The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and MSI Katana 15 are both good for software development, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
6.8/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
471.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen than the MSI Katana 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
7.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 15 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
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" has good portability, while the MSI Katana 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,350
$1,249
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" has a price of $1,350 and the MSI Katana 15 costs $1,249.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" to be very good for general use, while the MSI Katana 15 is good.
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.
Gaming and AI
7.8/10
8.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Katana 15 to be very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.3/10
8.2/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and MSI Katana 15 are both very good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.1/10
7.7/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" to be very good for content creation, while the MSI Katana 15 is good.
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.
Build Quality
7.6/10
7.2/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and MSI Katana 15 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and the MSI Katana 15 compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
"The MSI Katana 15 B12 combines a Gen12 CPU with an RTX 4050, which is actually not a bad idea for a budget gamer. The CPU is anything but bad and the GPU in the Katana 15 proves to be significantly more efficient than last year's models. However, our main point of criticism for budget gamers is the price: while you can get budget laptops with RTX 3060 from around US$800, you pay a whole US$1,499.99 here! The efficiency advantages of the RTX 4050 do not justify this price premium."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" or the MSI Katana 15
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.