The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is often less expensive and more suitable for basic tasks and general use with a decent battery life and portability, making it a good choice for casual users or students. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 is slightly more expensive but is designed for gaming and higher performance tasks, such as 3D modeling and machine learning, with a better display and more powerful graphics card. It's less portable due to increased weight, and heavier usage may reduce battery life faster than the IdeaPad. If performance for intensive tasks is a priority, the Legion 5 might be preferable despite the higher cost and reduced portability. 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 15"
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.1/10
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has a lower-tier integrated GPU and a screen refresh rate ideal for standard tasks, thus providing fair gaming and 3D capabilities, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" boasts a high-end dedicated Nvidia GPU and a much higher screen refresh rate, enhancing gaming and 3D performance significantly. The Legion 5 also benefits from a stronger CPU and better screen quality, making it a better overall choice for demanding gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
6.6/10
8.2/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is better suited for engineering and design due to its higher-quality GPU and CPU, more RAM, and a superior screen with a higher resolution and refresh rate for intricate graphical tasks; while the IdeaPad 1 15" offers lower performance in these areas, it is lighter and offers a quieter operational noise making it more portable for everyday tasks. Additionally, the Legion has a better screen contrast ratio and color space coverage which is crucial for design accuracy, but as a tradeoff, it is heavier and potentially louder which may affect the user experience in quiet environments.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
8.0/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
300.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has a display that's adequate for tasks like browsing and watching videos, with a resolution and brightness that are sufficient for everyday activities but may lack the color accuracy and range needed for detailed engineering and design work. The Lenovo Legion 5 15" offers a higher-quality display that provides better color representation and brightness, making it suitable for more color-critical work in engineering and design, though it still doesn't have the high refresh rate preferred for smooth visuals in gaming and 3D applications. For immersive gaming and 3D modeling, neither laptop's screen meets the ideal standards for refresh rates, which could result in less fluid motion and responsiveness.
Battery
10.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has 10 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has 4 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
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.6/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
$999
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has a price of $741 and the Lenovo Legion 5 15" costs $999.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is good for general use due to its lightweight design, decent battery life, and adequate performance from the Ryzen 7 CPU and onboard Vega 8 graphics, making it versatile for everyday tasks. The Lenovo Legion 5 15" also serves well for general use with a stronger CPU, more RAM, and a higher resolution screen, providing enhanced multitasking and visual clarity, but it trades off some portability and battery life due to a heavier build and more power-intensive components suited for gaming.
Content Creation
7.4/10
7.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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
7.3/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
12.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" and Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" and the Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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 15 is an affordable gaming laptop with a lot of power. The new AMD processor Ryzen 7 5800H offers plenty of performance and it is also very efficient. The combination with the fast 130W version of the GeForce RTX 3060 ensures high gaming performance. We also like the fast 165 Hz display with the 1080p resolution. The automatic graphics switching causes some problems with stutters, which are very annoying. If you do not need long battery runtimes, you should definitely deactivate the hybrid graphics mode in Lenovo's Vantage app. The Legion 5 15 is never silent."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" or the Lenovo Legion 5 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.
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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