The Apple MacBook Pro 14 inch is more expensive but offers better portability and battery life alongside a superior display with higher resolution, brightness, and color accuracy, ideal for professionals in design or video editing. However, the Gigabyte Aorus 17 inch provides more storage, a faster refresh rate screen for smooth gaming, and is tailored for high performance in 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks due to its powerful processor and dedicated graphics card, making it heavyweight and less ideal for frequent travelers. If you prioritize performance and gaming over portability and display quality, the Aorus is the better choice. 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 14 (2021)
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
267.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 excels in general use due to its high-quality CPU and RAM, superior screen quality, remarkable portability, and impressive battery life. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 17, while also good for general use with a competent CPU and ample RAM, lags behind in portability and has a shorter battery life, although it offers a larger screen and is better suited for tasks like gaming.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
8.1/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14, with high screen quality and a strong GPU, excels in 3D tasks and benefits creatives who prioritize display finesse and macOS software compatibility, but it lags in gaming due to the limited selection of compatible titles. The Gigabyte Aorus 17, with its superior refresh rate and potent GPU, caters to gamers seeking fluid visuals and high performance, although it's heavier and less portable than the MacBook.
Software Development
8.3/10
7.5/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 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
9.2/10
8.0/10
14.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
267.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has an exceptional display that provides vivid colors and sharp details ideal for general use and professional engineering and design tasks, due to its high-resolution, bright panel, and excellent color accuracy covering wide color gamuts. Although the Gigabyte Aorus 17 also offers a high-quality display suitable for general use and engineering with good color representation, it falls short in the gaming and 3D realms due to a lesser focus on high refresh rates needed for smooth motion. For those working with 3D applications or gaming, a laptop with a higher refresh rate would provide a more fluid visual experience, which is less of a priority for the MacBook Pro 14 and Gigabyte Aorus 17.
Battery
13.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 17 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
14.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has a price of $1,905 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17 costs $1,700.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) are both very good for engineering and design.
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
8.4/10
8.0/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Gigabyte Aorus 17 are both very 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Gigabyte Aorus 17 compare to other laptops
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
"The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a powerful high-end gaming machine. The Aorus 17 is a potent gaming notebook in a 17.3-inch format designed for FHD gaming at maximum settings. A Core i7-12700H processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU make this possible. A lightning-fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the necessary storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Aorus 17 XE4, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded, high-performance gaming notebook."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Gigabyte Aorus 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 Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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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Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
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