If you're after top-of-the-line performance for gaming or demanding tasks and don't mind a higher price and possibly shorter battery life, the Lenovo Legion 9i is well-suited for those needs. On the other hand, the MSI Thin GF63, while less powerful, will cost you less, offers better portability due to its lighter weight and generally longer battery life, making it a good fit for everyday use and casual gaming. Consider how you'll use the laptop and what's more important to you, performance or budget and mobility. 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
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Thin GF63
Good portability
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.4/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
682.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
3.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the MSI Thin GF63 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
9.2/10
6.9/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.6/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the MSI Thin GF63 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
9.6/10
7.5/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the MSI Thin GF63 is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i stands out for engineering and design thanks to its top-tier CPU and GPU, larger RAM, and superior Mini LED screen with higher resolution and color accuracy, making it excellent for intensive tasks and visualization. On the other hand, the MSI Thin GF63, while still capable with a solid CPU and GPU for lighter engineering work, offers half the RAM and a standard IPS screen with lower resolution and color space coverage, making it good but less suited for demanding design work.
Content Creation
8.7/10
7.4/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for content creation, while the MSI Thin GF63 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
8.3/10
7.2/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for software development, while the MSI Thin GF63 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
9.7/10
6.8/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
682.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the MSI Thin GF63 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the Lenovo Legion 9i's superior panel type, higher resolution, and greater brightness make it the better choice, offering a more vivid and clear display compared to the MSI Thin GF63 which has an adequate display but doesn't match the Lenovo's sharpness or brightness levels. When it comes to engineering and design, the Lenovo stands out with its wider color gamut, ensuring more accurate color representation needed for detailed design work, while the MSI offers decent color accuracy but may not meet professional standards. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the MSI Thin GF63, despite its lower overall quality, might still provide a satisfactory experience, whereas the Legion 9i, despite its high-quality display, falls short due to a lower refresh rate which is crucial for smooth motion rendering in fast-paced games and 3D environments.
Battery
3.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 hours of battery life. The MSI Thin GF63 has 4.5 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
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
5.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The MSI Thin GF63 has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality, while the MSI Thin GF63 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$3,420
$1,150
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a price of $3,420 and the MSI Thin GF63 costs $1,150.
"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."
"The MSI GF63 Thin 11SC can be an admirable value for gamers and power users on a minimal budget. For just $599 as reviewed in its base model, its Intel Core i5 H-class processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics perform much better than low-wattage CPUs and integrated graphics. That said, this is a light-class gaming laptop. Low scores in our demanding gaming benchmarks indicate using lower visual-quality settings will be required for playable performance."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 9i or the MSI Thin GF63
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.
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