The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers a balance of cost and versatility, being a less expensive, convertible option with a touchscreen that's easy to carry around, making it suitable for general use and flexibility in various environments. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 17, while pricier, likely provides better performance for gaming, 3D applications, and demanding tasks due to a larger screen, more powerful hardware, and enhanced cooling at the expense of reduced portability and potentially shorter battery life. Consider the Lenovo for everyday tasks and portability, and the MSI if performance in resource-intensive activities is a priority. 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 MSI Katana 17
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is only fair.
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
7.0/10
8.4/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Katana 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14, with its AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Vega 8 GPU, is recognized for its balance between performance and portability, whereas the MSI Katana 17 boasts a more powerful Intel i7 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, better suited for demanding engineering and design tasks but at the cost of increased weight and size. Furthermore, the Flex 5 14's higher resolution display and 2-in-1 design offer flexibility for design work, but the Katana 17's larger screen and higher refresh rate offer a superior, smoother visual experience for engineering applications.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
6.9/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
277.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
256.0 nits
The MSI Katana 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
For general use, the Lenovo Flex 5 14's moderate resolution and brightness provide a comfortable viewing experience for daily tasks such as browsing and office work, while the MSI Katana 17's higher resolution and brightness offer clearer and more vibrant visuals. When it comes to engineering and design, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 lacks the wide color gamuts required for precise color work, whereas the MSI Katana 17, with fair color coverage, is more suitable for such tasks, although not top-tier. For gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short due to their lower refresh rates, which can lead to less fluid motion and responsiveness compared to models with higher refresh rates, which are key for these activities.
Battery
11.5 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 17 has 3 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has very good portability, while the MSI Katana 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$950
$1,367
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has a price of $950 and the MSI Katana 17 costs $1,367.
The MSI Katana 17 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14, with its higher portability score, lighter weight, and longer battery life, is ideal for users seeking a balance between mobility and usability, whereas the MSI Katana 17, despite being less portable, provides superior performance with more RAM, a more powerful CPU and GPU, and is better suited for tasks that demand greater processing power, such as intensive computing or gaming.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.8/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Katana 17 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
7.5/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Katana 17 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
7.2/10
The MSI Katana 17 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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 14 and the MSI Katana 17 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."
"The MSI Katana 17 B13V laptop impressed us in its main area of competency - gaming. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 ensures high-performance levels which can compete with the previous generation's RTX 3070 Ti. In addition to the speedy GPU, the MSI comes with a 144 Hz display as well as an RGB keyboard and provides a very good typing experience. Despite the power at hand, the laptop remains comparatively cool."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Flex 5 14 or the MSI Katana 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.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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
100,695
Recommendations made
21,818
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.