The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is less expensive and offers great portability due to its smaller size, lighter weight, and longer battery life, making it suitable for everyday tasks and mobile use. With its fanless design, it operates silently, adding to its appeal for quiet environments. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth GS77, while more expensive, comes with a larger and faster display, more storage, and a more powerful processor and graphics card, making it better for gaming, intensive engineering tasks, 3D work, and machine learning applications. Keep in mind, the MSI is heavier and larger, which impacts its portability. 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 GS77
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good 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
8.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth GS77 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Stealth GS77 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has an integrated GPU that is less powerful than dedicated gaming GPUs and a standard 60Hz screen refresh rate, suitable for some 3D tasks but not optimized for high-end gaming or top-tier 3D performance. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth GS77 is built with a high-performance Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and a faster 240Hz screen refresh rate, making it excellent for gaming and demanding 3D tasks; however, the MacBook Pro's MacOS does not support many popular games, which the Windows 11 Pro on the MSI does.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Stealth GS77 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is considered good for engineering and design use primarily because it features the efficient Apple M1 CPU and GPU, which offer substantial power for a variety of applications and a high-quality screen, but it is limited by its 8GB of RAM and less powerful graphics compared to gaming-oriented laptops. In contrast, the MSI Stealth GS77 is rated very good for engineering and design due to its robust Intel i7-12700H CPU, high-performance Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and a generous 32GB of RAM, making it better suited for the most demanding engineering tasks, but this comes with a trade-off in terms of heavier weight and reduced portability.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.3/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth GS77 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.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.3/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The MSI Stealth GS77 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the MacBook Pro 13's Retina display provides high resolution and brightness, offering crisp visuals and vibrant colors, which are essential for everyday tasks and media consumption. The MacBook Pro's display also excels in engineering and design applications, as it covers a wide color gamut, ensuring accurate color representation for professional photo editing and graphic work. However, for 3D applications, the MSI Stealth GS77 may not be the top choice due to its lower refresh rate, despite its high-quality display, as 3D gaming and rendering often require faster screen updates for smooth motion.
Battery
20.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth GS77 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
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 GS77 has only fair 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 GS77 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
$2,499
$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 GS77 costs $2,499.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Stealth GS77 to be 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the MSI Stealth GS77 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 GS77 is better than the GS76... mostly. The GS77 is a few steps forward and a few steps back from the GS76. Improvements are numerous including the stronger and more rigid skeleton, higher resolution webcam, larger clickpad, easier serviceability, relatively similar battery runtimes, newer display options, and higher performance at about the same TDP and TGP levels as before. CPU performance is better than expected even when compared to other laptops with Core i7 or Core i9 processors. The newer model feels more substantial than the outgoing one for higher quality impressions as well."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Stealth GS77
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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