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Legion 9i
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Surface Laptop Studio 2
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What we think

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Updated January 10, 2024·

The Lenovo Legion 9i provides exceptional gaming performance and a high refresh rate display, ideal for fast-paced games and engineering tasks; however, it is heavier, making it less portable. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 offers a touchscreen, higher portability and longer battery life, suitable for on-the-go use and sketching or note-taking directly on the screen, but it has lower performance compared to the Legion 9i. Both are high-end and similarly priced, so if gaming or intensive tasks are your priority, the Legion 9i is preferable, while for versatility and mobility, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 stands out. 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 9i
  • Best in class for engineering and design
  • Excellent for gaming and AI
  • Best in class overall display quality
  • Best in class speakers
  • Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
  • Good portability
  • Good battery life

Key differences

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Gaming and AI

9.2
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
7.7
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is good.

Engineering and Design

9.6
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.7
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good.

Screen Quality

9.7
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
7.9
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
682.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.

Battery

3.0 Hours
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has 8 hours of battery life.

Portability

Fair
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
5.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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Key similarities

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General Use

8.4
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.3
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
682.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
3.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 are both very good for general use.

Content Creation

8.7
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.4
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 are both very good for content creation.

Software Development

8.3
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.2
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 are both very good for software development.

Build Quality

8.5
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
8.5
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 both have very good build quality.

Cost

$3,420
Legion 9i
Surface Laptop Studio 2
$3,300
Product imageProduct image

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

The Lenovo Legion 9i has a price of $3,420 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 costs $3,300.

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How the Lenovo Legion 9i and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Lenovo Legion 9iMicrosoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Lenovo Legion 9iMicrosoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

GENERAL

Price
$3,420
$3,300
Release Date
October 1, 2023September 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
14.1'' x 10.9'' x 1.01''12.7'' x 9.1'' x 0.86''
Weight
5.64 lbs4.41 lbs
Width
14.08"12.72"
Depth
10.93"9.06"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i9-13980HXIntel i7-13700H
RAM
32 GB64 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
20
Storage
1024 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
3 Hours8 Hours
Battery Capacity
99.9 Wh58 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16"14.4"
Display Technology
Mini LEDIPS
Resolution
3200 x 20002400 x 1600
Refresh Rate
165Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
682 nits503 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
8.5/108.5/10
Portability Score
6.4/107.5/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
6.5/106.8/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
9/108/10
Speaker Quality Score
9.8/108/10
Webcam
1080p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
YesNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
20
USB-C ports
32
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
32
Thunderbolt Version
44

Shopping

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Lenovo Legion 9i

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Matthew Buzzi | December 2023
"The Lenovo Legion 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Andreas Osthoff | March 2022
"The new Surface Laptop Studio with its foldable display is supposed to replace the old Surface Book and the overall impression is good after our review. The build quality and the materials are top-notch, the performance utilization of the two components is solid and the device does not show any major flaws in terms of display or speakers, either. The folding mechanism leaves a sold impression as well, but it remains to be seen how it will hold up over the years. The so-called presentation mode is also not ideal since it covers the whole keyboard."

Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 9i or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

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.

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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.

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