Lenovo is kicking off 2020 with a gaming laptop that needs a companion to thrive. It’s introducing the Legion Y740S, a slim 15.6-inch laptop (billed as Lenovo’s “thinnest and lightest” gaming model) meant to couple with the company’s first external GPU, the Legion BoostStation. It has some decent horsepower with up to a Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD, but you’re stuck with integrated Intel graphics if you buy nothing else — you absolutely need that eGPU if you’re going to play any modern 3D games. At least the 4.18-pound weight and 0.58-inch thickness make it easy to stuff in your bag.
Appropriately, you can configure the Y740S with either a standard 1080p display or a 4K screen capable of HDR using Dolby Vision. It can still last for up to eight hours on battery, though, and the combination of two Thunderbolt 3 ports and two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports leaves room for high-speed peripherals besides the eGPU. You can also expect Dolby Atmos-capable speakers and a new “bouncy” keyboard that promises quick, tactile response without ghosting.
As for the BoostStation? It’s not a radical departure from other Thunderbolt 3 eGPUs, but you get a wide selection of GPU bundle options that range from the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti through to the RTX 2080 Super (there’s also a Radeon RX 5700 XT for the AMD crowd). It doubles as a hub with two USB 3.1 ports, one USB 2.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet.
Both the Y740S and the BoostStation ship in May. The laptop starts at $1,100, while the BoostStation costs $250 by itself. Lenovo hasn’t outlined how much the bundles cost, though it’s safe to presume that you’ll be paying a hefty sum if you want one of the faster GPUs on offer.
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Author: Jon Fingas
Source: Engadget
