If you are looking for a more affordable option with ample storage, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" offers a good balance for general use and comes at a lower price than the Lenovo Legion 5 17". However, if you need higher performance for tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" with its more powerful Intel processor and dedicated graphics card is the better option, despite being less portable and having a shorter battery life than the IdeaPad. 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 IdeaPad 1 15"
Good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.1/10
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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
6.6/10
7.6/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has an AMD processor and integrated graphics, which provide fair performance for engineering and design tasks, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" features a higher-powered Intel processor and dedicated Nvidia graphics, making it more suitable for such demanding applications but less portable due to its size and weight. Additionally, the Legion offers a better screen with a higher refresh rate and superior color coverage, enhancing visual design work, but it is heavier and with a larger screen size than the IdeaPad, hence less convenient for frequent travel.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
7.3/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
300.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1's fair screen quality comes from its adequate resolution and brightness for everyday tasks, though it may not be the sharpest or brightest available. The Lenovo Legion 5's good screen quality for engineering and design is due to its better color accuracy and wider color gamuts, ensuring more precise visual representations necessary for these fields. However, both laptops have poor screen quality for Gaming and 3D applications as they lack the high refresh rates required for smooth motion and responsiveness during fast-paced scenes.
Battery
10.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has 10 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
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$741
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has a price of $741 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" suits general use with its decent CPU, ample RAM, quality IPS screen, fair portability due to its lighter weight and better battery life, while providing a balance of good keyboard and speaker quality. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" excels with a more powerful CPU and GPU, higher RAM, and superior screen refresh rate for a smoother experience, alongside quality keyboard and speakers, at the expense of portability and battery life due to its larger size and heavier weight.
Content Creation
7.4/10
7.2/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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
7.3/10
7.0/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is affordable and pretty efficient. At the end of the day, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 (15″, 2023) is one of the better affordable laptops money can buy right now. It has a decent performance, albeit coming from a CPU that is based on old architecture. Playing low-intensity games is possible but at low to medium settings. We are really happy with the cooling setup, but the main event here is the battery life. We got 9 hours of either Web browsing or video playback, which is a great result. Especially if you compare this device with the ASUS E410."
"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 IdeaPad 1 15" 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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