The Gigabyte A7 offers a solid gaming experience with hardware ray tracing, DLSS, and a resonant audio-visual setup suitable for gaming and multimedia tasks, but it might fall short on battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5, while also capable of gaming and engineering work, boasts a better battery, a higher resolution display with a different aspect ratio that could be better for productivity tasks, and a slightly edge in terms of portability due to its slimmer and lighter design. If long battery life and a mix of work and play are priorities, the Lenovo could be a better fit, whereas the Gigabyte could be preferred for more dedicated gaming and multimedia use. 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 Gigabyte A7
Very good speakers
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 5
Very good for engineering and design
Good battery life
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.3/10
7.2/10
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
318.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has a better screen than the Gigabyte A7 for content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Gigabyte A7 and Lenovo Legion Slim 5 offer screens with ample resolution and brightness, and the type of panels used in these laptops provide clear and vibrant visuals suitable for everyday tasks such as browsing, video streaming, and document editing. When it comes to engineering and design, both laptops' displays cover a wide range of colors, accurately representing the DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color spaces, which is essential for professionals needing precise color fidelity for their work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, their lower refresh rates may not deliver as smooth an experience as other laptops designed specifically for these purposes, where screens have higher refresh rates to keep up with fast-moving visuals.
Battery
4.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Gigabyte A7 has 4.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 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
Fair
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 both have only fair portability, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 are both good for general use.
The Gigabyte A7 is suitable for general use due to its capable processor and ample RAM which aid in smooth multitasking, coupled with a quality screen for a good visual experience; however, its portability is compromised by its weight and size, and it offers satisfactory battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.3/10
7.7/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 are both good for gaming and AI.
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
7.6/10
8.0/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion Slim 5 to be very good for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte A7 is good.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is ranked very good for engineering and design use because it comes with a more advanced GPU and a higher battery capacity for longer use without charging, coupled with a screen that offers higher resolution and brightness which is essential for precise design work. While the Gigabyte A7 also has a strong processor and ample RAM for demanding tasks, its GPU and screen quality are less superior compared to the Legion Slim 5, making it good rather than very good for engineering and design purposes.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 are both 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
7.0/10
7.4/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 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
7.2/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and Gigabyte A7 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$940
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Gigabyte A7 has a price of $940 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 costs $1,000.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte A7 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 compare to other laptops
"In terms of looks, the Gigabyte A7 X1 is certainly not a trendy, slim, and ultra-mobile gaming laptop. But it does what it's supposed to do, namely bringing games smoothly onto the screen, very well. Both the processor and the GeForce RTX 3070 are able to unleash their performance without restrictions thanks to the well-ventilated case. The Gigabyte A7 X1 brings modern games smoothly onto the screen and offers excellent maintenance options."
"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 Gigabyte A7 or the Lenovo Legion Slim 5
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
123,795
Recommendations made
26,823
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.