The Lenovo Flex 5 16 is a versatile device with a touchscreen and a slightly smaller screen size, making it more portable and suitable for general use and productivity tasks; it is also more cost-effective. However, if you need higher performance for activities such as 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" with its dedicated graphics card and larger screen would be worth the extra investment despite being heavier and having a shorter battery life. The Legion 5 also features a high refresh rate display, essential for smooth visuals in intensive gaming and fast-paced applications. 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 Flex 5 16
Good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
Good for gaming and AI
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is only fair.
The Lenovo Flex 5 16, with its integrated graphics and a standard refresh rate screen, offers a fair gaming and 3D experience suitable for casual use. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is designed for more intensive gaming and graphic tasks with its dedicated Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate, providing smoother visuals and better performance.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
7.3/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
400.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 offers a balance of resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks and detailed engineering work, but its lower refresh rate makes it less ideal for the fast-paced visuals required in gaming and 3D applications. Its color coverage meets the needs for most engineering and design professionals, ensuring accurate color representation. However, the Lenovo Legion 5 17", while similar in general use and engineering design performance, does not prioritize the high refresh rates that are crucial for a smooth gaming and 3D experience.
Battery
11.5 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has 11.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 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
Good
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$779
$1,200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has a price of $779 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Flex 5 16, with a high-quality display and battery life suitable for substantial use, offers a versatile 2-in-1 convertible design that's optimal for general tasks, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17", though less portable with a shorter battery life, has a very good keyboard and speaker quality, making it well-suited for general use and entertainment despite its gaming-oriented design.
Engineering and Design
7.2/10
7.6/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Lenovo Flex 5 16 are both good for engineering and design.
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 is equipped with an efficient CPU and integrated GPU suitable for engineering and design, while offering the versatility of a 2-in-1 convertible with high screen quality. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a more powerful CPU and dedicated GPU, making it better for demanding engineering tasks and gaming, but it's less portable and has a relatively lower-resolution display.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.2/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" 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
7.5/10
7.0/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" 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
7.0/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Lenovo Flex 5 16 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Flex 5 16 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 is a solidly equipped, 2-in-1 in the lower price segment. Performance is definitely sufficient for everyday tasks and in tests the battery proved itself to be very economical. That aside, there is a lot of standard fare on show and a search for real highlights ends in vain. The low color coverage and reflective display can be avoided by going for an optional 2.5K display but this also presumably results in poorer battery life. The cooling uses only one fan and leads to a raised temperature on one side of the device under load. Additionally, there is very loud fan noise, also under load or when gaming. On top of that, we also occasionally noticed electronic noises."
"The Lenovo Legion 5 17 is a current-gen 17-inch gaming laptop and equipped with the latest AMD CPU and a powerful GPU, that manages to reach its full potential. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very good choice for this laptop and able to maintain its performance level for long periods of time. Our test model only falls behind consistently in a direct comparison with its competitors that are often equipped with eight cores and 16 threads. Despite this, the Legion 5 17 leaves an excellent impression and is almost able to keep up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Flex 5 16 or the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
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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