The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is tailored for intense gaming and engineering tasks with higher performance in 3D rendering and machine learning due to its powerful graphics card and processor, making it suitable for those who need top-notch computing power and are not overly concerned with weight or battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, on the other hand, offers portability and sufficient performance for general use and casual tasks; it is a more budget-friendly option that sacrifices high-end specs for a lighter, more compact form factor and longer battery life. 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 Aorus 17
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
Good portability
Very good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
267.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
6.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 are both good for general use, though the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is somewhat better.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17’s stronger CPU, more RAM, and higher-quality GPU make it well-suited for more demanding tasks, but its larger size, heavier weight, and shorter battery life mean it's less portable than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, which offers better portability and longer battery life but has a less powerful CPU and GPU, and less RAM, making it adequate for lighter use.
Gaming and AI
8.1/10
5.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is poor.
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
8.4/10
6.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 excels in engineering and design tasks because it has a more powerful CPU, higher-capacity RAM, and a superior GPU compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, alongside a high-quality screen. Although less portable and louder, the Aorus 17's hardware capabilities notably outrank the IdeaPad Slim 3, making it better suited for demanding engineering software and complex design work.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 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
8.0/10
6.4/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
267.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 likely offers a sharper image and better color fidelity due to a high-resolution screen with a broad color gamut, suitable for engineering and design work where precision and color accuracy are crucial. For general use, such as browsing and watching movies, its screen quality is enhanced by good brightness and resolution, making for a visually comfortable experience. However, its lower refresh rate makes it less ideal for gaming and 3D tasks, which benefit from high refresh rates for smoother visuals and better responsiveness.
Battery
6.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 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
Fair
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has a price of $1,700 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 costs $400.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 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 Gigabyte Aorus 17 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a powerful high-end gaming machine. The Aorus 17 is a potent gaming notebook in a 17.3-inch format designed for FHD gaming at maximum settings. A Core i7-12700H processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU make this possible. A lightning-fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the necessary storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Aorus 17 XE4, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded, high-performance gaming notebook."
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | May 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is decent for use as a workstation. Its Intel CPU and integrated graphics can only handle light productivity tasks, not demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. You also can't do any color-critical work because the available displays have a narrow color gamut. It has a good port selection, but its USB-C lacks Thunderbolt 4 support. On the upside, it has a comfortable keyboard and doesn't get hot or loud under load."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 17 or the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
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.
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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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