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Updated June 22, 2024·
For a balance of performance and portability with a high-quality screen suitable for gaming and engineering tasks, the Lenovo Legion 5 16 is ideal, offering a powerful processor and dedicated graphics card, albeit at a higher price point and slightly heavier build. In contrast, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 is a budget-friendly option with a touchscreen, making it suitable for general use and everyday tasks, though it compromises on performance, screen quality, and build. If you prioritize cost and basic functionality, the IdeaPad is a sensible choice, but for more demanding applications and better overall quality, the Legion 5 is the way to go. 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 Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024)
- Very good for general use
- Excellent for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Good overall build quality
- Good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
- Good portability
Key differences
General Use
8.1
6.2
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
500.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
6.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" 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
8.5
5.8
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" 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
9.0
5.8
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
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.
Content Creation
8.2
6.3
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
8.0
6.3
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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.
Screen Quality
8.7
5.2
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
500.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
3.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 5 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
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
5.6 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
6.5
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,600
$360
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has a price of $1,600 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" costs $360.
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How the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,600 | $360 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | January 1, 2024 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10.3'' x 0.97'' | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.78'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.6 lbs | 3.75 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.31" | 14.26" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.25" | 9.98" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-14900HX | Intel i3-1115G4 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 3.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 35 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | TN | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | 1366 x 768 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 240Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 500 nits | 220 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.6/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.5/10 | 9.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | No | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 4 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | February 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is an enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU. Lenovo's office all-rounder easily handles office and internet applications as well as modest games - the Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM make this possible. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The emission values are okay, but the noise emissions should be lower under medium to full load. The relatively light notebook (approx. 1.6 kg) achieves practical battery runtimes of about 10 to 11 hours."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) or the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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.
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