The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is a budget-friendly option suitable for general use with modest storage, RAM, and integrated graphics; it's light and has a decent battery life, making it very portable. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE66 is a high-end laptop with much more storage, significant RAM, and a powerful dedicated graphics card, designed for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks, but it is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable. Your choice depends on whether you prioritize cost and portability or require high-performance capabilities for demanding software applications. 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 MSI Raider GE66
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.9/10
8.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
313.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3, with its AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor and 8 GB of RAM, is suited for basic tasks, offering a satisfactory battery life of 10 hours for mobility; however, it lacks the more robust performance and higher screen quality seen in the MSI Raider GE66, which boasts a powerful Intel i7-12700H processor, 32 GB of RAM, and a higher resolution display but compensates with a heavier build and shorter 6-hour battery life, making it less portable but more suited for performance-intensive use.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" 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
6.1/10
8.9/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" offers modest performance capability due to its AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, integrated Vega 7 graphics, and 8 GB of RAM, which makes it fair for engineering and design tasks, but the MSI Raider GE66 leads with a high-end Intel i7 CPU, powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and 32 GB of RAM, providing much greater power and speed for these intensive tasks.
Content Creation
7.1/10
8.3/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE66 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
8.0/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE66 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
8.4/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
313.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE66 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
A Lenovo IdeaPad 3 typically has an adequate resolution and sufficient brightness for everyday tasks but may lack the wider color gamut needed for precise engineering and design work. The MSI Raider GE66 often features a high-resolution display with excellent color coverage, ideal for detail-oriented tasks like engineering and CAD, but its lower refresh rate can be a limitation for smooth 3D rendering and gaming. For those invested in gaming or 3D applications, screens with high refresh rates are pivotal for fluid motion, and while both laptops may serve well for general use and design, gamers and 3D designers may need to look for models specifically tailored to these needs.
Battery
10.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE66 has 6 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
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the MSI Raider GE66 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE66 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
$2,499
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a price of $490 and the MSI Raider GE66 costs $2,499.
"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 MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" or the MSI Raider GE66
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.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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