If you prioritize a lightweight, sleek design with long battery life for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, office work, or media consumption, the Apple MacBook Air would be a better fit for you. It's also generally less expensive than the MSI Raider GE76. However, if you require top-tier computing power for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, or other intensive engineering tasks, the MSI Raider GE76 would be the optimal choice despite its heavier weight and shorter battery life, but it is significantly more expensive. Keep in mind that the MacBook Air is also fanless for silent operation, while the Raider GE76 has more robust cooling to handle its more powerful hardware. 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 Raider GE76
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
General Use
7.9/10
8.4/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The MSI Raider GE76 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is highly portable with good battery life, making it suitable for general use, but with a lower CPU and RAM configuration compared to the MSI Raider GE76, it might struggle with more intensive tasks. The Raider GE76 has a more powerful CPU and ample RAM, excellent for general use and demanding applications, but it's larger and has shorter battery life, potentially reducing portability and convenience on the go.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
8.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
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 GE76 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022), with its Apple M2 integrated GPU, provides moderate 3D performance and has a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, making it well-suited for demanding gaming and 3D tasks, but keep in mind that the MacBook Air won't run many popular games due to software compatibility.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
9.0/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE76 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is equipped with an Apple M2 chip, which offers substantial CPU and GPU performance for engineering and design, but the MSI Raider GE76 surpasses it with a more powerful Intel i7 CPU and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU that are better suited for demanding tasks. While the MacBook Air is significantly lighter and silent with a fanless design, enhancing its portability and comfort of use, the MSI Raider GE76, though bulkier and louder, provides superior screen quality with a higher refresh rate and more RAM and storage, catering to high-end engineering simulations and graphical work.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.6/10
13.6in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE76 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air's screen is great for general tasks with its high resolution and brightness, offering crisp and clear visuals, but its modest refresh rate isn't ideal for 3D applications where smooth motion is key. MSI Raider GE76 also serves well for general use and detailed engineering work due to its high-resolution display that covers a wide color spectrum, but its screen falls short for gaming and 3D, as the refresh rate is not as high as specialized gaming laptops, which detracts from the immersive and fluid experience gamers seek. For both engineering and design, both laptops provide accurate colors, but for fast-paced 3D applications, neither is the best tool for the job.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE76 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
Poor
13.6in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the MSI Raider GE76 has poor 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 Raider GE76 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$3,552
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the MSI Raider GE76 costs $3,552.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider GE76 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
8.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE76 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 Raider GE76 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 GE76: with Alder Lake and RTX 3080 Ti to gaming heaven. Yes, MSI could improve some aspects (like the quality of the webcam), but the manufacturer offers a very convincing and balanced overall package. The biggest advantage is definitely the immense performance potential. The combination of Core i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 32 GB DDR5 RAM and two NVMe SSDs offers a lot of performance for the next couple of years and plenty of power for 3D applications. Most titles would run smoothly on an external 4K screen no matter the quality preset. We came away impressed with the integrated 360 Hz panel's fast response times and good color accuracy."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the MSI Raider GE76
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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