If you prioritize portability and battery life, the Apple MacBook Air is lighter and has longer battery life, making it ideal for travel and general usage. Its performance is suitable for everyday tasks, but the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, while heavier and with shorter battery life, offers a significantly higher performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software, with a dedicated graphics card and a larger screen. The MacBook Air is generally less expensive, but if your needs include intensive gaming or specialized software that requires Windows, the Aorus 17G justifies its premium price. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The MacBook Air, with its less powerful Apple M1 graphics and a standard 60Hz display, is fair for 3D applications, whereas the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, equipped with a high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics and a 300Hz display, is better suited for gaming which requires more graphical power and smoother visuals.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
7.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design, though the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) distinguishes itself with an efficient Apple M1 CPU and GPU that runs silent and fanless, making it suitable for lighter engineering tasks while also being highly portable; its high-resolution screen is beneficial for design work.
Software Development
7.7/10
7.2/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Gigabyte Aorus 17G are both good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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
7.5/10
8.0/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
282.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17G for engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The MacBook Air provides a crisp image with its high-resolution screen and ample brightness, making it ideal for everyday tasks, but its standard refresh rate and lack of wide-color gamut support limit its utility for 3D applications and some professional design work. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G offers a similarly high-quality display for general use and includes expansive color coverage which benefits engineering and design, but its refresh rate, although higher than that of the MacBook Air, may still fall short for the smoothest 3D gaming experiences. Both laptops balance resolution and panel technology effectively for their respective price points, allowing for sharp, vibrant visuals for general use and design tasks, but gamers with a keen eye for motion clarity might find the Aorus 17G lacking.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G 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
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$2,329
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17G costs $2,329.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Gigabyte Aorus 17G are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020), with its light weight, good screen quality, and long battery life, is well suited for general use while offering silent operation and excellent portability due to its compact design. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, featuring a more powerful CPU and twice the RAM, caters to more demanding tasks but trades off with a heavier build and shorter battery life, making it less portable but more performance-oriented.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Gigabyte Aorus 17G are both good for content creation.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Gigabyte Aorus 17G compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
"The Aorus 17G isn't among the top RTX 3080 laptops due to its relatively low TGP of 105 watts. The device's gaming performance is average for an RTX 3080. For maximum performance, competitors like the Lenovo Legion 7 or the Alienware m17 R4 are recommended With the Aorus 17G, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded gaming laptop. However, the device generates a high noise level. Throttling is not an issue. The CPU and GPU can develop their performance uniformly. Nevertheless, the device produces a lot of noise under load - more than many competitors."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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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