The Apple MacBook Pro 13" (2020) is known for its build quality, display, and battery life, making it suitable for general use and mobile professionals who prioritize a sleek design and macOS ecosystem. However, the MSI Stealth 17 offers more powerful hardware for intensive tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming. The MSI is likely to have a shorter battery life due to its high-performance components and may be less portable given its larger size. If you need a laptop for performance-heavy applications and don't mind the extra weight and size, the MSI Stealth 17 is a strong choice. Conversely, if portability, battery life, and macOS are important to you, the MacBook Pro 13" would be a better fit. 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 keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent 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 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is well-suited for general use due to its long battery life, lightweight design for easy portability, and high-quality display, while the MSI Stealth 17, with its more powerful CPU and larger amount of RAM, excels in tasks that require more processing power, but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life, making it less ideal for on-the-go use but better for more demanding applications. Both laptops have excellent screen quality and keyboards, but the MacBook Pro offers a silent operation and better battery life which are very important for general use, whereas the Stealth's superior performance and expandable storage and RAM make it an excellent choice if portability and battery life are not the primary concern.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is less suited for 3D applications and gaming, partly because it has a GPU that is less powerful than typical gaming GPUs and a lower screen refresh rate, and MacOS is not compatible with many popular games. Meanwhile, the MSI Stealth 17 excels due to its high-end Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a much higher screen refresh rate, which are crucial for smooth and detailed gaming and 3D rendering.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
9.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The MSI Stealth 17 is considered excellent for engineering and design because it offers a high-end Intel processor and a top-tier Nvidia graphics card, which outperform the Apple MacBook Pro 13's Apple M1 CPU and GPU, especially in tasks requiring intense computational power. Additionally, the Stealth 17 includes a larger amount of RAM which is crucial for demanding applications, and although the MacBook Pro 13 provides high screen quality and is more portable, the MSI's superior performance specs make it the better choice for more resource-intensive engineering and design work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 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
9.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 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 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 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 (2020) is favored in general use and engineering due to its high-resolution, bright Retina display with wide color gamut support, providing crisp images and accurate colors which are essential for detailed work. For 3D applications, however, the MacBook Pro's screen falls short because it lacks a high refresh rate necessary for smooth rendering of fast-moving images. The MSI Stealth 17, while also offering a high-resolution and color-accurate display suitable for general use and engineering tasks, doesn't meet the gaming and 3D standards due to a similarly lower refresh rate not ideal for the demanding nature of fast-paced visuals.
Battery
20.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 has 5.5 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
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Stealth 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,249
$3,899
$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 Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"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."
"The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Stealth 17
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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