Given your consideration of cost, if you value Apple's ecosystem and its reputation for build quality and customer service, the MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) could offer a premium experience often favored by creative professionals for tasks like video editing and graphic design, while being more wallet-friendly. However, if you prioritize top-of-the-line hardware for gaming or intensive computational tasks, and you don't mind spending extra, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H may offer superior performance with its likely higher-specs, especially in graphics and processing power, albeit with potentially reduced battery life and less portability due to its larger size and weight. 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 16 (Late 2019)
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17H
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
8.7/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.6/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17H is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) comes with an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU and a standard refresh rate screen, making it fair for 3D applications within the limitations of MacOS, which doesn't support many popular games. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H is equipped with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU and a high refresh rate screen, enhancing its suitability for gaming and 3D applications that are well-supported by Windows.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.6/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 17H is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The MacBook Pro has a high-quality display, superior build, and is more portable with a better battery life, making it suitable for engineering and design, but it has older CPU and GPU which are outperformed by the Aorus 17H's latest and more powerful components, which are preferred for the most demanding engineering and design tasks despite its lower portability and screen quality.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.3/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
351.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17H for engineering and design, and software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-resolution display with excellent color accuracy, covering wide color gamuts, making it well-suited for engineering and design, but its standard refresh rate limits its capability for 3D applications. The Gigabyte Aorus 17H also offers a high-resolution screen with decent color reproduction that meets the demands for general use and is adequate for engineering and design tasks, but its gaming and 3D use is hindered by lower refresh rates than specialized gaming laptops. For general use, both laptops provide bright, sharp displays, but for specialized tasks like high-end engineering design or 3D gaming, you may want to consider devices optimized for these specific areas.
Battery
12.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 17H 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
Good
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$540
$2,300
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $540 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17H costs $2,300.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17H and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) offers good battery life and superior screen quality, making it suitable for general use, especially if portability with a lighter weight and a high-resolution display are prioritized. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H provides more storage capacity and a better processor but with a tradeoff in reduced battery life and heavier weight, which might be less favorable for users who frequently travel.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.0/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and Gigabyte Aorus 17H 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.
Software Development
7.9/10
7.5/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and Gigabyte Aorus 17H 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 16 (Late 2019) and the Gigabyte Aorus 17H compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"Overall though, it’s *lots of swearing* fast, seriously. For work, rendering, gaming, it doesn’t matter, this is a true weapon of performance that’s going to run rings around most high-end desktop systems. If you absolutely have to game at ultra-high refresh rates on the go (but within thinking distance of a plug socket), this is the ticket. I can’t see such an extreme being that appealing to everyone, but if you take your gaming seriously, or even professionally, there’s nothing else out there that comes close that you can still fit in your backpack and travel with."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) or the Gigabyte Aorus 17H
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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