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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated March 22, 2024·
When considering the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 or the MSI Creator M14, keep in mind the ThinkPad typically focuses on durability and business features, making it a reliable choice for work and travel, usually with longer battery life, but less suited for heavy graphics tasks. The MSI Creator, on the other hand, is designed for creative professionals and likely offers superior display and graphics performance, making it ideal for video editing, 3D rendering, or gaming, but it may be bulkier and have shorter battery life. If budget is a concern and your work is mainly office-oriented, the Lenovo might be the better option, whereas if your work demands high-end graphics capabilities and you're less concerned about portability and battery, the MSI might be the better investment. 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 X13
- Very good for software development
- Very good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
- Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Creator M14
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7
7.3
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.7/10
The MSI Creator M14 is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 is only fair.
The MSI Creator M14 comes with a more powerful GPU and higher screen refresh rate, making it better suited for gaming and 3D applications, providing smoother visuals and improved graphics performance. While the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has a respectable CPU and screen quality for general use, it falls behind the MSI in terms of the GPU and refresh rate, which are critical for gaming and 3D tasks.
Screen Quality
6.9
7.5
13.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
321.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has a better screen than the MSI Creator M14 for software development, while the MSI Creator M14 has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 and MSI Creator M14 have panels with resolutions and brightness levels well-suited for sharp text and clear visuals in everyday tasks, and accurate color reproduction beneficial for engineering and design work. However, their standard refresh rates, which don't support the higher frames per second demanded by games and 3D applications, lead to a suboptimal experience for those uses. For engineering and design, both laptops offer color gamuts that cater to professional creative work, ensuring precise color accuracy, though this does not compensate for the gaming and 3D limitations.
Battery
8.5 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has 8.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator M14 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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
13.3in
SIZE
14.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has very good portability, while the MSI Creator M14 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5
7.8
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has very good build quality, while the MSI Creator M14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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Key similarities
General Use
8.4
8.0
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
321.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
8.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 and MSI Creator M14 are both very good for general use.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13, with its robust CPU and ample RAM, delivers snappy performance for everyday tasks and has a high-quality screen, while being lightweight and offering long battery life, ideal for users needing a balance between portability and power. The MSI Creator M14, on the other hand, also provides excellent CPU and RAM for general use, with a focus on strong screen quality for those who value visual fidelity, but it may be slightly less portable and have a shorter battery life, trading off some convenience for creative-oriented features.
Engineering and Design
8.0
8.4
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Creator M14 and Lenovo ThinkPad X13 are both very good for engineering and design.
The MSI Creator M14 typically offers a more powerful CPU and GPU combination than the Lenovo ThinkPad X13, which is critical for demanding engineering and design tasks requiring significant processing and graphics handling capabilities. While the ThinkPad X13 is known for its portability and robust keyboard, the Creator M14 prioritizes screen quality, which is essential for detailed visual work, although it may come at the cost of being slightly less portable and potentially louder under heavy workloads.
Content Creation
8.2
8.0
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 and MSI Creator M14 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.
Software Development
8.1
7.8
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkPad X13 to be very good for software development, while the MSI Creator M14 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.
Cost
$1,459
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 has a price of $1,459 and the MSI Creator M14 costs $1,500.
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How the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 and the MSI Creator M14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 | MSI Creator M14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,459 | $1,500 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | September 1, 2023 | March 1, 2024 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 11.9'' x 8.5'' x 0.63'' | 12.4'' x 9.2'' x 0.88'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.87 lbs | 3.53 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 11.88" | 12.39" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.46" | 9.19" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Intel i7-13620H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8.5 Hours | 4.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 41 Wh | 53.5 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 13.3" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 2880 x 1800 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 321 nits | 350 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 7.8/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 7.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1440p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Lenovo ThinkPad X13
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Benjamin Herzig | September 2023
"The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 G4 has very good input devices, a wide array of security features and ports as well as 5G in the tested configuration. It is more compact and lightweight compared with its predecessor, and it has improved speakers and a slightly better webcam. On the other hand, the fan is more annoying and the performance is barely improved. The battery is worse as well, but this is primarily attributable to the OLED screen - if this aspect is important, buyers should choose the IPS Low Power LCD."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 or the MSI Creator M14
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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