When deciding between the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i and the MSI Stealth GS66, consider that the Lenovo offers a balance of power and price with a newer GPU, making it suitable for general use and light engineering tasks, while the MSI, with a more powerful older GPU and high refresh rate display, leans towards intensive gaming and more demanding 3D and machine learning tasks. The Lenovo might be a cost-effective choice for everyday productivity, but the MSI caters to professionals seeking higher performance in graphic-intensive applications despite being pricier. Portability is comparable, yet the MSI edges out slightly in battery capacity. 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 battery life
Advantages of the MSI Stealth GS66
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.1/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
409.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a better screen than the MSI Stealth GS66 for general use, and software development, while the MSI Stealth GS66 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a high-resolution, bright display with a panel that provides vivid colors and sharpness beneficial for activities like browsing and watching videos, making it ideal for general use. Its accurate color reproduction covers professional color spaces well, ensuring designers and engineers see true-to-life colors essential for their work. However, its lower refresh rate limits the smoothness required for immersive gaming and fast-paced 3D applications, where the MSI Stealth GS66, with a higher refresh rate, offers a better experience for those specific activities.
Cost
$950
$1,799
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a price of $950 and the MSI Stealth GS66 costs $1,799.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i and MSI Stealth GS66 are both good for general use.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is well-suited for general use due to its high-quality display with a high resolution and bright screen, coupled with efficient heat management. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth GS66, while offering a high-quality keyboard and robust build quality, has a shorter battery life, making it less optimal for extended use without access to power.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
7.8/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Stealth GS66 and Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i are both good for gaming and AI.
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
8.1/10
8.2/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Stealth GS66 and Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i are both very good for engineering and design.
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
7.7/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth GS66 and Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.7/10
7.5/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i and MSI Stealth GS66 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.
Battery
6.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth GS66 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
Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The MSI Stealth GS66 and Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Stealth GS66 to have 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.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i and the MSI Stealth GS66 compare to other laptops
"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 GS66 is powerful enough for QHD. The Core i7-12700H and the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti found in the 12UGS model that we tested run all modern games smoothly in the native QHD resolution. The 15-inch display is very fast with its 240 Hz refresh rate, and it also offers a great color space (almost 100% DCI-P3) on top of that, which should please gamers as well as content creators, although we would have still wished for a higher brightness. Case, input devices, and connectivity (Thunderbolt 4) are at a good level. However, among other things, the GS66 loses points due to the high temperature development in 3D mode and its poor webcam."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i or the MSI Stealth GS66
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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