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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is more expensive but offers a Mini LED touchscreen with higher resolution and significantly better color coverage, making it well-suited for creative and engineering tasks where screen quality is important. It also has a more powerful processor, more RAM, and a premium business laptop appearance. The MSI GF65 Thin, while less expensive and better suited for gaming with hardware ray tracing and DLSS, has a lower capacity battery and less impressive screen. Consider the Lenovo if you prioritize performance for intensive tasks and display quality, and the MSI if you prefer a more budget-friendly gaming laptop. 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 for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good 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
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
- The MSI GF65 Thin has no clear advantages over the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i.
Key differences
General Use
8.5
6.5
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
618.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i delivers a more robust general-use experience with a higher quality screen, better battery life, and superior portability, making it especially suitable for those needing performance and mobility without frequent charging.
Gaming and AI
7.6
6.8
6.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is better suited for gaming and 3D applications due to its superior GPU and higher screen refresh rate, compared to the MSI GF65 Thin which has a respectable GPU for gaming but a lower refresh rate, making the Lenovo a stronger performer for highly dynamic visuals and faster-paced games. The MSI GF65 Thin, while capable, may not provide as smooth an experience due to its lower refresh rate and slightly older GPU, impacting its ability to render intensive graphics quickly.
Engineering and Design
8.9
6.7
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
6.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i excels in engineering and design due to its superior screen quality with high Adobe RGB color space coverage, along with robust CPU and GPU, making it ideal for detailed and color-sensitive work. While the MSI GF65 Thin also supports engineering tasks with capable CPU and GPU, its lower screen quality and higher operating noise level may be less preferable for long design sessions.
Content Creation
8.5
6.8
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.3
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is very good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.8
14.5in
SIZE
15.6in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
618.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i excels in screen quality for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution display, superior brightness, and wide color gamut coverage, critical for sharp text, vivid images, and accurate color work. However, it falls short for gaming and 3D because it lacks a high refresh rate, which is crucial for smooth motion and gameplay. In contrast, the MSI GF65 Thin, with only a fair screen quality for general use and engineering, offers mediocre resolution and brightness, as well as limited color gamut coverage, but still underperforms for gaming and 3D due to a similarly inadequate refresh rate.
Battery
6.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin 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.
Build Quality
8.0
6.7
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has very good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,600
$1,100
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has a price of $1,600 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
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Key similarities
Portability
Good
Good
14.5in
SIZE
15.6in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i and MSI GF65 Thin both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo Slim Pro 9i | MSI GF65 Thin |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,600 | $1,100 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2023 | January 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.9'' x 9.6'' x 0.85'' | 14.1'' x 10'' x 0.85'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.7 lbs | 4.1 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.9" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.64" | 9.99" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-13705H | Intel i5-10500H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 4.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 75 Wh | 51 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14.5" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | Mini LED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3072 x 1920 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 165Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 618 nits | 262 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.7/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | August 2023
"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."
MSI GF65 Thin
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2021
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i or the MSI GF65 Thin
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.
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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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