For a balance of performance and portability with a touch of luxury, the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is an excellent choice. It offers a high-resolution Mini LED display with touchscreen capabilities, a capable Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, and a premium build quality, making it suitable for general use, light gaming, and creative work. Its compact size and lightweight design enhance its portability, while the backlit keyboard and number pad cater to productivity. However, if your primary focus is on intensive tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, or high-end gaming, the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio, despite its higher price, delivers superior performance with its top-tier Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU. It also boasts a larger, high-resolution display, which is ideal for detailed visual work, and offers robust build quality and an excellent thermal management system to support its powerful components. The MSI's larger form factor and weight are the trade-offs for its exceptional performance capabilities. 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 Slim Pro 9i
Very good overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio
Best in class for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Excellent for content creation
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.6/10
8.9/10
6.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is good.
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
8.9/10
9.5/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
6.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is best in class for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very 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
8.5/10
9.1/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is excellent for content creation, while the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very 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
8.9/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio and Lenovo Slim Pro 9i are both very good for software development, though the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is somewhat better.
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
9.6/10
9.7/10
14.5in
SIZE
16.0in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
618.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has a better screen than the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio for gaming and AI, while the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has a better screen for engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
6.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has 9 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
8.0/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has very good build quality, while the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,500
$2,999
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has a price of $1,500 and the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio costs $2,999.
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio and Lenovo Slim Pro 9i are both very good for general use.
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.
Portability
Good
Good
14.5in
SIZE
16.0in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.3 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i and MSI Creator 16 AI Studio both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i and the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is an impressive laptop with a brilliant Mini-LED display, a powerful 100-watt version of Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, and excellent connectivity. Having run the Cinebench benchmark again, we were impressed with the CPU performance. That makes the Slim Pro 9i is an easy recommendation, especially for those who care about GPU and CPU performance. It’s also a fantastic choice if you frequently view HDR movies and games on your laptop."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i or the MSI Creator 16 AI 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 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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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.