If you prioritize a lightweight and thin laptop with a high-resolution OLED screen for vibrant colors and deep blacks, the Acer Swift Edge 16 is a more suitable choice. It is especially useful if you require a laptop for general use that is easy to carry around. However, if strong graphics performance for gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning is important for you, the MSI GP66 Leopard with its powerful graphics card would be a better fit despite it being heavier and thicker. The MSI also has a higher refresh rate display, which is beneficial for fast-paced gaming. Keep in mind that the battery life may vary significantly between these two, with the more powerful MSI likely having shorter battery life due to its higher performance components. 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 Swift Edge 16
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
7.8/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is only fair.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is equipped with an AMD Radeon 780M GPU and a high-contrast OLED screen with a refresh rate of 120Hz, making it suitable for immersive gaming and 3D experiences with vivid colors. In comparison, the MSI GP66 Leopard boasts a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU and a faster 144Hz refresh rate IPS screen, delivering superior gaming performance, especially for fast-paced action where frame rates are crucial.
Content Creation
8.1/10
7.4/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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
7.9/10
7.2/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and MSI GP66 Leopard are both good for software development, though the Acer Swift Edge 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
8.8/10
7.5/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 boasts a high-resolution display with vibrant colors and brightness that enhance the viewing experience for everyday tasks, along with a wide color gamut that benefits engineering and design software users who require color accuracy. However, its lower refresh rate compared to dedicated gaming models makes it less ideal for gaming and 3D applications that rely on smooth motion. Meanwhile, the MSI GP66 Leopard's display offers sufficient quality for both general use and technical applications, but its screen attributes do not cater specifically to the high refresh rates gaming and 3D tasks demand.
Battery
7.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 5 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
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has very good portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.0/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$820
$1,400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and MSI GP66 Leopard are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers excellent portability, impressive screen quality with OLED technology, and a long battery life, making it a superb choice for general use. Meanwhile, the MSI GP66 Leopard, with its powerful CPU and high-end GPU, delivers strong performance and better heat management which, despite being heavier and having shorter battery life, suits users with more demanding tasks like gaming or intensive applications.
Engineering and Design
8.1/10
7.9/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift Edge 16 to be very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is valued for engineering and design due to its high-resolution OLED screen, enhancing visual clarity and color accuracy, coupled with a capable AMD CPU and GPU for robust performance. Meanwhile, the MSI GP66 Leopard is also suitable for such tasks, offering a high-performance Intel CPU and a top-tier Nvidia GPU, ensuring excellent processing and graphics capabilities, although it has a lower resolution screen than the Acer. Portability favors the lighter and thinner Acer, whereas the MSI may have an edge in heat management due to its design.
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How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
"The Acer Swift Edge 16 is a solid super thin-and-light that pairs a large, gorgeous 16-inch display with portable design that rivals the weight of LG’s superlight Gram 16. Remarkably, Acer achieves this at a lower price point without sacrificing performance. Boring design and disappointing battery life hold the laptop back from stardom, but its rivals frequently suffer in these areas, too. That makes the Swift Edge 16 an alluring value pick."
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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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