If you prioritize performance for activities like 3D rendering or engineering software, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio with its dedicated graphics card will provide you with a smoother experience than the Lenovo Flex 5 14. However, the Flex 5 may save you money and offers longer battery life for more extended use on the go, though it is less capable for intensive tasks. The Surface Laptop is heavier, impacting its portability but offers a higher refresh rate display which could be better for fast-paced content. Each option has a touchscreen, but you might consider the Surface for a superior brightness and color accuracy, which can enhance your viewing experience. 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 14
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.4/10
8.0/10
14.0in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
277.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers a moderate display, with adequate resolution and brightness for everyday tasks, but its color range may not be wide enough to satisfy professional engineering and design work. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, with a higher resolution and brighter screen, provides sharper images and more accurate colors, catering well to both general users and professionals in engineering and design. However, both laptops fall short for 3D work and gaming due to their modest refresh rates, which limits smooth motion and responsiveness, a key for these high-intensity visual tasks.
Battery
11.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 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.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$950
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has a price of $950 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 boasts ample storage, a capable CPU, and substantial RAM, alongside a touchscreen with decent color coverage, all contributing to its suitability for general use; its lighter weight and longer battery life enhance portability and user convenience.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
6.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 is limited in gaming and 3D applications due to its integrated Vega 8 GPU which is quite modest for these purposes, and it has a regular 60Hz screen refresh rate. Meanwhile, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, equipped with a more capable Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti and a higher 120Hz screen refresh rate, offers better performance for gaming and 3D tasks but still may not satisfy the demands of the most intensive games and applications.
Engineering and Design
7.0/10
7.3/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for engineering and design.
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
7.6/10
7.4/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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
7.4/10
7.3/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
14.4in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Flex 5 14 to have very good portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Lenovo Flex 5 14 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio compare to other laptops
"The highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Flex 5 14 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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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