The mid-range gaming laptop category offers a wide array of laptops, all trying to give you the best power and performance without putting too much of a dent in your wallet. There are often some trade-offs made to get there, which can make comparing them challenging, but that's why I'm here to help.
I recently reviewed the Acer Predator Triton Neo 16, a gaming and content-creator laptop that fits firmly in the mid-range gaming laptop arena, offering dependable performance, a bright and colorful display, and over 6 hours of battery life.
I also recently reviewed the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9, another solid contender in the mid-range gaming laptop arena, offering solid performance, a vivid display, and a satisfyingly clicky keyboard. If it wasn't for the Dell G16 (7630), the Legion 5i would likely be our favorite budget laptop pick for the best gaming laptops under $1500.
In a direct head-to-head, would you be better off going for the gaming creator hybrid Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 or the gamer's gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9?
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Pricing and configurations
Pricing for the Predator Triton Neo 16 starts at $1,449 for the base configuration. This model features an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of dedicated VRAM, 16GB of memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz IPS panel. Notably, you can also find this configuration available for just $1,149 at Amazon instead of the full $1,449 price tag on the Acer Store.
Upgrading that model to the RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB of dedicated VRAM will cost an additional $100 for a list price of $1,549. Our review model spec upgrades the CPU to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, the GPU to an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, and the RAM to 32GB. This model is available only from MicroCenter and has a list price of $1,599.
Lenovo lists the starting configuration for the Legion 5i Gen 9 at $1,524. That base model comes with an Intel Core i7-14650HX processor, Nvidia RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, a 16-inch 165Hz (2,560 x 1,600) IPS anti-glare display, and Windows 11 Home.
You can upgrade to an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and 1TB of SSD storage for $1,789.99 list price. Upgrading to an RTX 4070 with 32GB of RAM costs $2,199.99 list. Our Legion 5i review unit featured an upgraded Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, Nvidia RTX 4060, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD, which cost $2,044 according to its list price.
While the top-line Legion 5i is a bit more expensive than the Triton Neo 16, both laptops are often on sale. Additionally, Lenovo gives you more granular control of your spec choices so you can dial in your perfect configuration. And that's the kind of control gamers and content creators live for, which gives the Legion the edge.
Winner: Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Design
Design can be one of the compromises you must make when looking at more budget-conscious gaming and content-creator laptops. However, some laptops will still surprise you with their design choices, even on mid-range platforms.
Acer positions the Predator Triton Neo 16 as a gaming and content-creator laptop, so it features a streamlined, modern design. It still has RGB lights on the keyboard and shiny Predator logos on the cover and keyboard deck, but the rest of the laptop is a no-nonsense silver. So it can blend in at the office or in class without being too obviously a gaming laptop.
The Legion 5i has the same chassis design as the Legion 7i and Legion Pro laptops, with shiny Lenovo and Legion logos on the top cover and keyboard deck. The only area where the Legion 5i differs from its more pricey siblings is color. The Legion Pro and Legion 7i Gen 9 laptops come in Arctic White or Eclipse Black colorways, while the Legion 5i only comes in the same Arctic Grey that I find boring and flat on the Lenovo ThinkBook and IdeaPad lines.
As for weight and dimensions, the Triton Neo 16 is thinner and lighter, measuring 14 x 9.8 x 0.82 inches and weighing 4.5 pounds. Meanwhile, the Legion 5i is on the thicker and heavier side. It measures 10.33 x 14.16 x 0.78~0.99 inches and weighs 5.33 pounds.
From a pure design aesthetic perspective, the Neo is the better-looking laptop. And it's even thinner and lighter.
Winner: Acer Predator Triton Neo 16
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Battery life
Gaming and creator laptops almost always have poor battery life. After all, they house high-power discrete GPUs, and most don't come with an easy GPU shutoff switch for operating on battery power.
The Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 lasted for a pretty impressive 6 hours and 47 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. I couldn't get the Triton Neo 16 to last my entire workday, but I got a solid few hours of untethered productivity in, which is far better than most gaming laptops.
Now, the Legion 5i Gen 9 could almost never win this category. Legion laptops have not done well on our battery test historically, and the Legion 5i Gen 9 was no different. The Legion 5i lasted just 3 hours and 36 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. We have seen worse battery life in a gaming laptop, to be sure, but it's not great. The mid-range gaming laptops category average is 5:03.
The Triton Neo 16 lasted more than 3 hours longer than the Legion 5i, almost managing to double the Legion's battery life. So this is an easy win for the Acer gaming and creator laptop.
Winner: Acer Predator Triton Neo 16
Click to view chart data in table format
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Display
Both the Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 and Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 have matte IPS displays with high refresh rates.
The Triton Neo 16 also meets the 100% sRGB standard, but it's DCI-P3 vibrance tested lower than expected at just 78.8%. Acer rates the Triton Neo 16 at 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and we believe the difference between our testing and Acer's rating is down to a difference in display measurement technology. I was impressed by the vibrance and variation in the pink and blue cyberpunk-style lights of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s Solution Nine hub city.
The Legion 5i meets Lenovo's 100% sRGB claim with 112% coverage on the sRGB color space, but it does underperform on the more vibrant DCI-P3 color gamut with only 79.2% coverage. I wrote in my review that "The IPS display also impressed while gaming, presenting the stunning shades of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s cyberpunk end-game hub city Solution Nine with the kind of vibrance that helps the city stand out against the game’s usual Medieval fantasy aesthetic."
The Legion is less bright than the Triton Neo 16, with an average peak brightness of 346 nits compared to the Triton's 479 nit average. However, both laptops are bright enough to counteract glare from overhead lights, so neither is really doing poorly on a brightness metric.
That said, the Acer has a nicer degree of vibrance to it and has a brighter display, which makes it the winner in this category.
Winner: Acer Predator Triton Neo 16
Click to view chart data in table format
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Keybord and touchpad
Gaming keyboards are often unsung heroes of the gaming laptop scene. We don't always give a good keyboard the credit it deserves, but when you're gaming in the classic keyboard and mouse format, a poor keyboard can be game-breaking.
The Predator Triton Neo 16’s keyboard is springy enough to offer some solid bounce to your typing. As I stated in our review of the Triton Neo 16, "I burst out an average of 93 words per minute (wpm) on the 10fastfingers advanced typing test. That is a solid 5 wpm above my usual 88 wpm average." However, the Triton Neo 16's keyboard can get rather hot while gaming and it isn't the most satisfyingly springy keyboard I've ever tested.
The Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9's keyboard is satisfying, and springy, and features tactile key switches and full-sized arrow keys ideal for gaming. In our review of the Legion 5i Gen 9, I found that "the springy keyboard is a dream to type on, as evidenced by my 89 words per minute (wpm) average on the 10fastfingers advanced typing test, which is just a bit above my usual 88 wpm average."
We've raved about the Legion keyboard before and will continue to do so, as it is one of our favorite keyboards on a gaming laptop.
Winner: Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Graphics and gaming
The Legion 5i Gen 9 and Triton Neo 16 both feature Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPUs with 8GB of VRAM, so you might expect their gaming performance to be similar; however, the Legion has a bit of an edge with its more powerful Intel Core i9-14900HX processor.
The Triton Neo 16's dual-purpose design comes into play here with less robust thermal management and an RTX 4060 GPU with studio-level drivers. So its raw fps (frames per second) performance is a little less impressive than the Legion.
In my Triton Neo 16 review, I booted up an Act 1 Baldur's Gate III save file to test the Triton Neo's handling of massive turn-based RPG battles. "Baldur’s Gate III ran smooth, with no frame drops even at Ultra presets and the full 1600p resolution. I kicked up a massive fight in the Act 1 Goblin Encampment just to see how well the GPU and CPU would handle large-scale tactical battles, and while the combat action did cause a couple of stutters, it felt far smoother than it had any right to."
In our Legion 5i Gen 9 review, I spun up the same Baldur's Gate III save file. Despite walking into the Goblin encampment and immediately picking a fight, I found that "while there was the occasional hangup, the fight went as smoothly as possible for my under-leveled adventurers, even if I did experience some heavy casualties. The rendering was gorgeous at 1600p and incredibly smooth through combat, exploration, and dialogue."
Now, despite both laptops featuring high-end Intel Core i9 and Ultra 9 processors and Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics cards, the difference in processor architecture, thermals, and GPU drivers led to a pretty large difference between the two laptops. This meant the Legion 5i Gen 9 review unit we tested came out ahead of the Triton Neo 16 by a wide margin of 10-20fps on most games. Cyberpunk 2077 was the only exception, with a measly 0.6fps difference between the two laptops.
So if you want the absolute best gaming and graphics in a mid-range gaming laptop, the Legion 5i Gen 9 is the clear winner.
Winner: Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9
Click to view chart data in table format
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 vs Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9: Performance
Gaming laptops often go for higher-end processors to keep up with the demands of PC gaming, making them an absolute powerhouse when put against general productivity tasks. These laptops are overpowered for just checking your email or browsing the web, but they offer some of the fastest and smoothest computing experiences you could ask for.
In our review of the Triton Neo 16, I swapped out my usual work laptop for the Triton Neo 16 for my usual workload. I had high expectations for the Triton Neo 16 because "Acer positions the Neo 16 as a laptop for content creators and esports professionals. So, it needs to keep up with a hectic workload. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD offer a slick computing experience, easily keeping up with my workday of 20+ Chrome tabs of research, some light photo editing, and game downloads without any hang-ups."
In our review of the Legion 5i, I attempted to use the Legion for an entire workday and found that "when it comes to my day-to-day work, the Legion 5i kept up with multiple Chrome tabs, multiple videos, Spotify running in the background, and at least a couple of game downloads. Especially when plugged in, the Legion 5i couldn’t be stopped."
With the more powerful 14th-gen Intel Core i9 processor, the Legion 5i is the winner on general performance tasks, though the Triton Neo 16 still packs quite a punch.
Winner: Legion 5i 16 Gen 9
Click to view chart data in table format
Bottom line
Neither of these mid-range gaming laptops is a bad option. Both laptops were rated 4 stars or higher by our review process. Whether you go for the Acer or Lenovo, you get a great gaming laptop.
If you want the best power and graphics performance and have a bit more money to spend, the Legion 5i Gen 9 is the better choice. You can even upgrade from our review unit's 165Hz display to a 240Hz option.
If you want a content creation laptop that can also game at up to 1600p resolution, with decent battery life, and a design that will blend in at school or the office, the Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 is the better option.
Winner: Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9
