The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is a more budget-friendly choice with good general use performance, a lighter build for better portability, and a respectable 6 hours of typical battery life. It is suitable for everyday tasks and light gaming. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 9i is a premium laptop that excels in performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering work, with a powerful processor and graphics card, but it is heavier, has a shorter battery life of about 3 hours, and comes at a higher cost. It also has a higher-quality display, which could benefit content creators or gamers looking for better screen colors and motion handling. 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 Pro 5i
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
409.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is equipped with a solid CPU and ample RAM suitable for general use, a quality IPS screen for clear visuals, and offers the convenience of portability and better battery life, making it a practical option for everyday tasks.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
9.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and 3D because it features a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU and a screen with a higher refresh rate of 165 Hz, compared to the good performance of the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i which is equipped with a Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU and a 120 Hz screen.
Engineering and Design
8.1/10
9.6/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is very good.
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
7.7/10
8.7/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.7/10
8.3/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.8/10
9.7/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
409.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i offers impressive resolution and brightness, coupled with a high-quality panel type, suiting general use where readability and color vibrancy are key. For engineering and design, both the IdeaPad Pro 5i and Legion 9i deliver wide color gamuts, ensuring accurate color reproduction crucial for detailed work. However, for gaming and 3D applications where fluid motion is essential, the lower refresh rates on both laptops may not provide the smooth visuals that these tasks demand.
Battery
6.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has 6 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 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
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$950
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a price of $950 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
"Lenovo’s IdeaPad Pro 5i represents an impressive opening salvo for Meteor Lake in the ultraportable space against familiar foes from AMD and Apple. Not only does the Core Ultra 5 125H processor provide good performance across the board, but battery life remains a strong point against the Acer Swift Edge 16 with its AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor. It can’t quite match the endurance of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but the gap is shrinking."
"The Lenovo Legion 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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.
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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