The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is a budget-friendly option that's more portable, with a smaller screen and lower weight, making it suitable for general use and day-to-day tasks. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 15" is designed for more power-intensive tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering simulations, thanks to its higher-end processor and dedicated graphics card. However, it's less portable due to its larger size and heavier weight, and its higher cost reflects its increased capabilities. Consider the Legion 5 if performance is a priority and the IdeaPad 3 if you need something more affordable and easier to carry around. 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 15"
Good for general use
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
General Use
6.9/10
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
313.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is more portable and has better battery life, which makes it quite suitable for general use, but falls behind in CPU, RAM, and screen quality compared to the Lenovo Legion 5. However, the Lenovo Legion 5, with its higher resolution screen, more powerful CPU, and larger RAM, enhances performance for general use but is less portable and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
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 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" outperforms the IdeaPad 3 14" in gaming and 3D due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card and higher screen refresh rate, enhancing visuals and gameplay smoothness. In contrast, the IdeaPad 3 14" uses an integrated AMD Vega graphics and a standard refresh rate screen, resulting in lower gaming performance and less fluid visuals.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
8.2/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" is very good for engineering and design due to its more powerful CPU, double the RAM, and superior dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, which is essential for demanding tasks and graphics-intensive applications, whereas the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" with its modest integrated GPU and lower RAM is fair, offering enough performance for basic engineering tasks but not for heavier workloads. Additionally, the Legion has a higher resolution and better screen quality, invaluable for design precision, but it's less portable and noisier, factors to consider if you often work on the go or in quiet environments.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
8.0/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
313.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3's screen is adequate for general activities like browsing and watching videos, thanks to its resolution and brightness, though its panel type doesn't provide the best viewing angles or color reproduction for more demanding tasks. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 5's display delivers vibrant colors and sharper images that benefit engineering and design work, but it still may fall short for professionals needing the most accurate color gamuts. For 3D and gaming, the Legion 5's lower refresh rate can limit the smoothness and responsiveness that gamers seek, even though its resolution and panel type offer an improved visual experience compared to typical general-use laptops.
Battery
10.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.1 lbs
WEIGHT
5.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.6/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
$999
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a price of $490 and the Lenovo Legion 5 15" costs $999.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
7.3/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 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.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" and the Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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 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 3 14" 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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