Lenovo’s 18-inch Legion 9 18IAX10 is a powerhouse, and in the right settings it can trade blows with the fastest machines from brands like Razer, Asus, and MSI. The key to unlocking that top-tier performance is simple: make sure you’re running the laptop in Performance mode through the pre-installed LegionSpace software. Leave it in Balanced mode, and you’ll lose a surprising chunk of speed.
In our testing, switching from Performance to Balanced cut the GPU’s power budget from around 170 W to roughly 95 W. GPU and VRAM clocks dropped accordingly, and the graphics score in 3DMark Fire Strike fell by a bit over 20%. That’s a larger-than-usual hit, as many competing gaming laptops typically see a 10–15% gap between Balanced and Performance profiles.
Here are the key numbers from 3DMark Fire Strike:
– Performance mode
– Graphics: 55,515
– Physics: 53,870
– Combined: 14,205
– Balanced mode
– Graphics: 43,158 (-22%)
– Physics: 50,370 (-7%)
– Combined: 13,699 (-4%)
– On battery power
– Graphics: 33,214 (-40%)
– Physics: 34,040 (-37%)
– Combined: 9,167 (-36%)
Noise is the main reason to prefer Balanced mode. Running a heavy game like Cyberpunk 2077 in Performance mode pushes fan noise to roughly 50 dB(A). Balanced mode is notably quieter at about 42–47 dB(A). If you’re doing lighter workloads or you need less fan noise, Balanced mode makes sense; for high-refresh gaming or GPU-heavy content creation, Performance mode is the way to go.
Additional tips to get the most out of the Legion 9 18:
– Use LegionSpace to select Performance mode before gaming or rendering.
– Keep the laptop plugged in; the system throttles significantly on battery.
– Make sure your graphics drivers and system firmware are up to date.
– Ensure Windows is set to a high-performance power plan when you need maximum speed.
Takeaway: the Legion 9 18IAX10 is an absolute unit when configured correctly. For the best frame rates and benchmark results, run it in Performance mode while plugged in. Switch to Balanced when you want a quieter experience without completely sacrificing responsiveness.
