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Updated January 10, 2024·
If portability and longer battery life are your top priorities, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is the way to go, thanks to its larger battery and slightly lighter frame. The Legion also provides a larger screen, which, although reduces its portability, may be more enjoyable for immersive gaming and multitasking. Conversely, the MSI GP66 Leopard, while heavier and with a smaller display, packs a more powerful GPU, making it a better choice for high-end gaming and demanding applications like 3D rendering and machine learning tasks. Additionally, the Leopard offers double the storage capacity of the Legion 5. Both laptops have similar CPUs, RAM, and display quality, so for general use, either would serve well, but the MSI might offer slightly better performance at a higher price point. 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"
- The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has no clear advantages over the MSI GP66 Leopard.
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
- Very good overall build quality
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.3
7.5
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
305.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The MSI GP66 Leopard has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for general use, gaming and AI, and software development.
If you prioritize a clear and sharp image for your everyday tasks, both the Lenovo Legion 5 and MSI GP66 Leopard offer high resolution and brightness, which benefits general use. For engineering and design work, where accurate color representation is key, these laptops provide wide color gamuts to meet professional standards. However, for gaming and 3D applications that demand smooth motion, the lower refresh rates on these models may not deliver the fluid visuals you're looking for.
Portability
Poor
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
6.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
8.0
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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
$1,400
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a price of $1,200 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.2
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
305.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is preferred for general use due to its larger 17.3-inch screen, which offers better visibility and a full keyboard with a numpad, making it suitable for multitasking and productivity, but it is less portable and has shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.4
7.8
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, making it a suitable choice for gamers and those working with 3D applications who prefer a larger screen. In contrast, the MSI GP66 Leopard's superior Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU and the same 144 Hz refresh rate offer enhanced graphics performance for more demanding gaming and 3D tasks, although it features a slightly smaller screen.
Engineering and Design
7.6
7.9
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for engineering and design.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is well-suited for engineering and design due to its robust CPU (Intel i7-11800H), ample RAM (16GB), competent GPU (Nvidia RTX 3060), and sizeable, high-quality IPS screen. The MSI GP66 Leopard also excels in these applications with the same powerful CPU, equivalent RAM, higher-tier GPU (Nvidia RTX 3080), and slightly smaller but brighter IPS display; however, the Leopard is more portable and quieter, which may be a consideration for users frequently on the move or in noise-sensitive environments.
Content Creation
7.2
7.4
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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
7.2
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Battery
4.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 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.
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How the Lenovo Legion 5 17" and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 17" | MSI GP66 Leopard |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,200 | $1,400 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | May 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.4'' x 1'' | 14.1'' x 10.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.57 lbs | 5.25 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.7" | 14.09" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.41" | 10.51" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-11800H | Intel i7-11800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 4.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 65 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 305 nits | 362 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.8/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.5/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
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 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Lenovo Legion 5 17"
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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."
MSI GP66 Leopard
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | December 2021
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 17" or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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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