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ThinkPad Z16
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GF65 Thin
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is a premium laptop that's significantly more expensive than the MSI GF65 Thin, which is more affordable. The Lenovo is well-suited for business use, with a high-quality keyboard and touchscreen, while the MSI targets gamers with its hardware ray tracing and DLSS capabilities. Both feature backlit keyboards, but if portability and battery life are critical, the Lenovo outperforms the MSI. Consider the Lenovo if performance and display quality for engineering tasks is a priority and cost is less of a concern; otherwise, the MSI offers solid gaming specs at a lower price point. 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 Z16
  • Very good for general use
  • Very good for engineering and design
  • Very good for software development
  • Very good for content creation
  • Very good overall display quality
  • Very good overall build quality
  • Good battery life
  • Best in class speakers
  • Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
  • The MSI GF65 Thin has no clear advantages over the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16.

Key differences

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General Use

8.6
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.5
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
393.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.

Engineering and Design

8.4
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.7
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
4.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.

Content Creation

8.5
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.

Software Development

8.2
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.

Screen Quality

8.5
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.8
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
393.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.

Battery

7.0 Hours
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
4.5 Hours
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 hours of battery life.

Build Quality

8.0
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.7
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has very good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
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Key similarities

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Gaming and AI

6.7
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
6.8
4.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GF65 Thin and Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 are both only fair for gaming and AI.

Portability

Good
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.2 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and MSI GF65 Thin both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Cost

$1,120
ThinkPad Z16
GF65 Thin
$1,100
Product imageProduct image

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

$1,800

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a price of $1,120 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.

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How the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Lenovo ThinkPad Z16MSI GF65 Thin
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16MSI GF65 Thin

GENERAL

Price
$1,120
$1,100
Release Date
May 1, 2023January 1, 2021
Overall Dimensions
14'' x 9.4'' x 0.62''14.1'' x 10'' x 0.85''
Weight
4.27 lbs4.1 lbs
Width
13.95"14.13"
Depth
9.35"9.99"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 6850HIntel i5-10500H
RAM
32 GB8 GB
DDR Memory Version
54
RAM Slots
02
Storage
2048 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
7 Hours4.5 Hours
Battery Capacity
72 Wh51 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16"15.6"
Display Technology
OLEDIPS
Resolution
3840 x 24001920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
60Hz144Hz
Display Brightness
393 nits262 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
8/106.8/10
Portability Score
7.9/107.4/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
YesNo
Fan Noise Score
8/106.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
9/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
9.6/106.8/10
Webcam
1080p720p
Fingerprint Reader
YesNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
NoNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
02
USB-C ports
32
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
31
Thunderbolt Ports
00

Shopping

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Lenovo ThinkPad Z16

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Dig into reviews and images

PCWorld

Matthew S. Smith | September 2022
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."

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 ThinkPad Z16 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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

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