The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is significantly cheaper and offers basic performance suitable for general use, with moderate battery life and a touchscreen. It's relatively lightweight and therefore quite portable. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE77Hx costs more but provides high performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks, as well as intensive gaming. It has a more powerful processor, graphics card, and double the RAM and storage. However, its larger size, heavier weight, and shorter battery life make it less portable than the Lenovo. Choose the Lenovo for casual use and value, or the MSI for demanding applications and better overall performance. 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 GE77Hx
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
8.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
281.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is good.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is fair for general use because it has a modest processor, less RAM, and a lower-quality screen but excels in portability and battery life, whereas the MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for general use as it boasts a powerful CPU, more RAM, and a higher-quality display but is less portable with a shorter battery life. While the Slim 3 is more suitable for on-the-go users needing longer unplugged use, the Raider GE77Hx caters to those requiring stronger performance and better visuals, at the expense of heavier weight and less time away from a power outlet.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
8.7/10
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
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is poor.
The MSI Raider GE77Hx offers superior gaming performance with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and a much higher screen refresh rate for smoother visuals compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3's AMD Ryzen 3 7330U Vega 6 GPU and standard refresh rate. While the Lenovo is adequate for casual gaming, the MSI's higher-end components and screen quality make it a better fit for intensive gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
8.8/10
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE77Hx 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
7.2/10
8.2/10
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE77Hx 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
7.1/10
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 are both good for software development, though the MSI Raider GE77Hx is somewhat better.
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
6.4/10
8.4/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
281.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE77Hx has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 provides an adequate display for everyday tasks and productivity with respectable resolution and brightness, but it lacks the higher color accuracy and broader color gamuts required for precision engineering and design work. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE77Hx offers a vibrant, high-resolution display that's great for detailed design work, thanks to its superior color representation, but its lower refresh rate makes it less ideal for gaming, where smoother motion is critical. For gaming and 3D applications, a laptop with a high refresh rate display would provide a more fluid visual experience, an area where both these models fall short.
Battery
10.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE77Hx 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
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has good portability, while the MSI Raider GE77Hx has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx 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
$390
$1,999
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has a price of $390 and the MSI Raider GE77Hx costs $1,999.
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."
"The MSI Raider GE77 offers a lot of power for a lot of money. The main components consist of a Core i9-12900HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (175 watts TGP, 16 GB VRAM), and 64 GB of RAM, which makes for a high overall performance level. The GeForce GPU in particular scores some of the highest scores we have seen from this chip. Both the CPU and the GPU are able to run at continuously high clock speeds. The relatively high heat and noise emissions match our expectations for this device class. With approximately 5.5 to 6.5 hours, the battery life is good for a powerful 4K laptop."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 or the MSI Raider GE77Hx
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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