If you prioritize high performance for gaming or engineering tasks and can invest in a premium device, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is suitable, though it's heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable. On the other hand, if you prefer something more budget-friendly, lighter, and with longer battery life for general use or less demanding tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is a good option, but it won't perform as well for intensive tasks. The ASUS has a high refresh rate display, which is better for gaming, whereas the Lenovo has a standard display sufficient for everyday activities. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14"
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
292.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
313.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.2/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
8.4/10
6.0/10
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 excels in gaming and 3D applications mainly because it houses a high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU which significantly outperforms the integrated Vega 7 graphics in the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" and sports a high screen refresh rate for smoother visuals. Moreover, the Strix has a superior screen with better color coverage, enhancing overall visual quality, while the IdeaPad provides more modest capabilities reflected in its lesser GPU power and standard refresh rate.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
6.1/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is equipped with a more powerful CPU, higher-quality GPU, and greater RAM capacity than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14", making it better suited for demanding engineering and design work that requires intensive processing and real-time rendering. Additionally, the ASUS has a superior screen with higher refresh rates and better color coverage, features that are critical for precision in design tasks, while the Lenovo has lower specs in these areas but offers better portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.1/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Screen Quality
8.1/10
6.4/10
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
292.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
313.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When considering the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, its display offers high resolution and brightness that benefit everyday tasks, but its color range might fall short for professional engineering and design, and is not optimized for gaming due to lower refresh rates. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" provides sufficient screen quality with adequate resolution and brightness suitable for general use and entry-level engineering/design work but lacks the high color fidelity and fast refresh rates necessary for high-end design tasks and smooth gaming experiences. Therefore, for users focused on general productivity or basic design work, the Lenovo could be a cost-effective choice, while the ASUS caters better to demanding design applications, but gamers should consider other options with higher refresh rates.
Battery
7.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has 7 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has 10 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Poor
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
6.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.1 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
6.5/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$490
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a price of $2,499 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" costs $490.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
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How the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" compare to other laptops
"Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 laptop review: liquid metal 7 nm AMD Zen 3 is stunning. The raw performance increase is absolutely bonkers if you're upgrading from a laptop on Coffee Lake-H or older. The 45 W Ryzen 9 5900HX is neck-to-neck with the thicker, heavier, and hotter Schenker Ultra 17 running on a desktop-class Core i9-11900K despite their wide TDP differences. The performance-per-watt advantages can make Intel Rocket Lake feel like a last generation platform at times. As for the chassis itself, it's a huge light show with RGB LEDs on almost all sides of the system."
"The low-priced IdeaPad 3 14 delivers on core functionality. Lenovo's IdeaPad 3 14 meets all the basic requirements for an inexpensive office laptop. The matte IPS display is bright enough, the performance is high for the class, and the input devices are rock solid. In addition, the mostly quiet operation including the useful performance modes, cool surface temperatures, easy maintainability as well as expandable working and mass storage all contribute to the IdeaPad 3 14's value proposition."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 or the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14"
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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