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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) vs Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Jan 12, 2024 04:04 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Jul 23, 2024 12:35 PM
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Amazon.com
Size15"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Size15.6"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VGZ-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VFL-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V4G-0001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VGZ-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VFL-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU00C1US) (Abyss Blue - IPS/Ryzen 5 5500U/12GB/512GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU00YTUS) (Abyss Blue - IPS/Ryzen 5 5500U/8GB/256GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU003NUS) (Abyss Blue - TN/Ryzen 5 5500U/8GB/256GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU00AAUS) (Arctic Gray - TN/Ryzen 5 5500/8GB/256GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU000NUS) (Sand - IPS/Ryzen 3 5300U/4GB/512GB)
- Ideapad 3 15 (82KU00YQUS) (Sand - IPS/Ryzen 3 5300U/8GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021)
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) are both thin and light Windows laptops. The Surface Laptop 3 provides a better user experience for the most part because it has a sharper, brighter, and more color-accurate display, its keyboard feels better to type on, and its touchpad is larger and more responsive. The Surface Laptop 3 also has a better webcam and microphone for video calls. However, the IdeaPad 3 has a wider port selection, longer battery life, and its AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs perform significantly better than the AMD Ryzen 3000 processors on the Surface Laptop 3.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
7.5
7.4
Battery
6.1
7.7
Touchpad
8.7
6.5
Build Quality
9.5
7.5
Ports
4.5
7.0
Portability
8.5
8.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
7.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
5.7
Hinge Photo
Range
140°
165°
Stability
Good
Decent
One Finger Lift
Yes
No
Portability
8.5
8.0
Dimensions Photo
Size
15"
15.6"
Thickness
0.6" (1.5 cm)
0.7" (1.9 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.0 cm)
14.1" (35.9 cm)
Depth
9.6" (24.4 cm)
9.3" (23.6 cm)
Volume
74.3 in³ (1,216.9 cm³)
98.2 in³ (1,609.8 cm³)
Weight
3.4 lbs (1.5 kg)
3.6 lbs (1.7 kg)
Charger Size
6.9 in³ (112.5 cm³)
10.3 in³ (168.8 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.9 lbs (0.4 kg)
Serviceability
4.3
7.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
4.5
7.5
RAM Slots
0
1
Storage Slots
1
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2496 x 1664
1920 x 1080
Aspect Ratio
3:2
16:9
Pixel Density
199 PPI
142 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
81%
85%
Refresh Rate
6.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
FreeSync
No
Contrast
7.7
7.3
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,589 : 1
1,325 : 1
Brightness
8.0
7.1
Maximum Brightness
401 cd/m²
308 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
3 cd/m²
Reflections
6.2
7.2
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Matte
Total Reflections
5.9%
5.14%
Indirect Reflections
0.572%
2.87%
Calculated Direct Reflections
5.33%
2.27%
Black Uniformity
7.5
6.7
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.022%
1.489%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.4
6.6
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
26°
23°
Color Washout From Right
29°
26°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
24°
44°
Color Shift From Right
31°
48°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
33°
25°
Brightness Loss From Right
31°
30°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
19°
24°
Gamma Shift From Right
28°
29°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.1
6.8
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
25°
Color Washout From Above
22°
28°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
24°
25°
Color Shift From Above
25°
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
28°
25°
Brightness Loss From Above
24°
30°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
22°
30°
Gamma Shift From Above
19°
33°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
7.0
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.53
1.9
Avg. Gamma
2.18
2.15
Avg. Color dE
0.72
5.09
Avg. Color Temperature
6,613 K
6,399.6 K
Color Gamut
8.3
3.9
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.6%
63.69%
sRGB uv
99.08%
51.87%
Adobe RGB xy
74.38%
43.39%
Adobe RGB uv
85.14%
44.88%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
74.16%
48.12%
DCI P3 uv
79.51%
41.7%
Rec. 2020 xy
53.22%
34.52%
Rec. 2020 uv
57.96%
30.38%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
8.1
7.4
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
7.0
Numpad
No
Yes
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
64 gf
72 gf
Actuation Force
38 gf
32 gf
Pre-Travel
0.92 mm
0.91 mm
Total Travel
1.42 mm
1.39 mm
Touchpad
8.7
6.5
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.0
6.5
Size
13.7 in² (88.6 cm²)
11.2 in² (72.2 cm²)
Material
Glass
Plastic
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
6.9
7.4
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
70 dB SPL
73 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.5 dB
5.4 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.4
0.4
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
250 Hz
261 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
14 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
3.2 dB
1.2 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
7.5
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
7.0
Resolution
720p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
Yes
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
4.5
7.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
1
2
USB-C Ports
1
1
Thunderbolt
No
No
USB-C Charging
Yes
No
USB-C Display Out
Yes
No
HDMI
No
1.4
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
SD UHS 1
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Surface Connect
No
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
AMD
AMD
Model
Ryzen 5 3580U
Ryzen 3 5300U
Core Count
4
4
Thread Count
8
8
GPU
Brand
AMD
AMD
Model
Radeon Vega 9 Graphics
Radeon RX Vega 6 (4000/5000)
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
8 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
2
Type
DDR4
DDR4
Speed
2,400 MHz
3,200 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
128 GB
512 GB
Usable Capacity
74 GB
455 GB
Drive 1
SK Hynix HFM128GDGTNG-87A0A
UMIS RPJTJ512MEE1OWX
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
4.9
6.9
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
478 points
1,070 points
CPU Multi-Thread
3,073 points
4,023 points
GPU Compute
11,953 points
10,857 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
6.9
7.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
945 points
1,121 points
Multi-Thread
3,905 points
5,113 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
4.4
4.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
9.4 min
7.6 min
GPU Render Time
11.2 min
12.0 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
3.9
3.8
Basemark Image
Overall Score
9,566
9,054
Storage Drive Performance
8.2
8.9
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
409.3 MB/s
686.2 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
1,156.1 MB/s
1,825.4 MB/s
Random Write Speed
49.9 MB/s
68.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
31.6 MB/s
45.7 MB/s
Battery
6.1
7.7
Capacity
46 Wh
45 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
6.6 hrs
9.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
5.8 hrs
7.9 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.7 hrs
1.6 hrs
Charge Time
2.3 hrs
1.9 hrs
Borderlands 3
1.4
1.6
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
9 fps
10 fps
1% Low
4 fps
6 fps
0.1% Low
2 fps
3 fps
1% Low Delta
140 ms
69 ms
0.1% Low Delta
334 ms
206 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
48 fps
25 fps
Civilization VI
3.7
3.9
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
19 fps
19 fps
1% Low
10 fps
13 fps
0.1% Low
6 fps
12 fps
1% Low Delta
50 ms
26 ms
0.1% Low Delta
117 ms
29 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
76 fps
78 fps
Avg. Turn Time
9.21 s
8.37 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
5.5
5.7
Avg. FPS
52 fps
53 fps
1% Low
26 fps
27 fps
0.1% Low
20 fps
22 fps
1% Low Delta
19 ms
18 ms
0.1% Low Delta
31 ms
26 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
99 fps
101 fps
Counter-Strike 2
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
1.9
2.2
Avg. FPS
12 fps
14 fps
1% Low
3 fps
4 fps
0.1% Low
1 fps
2 fps
1% Low Delta
313 ms
165 ms
0.1% Low Delta
928 ms
549 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
23 fps
23 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.3
7.8
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
32 °C (89 °F)
28 °C (83 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
45 °C (113 °F)
38 °C (100 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
46.0 dBA
48.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
6.3
9.8
Performance Over Time Graph
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
66 °C
67 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
10% loss
2% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
61 °C
53 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
12% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 10
Windows 11
Additional Software
Yes
Yes
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition
Fingerprint Sensor
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) vs Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021): Main Discussion
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