If you prioritize high performance for tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or intensive engineering and gaming, and you don't mind a higher price and heavier weight, the MSI Stealth 17 is the laptop to choose. However, if you prefer something more affordable, lighter, and still capable of handling general use and moderate engineering tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i would be a sensible option. The MSI also has a larger storage capacity and more memory, which can be beneficial for heavy multitasking and data-intensive workloads, but it comes with a tradeoff in portability due to its greater weight and larger screen size. 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 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
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
409.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good.
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
7.4/10
9.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i offers solid gaming and 3D performance with its Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU and a refresh rate of 120 Hz, while the MSI Stealth 17 excels in these areas due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a significantly higher refresh rate of 240 Hz.
Engineering and Design
8.1/10
9.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent 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
8.8/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.5/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.6/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
409.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i's screen delivers clear and bright visuals with sufficient resolution for everyday tasks, appealing to typical users. For engineering and design work, the MSI Stealth 17's screen offers a wider color gamut, ensuring more accurate color representation, which is crucial for professionals in those fields. However, for gaming and 3D rendering, both laptops fall short as their screens have lower refresh rates, which can result in less smooth motion and gameplay compared to panels designed specifically for these purposes.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$950
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a price of $950 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"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 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."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i or the MSI Stealth 17
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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