If you prioritize portability and longer battery life for general use tasks like browsing and office applications at a budget-friendly price, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" could suit your needs; this model is lighter and has a higher battery life. Conversely, if you require a laptop for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" offers much higher performance with a superior processor and dedicated graphics card but comes at a midrange price, is heavier, and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. Both have similar display quality, but the Legion 5 has a larger screen and a higher refresh rate, enhancing the visual experience particularly in gaming and fast-motion videos. 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 3 14"
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
Good for general use
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
6.0/10
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 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" provides a better gaming and 3D experience due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card and higher screen refresh rate compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" which uses an integrated AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Vega 7 GPU and has a standard refresh rate. While the IdeaPad is more portable and has a better battery life, the Legion's superior GPU and refresh rate make it more suitable for demanding gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
7.6/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
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.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
7.3/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
313.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3's screen offers adequate resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks and some engineering applications, but its limited color range and standard refresh rate make it less ideal for color-critical work or smooth 3D rendering. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 provides higher brightness and a broader color gamut, enhancing the experience for engineers and designers needing precision in color work, yet its lower refresh rate may not be optimal for gaming or 3D where motion clarity is key. Despite their suitability for general use and engineering, neither is optimal for gaming or 3D applications due to their respective screen refresh rates, which are crucial for fluid motion portrayal.
Battery
10.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" 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
Very Good
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.1 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$490
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a price of $490 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 5 17" to be good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is considered fair for general use because it has a more basic CPU and less RAM, which could slow down intensive multitasking, but its smaller screen and lighter weight make it more portable with a longer battery life.
Content Creation
7.1/10
7.2/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 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
7.1/10
7.0/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" 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.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"The low-priced IdeaPad 3 14 delivers on core functionality. Lenovo's IdeaPad 3 14 meets all the basic requirements for an inexpensive office laptop. The matte IPS display is bright enough, the performance is high for the class, and the input devices are rock solid. In addition, the mostly quiet operation including the useful performance modes, cool surface temperatures, easy maintainability as well as expandable working and mass storage all contribute to the IdeaPad 3 14's value proposition."
"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 3 14" 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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