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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·
For general use, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 offers a superior display with higher resolution and color accuracy, a more comfortable 3:2 aspect ratio, and a faster processor with more RAM, which translates to smoother multitasking. However, it comes at a higher price point. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is more budget-friendly, but sacrifices display quality with a lower resolution TN panel and a less powerful processor, which may result in slower performance for everyday tasks. If portability is a priority, the Surface Laptop 6's compact design and longer battery life make it a better choice, despite its higher cost. For those who need a machine for intensive tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning, the Surface Laptop 6's more robust hardware will deliver better performance, albeit at a midrange price. The IdeaPad 3 might suffice for light, everyday tasks, but for a more premium experience with better performance, display quality, and portability, the Surface Laptop 6 is the way to go, provided you're willing to invest more. 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"
- The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5".
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for software development
- Good for content creation
- Good overall display quality
- Good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.2
7.7
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is 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
6.6
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is only fair 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
7.7
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good 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
7.7
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good 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
7.7
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is 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
7.8
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5
7.4
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" 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
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has a price of $360 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" | Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$360 | $1,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | June 1, 2024 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.78'' | 12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.66'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.75 lbs | 3.04 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.26" | 12.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.98" | 8.78" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i3-1115G4 | Intel Core Ultra 7 135H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 1 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 9 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 35 Wh | 47 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 13.5" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | TN | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 2256 x 1504 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 220 nits | 400 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 8.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
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 | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 1 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 0 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 1 | |
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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
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 Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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