The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is generally more affordable and suitable for everyday tasks, offering decent battery life and easy portability, making it a practical option for casual use or students. The Lenovo Legion 9i, on the other hand, is designed for high performance, particularly in gaming and heavy applications such as video editing, with superior graphics and processing power, but it tends to be more expensive and heavier, which could make it less convenient for frequent travel. If you need a laptop for performance-intensive tasks and gaming, and you're okay with the extra weight and cost, the Legion 9i is the better choice. If your focus is on portability, battery life, and general use at a more affordable price point, the IdeaPad 3 14" would be the preferred option. 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 9i
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.9/10
8.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
313.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" offers a decent balance with its midrange CPU, adequate RAM, and a fair screen quality, which are ample for routine tasks, and it excels in portability and has a good battery life. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 9i boosts performance across these areas with a high-end CPU, substantial RAM, and a superior screen, but this comes at the cost of less portability due to its higher weight and reduced battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
9.2/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
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 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a less powerful GPU and a lower screen refresh rate making it less suitable for high-end gaming and 3D applications, while the Lenovo Legion 9i comes with a high-performance GPU and higher screen refresh rate, which enhances gaming and 3D experiences significantly. Although both have capable CPUs and good screen quality, the Legion 9i's superior hardware gives it a clear edge for graphics-intensive tasks.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
9.6/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" offers fair performance for engineering and design use due to its mid-range AMD Ryzen CPU and integrated GPU, which are suitable for lighter tasks but may struggle with intensive applications; in contrast, the Lenovo Legion 9i excels in these areas because it has a high-end Intel CPU and a powerful Nvidia RTX GPU, ensuring smooth handling of demanding software and better screen quality, but this comes at the cost of heavier weight and reduced portability. Additionally, the Legion 9i's larger RAM capacity greatly benefits complex multitasking and engineering simulations, whereas the IdeaPad's more modest RAM may limit performance in these scenarios.
Content Creation
7.1/10
8.7/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is good.
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
8.3/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is good.
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.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
9.7/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
313.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The IdeaPad 3's screen offers enough clarity and brightness for everyday tasks, but its limited color range can affect precision in engineering and design. The Legion 9i's display provides excellent clarity, brightness, and wide color gamuts, making it ideal for detailed design work. However, for gaming and 3D applications where fluid motion is crucial, both laptops may fall short due to their lower refresh rates, despite the Legion offering better resolution and panel quality.
Battery
10.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has 10 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i 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
16.0in
3.1 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i has very 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
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a price of $490 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
"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 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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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