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Updated January 16, 2024·
When deciding between the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13", it comes down to what's more important to you. The Lenovo is usually less expensive and offers a higher resolution display, beefier battery, and better connectivity with more ports, making it great for multimedia and general use on a tight budget. However, the Microsoft offers a more modern processor and higher display brightness, better suited to tasks that require a bit more processing power like light gaming or photo editing, and its lighter design enhances portability at the cost of fewer ports and a smaller battery. Both have the same memory and storage, ensuring ample space and efficient multitasking, but your preference for either longer unplugged usage and savings (Lenovo) or processing power and portability (Microsoft) should guide your choice. 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 7i Pro
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
- Excellent portability
- Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.7
7.2
14.0in
SIZE
13.5in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro has a high-resolution display that offers sharp and vivid visuals with good brightness levels, making it suitable for daily tasks and multimedia consumption. In the engineering and design realm, it comes with a wide color gamut, providing accurate color representation crucial for professionals who require precision in their work. However, for gaming and 3D tasks, its lower refresh rate holds it back, resulting in less fluid motion and responsiveness compared to laptops with higher refresh rates designed for those specific purposes.
Cost
$799
$1,200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro has a price of $799 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" costs $1,200.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.3
7.4
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
8.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro are both good for general use.
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
6.1
6.1
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro offers a fair gaming and 3D experience due to its Iris Xe integrated graphics and a higher screen refresh rate of 90Hz, which can result in smoother visuals during gameplay. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" also provides a fair performance with the same Iris Xe graphics but has a standard screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which is less optimal for fast-paced gaming and motion rendering in 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
7.0
7.1
5.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro are both good for engineering and design.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" both are well-suited for engineering and design due to their high-resolution screens and powerful CPUs coupled with substantial RAM, ensuring smooth multitasking and engineering applications performance. While the Lenovo provides a slightly larger and higher refresh rate screen beneficial for detailed design work, the Surface Laptop offers greater portability and a higher quality keyboard, making it a better choice for on-the-go productivity and comfortable typing during extended work sessions.
Content Creation
7.4
7.4
5.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro 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
7.3
7.2
5.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" 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
8.5 Hours
7.5 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro has 8.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has 7.5 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
Very Good
Excellent
14.0in
SIZE
13.5in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.5in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" to have excellent portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8
7.8
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro | Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$799 | $1,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | October 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.3'' x 8.7'' x 0.62'' | 12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.57'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.04 lbs | 2.86 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.29" | 12.1" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.74" | 8.8" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-11300H | Intel i7-1255U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8.5 Hours | 7.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 60.7 Wh | 47.4 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 13.5" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2880 x 1800 | 2256 x 1504 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 90Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 395 nits | 400 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.8/10 | 9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 8.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | October 2021
"The main selling point of the IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro versus a regular IdeaPad Slim 7 is its faster Core H-series CPU. In reality, the Core i7-11370H is only marginally faster than the U-series Core i7-1165G7 to the point where most users are not likely to notice the benefits. The slight performance uptick comes at the cost of slightly higher power consumption as well meaning owners will have to deal with potentially warmer temperatures or louder fans to compensate. Unless if you happen to be a power user, then the regular non-Pro model will be more than enough. Once you go 90 Hz, you can't go back."
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
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Dig into reviews and images
CNET
Lori Grunin | October 2022
"The Surface Laptop 5 remains afloat as a solid machine. It's just not one that stands out in any particular way. Just like the last one. The biggest upgrade were some new components, but they perform in the same range as other laptops with them, and frequently at the bottom of that range. I suspect Microsoft's settings are very conservative to help keep cooling and battery life within reason in the older chassis design."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
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 Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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