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Updated January 12, 2024·
Choosing between the Lenovo Legion 5 17" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio will depend on your priorities. The Lenovo Legion 5, being lower in price, offers solid performance with a large screen, making it suitable for gaming and general productivity, but it's heavier, which reduces portability. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is more expensive and has a smaller but higher-resolution screen. It includes a flexible hinge that allows it to be used as a laptop or tablet, offering versatility especially for creative tasks or presentations. The Surface Laptop Studio is lighter and more portable, making it a better choice for on-the-go use, despite having slightly less raw performance than the Lenovo Legion 5. 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
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Good portability
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.4
6.6
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is equipped with a Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card and has a screen refresh rate of 144Hz, both of which are more favorable for gaming and 3D applications than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio's Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics card and 120Hz screen refresh rate.
Screen Quality
7.3
8.0
17.3in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
305.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" provides a balance of resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks and engineering, but its lower refresh rate can diminish the experience in gaming where smooth motion is key. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, with its high-resolution display, excels in color accuracy for detailed design work but, like the Lenovo, falls short on refresh rate for 3D gaming. Both laptops offer quality screens for general use and creative tasks, but their limited refresh rates are less ideal for fast-paced gaming or animation work.
Battery
4.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 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
Poor
Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.4in
6.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
8.5
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,200
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a price of $1,200 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.2
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
305.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a strong CPU and ample RAM which makes it good for various tasks, while its large screen with decent quality and high refresh rate benefits general and entertainment use, but it's heavier and bulkier impacting portability and has lower battery life. Conversely, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio with a similar CPU and RAM also handles general use well, has a high-resolution touchscreen with greater color accuracy and brightness, making it excellent for media consumption, and it's lighter and more portable with superior battery life at the expense of a smaller screen size.
Engineering and Design
7.6
7.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for engineering and design.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is geared towards engineering and design with its potent Intel i7 processor, ample RAM, robust Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, and a large screen with high refresh rate, which makes it ideal for demanding tasks though heavy and less portable.
Content Creation
7.2
7.4
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo Legion 5 17" 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
7.0
7.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Lenovo Legion 5 17" 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.
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How the Lenovo Legion 5 17" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 17" | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,200 | $1,700 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | September 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.4'' x 1'' | 12.7'' x 9'' x 0.75'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.57 lbs | 4 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.7" | 12.72" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.41" | 8.98" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-11800H | Intel i7-11370H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 4.5 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 58 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 14.4" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2400 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 305 nits | 491 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.8/10 | 7.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.5/10 | 6.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 4 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
Shopping
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 Studio
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Tom Brant | October 2021
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 17" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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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