For general use, the Acer Aspire Go 14 is a cost-effective choice with decent performance and excellent battery life, making it a strong contender if you prioritize portability and longevity on a single charge. Its screen is also quite good for everyday tasks. However, if you're looking for a powerhouse that excels in gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning, the MSI GE66 Raider is the way to go. It boasts a high-performance CPU and GPU, ensuring top-tier performance in intensive tasks, albeit at a higher price point and with a bulkier design that compromises portability. The Raider's display is also superior for fast-motion content and has better color accuracy, which is great for professionals in visual fields. Keep in mind, the Raider's battery life is shorter, so it's better suited for scenarios where power outlets are readily available. 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 Acer Aspire Go 14
Very good portability
Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GE66 Raider
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
8.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is only fair.
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
5.8/10
8.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is poor.
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
6.2/10
9.1/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI GE66 Raider is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is only fair.
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
7.1/10
8.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 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.
Software Development
7.0/10
8.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for software development, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is good.
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
6.7/10
8.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
The MSI GE66 Raider has a better screen than the Acer Aspire Go 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI GE66 Raider has 6 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.2 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has very good portability, while the MSI GE66 Raider has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The MSI GE66 Raider has very good build quality, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$350
$3,199
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has a price of $350 and the MSI GE66 Raider costs $3,199.
"The MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire Go 14 or the MSI GE66 Raider
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
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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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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