The Lenovo Legion 7i Pro is a high-performance laptop with a powerful processor, advanced graphics, ample storage and memory, and can handle intensive gaming and engineering tasks. However, it is more expensive, heavier, and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is more affordable, lighter, and offers longer battery life, making it ideal for general use and portability, but it has less power, storage, and memory, which limits its ability for demanding 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 Pro 7i
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
469.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 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
9.1/10
6.1/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i boasts a high-end Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card and a high 240Hz screen refresh rate, which together deliver smooth and detailed gaming and 3D experiences. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 houses a modest Intel Iris Xe GPU and its screen refreshes at a standard 60Hz, limiting its gaming and 3D capabilities to a more basic level.
Engineering and Design
9.3/10
6.8/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is excellent for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, with a high-performance CPU and GPU, ample RAM, and a superior screen quality ideal for engineering and design tasks, surpasses the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 which, while offering good portability and build quality, is equipped with a less powerful CPU and GPU, and less RAM, resulting in a fair performance for such demanding activities.
Content Creation
8.5/10
7.3/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 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
8.2/10
7.1/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is very good for software development, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 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
8.7/10
6.8/10
16.0in
SIZE
12.4in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
469.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i's display offers vibrant colors, sharp images, and enough brightness to handle various lighting conditions, which enhances everyday tasks like browsing and watching videos. In engineering and design, the same display benefits from a wide range of colors, essential for accuracy in work that requires precise color representation. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the Legion's lower refresh rate may result in less fluid motion, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3, although still offering a clear and bright display for general and design tasks, falls short for gaming due to a similar limitation.
Battery
5.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has 5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 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
Fair
Excellent
16.0in
SIZE
12.4in
6.1 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.8/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has very good build quality, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,000
$797
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has a price of $2,000 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 costs $797.
"Passionate gamers who want to play demanding modern titles with maximum details and don't mind spending the moolah will find the Lenovo Legion 7 Pro to be the right choice. The bright, sharp, and color-accurate 16:10 QHD 240 Hz display makes for an immersive viewing experience. The hardware is housed in a stylish chassis that feels premium and scores well in terms of workmanship and stability. Other aspects such as sound quality, input devices, and connectivity also seem to be near-perfect."
"When it comes to affordably priced laptops, the numbers after the dollar sign are crucially important—more so than in any other price category. By increasing the starting price of its Laptop Go line by $200 and not changing much else, Microsoft irrevocably altered the calculus surrounding the decision of whether to buy the Surface Laptop Go 3. Sure, it has a newer processor and longer battery life, but don’t think for a second you’re not paying dearly for that extra RAM and SSD capacity at that new price."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
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.
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.
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