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Legion 5 17"
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Surface Laptop 5 13"
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What we think

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Updated January 12, 2024·

For gaming, 3D, or machine learning tasks, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is a better choice as it comes with a more powerful dedicated graphics card and a larger screen for immersion. However, it is also heavier and bulkier, making it less convenient to carry around. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" is more portable, with a higher resolution screen that makes it ideal for general use and perfect for those who appreciate sharp visuals and a compact form. It has a longer battery life, but its integrated graphics are not as suitable for demanding tasks as the Lenovo. If you need a laptop for on-the-go use with good battery and a sharp display for everyday tasks, opt for the Surface Laptop. Choose the Lenovo if you require a laptop primarily for performance-intensive tasks and can manage with less portability. 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 Legion 5 17"
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
  • Excellent portability
  • Good battery life
  • Very good speakers

Key differences

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Gaming and AI

7.4
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
6.1
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" is only fair.

Engineering and Design

7.6
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.1
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" are both good for engineering and design, though the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is somewhat better.

Screen Quality

7.3
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.2
17.3in
SIZE
13.5in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
305.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has a better screen for software development.

Battery

4.5 Hours
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.5 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has 7.5 hours of battery life.

Portability

Poor
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
Excellent
17.3in
SIZE
13.5in
6.5 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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Key similarities

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General Use

7.2
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
305.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.

Content Creation

7.2
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.4
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for content creation.

Software Development

7.0
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.2
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for software development.

Build Quality

7.4
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
7.8
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" and Lenovo Legion 5 17" both have good build quality.

Cost

$1,200
Legion 5 17"
Surface Laptop 5 13"
$1,200
Product imageProduct image

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

$1,800

The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a price of $1,200 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" costs $1,200.

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How the Lenovo Legion 5 17" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13" compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Lenovo Legion 5 17"Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"
Lenovo Legion 5 17"Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13"

GENERAL

Price
$1,200
$1,200
Release Date
October 1, 2021October 1, 2022
Overall Dimensions
15.7'' x 11.4'' x 1''12.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.57''
Weight
6.57 lbs2.86 lbs
Width
15.7"12.1"
Depth
11.41"8.8"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i7-11800HIntel i7-1255U
RAM
16 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
45
RAM Slots
20
Storage
256 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
4.5 Hours7.5 Hours
Battery Capacity
80 Wh47.4 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
17.3"13.5"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10802256 x 1504
Refresh Rate
144Hz60Hz
Display Brightness
305 nits400 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.4/107.8/10
Portability Score
5.8/109/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
6.5/107.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
8.5/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
7/108.8/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
41
USB-C ports
21
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
31
Thunderbolt Version
44

Shopping

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Lenovo Legion 5 17"

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Sebastian Bade | February 2022
"The Lenovo Legion 5 17 is a current-gen 17-inch gaming laptop and equipped with the latest AMD CPU and a powerful GPU, that manages to reach its full potential. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very good choice for this laptop and able to maintain its performance level for long periods of time. Our test model only falls behind consistently in a direct comparison with its competitors that are often equipped with eight cores and 16 threads. Despite this, the Legion 5 17 leaves an excellent impression and is almost able to keep up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks."

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 Legion 5 17" 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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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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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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