The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is less expensive, with a midrange price, and known for its portability and fantastic battery life, suiting general use and light engineering tasks. It's lightweight and operates silently without a fan. The MSI Stealth GS66, however, is more costly but offers better performance for 3D, machine learning, gaming, and intensive engineering. It has higher storage and more RAM, but is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. 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 Stealth GS66
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.8/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Stealth GS66 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) 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
7.3/10
8.2/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Stealth GS66 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) with its Apple M1 CPU and GPU is well-suited for engineering and design, offering high screen quality and silent operation, which is beneficial for such tasks, but its performance is outpaced by the MSI Stealth GS66, which has a more powerful Intel i7 CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, necessary for the most demanding engineering and design applications.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.1/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the MSI Stealth GS66 for general use, engineering and design, and software development, while the MSI Stealth GS66 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) offers a high-resolution Retina display with bright and vibrant colors, appealing for general use and conducive to detailed engineering and design tasks due to its wide color gamut, but its standard refresh rate limits its effectiveness for 3D applications where higher refresh rates are needed. The MSI Stealth GS66, while also providing good resolution and decent brightness, may have a less impressive color range compared to the MacBook, making it suitable for general use and acceptable for engineering and design, but its suboptimal refresh rate isn't ideal for the fast-paced visuals required in gaming and 3D rendering. This means that while both laptops can serve well in general computing and precision work, neither are perfectly suited for the high refresh needs of advanced gaming or professional 3D work.
Battery
20.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth GS66 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
Good
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth GS66 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 Stealth GS66 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
$1,799
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the MSI Stealth GS66 costs $1,799.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Stealth GS66 are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is highly suitable for general use because it offers a balance of strong CPU performance, high-quality screen, long battery life, and great portability. The MSI Stealth GS66, on the other hand, also provides excellent CPU and RAM capacity ideal for demanding tasks and comes with a high-quality display, but it sacrifices battery life and portability for more robust performance capabilities.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Stealth GS66 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
7.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Stealth GS66 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the MSI Stealth GS66 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."
"The MSI Stealth GS66 is powerful enough for QHD. The Core i7-12700H and the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti found in the 12UGS model that we tested run all modern games smoothly in the native QHD resolution. The 15-inch display is very fast with its 240 Hz refresh rate, and it also offers a great color space (almost 100% DCI-P3) on top of that, which should please gamers as well as content creators, although we would have still wished for a higher brightness. Case, input devices, and connectivity (Thunderbolt 4) are at a good level. However, among other things, the GS66 loses points due to the high temperature development in 3D mode and its poor webcam."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Stealth GS66
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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