For a balance of performance and portability, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is a strong contender. It offers a solid upper midrange price point with a capable Intel i7 processor and Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics, making it suitable for general use, light gaming, and basic engineering tasks. Its 16-inch screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio provides a taller workspace, which is beneficial for productivity. However, if your primary focus is on intensive tasks such as advanced gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D, despite its high-end price, delivers top-tier performance with its AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D processor and Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card. The larger 17.3-inch display with a 240Hz refresh rate is ideal for fast-paced gaming, though it sacrifices some portability due to its size and weight. The Asus also boasts better color accuracy and higher brightness, which is great for content creation and consumption. Consider the Lenovo for everyday tasks and moderate gaming, but opt for the Asus if you need uncompromised performance for demanding applications and are willing to compromise on portability and cost. 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 X3D
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
9.2/10
8.0/10
9.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is very good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
9.1/10
8.4/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
9.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is very good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
8.0/10
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
350.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
343.0 nits
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i for gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
3.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has 3 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has 7 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
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
6.6 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has only fair portability, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$3,500
$1,055
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has a price of $3,500 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i costs $1,055.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D to be very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is good.
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.
Content Creation
8.2/10
8.0/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very good for content creation.
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.
Software Development
7.9/10
7.8/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
Get a great deal on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D or the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
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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Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.