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Updated January 10, 2024·
Choosing between the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 and the MSI Stealth 17 involves considering both your budget and your needs. The IdeaPad is significantly less expensive, making it a budget-friendly option for everyday tasks, and has a decent battery life, but it offers lower performance due to its basic processor and graphics. It's also portable, which suits day-to-day carry. In contrast, the Stealth 17 is pricier but brings a powerful processor and high-end graphics, suiting intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming, although it has a shorter battery life and is heavier which makes it less portable. 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 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
- Good overall build quality
- Best in class speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0
8.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
281.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is good.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is fair for general use with its AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB RAM, a standard screen quality, and is very portable with a sturdy build and a reasonable battery life, suited for non-demanding tasks and regular daily activities. Whereas the MSI Stealth 17 excels in general use due to its high-end Intel i9 processor, ample 64 GB RAM, superior screen resolution, and quality, but it is less portable owing to its larger size, weight, and reduced battery life, making it ideal for more intensive applications and multitasking.
Gaming and AI
5.9
9.1
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
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
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is poor.
The MSI Stealth 17 offers superior gaming and 3D performance largely because it has a top-tier Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a high refresh rate screen, essential for smooth, detailed visuals in fast-paced games and 3D rendering. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, with its integrated AMD Ryzen 3 7330U Vega 6 graphics and standard refresh rate display, is less powerful and wouldn't deliver the same level of performance in graphics-intensive tasks.
Engineering and Design
6.1
9.4
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent 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
8.8
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.5
3.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 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
8.6
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
281.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 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 offers adequate resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks but lacks the vibrant color range needed for engineering and design, and its modest refresh rate makes it less suitable for the fast-paced visuals required in gaming and 3D applications. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 boasts high resolution and brightness, delivering crisp and clear visuals for general use while also providing a wide color gamut essential for precise engineering and design work, but falls short for gaming and 3D due to its less than optimal refresh rate. For gaming and 3D enthusiasts, a laptop with a high refresh rate is key to a smooth visual experience, and while both laptops have their strengths, neither excels in this aspect.
Battery
10.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 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
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5
7.8
The MSI Stealth 17 has 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
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has a price of $390 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 and the MSI Stealth 17 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 | MSI Stealth 17 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$390 | $3,899 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 9.3'' x 0.7'' | 15.7'' x 11.2'' x 0.79'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.52 lbs | 6.17 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.15" | 15.65" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.25" | 11.16" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 3 7330U | Intel i9-13900H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 64 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 2048 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 10 Hours | 5.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 47 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 17.3" | |
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 | 384 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.9/10 | 6.5/10 | |
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 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 3 | |
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 Stealth 17
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NotebookCheck
Mario Petzold | April 2023
"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 Slim 3 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.
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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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