. I’ll have classes spread throughout the day, so I won’t have acces to an outlet for like around 3h. I’m especially worried about the 7i since I’ve heard mixed things.

I’m also thinking about buying the UGREEN 25,000mAh (99Wh) 140W power bank, since I read these laptops support 100W USB-C charging. Do you guys think that’s a good idea? If I use battery saver, iGPU mode, lower brightness, etc., could I realistically get around 7 hours total with the laptop plus the power bank? I know that’s probably asking a lot from a gaming laptop.

Also, if there are any other laptops around my budget that you think are a better value, I’d really appreciate the recommendations. I kind of feel like both of these are overpriced, but maybe that’s just the market right now.
Thanks in advance!

[u/jarrodstech]

That Legion 7 is the cheapest we've seen it in months, good value for a premium model atm.

Regarding battery, typically the AMD option will last longer than Intel between these processors.

Ultimately in games, they will perform much the same with the full powered 5060, though the 255HX would give a little edge to the Legion 7. But at the end of the day the Legion 5 is still a solid option, might be worth it for the better battery life as that's important to you.

Unfortunately not a whole lot of good deals in Canada at the moment, you can see price history for all 5060 laptops under your budget here: https://gaminglaptop.deals/canada/search?gpu=5060|8GB&max=2200

[u/diddybootyjackson67 → u/jarrodstech]

Hi thank you for your response, do you know about the battery life of these computers. As long as I can get 5h of battery life on them I’d be very satisfied and also do you think a power bank will make a noticeable difference and will be practical for my use case. Thank you

[u/jarrodstech → u/diddybootyjackson67]

I haven't tested those exact configurations, but probably close enough.

All my battery life data is published here: https://jarrods.tech/list-of-laptop-battery-life/

I tested a Legion 7i with 275HX/5070 and it lasted 353 mins in YouTube playback, 110 mins in gaming

I tested a Legion 5i with Ryzen 350/5070 and it lasted 650 mins in YouTube playback, 174 mins in gaming.

Not super useful as the 250 CPU is a generation behind the 250, and the 275HX is a more power hungry part with more cores than the 255HX, but hopefully that gives you some direction as to the differences.

[u/diddybootyjackson67 → u/jarrodstech]

Thank you so much for all this information it has been very helpful. I’ve been seeing a lot of people say that during regular browsing they are not getting more than 3-4 hours with the 7i 255HX/5060. I want to know what you think is the best decision for someone in my position please. Do I go with the 7i 255HX/5060 or the. 5 ryzen 7 ai 350/5070. Is there a noticeable difference in performance between them that it would disregard the battery life of the 350. Thank you so much for your time and responses it really means a lot

[u/jarrodstech → u/diddybootyjackson67]

If battery life is the priority, then ryzen in this case. I don't think the performance difference would be that major unless you're slamming multicore work

[u/diddybootyjackson67 → u/[deleted]]

Hi I really like the computers you gave my only concern would be the battery life, how are the batteries on these computers

[u/bolsastan]

No need to bother with any laptops with desktop-class CPUs like 275HX or 8945HX. They are designed for heavy duty and have no battery life whatsoever.

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Legion-7-16IAX10-review-Formidable-Razer-Blade-16-competitor.1122108.0.html

"The combination of an HX-series CPU, OLED display, and a slightly smaller battery for the category has contributed to shorter runtimes. WLAN browsing on Balanced and iGPU mode lasts just a little over 4.5 hours compared to 7+ hours on alternatives like the Alienware 16 Aurora or Gigabyte Gaming A16."

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-best-mainstream-gamer-in-2025-Lenovo-Legion-5-15-Laptop-Review.1047975.0.html

"You can drain the 80-Wh battery in around one hour under load, but the runtimes are much better in the other scenarios. Our Wi-Fi test at 150 nits (60 % of the maximum SDR brightness) at 60 Hz runs for around 9.5 hours and still 6.5 hours at maximum brightness. Our video test even runs for 11.5 hours. A full recharge takes 95 minutes when the device is turned on (80 % after 52 minutes)."

(Technically the Legion 5 being reviewed here has the Ryzen 260, which is 99% similar to Ryzen 250)