The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is typically less expensive than the MSI Creator Z16P and offers remarkable battery life, silent operation, and high portability due to its lower weight and smaller size; if you value these aspects along with a high-quality display, this laptop is an excellent choice for general use and light workload tasks. 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 Pro 13 (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Creator Z16P
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.7/10
The MSI Creator Z16P is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
The MSI Creator Z16P is a more formidable choice for gaming and 3D with its higher-refresh-rate screen and powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is limited by its lower-refresh-rate and integrated GPU, which is less suited for intensive gaming, especially considering that many games do not run on macOS.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.3/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Creator Z16P is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is equipped with an M1 processor which, while efficient, has less raw processing power than the Intel i9-12900H found in the MSI Creator Z16P, which also includes a superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU for more demanding engineering and design tasks. Moreover, the MSI Creator Z16P comes with a higher amount of RAM and a more robust suite for connectivity, although it is heavier, which makes the MacBook Pro 13 more portable and potentially a quieter, cooler device due to Apple's efficient chip and lack of fan noise.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.3/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
394.0 nits
The MSI Creator Z16P has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, the Apple MacBook Pro 13 and the MSI Creator Z16P both offer high-resolution displays with vivid colors and brightness, making text, images, and videos clear and enjoyable to view. In engineering and design, professionals often need accurate color representation, and both of these laptops cover a wide range of the color spectrum, including DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, ensuring that the work they produce matches their intended output. However, for 3D work, a high refresh rate is crucial to handle dynamic content smoothly, and while both laptops provide high-quality visuals and resolution, they may fall short for this specific use case as their screens are not optimized for high-refresh-rate tasks, affecting the fluidity of motion in 3D applications and games.
Battery
20.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator Z16P has 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
Very Good
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Creator Z16P has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Creator Z16P has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The MSI Creator Z16P and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is well-regarded for general use due to its balance of performance, thanks to the efficient Apple M1 CPU and 8 GB of RAM, and its high-quality IPS screen with excellent color reproduction, combined with exceptional battery life and portability. Alternatively, the MSI Creator Z16P provides powerful performance with an Intel i9 processor and double the RAM at 16 GB, and it's favored for its larger and high-resolution touchscreen display, but it is heavier and offers significantly shorter battery life, which makes it less portable.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Creator Z16P and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for content creation.
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
7.8/10
7.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Creator Z16P are both 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.
Cost
$1,249
$1,300
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the MSI Creator Z16P costs $1,300.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the MSI Creator Z16P compare to other laptops
"The MacBook Pro 13 is still a very good subnotebook. The 2022 MacBook Pro 13 might look like recycling at first, because the device is completely identical to the old model expect for the new M2 SoC. We have to admit that we were surprised to see another iteration of the MBP 13 as well. The laptop is obviously familiar, but this does not change the fact that it is still a very good subnotebook. You get an excellent chassis with good stability, a very good display, good input devices and the new M2 chip is very powerful and efficient."
"There's almost nothing left to be desired with the MSI Z16P. The creator laptop offers enormous performance resources for image editing, video editing, rendering, and more. All this is presented on a precalibrated, adequately sized, and high-resolution display. Its color space, refresh rate, and panel technology are also perfectly suited for a device that specializes in video reproduction and editing."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Creator Z16P
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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