Choosing between the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i and the MSI GE66 Raider depends heavily on your priorities. If you're looking for a more affordable option with good performance for general use and some lighter engineering tasks, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is a smart pick. It also offers decent battery life and portability, which is great if you're often on the move. However, if you're involved in more demanding 3D work, machine learning, or gaming and are willing to invest in a higher cost, the MSI GE66 Raider brings more power and superior performance with its robust graphics card and processor. Its display also provides a sharper image, but as a tradeoff, you'll have less battery life and slightly less portability compared to the Lenovo. 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 Slim 5i
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has no clear advantages over the MSI GE66 Raider.
Advantages of the MSI GE66 Raider
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.0/10
8.6/10
8.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI GE66 Raider and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very good for gaming and AI, though the MSI GE66 Raider is somewhat better.
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
8.4/10
9.1/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI GE66 Raider is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is very good.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is regarded as very good for engineering due to its powerful i7 CPU, capable RTX 4060 GPU, and high-quality 16-inch screen, but the MSI GE66 Raider is considered excellent as it boasts an even more powerful i9 CPU, top-end RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and superior screen resolution, making it more suitable for demanding engineering tasks despite being slightly less portable.
Software Development
7.8/10
8.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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
8.0/10
8.2/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
343.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has a better screen than the MSI GE66 Raider for gaming and AI, while the MSI GE66 Raider has a better screen for general use, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i's panel type, resolution, and brightness provide clear and vibrant visuals that are easy on the eyes, making it very good for tasks like browsing and watching videos. In engineering and design, however, while its color accuracy meets the needs for precision work, it does not stand out as exceptional due to lesser coverage of professional color gamuts. Conversely, the MSI GE66 Raider excels in both general use and engineering/design applications with its superior color gamut coverage and also falls short for gaming and 3D because of its lower refresh rate, which is vital for smooth motion and rendering in fast-paced scenes.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The MSI GE66 Raider has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,055
$3,199
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has a price of $1,055 and the MSI GE66 Raider costs $3,199.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GE66 Raider to be very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is good.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, with commendable battery life and lightweight design, provides adequate performance for general use with a strong CPU, ample RAM, and quality screen, but the MSI GE66 Raider, featuring a superior CPU and double the RAM, offers a more vivid and detailed display which, along with its remarkable keyboard and robust heat management, makes it superior for general use, though it is slightly heavier and has lesser battery endurance.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GE66 Raider and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very 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.
Battery
7.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI GE66 Raider has 6 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
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
5.2 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI GE66 Raider and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i and the MSI GE66 Raider compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
"The MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i or the MSI GE66 Raider
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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