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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Apple MacBook Air is sleek, lightweight, and ideal for general use, providing silent operation and a high-quality display. It excels in battery life and portability, best suited for tasks like office work and everyday activities. On the other hand, the Gigabyte G5 has a dedicated graphics card, larger screen with a higher refresh rate, more storage space, and capabilities better geared towards gaming, engineering, and 3D/machine learning tasks. However, it's heavier with less battery life, making it less portable but more performance-oriented for intensive tasks. Choose the MacBook Air for portability and everyday use, or the Gigabyte G5 for more demanding applications and gaming. 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)
- 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 Gigabyte G5
- Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
7.9
7.1
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
248.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.5 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Gigabyte G5 are both good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.4
7.3
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte G5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is only fair.
The MacBook Air has a less powerful integrated GPU and a standard screen refresh rate, which is why it's only fair for 3D tasks, while the Gigabyte G5 includes a dedicated Nvidia graphics card and a higher refresh rate, which makes it good for gaming and more demanding 3D applications. Also, the Gigabyte runs Windows, which supports many popular games unavailable on the Apple's macOS platform.
Content Creation
7.9
7.2
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Gigabyte G5 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
6.8
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte G5 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
6.8
13.6in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
248.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Gigabyte G5 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Air boasts a high-resolution display with superior brightness and color clarity, making text, images, and videos look sharp and vibrant for comfortable everyday use. For engineering and design, it offers a wide range of colors, closely matching professional color spaces, which ensures that designers see accurate and rich colors for their work. However, its screen refresh rate is lower, making it less suitable for 3D applications where a high refresh rate is crucial for smooth motion and improved responsiveness.
Battery
15.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte G5 has 3.5 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
Good
13.6in
SIZE
15.6in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte G5 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0
7.2
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte G5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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Key similarities
Engineering and Design
7.5
7.6
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte G5 and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is well-suited for engineering and design due to its high-quality screen, efficient Apple M2 chip that integrates CPU and GPU for performance, and its portability with silent operation. The Gigabyte G5 offers a powerful Intel CPU and dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU for demanding tasks, but sacrifices portability and has lower screen quality, making it ideal for intensive design work where graphics performance is critical.
Cost
$839
$868
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $839 and the Gigabyte G5 costs $868.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Gigabyte G5 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Air (2022) | Gigabyte G5 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$839 | $868 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | July 1, 2022 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12'' x 8.5'' x 0.44'' | 14.2'' x 9.4'' x 0.89'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.7 lbs | 4.19 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 11.97" | 14.2" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.46" | 9.4" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M2 | Intel i5-12500H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 15 Hours | 3.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 52.6 Wh | 54 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 13.6" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1664 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 486 nits | 248 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.2/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 9.4/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 3 | N/A | |
Shopping
Apple MacBook Air (2022)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"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."
Gigabyte G5
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam | April 2023
"The Gigabyte G5 KE is a midrange gaming laptop that checks most boxes. Gigabyte makes good use of the Core i5-12500H and RTX 3060 Laptop GPU combo, and we find no untoward issues with overall performance. The dual-fan quad-heatpipe cooling arrangement does well to ensure that the underlying hardware doesn't throttle under load. That being said, the display is below par when compared to 2023 standards, especially when competing devices."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Gigabyte G5
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.
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