If you prioritize affordability and need a lightweight laptop for everyday tasks like browsing the internet, using office applications, or media consumption, the MacBook Air is a practical choice with a sleek design and good battery life. However, if your work involves gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, or other hardware-intensive tasks, and you're okay with a heavier and more costly option, the MSI Titan is crafted for high performance and can handle demanding software with ease. Keep in mind the MSI will likely be less portable and have a shorter battery life due to its powerful 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 Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the MSI Titan 18 HX
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers a balance of portability and performance with a high-quality screen and long battery life, making it ideal for general use and those who prioritize ease of carrying and battery duration. On the other hand, the MSI Titan 18 HX features a more powerful CPU and more RAM, which greatly enhance performance for demanding tasks, but its larger size and shorter battery life make it less portable and more suited for stationary use or where high-end processing is a necessity.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
9.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air, while offering a high-quality screen and decent CPU, lacks a powerful GPU and the high screen refresh rate that are essential for advanced 3D rendering and gaming, limiting its performance in these areas; moreover, it cannot run many popular games due to macOS compatibility issues. On the other hand, the MSI Titan 18 HX, designed with a strong focus on gaming, includes a robust GPU and high refresh rate display, making it well-suited for demanding gaming and 3D tasks, though this may come at a cost to portability and battery life.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
9.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
The MSI Titan 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air, built with quality materials and offering an excellent keyboard and speakers, provides a lightweight and sleek design ideal for portability, but it may fall short in handling more demanding engineering software due to its less powerful CPU and GPU. In contrast, the MSI Titan 18 HX, equipped with a high-performance CPU, ample RAM, and a powerful GPU, can smoothly run intensive applications and renderings, making it superior for complex engineering tasks, yet it sacrifices portability and operates louder, which could be a drawback for some users.
Content Creation
7.8/10
9.0/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent 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
8.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX 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
9.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
18.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The MSI Titan 18 HX has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air’s display provides crisp text and vibrant images for everyday tasks and has a decent range of colors that suit engineering and design work, but it lacks the high refresh rate needed for smooth 3D rendering. The MSI Titan, with its superior display, excels in color accuracy and variety, meeting the high standards for professional design and engineering work where minute color differences are crucial. However, despite its excellent resolution and panel type, gaming and 3D applications fall short on the MSI Titan due to a lower refresh rate, leading to less fluid visuals in fast-paced scenarios.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan 18 HX has 4 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
18.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX 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 Titan 18 HX 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
$4,800
$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 Titan 18 HX costs $4,800.
"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."
"With no new Nvidia GPU this year for laptops, MSI had to refresh everything surrounding the graphics card to make up for it. Users are getting a new 18-inch chassis design, new 14th gen Intel HX CPU, new AC adapter, larger keys, and a new 120 Hz HDR1000 mini-LED 4K display to accompany the high price tag. Most of these changes are a step up from last year's GT77, but users are ultimately getting the same gaming performance out of both models."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the MSI Titan 18 HX
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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