The Apple MacBook Air (2022) offers a balance of performance, portability, and battery life, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light content creation; its lightweight design and longer battery life make it great for on-the-go use. In contrast, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is tailored for gaming and intensive tasks such as 3D rendering or engineering simulations due to its powerful dedicated graphics. However, it is heavier, which impacts portability, and it has a shorter battery life, so it's less ideal for long periods away from a power source. Choose the MacBook Air for general use and mobility, or the ASUS for gaming, engineering, and better performance in demanding applications. 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 (2022)
Good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Good overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS TUF Gaming F17
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air (2022).
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.1/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
264.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and ASUS TUF Gaming F17 are both good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) offers a higher quality screen, better portability with its lighter weight and slimmer design, and longer battery life, making it well-suited for general use. The ASUS TUF Gaming F17, while featuring a larger screen and higher storage capacity, is heavier, has lower battery life, and its screen has a lower color accuracy, which makes it fair for general use but potentially better for gaming-specific tasks where its dedicated graphics card would be advantageous.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
6.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good for engineering and design, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is excellent for engineering and design due to its high-quality screen, capable CPU and GPU for design work, and quiet operation, but it is limited by its non-expandable 8GB of RAM and integrated GPU, less suited for more demanding engineering simulations and 3D tasks. In contrast, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 offers a discrete Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU and more storage, better supporting engineering applications that require advanced graphics processing, but it is heavier and bulkier, making it less portable, with a lower quality screen and louder operating noise.
Content Creation
7.9/10
7.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.2/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and ASUS TUF Gaming F17 are both good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is somewhat better.
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
8.0/10
6.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is very good for software development, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is only fair.
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
7.6/10
6.9/10
13.6in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
264.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When selecting a laptop for general use, the MacBook Air features a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and vibrant colors, providing a more comfortable and visually pleasing experience for everyday tasks such as browsing and media consumption. For engineering and design, the MacBook Air's display covers a wide range of color gamuts, which ensures accurate color reproduction essential for detailed design work. However, for 3D applications which benefit from higher refresh rates, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17, despite its limitations in resolution and panel technology, may offer a smoother visual experience due to its higher refresh rate, although it still falls short for an optimal gaming experience.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has 4.5 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
Excellent
Fair
13.6in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$839
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $839 and the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 costs $1,000.
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 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."
"One of the Asus TUF Gaming F17’s highlights is without a doubt its excellent gaming performance. The fact that Asus configured the RTX 3060 GPU for its specified maximum of 140 W is became immediately noticeable in our benchmarks. For a 17-inch notebook the F17 also offers a very long battery life, which makes it somewhat portable. On the flip side is the display. It may be saved by its good overall contrast ratio, but its overall brightness is simply too low, and its response times are too slow for a gaming device. The F17’s successor needs to improve upon this."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the ASUS TUF Gaming F17
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 ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.