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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·
For everyday tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is a cost-effective choice with a touchscreen and decent battery life, making it portable and suitable for general use. However, its performance is limited, and the screen isn't as sharp or vibrant as higher-end models. On the other hand, the MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse designed for intense tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning, with a high-resolution display, superior color accuracy, and top-tier performance components. It's less portable due to its size and weight, and the battery life is shorter, but it offers a premium experience with a better keyboard and a wide range of ports, including Thunderbolt support. If you need a laptop for basic tasks and value portability and battery life, the Lenovo is a practical choice. But if you're looking for high performance for demanding applications and can manage the heft and power requirements, the MSI Raider is the way to go. 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 15"
- Good portability
Advantages of the MSI Raider 18 HX
- Very good for general use
- Best in class for engineering and design
- Excellent for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Excellent for content creation
- Excellent overall display quality
- Good overall build quality
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.2
8.8
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.8
9.0
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
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
5.8
9.6
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
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.
Content Creation
6.3
9.1
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
6.3
8.8
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
5.2
9.4
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
5.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 5 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 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
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has good portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5
7.4
The MSI Raider 18 HX has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$360
$3,999
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has a price of $360 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" and the MSI Raider 18 HX compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" | MSI Raider 18 HX |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$360 | $3,999 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | March 1, 2024 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.78'' | 15.9'' x 12.1'' x 1.26'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.75 lbs | 7.94 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.26" | 15.91" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.98" | 12.09" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i3-1115G4 | Intel i9-14900HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 1 | 4 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 9 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 35 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 18" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | TN | Mini LED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 3840 x 2400 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 220 nits | 1000 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 5.1/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 9.5/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 0 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | February 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is an enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU. Lenovo's office all-rounder easily handles office and internet applications as well as modest games - the Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM make this possible. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The emission values are okay, but the noise emissions should be lower under medium to full load. The relatively light notebook (approx. 1.6 kg) achieves practical battery runtimes of about 10 to 11 hours."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" or the MSI Raider 18 HX
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.
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