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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" is typically less expensive, offering budget-conscious shoppers a decent performance with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and integrated Vega 8 graphics suitable for general use and some light engineering tasks. It has a larger 15.6-inch screen while still maintaining good battery life. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is more expensive but also more powerful with an Intel i7 processor and Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics, which is better for 3D rendering, machine learning, and intensive engineering tasks. It features a unique 14.4-inch touchscreen that supports a high refresh rate and a 3:2 aspect ratio which might be advantageous for creative or professional work. While the Surface Laptop's battery life is slightly shorter, it provides higher color accuracy and contrast for screen quality, making it more suited for tasks requiring precise visuals, such as photo editing or design work. If portability is a concern, the Surface Laptop Studio offers a similar weight to the IdeaPad, but with a more compact design and a build that typically feels more premium. Both laptops provide good general use performance, but the choice relies on balancing cost against the need for specific features like better graphics performance, superior screen quality, and the flexibility of a 2-in-1 design. 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 5 15"
- Very good battery life
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
- Good for engineering and design
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Very good speakers
Key differences
Engineering and Design
6.7
7.3
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" is only fair.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 with a Ryzen 7 integrated GPU and 8GB RAM offers modest performance for engineering and design, whereas the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, equipped with an Intel i7 processor, a more powerful Nvidia RTX GPU, and double the RAM, performs better in these demanding tasks. However, the Lenovo is slightly lighter and boasts longer battery life for better portability, while the Surface Laptop Studio delivers superior screen resolution and quality, essential for design precision.
Screen Quality
6.5
8.0
15.6in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
341.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5, with its fair screen quality, offers adequate resolution and brightness for daily tasks but isn't as vibrant for professional design work or as smooth for gaming due to limited color range and refresh rate. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio provides a high-resolution display and outstanding brightness, great for both general use and color-critical engineering tasks, yet it falls short for gaming and 3D applications because of its lower refresh rate. General use and engineering design benefit from the Surface's strong color coverage, but gamers would find the refresh rate limiting compared to specialized gaming laptops.
Battery
11.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has 11 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 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.
Build Quality
7.6
8.5
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$771
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has a price of $771 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.4
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
341.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
11.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" are both good for general use.
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
6.2
6.6
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" is fair for gaming and 3D due to its integrated AMD graphics, which are less powerful than dedicated GPUs, and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which is adequate but not optimal for fast-paced gaming. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers better performance for gaming and 3D applications with its dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU and a higher screen refresh rate of 120Hz, providing smoother visuals.
Content Creation
7.3
7.4
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" are both good for content creation.
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
7.3
7.3
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for software development.
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.
Portability
Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.4in
4.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$771 | $1,700 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | August 1, 2022 | September 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 9.2'' x 0.67'' | 12.7'' x 9'' x 0.75'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.08 lbs | 4 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.01" | 12.72" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.18" | 8.98" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5825U | Intel i7-11370H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 11 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 57 Wh | 58 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 14.4" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2400 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 341 nits | 491 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.6/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.8/10 | 7.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 6.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Marcus Schwarten | August 2021
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is convincing due to its long battery life. The device scores points especially with its large battery and long battery runtimes combined with its low consumption. The CPU and GPU perform in the test as one would expect, and in line with what was familiar from the somewhat smaller 14-inch sister model, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14."
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Tom Brant | October 2021
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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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