The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a budget-friendly choice with moderate performance, suitable for general use and day-to-day tasks. It's lighter and offers longer battery life which makes it more portable, ideal for those on the go. The MSI Stealth 17, on the other hand, offers high-end performance with top-tier components, well-suited for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software, but it comes with a higher price tag and has a shorter battery life. The Stealth 17 is heavier and less portable, but its larger, higher resolution screen with superior color coverage may appeal to creatives and professionals who require a more powerful machine for demanding 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 Stealth 17
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.9/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
313.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 with its fair portability, sufficient RAM for basic tasks, and a good, though not premium, CPU, is well-suited for everyday activities, but its average battery life and screen quality may not satisfy users looking for a high-end experience. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17, which boasts an excellent CPU, significantly more RAM, and a high-quality screen, excels in handling more demanding applications and multitasking, making it a superior choice for general use, though it is less portable and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
9.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
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
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is fair for gaming and 3D due to its integrated AMD graphics and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which may limit smoothness in fast-paced games. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and 3D, boasting a high-end Nvidia GPU and a screen refresh rate of 240Hz, which allows for much smoother visuals and quicker response times, essential for competitive gameplay.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
9.4/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 comes with a mid-range CPU and GPU and a standard Full HD screen, which places it at a fair level for engineering and design use, whereas the MSI Stealth 17 packs a high-end CPU and top-tier GPU, along with a superior screen resolution and quality, elevating it to excellent for demanding tasks. Although the Lenovo offers better portability due to its smaller size and lighter weight, the MSI's enhanced performance specs and superior screen make it a preferable choice for intensive workloads, albeit at the cost of reduced portability and potentially higher operating noise from more powerful hardware.
Content Creation
7.1/10
8.8/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.5/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
313.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3's screen provides a satisfactory experience due to its adequate resolution and brightness, which make everyday tasks like browsing and document editing comfortable. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17 offers an improved visual experience for general use with its higher brightness and sharper resolution, enhancing clarity and detail. When it comes to engineering and design, the MSI's superior color coverage, displaying a wider range of colors more accurately, gives professionals the precision they need, while its high refresh rate doesn't provide an advantage for gaming and 3D, where the lower refresh rate of both laptops falls short of the optimal gameplay experience.
Battery
10.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 has 5.5 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
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.1 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.8/10
The MSI Stealth 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
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" has a price of $490 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"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 Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14" or the MSI Stealth 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.
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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