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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" offers better performance, especially for gaming, 3D modeling, and engineering, but at a higher price and with less portability due to its larger size and lower battery life. The MSI Modern 14 is more budget-friendly, lighter, and has a longer battery life, making it suitable for general use and more portable, but performs less well in intensive tasks. The Lenovo's larger screen and higher refresh rate might benefit gaming and multimedia, while the MSI's more compact size may appeal to those who prioritize mobility and lower costs. 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 engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good overall display quality
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Modern 14
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.4
6.0
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.6
6.6
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good for engineering and design, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is highly suited for engineering and design thanks to its robust CPU, ample RAM, dedicated Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, and large high-quality screen, which facilitate intensive tasks and detailed visuals. In contrast, the MSI Modern 14, while more portable and with a similar amount of RAM, has a less powerful integrated GPU and smaller screen, making it less ideal for demanding engineering software and multitasking.
Screen Quality
7.3
6.4
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
305.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a better screen than the MSI Modern 14 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" offers a larger screen and higher resolution that benefits both general use and detailed engineering or design tasks, ensuring text and visuals are sharp and clear, while its suboptimal refresh rate lessens the experience for fast-paced gaming and 3D applications. The MSI Modern 14's smaller size and fair screen quality provide satisfactory visuals for everyday tasks and some design work, but the limited color gamut may not render colors as accurately as professional design software might require. Neither laptop has the high refresh rate needed for smooth rendering of 3D graphics, which could impact the gaming and animation experience.
Battery
4.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Modern 14 has 6 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
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
6.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Modern 14 has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,200
$748
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a price of $1,200 and the MSI Modern 14 costs $748.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.2
7.2
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
305.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The MSI Modern 14 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" 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.
Content Creation
7.2
7.2
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Modern 14 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
7.1
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Modern 14 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.
Build Quality
7.4
7.0
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and MSI Modern 14 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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How the Lenovo Legion 5 17" and the MSI Modern 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 17" | MSI Modern 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,200 | $748 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.4'' x 1'' | 12.7'' x 8.7'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.57 lbs | 3.08 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.7" | 12.68" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.41" | 8.74" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-11800H | AMD Ryzen 5 7530U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 4.5 Hours | 6 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 39 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 305 nits | 311 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 7/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.8/10 | 8.7/10 | |
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 | 8.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 7/10 | |
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 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
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."
MSI Modern 14
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Dig into reviews and images
Rtings
Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | October 2023
"The MSI Modern 14 is okay for school use. It's very compact, so it's easy to carry around. It has a sharp display, a spacious keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its Intel 13th Gen CPU and integrated graphics can handle general productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing; however, don't expect to do anything intensive like 3D modeling or physics simulations. Unfortunately, the battery lasts less than five hours of light use, and the display doesn't get bright enough to combat glare."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 17" or the MSI Modern 14
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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