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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is a budget-friendly option suitable for general use, with moderate battery life and a relatively lightweight design that enhances portability. Its performance is adequate for everyday tasks but not designed for intensive engineering, 3D modelling, or heavy gaming. The MSI Raider GE66 is more expensive but comes with a stronger performance suitable for demanding engineering software, machine learning, and gaming. It has a high refresh rate display for smoother visuals but at the cost of a heavier build and shorter battery life, making it less convenient for frequent travel. Both have similar screen sizes, but the MSI has a higher resolution and color accuracy, better for detail-oriented tasks and creative work. 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 Slim 3
- Good portability
- Very good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE66
- Very good for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Good speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0
8.3
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
281.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is good.
The MSI Raider GE66 surpasses the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 in general use due to its vastly superior CPU and larger amount of RAM, which are very important factors contributing to overall performance, as well as having a higher quality screen with better resolution and color coverage. While the IdeaPad Slim 3 is lighter and offers better portability and longer battery life, its lower-spec processor, less RAM, and inferior screen quality make it fair for general use in comparison to the high performance and excellent screen quality of the Raider GE66.
Gaming and AI
5.9
8.5
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
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
6.2/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is poor.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, with its integrated AMD GPU and maximum screen refresh rate of 60 Hz, is fair for gaming and 3D tasks due to modest graphics capability and a standard refresh rate. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE66 includes a high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and a much higher refresh rate screen at 240 Hz, offering a very good gaming and 3D experience with powerful graphics performance and smoother visuals.
Engineering and Design
6.1
8.9
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is only fair.
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
7.2
8.3
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 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
7.1
8.0
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 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
6.4
8.4
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
281.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE66 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When considering general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 offers a basic display that's sufficient for tasks like browsing and document editing, but its limited brightness and resolution may not offer the clarity and vibrancy of higher-end screens. The MSI Raider GE66, with a much brighter, higher resolution display, offers a more vivid and crisp viewing experience, which significantly enhances usability in general workflows. However, while the MSI Raider GE66's screen quality excels in engineering and design due to its wide color gamut, providing accurate color representation, both laptops fall short for gaming and 3D applications because they lack high refresh rates, hindering the smoothness of motion that is essential for such immersive experiences.
Battery
10.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE66 has 6 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
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has good portability, while the MSI Raider GE66 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5
8.5
The MSI Raider GE66 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$400
$2,499
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has a price of $400 and the MSI Raider GE66 costs $2,499.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 and the MSI Raider GE66 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 | MSI Raider GE66 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$400 | $2,499 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2023 | January 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 9.3'' x 0.7'' | 14.1'' x 10.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.52 lbs | 5.25 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.15" | 14.09" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.25" | 10.51" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 3 7330U | Intel i7-12700H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 10 Hours | 6 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 47 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 281 nits | 300 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.9/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 9.5/10 | 6.3/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 4 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
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Rtings
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | May 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is decent for use as a workstation. Its Intel CPU and integrated graphics can only handle light productivity tasks, not demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. You also can't do any color-critical work because the available displays have a narrow color gamut. It has a good port selection, but its USB-C lacks Thunderbolt 4 support. On the upside, it has a comfortable keyboard and doesn't get hot or loud under load."
MSI Raider GE66
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Patrick Schüdzig | June 2022
"The MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 or the MSI Raider GE66
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.
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