The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is the brand’s attempt at continuous success in the very competitive budget gaming monitor space. It’s a 1080p VA gaming monitor with a 280Hz refresh rate, so it is designed for fast-paced gaming but with higher contrast. Let’s look closer at its performance to determine how it ranks against its established competition.
Lenovo Legion R25f-30 Specifications
- Lenovo Legion R25f-30 Specifications Screen Size: 25 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Full HD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: Vertical Alignment (VA)
- Refresh Rate: 280Hz
- Response Time: 1ms
- Contrast Ratio: 3000:1 (Static)
- Brightness: 350 cd/m2
- Built-in Speakers: Yes (2 x 3 Watts)
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – Yes
- Stand: Pivot – Yes
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, HDMI 2.1 x 2, 3.5mm Jack x 1
- Dimensions with Stand(WxHxD): 21.9” x 19.6” x 10.2”
- Weight: 12.1 lbs
Design and Features
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 stays away from the traditional gaming display design so it looks cleaner and more sophisticated. It has a matte black chassis with discrete blue accents which set it apart from the sea of budget gaming displays out there. The screen has minimal bezels, but it still has inner borders like most modern monitors out there.
It’s a 25-inch model, so it won’t be too imposing on most desks or setups. However, it has an oversized stand which eats 10 inches of depth, so it might offset some of your peripherals. The whole devices weighs 12.1 pounds, so its very easy to move around and portable enough to bring with you to E-Sports events and LAN parties.
It’s a budget model, but Lenovo doesn’t skimp on the build quality despite it being a budget model. The plastics used are thick and sturdy, and there were no cosmetic defects on any of its parts. The included stand is firm and stable, so it won’t sag or wobble unless you nudge it hard enough.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 has a joystick for the OSD, so you can easily and quickly access its settings and features. It also works with Lenovo’s Artery app which lets you adjust some of its basic settings on the fly. Other monitors have remotes and other extras, but they are typically found with costly variants.
The included stand offers tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment for your comfort and convenience. This is great because other budget models that cost around the same often have tilt stands. You can use VESA mounts, but it only becomes necessary if your desk space is limited.
One aspect that took a hit to help with the pricing is the monitor’s connectivity layout. It only has video inputs and a 3.5mm jack, but the former includes DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1. The latter guarantees high refresh rates with gaming consoles, so it’s a must-have for multi-platform monitors.
It does have a pair of built-speakers like many gaming monitors out there. However, they only have 3 watts of power each, so the set is not capable of gaming or entertainment grade audio. This monitor deserves gaming headsets for better immersion and accuracy instead of tinny built-ins that barely get loud.
Display and Performance
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 sports a 25-inch VA panel with a 1920x 1 080 resolution, a 280Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time. The backlight has a 350 cd/m2 output while the contrast is listed at 3000:1 like most VA panels. This model doesn’t have HDR certification, but its listed as HDR10 compatible.
1080p is less popular now except when we’re talking about fast-paced or competitive gaming. It’s easy to get high framerates with a decent system, so you don’t have to spend top dollar to get a great gaming experience. Its not the best for productivity, but legibility and visibility are fantastic.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 covers 97% sRGB and 89% of DCI-P3 for decent color in games and movies. Its default accuracy had a deltaE average of 2.89, so its not the best out there in this regard. Its not a big issue for gaming, and its only noticeable if you have a calibrated screen next to it.
Using a colorimeter reduced the dE average to 1.45, making it more balanced and neutral. The downside is that you will need a colorimeter to refine the screen and guarantee the same results. We can’t recommend spending the extra on the gadget since this monitor was not made for professional use anyway.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30’s backlight reached 366 cd/m2 at 100%, so it can fight off a decent amount of glare. Its contrast reached an impressive 3803:1 at 50% brightness, enabling it to produce deep blacks and excellent night scenes. It isn’t capable of true HDR performance, but that’s obvious from the get-go since it is not equipped for it.
Panel uniformity for the test sample did not have any major issues caused by backlight leaks. There is some variance in the backlight’s spread, so dark backgrounds might not look even in some instances. Note that this can vary with every monitor made due to tolerances, so there are worse and better units out there.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30’s main weakness is its slower pixel response time since it has a VA panel. The 280Hz refresh rate with moderate overdrive helped, but it did not clear everything up. Its till great for competitive gaming, but Fast IPS options, even they are more expensive, are still better alternatives if you have sensitive eyes.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is compatible with FreeSync and G-Sync for tearing—and stutter-free gaming. This is essential if you don’t want to buy another monitor in case you switch to the other GPU brand but want to keep VRR. Its input lag is 3ms at 280Hz, so it’s just as fast as its premium counterparts.
Thoughts on the Lenovo Legion R25f-30
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is a decent choice if you want an affordable daily driver or a dedicated gaming display. Its fast and responsive, even if its VA panel has a slower pixel response time than its fast-IPS counterparts. Its built well and it includes a fully-adjustable stand and HDMI 2.1 connectivity despite its pricing handicap.
However, the budget pricing also incurred some penalties which the E-Sports crowd may think of as deal-breaker. Its pixel response time is quite slow, and it lacks a few creature comforts. However, we think that its still an excellent buy considering its high refresh rate and very low price.
Pros:
- Very Low Price for 280Hz
- Excellent Brightness and Contrast
- Robust Build with Fully Adjustable Stand
Cons:
- Prone to Blurring
- Limited Accuracy
About the Author: 
Paolo has been a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since junior high. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations; he believes that every citizen’s right to enjoy one. He has gone through several pieces of hardware in pursuit of every bit of performance gain, much to the dismay of his wallet. He now works with Monitornerds to scrutinize the latest gear to create reviews that accentuate the seldom explained aspects of a PC monitor.
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