The Lenovo Legion 5 15" usually comes at a lower price than the MSI Creator Z16P, making it more budget-friendly. The Lenovo comes with an AMD processor and an Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card, delivering solid performance for general use and gaming. Its keystrokes are rated higher in comfort, and the build quality is commendable, which may suit you if you prioritize typing experience and durability.
The MSI Creator Z16P, despite being pricier, offers a more premium experience with an Intel i9 processor and an Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which can be more suitable for demanding 3D tasks, machine learning, or video editing. The MSI laptop has a sharper, larger screen ratio which could be better for productivity tasks, with an RGB keyboard that may appeal to those who value aesthetics. It's also slightly lighter, which helps with portability.
If long battery life and a higher refresh rate screen are key for you, the MSI Creator Z16P excels, whereas the Lenovo Legion 5 is more cost-effective and still provides good performance for a variety of tasks. 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 15"
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has no clear advantages over the MSI Creator Z16P.
Advantages of the MSI Creator Z16P
Very good overall build quality
Good portability
Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.0/10
8.3/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
350.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
394.0 nits
The MSI Creator Z16P has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you prioritize a high-quality display for everyday tasks like browsing and watching videos, both the Lenovo Legion 5 and MSI Creator Z16P offer sharp resolution and bright screens, making them solid choices. For engineering and design work, the MSI stands out due to its wider color gamut, providing more accurate colors which is essential for professionals in those fields. However, for gaming and 3D applications where motion clarity is key, both laptops have screens with lower refresh rates, leading to less smooth visuals compared to models designed specifically for those purposes.
Cost
$999
$1,300
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has a price of $999 and the MSI Creator Z16P costs $1,300.
The MSI Creator Z16P and Lenovo Legion 5 15" are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Legion 5 has substantial processing power and a high-quality display, making it suitable for everyday tasks, but its portability and battery life are limited, impacting its versatility for on-the-go use. Conversely, the MSI Creator Z16P also boasts a powerful CPU and excellent screen quality, coupled with a better battery life and more flexibility for mobile use, despite some concerns over heat management.
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
7.6/10
9.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.7/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and MSI Creator Z16P are both good for gaming and AI.
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
8.2/10
8.3/10
8.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
9.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Creator Z16P and Lenovo Legion 5 15" are both very good for engineering and design.
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and MSI Creator Z16P are excellent for engineering and design because they both offer robust CPUs, plenty of RAM, and high-quality GPUs, essential for demanding software typical in these fields. The Legion has a high-refresh-rate screen and a potent GPU, while the Creator Z16P boasts a larger, higher resolution touch-sensitive display, catering to detailed visual work and providing a more interactive experience.
Content Creation
7.4/10
7.9/10
8.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Creator Z16P and Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
7.3/10
7.6/10
8.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Creator Z16P and Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
4.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has 4 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator Z16P 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.
Portability
Fair
Good
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
5.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.7in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Creator Z16P to have good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Creator Z16P to have very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" has 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 5 15" and the MSI Creator Z16P compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion 5 15 is an affordable gaming laptop with a lot of power. The new AMD processor Ryzen 7 5800H offers plenty of performance and it is also very efficient. The combination with the fast 130W version of the GeForce RTX 3060 ensures high gaming performance. We also like the fast 165 Hz display with the 1080p resolution. The automatic graphics switching causes some problems with stutters, which are very annoying. If you do not need long battery runtimes, you should definitely deactivate the hybrid graphics mode in Lenovo's Vantage app. The Legion 5 15 is never silent."
"There's almost nothing left to be desired with the MSI Z16P. The creator laptop offers enormous performance resources for image editing, video editing, rendering, and more. All this is presented on a precalibrated, adequately sized, and high-resolution display. Its color space, refresh rate, and panel technology are also perfectly suited for a device that specializes in video reproduction and editing."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 15" or the MSI Creator Z16P
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.
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
131,595
Recommendations made
28,513
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.