The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a higher price but offers more storage, a more powerful processor and graphics card, and a bigger battery, making it better suited for demanding tasks like gaming or engineering. However, it's less portable compared to the lighter Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which has a touchscreen and can be more versatile for general use. Also, the Microsoft laptop costs a bit less but comes with less storage and a less powerful GPU, which may be sufficient if you're not focused on heavy-duty applications. 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 7 16"
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Very good overall build quality
Key differences
General Use
8.2/10
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
502.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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
8.2/10
6.6/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 excels in gaming and 3D tasks with its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate of 240Hz, which provides smoother visuals and better gameplay experience compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio's Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti and 120Hz refresh rate. While both have quality IPS displays, the Legion's GPU and refresh rate advantages make it very good for such demanding applications, whereas the Surface Laptop Studio's lower GPU capability and refresh rate classify it as fair.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
7.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.3/10
7.4/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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
8.0/10
7.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for software development, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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
8.0/10
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
502.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the sharp resolution and high brightness of both the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio make text and images clear and vibrant, which is key for activities like browsing and watching videos. In engineering and design, the wide color gamuts of these laptops ensure that colors are accurate and consistent, which is crucial for editing images or working with design software. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the lower refresh rates on these screens can lead to less smooth visuals and a less immersive experience, as these activities benefit from higher refresh rates to handle fast-moving content.
Battery
7.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 7 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,344
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" has a price of $1,344 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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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