The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is a midrange, highly portable laptop with great battery life, suitable for general use and light creative work, featuring fanless silent operation and a high-quality display. Its performance for demanding tasks like 3D rendering and machine learning is modest. The MSI Raider GE78 is a high-end, larger, and heavier laptop with exceptional performance for engineering, 3D/machine learning, and gaming due to its powerful processor and top-tier graphics card; however, it has a higher price point and significantly lower battery life, making it less portable but more suited for intensive 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
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE78
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is praised for its excellent portability, and its long battery life makes it a solid choice for everyday tasks; however, it has less RAM and a less powerful CPU compared to the MSI Raider GE78, which offers superior performance for demanding applications thanks to its high-end processor and abundant memory, but with the tradeoff of being less portable and having a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
9.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
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 GE78 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
The MacBook Pro 13 with its Apple M1 GPU and a typical 60Hz display refresh rate offers a silent, fanless operation suitable for general use but is limited for intensive 3D tasks and cannot run many popular games due to macOS compatibility issues.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
9.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) 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
7.8/10
8.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
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
8.6/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE78 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13, with its high-resolution Retina display, offers crisp and vibrant visuals along with excellent brightness, making it ideal for general use and tasks that involve engineering and design due to its wide color gamut. However, its standard refresh rate may not be suitable for 3D applications where smoother motion is crucial. The MSI Raider GE78, while also having a high-resolution display and great color reproduction for general use and detailed engineering work, may fall short in gaming and 3D contexts due to its refresh rate not matching the higher standards often required for those tasks.
Battery
20.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE78 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
Very Good
Poor
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Raider GE78 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Raider GE78 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,249
$4,386
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the MSI Raider GE78 costs $4,386.
"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."
"Performance-wise, the GE78 offers a significant boost over the GE77 for just slightly higher power consumption. You'll have to get the RTX 4080 or 4090 configurations to see the performance advantages, however, as the RTX 4070 is closer in performance to the older RTX 3080 Ti. In terms of design, some users might prefer the 16:9 minimalistic look of the older GE77 over the 16:10 retro-inspired GE78 and vice versa. We wouldn't call one better than the other in terms of aesthetics, but we'll give the edge to the GE78 for its stronger hinges and larger keys and clickpad."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Raider GE78
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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