Choosing between the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the MSI GE66 Raider depends heavily on your usage preferences and priorities. The MacBook Air is lighter, thinner, and has a longer battery life, making it ideal for those who require portability and all-day use without frequent charging. Additionally, it operates silently due to its fanless design. In contrast, the MSI GE66 Raider offers significantly more power, with a stronger processor and higher-end graphics, suitable for intensive tasks such as gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning. However, it's heavier, thicker, and comes at a higher price point, alongside a shorter battery life, making it less portable but better for demanding software. The MacBook Air is more affordable and is better suited for general use, while the MSI provides a higher-performance package geared towards specialized 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)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GE66 Raider
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
8.6/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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
7.5/10
9.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI GE66 Raider is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has an efficient M2 processor and fanless operation which makes it slim and quiet, ideal for design tasks and portability, but the MSI GE66 Raider, with its top-tier Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics, delivers much higher performance for demanding engineering software at the cost of being heavier and louder.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.2/10
13.6in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
The MSI GE66 Raider 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 boasts a high-resolution display and exceptional brightness, making it great for general activities and ensuring crisp and vivid images suitable for engineering and design, complemented by its strong color gamut coverage. However, its lower refresh rate makes it less ideal for 3D activities where smoother motion is essential. The MSI GE66 Raider, with similar resolution and color accuracy, excels in engineering and general use but falls short for gaming and 3D due to a suboptimal refresh rate, where fast-paced visuals benefit from quicker screen updates.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI GE66 Raider 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
Excellent
Fair
13.6in
SIZE
15.6in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the MSI GE66 Raider has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the MSI GE66 Raider has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$3,199
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the MSI GE66 Raider costs $3,199.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GE66 Raider to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
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.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GE66 Raider to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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
8.0/10
8.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI GE66 Raider and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for software development.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the MSI GE66 Raider 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 MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the MSI GE66 Raider
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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