Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the MSI Stealth 17 depends on your priorities. If you prioritize savings while still getting a capable machine, go for the MacBook Pro. It offers solid performance, a high-resolution display, and a reputation for good build quality and battery life, ideal for general use, and light creative or business workloads. On the flip side, if your work involves intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, gaming, or engineering software, the MSI Stealth 17, despite being more expensive, provides a significant performance boost with its top-tier graphics and a newer, powerful processor, plus a high refresh-rate screen, which is beneficial for gaming and smooth visuals. It's heavier, though, so less convenient for travel. Also consider that the MacBook Pro runs MacOS, which might be preferred for certain software ecosystems, while the MSI runs Windows 11 Pro, which offers a different range of compatibility and certain software options. 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 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 overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
8.7/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
477.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is well-suited for general use with its high-quality screen, lightweight design, and long battery life, making it more portable and convenient for everyday tasks, but it has modest storage and processing power. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17 provides exceptional performance with substantial RAM and a top-tier CPU, a larger screen with a higher refresh rate for smoother visuals, and ample storage, but it is heavier and offers a significantly shorter battery life, making it less ideal for on-the-go use.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
9.1/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is only fair.
The MacBook Pro with its AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU and a standard screen refresh rate of 60Hz is suitable for lighter 3D tasks, whereas the MSI Stealth 17 comes with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a significantly higher screen refresh rate of 240Hz, making it superior for gaming and demanding 3D applications, not to mention it supports many popular games that don't run on Macs due to operating system compatibility.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
9.4/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
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
8.0/10
8.8/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) are both very good for content creation, though the MSI Stealth 17 is somewhat better.
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
8.5/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
3072 x 1920
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 16 (Late 2019) 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
7.8/10
8.6/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 16 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 provides excellent clarity and color accuracy with its high-resolution Retina Display and supports a wide color gamut, making it ideal for engineering and design tasks where precision is key, but its standard refresh rate limits its performance in 3D environments. The MSI Stealth 17, while offering similar advantages in terms of resolution and color for general use and design work, also lacks a high refresh rate necessary for smooth rendering in gaming and 3D applications. Both laptops excel in creating vibrant and sharp visuals for conventional and professional workloads, but gamers and 3D designers may find the refresh rate insufficient for the fluid experience they seek.
Battery
12.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 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
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has 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 16 (Late 2019) 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
$540
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $540 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"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."
"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 16 (Late 2019) 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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