Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3ivsMSI Katana 15

We compare these two popular phones to help you decide which one fits your needs and budget better.

Lenovo
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
IdeaPad Gaming 3i

Quick Stats

The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i delivers respectable performance, especially with CPU-intensive games running smoothly at high settings.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i's build quality is decent, offering a sturdy laptop despite some design flaws.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i's display offers a smooth gaming experience with high refresh rate and respectable resolution.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i offers high-end ports, great keyboard, and decent battery life as key features.
MSI
MSI Katana 15
Katana 15

Quick Stats

With tweaks, the MSI Katana 15's performance can reach smooth ultra settings, exceeding 100 FPS expectations easily.
The MSI Katana 15's impressive build quality is a major plus, earning a 7.5 out of 10 score overall.
The display of the MSI Katana 15 is decent but lacks sharpness and impressive picture quality overall.
The MSI Katana 15 features a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU and 16GB of RAM.
Key Differences

No significant specification differences found between these devices.

Rank
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
Winner
#420
MSI Katana 15
#424
Scores by Category
Rankings
Connectivity
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
#550
MSI Katana 15
#115
Winner
Display
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
#262
Winner
MSI Katana 15
#753
Performance
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
#474
MSI Katana 15
#65
Winner
Build
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
#714
Winner
MSI Katana 15
#782
Features
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
#548
Winner
MSI Katana 15
#798

Note: Lower rank number indicates a better position in category.

Specifications Comparison
Specification
Lenovo Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
MSI MSI Katana 15
up to 16GB
up to 64GB
up to 1000GB SSD
up to 16000GB SSD
Intel Core i7-12700H
Intel Core i9-13900H
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (Laptop, 85W)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop, 105W)
N/A
1x 2280 M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 + 1x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 See photo

Note: Highlighted specifications show differences between the two devices.

Pros and Cons

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i

Strengths

The laptop has a relatively cheap design, but Lenovo gives you maximum utility with the gaming 3i.
The keyboard is great and essential for a comfortable experience.
The display focuses on what gamers care about most, which is a high refresh rate (60Hz) and a respectable resolution (1920x1080).
The laptop's general performance and thermals are quite respectable.

Weaknesses

The design build is relatively cheap and finicky.
Color scaling on the display is very poor.
Battery life is pretty average.
The speakers are pretty underwhelming and sound flat.

MSI Katana 15

Strengths

I think it's decent gaming laptops fall into a category for me that I personally don't need too much
It can play the games I throw at it and it also leaves room for overclocking when performance is required
The overall build is nice and it doesn't scream 'I'm a gamer' but it does whisper it more than other laptops do
I think for the price that I purchased this at 1200 I'm getting your product that's equal in value
It has a nice build quality of 7.5 out of 10
The temperatures also stayed relatively low during a longer playing session
After tweaking some settings, updating all the drivers, and overclocking the RTX 4060 with MSI Afterburner, the laptop runs great

Weaknesses

I was underwhelmed by how low the frame rate was for some of these titles with a 4060 I was expecting at least 100 frames in all of these titles
The screen is the weakest link on the katana it feels dull and flat as sometimes it makes me wonder if my game is on Lower settings but no it was just tied to the resolution
I did not like having to tweak some settings, update drivers, and overclock the GPU to get acceptable performance
The laptop runs great now the games are running on ultra settings with above 100 FPS but this is after making changes
My biggest gripe with this laptop is the screen like I mentioned I think it's for me using screens with a higher resolution
I'm getting your product that's equal in value but at a higher price point than what I was expecting to pay
The 1080p screen feels dull and flat as sometimes it makes me wonder if my game is on Lower settings
Read Full Reviews

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i

The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i is an entry-level gaming laptop that aims to provide a comfortable gaming experience without breaking the bank. With a 12th generation i7 chip and up to 8GB RAM, it's capable of handling demanding games like Doom Eternal and Guild Wars 2 at high settings. However, compromises are made elsewhere, including poor color scaling and average battery life.

MSI Katana 15

The MSI Katana 15 offers impressive power in a compact package, but is its value as a gaming laptop worth the price? With an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, this device is designed to bridge the gap between console and PC gaming on-the-go. But does it deliver on performance and build quality, or are compromises made in the screen resolution? This review aims to answer these questions and provide a comprehensive assessment of the Katana 15's strengths and weaknesses.

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Read our detailed reviews to understand which device is better for your specific needs and budget.

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