The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is less expensive and offers excellent portability with its light weight and long battery life, making it a good fit for everyday use and light productivity tasks. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE78 is much heavier and has a shorter battery life, but provides significantly higher performance for engineering tasks, 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming due to a more powerful CPU and GPU. The Raider GE78 is also more suitable for intensive gaming with its high-refresh-rate screen. If portability and cost are key concerns, the MacBook Air is the better choice, whereas for peak performance in demanding tasks, the Raider GE78 is the preferable option. 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 Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE78
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is admired for general use due to its lightweight and thin design paired with silent operation and long battery life, suited for everyday tasks with its competent M1 CPU and sufficient RAM; however, its smaller screen may not be ideal for content-rich tasks. In contrast, the MSI Raider GE78 excels in performance with its powerful CPU and ample RAM, and it has a larger, high-quality screen, but its bulkier build and shorter battery life make it less portable, aligning it with users who prioritize advanced computing over mobility.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
9.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
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
7.3/10
9.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020), with its Apple M1 processor and integrated graphics, offers solid performance for engineering and design, but the MSI Raider GE78, equipped with a more powerful Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX graphics, excels in demanding computational tasks and complex 3D modeling. While the MacBook Air is more portable and offers silent operation, the Raider's superior CPU, RAM, and GPU, alongside a high refresh rate screen, make it a standout for intensive engineering and design work, albeit at the cost of portability and increased operating noise.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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
7.7/10
8.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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
7.5/10
8.6/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE78 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The MacBook Air's screen is valued for general use and engineering due to its high resolution and accurate color representation, making text crisp and visuals vibrant, although its refresh rate is lower, affecting 3D applications. In contrast, the MSI Raider's superior color gamut appeals to engineers and designers needing precision in color-critical tasks, and its high resolution benefits general users. However, despite these strengths, the Raider's lower refresh rate can diminish the experience in high-frame-rate 3D environments, which is a drawback for gaming or professional 3D applications.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE78 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
Poor
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Raider GE78 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Raider GE78 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$4,386
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the MSI Raider GE78 costs $4,386.
"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."
"Performance-wise, the GE78 offers a significant boost over the GE77 for just slightly higher power consumption. You'll have to get the RTX 4080 or 4090 configurations to see the performance advantages, however, as the RTX 4070 is closer in performance to the older RTX 3080 Ti. In terms of design, some users might prefer the 16:9 minimalistic look of the older GE77 over the 16:10 retro-inspired GE78 and vice versa. We wouldn't call one better than the other in terms of aesthetics, but we'll give the edge to the GE78 for its stronger hinges and larger keys and clickpad."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the MSI Raider GE78
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 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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