A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·
For a balance of performance and value, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is a strong contender, offering a robust AMD Ryzen 7 processor and Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics within a more affordable price bracket. It's well-suited for general use, gaming, and engineering tasks, with a high-resolution 16:10 display that's great for productivity. However, its battery life is modest, and it's less portable than some other options. On the other hand, the MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse designed for the most demanding users, featuring a top-tier Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics. It boasts an exceptional Mini LED display with touchscreen capabilities and a high refresh rate, making it ideal for professionals and gamers who require the best visual experience and performance. Its superior build quality and extensive connectivity options, including Thunderbolt ports, cater to a premium user experience. However, this performance comes at a higher price and with a significant impact on portability due to its weight and size. Additionally, its battery life is shorter than average, making it less suitable for on-the-go use. In summary, if you prioritize top-of-the-line performance and display quality for intensive tasks and are less concerned with portability and price, the MSI Raider 18 HX is the way to go. Conversely, if you're looking for a versatile laptop that offers excellent performance for most tasks without breaking the bank, and you can compromise on battery life and portability, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is the better 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 Legion Pro 5
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Raider 18 HX
- Very good for general use
- Best in class for engineering and design
- Excellent for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Excellent for content creation
- Excellent overall display quality
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
7.8
8.8
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
340.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is good.
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
8.4
9.0
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is very good.
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
8.5
9.6
9.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is very good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.8
9.1
9.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is good.
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
7.6
8.8
9.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
8.0
9.4
16.0in
SIZE
18.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
340.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
3.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 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
Fair
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
18.0in
5.6 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has only fair portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,170
$3,999
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has a price of $1,170 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Laptop
Find your new laptop
Key similarities
Build Quality
7.4
7.4
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 and MSI Raider 18 HX both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 and the MSI Raider 18 HX compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 | MSI Raider 18 HX |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,170 | $3,999 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2023 | March 1, 2024 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10.3'' x 0.97'' | 15.9'' x 12.1'' x 1.26'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.6 lbs | 7.94 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.31" | 15.91" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.25" | 12.09" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX | Intel i9-14900HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 4 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 3.5 Hours | 9 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 18" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | Mini LED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | 3840 x 2400 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 165Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 340 nits | 1000 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.6/10 | 5.1/10 | |
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 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 4 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Lenovo Legion Pro 5
See more
Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | July 2023
"It doesn't quite match its Legion Pro 7i sibling as an Editors' Choice winner, but Lenovo's AMD-powered Legion Pro 5 Gen 8 is a stylish, well-built gaming laptop with solid performance at both 1080p and its sharper native resolution. It's cheaper than some comparably equipped machines and better than some similarly priced ones. That's a recipe for success, even without its frequent availability of discounts or sales. A brighter screen and longer battery life would be nice, but even as is the Legion Pro 5 earns a solid recommendation."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 or the MSI Raider 18 HX
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.
Give feedback
We're constantly perfecting our model
Laptop guides you might be interested in
More comparisons for you
FAQs
FAQs about laptops
Why trust us
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
97,095
Recommendations made
21,038
Consumer hours saved
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.
Featured in
