The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga offers a more portable design and a higher screen resolution with touch capability, geared towards premium business use with high build quality. On the other hand, the MSI Pulse GL66 boasts a powerful processor and high-end graphics card ideal for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering tasks; however, it's heavier and has a bulkier gaming laptop appearance. If battery life and portability are crucial for you, prefer the Lenovo. If you need top performance for demanding applications and are okay with less portability, then the MSI is the better choice. 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 ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga
Good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Pulse GL66
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
7.2/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
2256 x 1504
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
9.1/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Pulse GL66 is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is only fair.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga, with its integrated Iris Xe graphics and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, provides fair performance for gaming and 3D tasks; conversely, the MSI Pulse GL66, equipped with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card and a higher 144Hz screen refresh rate, offers better gaming and 3D performance.
Engineering and Design
6.7/10
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Pulse GL66 is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is only fair.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has a high-resolution touchscreen ideal for design and a good CPU for engineering, plus its lightweight form enhances portability. In contrast, the MSI Pulse GL66 offers a more robust CPU and GPU combination for demanding engineering software and design rendering, at the cost of being heavier and less portable.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
6.8/10
13.5in
SIZE
15.6in
2256 x 1504
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
451.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has a better screen than the MSI Pulse GL66 for general use, engineering and design, and software development.
For general use, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga stands out with its higher resolution and brightness, making text sharp and the display easy to view in various lighting, while the MSI Pulse GL66 offers adequate quality without excelling in brightness or sharpness. In engineering and design, the ThinkPad's superior color gamut coverage ensures more accurate color reproduction which is critical for detail-oriented work, but the Pulse GL66's coverage is sufficient for non-professional tasks. For gaming and 3D applications, neither laptop excels because of their lower refresh rates, which can make fast-paced visuals less smooth compared to specialized gaming laptops.
Battery
8.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI Pulse GL66 has 4 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
Excellent
Good
13.5in
SIZE
15.6in
2.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has excellent portability, while the MSI Pulse GL66 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.0/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has very good build quality, while the MSI Pulse GL66 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$725
$1,399
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga has a price of $725 and the MSI Pulse GL66 costs $1,399.
The MSI Pulse GL66 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga are both 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.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.2/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2256 x 1504
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga and MSI Pulse GL66 are both 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.
Software Development
7.3/10
7.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2256 x 1504
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for software development.
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.
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How the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga and the MSI Pulse GL66 compare to other laptops
"The ThinkPad X1 Titanium is a showcase of what Lenovo thinks business computing will look like in the near future. People want thinner, lighter laptops with high-quality screens and enough computing power to get their work done. The X1 Titanium achieves these goals with some controversial but innovative design choices, including a redesigned keyboard and a pared-down port selection."
"The MSI Pulse GL66 has a lot of potential for improvement. Although the RTX 3060 is only able to use 105 watts, we still liked the gaming performance, particularly since this also makes the Pulse comfortably efficient but not slow by any means. Neither the dark display with its lame response times, nor USB 2.0 or the lack of Thunderbolt will please real gamers. The use of a sticker factory seal, which is at least questionable, also won't inspire any enthusiasm. It is obvious that the laptop is really designed for price-conscious gamers."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga or the MSI Pulse GL66
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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