Updated January 10, 2024·Prices updated 24 hours ago
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" offers a balance between cost and functionality, making it suitable for everyday tasks, light productivity and media consumption. It's more affordable, has decent performance for general use, and its larger screen size is good for viewing content comfortably, but its integrated graphics and limited memory make it less suitable for 3D applications, machine learning, and newer games. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 is geared towards high-end performance with its advanced processor and dedicated graphics card, making it ideal for intensive engineering work, gaming, and creative tasks, but it's less portable due to its higher weight and generally comes at a significantly higher price point with added features like a high-resolution display and a faster refresh rate. If budget is a primary concern and your needs are basic, consider the Lenovo. If performance in demanding applications is critical and budget is less of a constraint, the MSI may be the better 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 17"
Good portability
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
7.3/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
307.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" is good.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" is recognized for its adequate performance for general tasks with its AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, suitable for typical day-to-day activities, and its extended battery life allows for longer use between charges. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17 stands out for general use due to its superior Intel i9 CPU and extraordinary amount of RAM, making it far more capable for demanding applications, although its higher performance comes at the cost of reduced battery life and increased weight, making it less portable.
Gaming and AI
6.1/10
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 17" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" is armed with a modest integrated GPU and a standard 60 Hz screen refresh rate, making it fair for gaming and 3D applications, while the MSI Stealth 17 features a high-end discrete GPU and a far superior 240 Hz screen refresh rate, thus providing an excellent gaming and 3D experience.
Engineering and Design
6.6/10
9.4/10
5.8/10
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 17" is only fair.
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design due to its robust CPU, a high amount of RAM, and a top-tier GPU that excels in rendering and computing tasks; also, its screen displays more colors accurately and has a higher resolution for sharp visuals. On the other hand, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has a fair capability, suitable for less intensive tasks, with a modest CPU, less RAM, and an integrated GPU that's less powerful, paired with a lower screen resolution which still delivers a decent image but is less precise for detailed work.
Content Creation
7.4/10
8.8/10
5.8/10
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 17" 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
7.2/10
8.5/10
5.8/10
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 17" 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
6.7/10
8.6/10
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" offers a large screen and decent resolution granting ample workspace, which is valuable for both everyday tasks and detail-oriented work in engineering and design, but its lower refresh rate makes fast-paced content such as gaming less smooth. The MSI Stealth 17 provides a high-resolution display that delivers crisp visuals for general use and precise color representation essential for professional design work, though it shares the same limitations in refresh rate affecting gaming performance. Both laptops, while strong in screen real estate and visual fidelity for work and leisure, fall short for gaming enthusiasts seeking fluid motion and rapid response times.
Battery
9.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" has 9 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
Good
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
4.4 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" has 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 17" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$784
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" has a price of $784 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" defies expectations. Indeed, it is just a minor upgrade over last year. However, this doesn’t make the laptop any less terrific. It’s got a great performance, courtesy of the Ryzen 5x25U processors. In addition, you get a pretty good battery life. Perhaps, the 2-hour decrease in video playback, compared to last year is not great, but still, 10 hours of Web browsing and 7 hours of video playback is okay for 17-inch notebooks."
"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."
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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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