The MacBook Pro is a strong contender if you prioritized a vibrant display, longer battery life, and you're immersed in the Apple ecosystem or value MacOS for its streamlined design—being lighter and slightly smaller does make it more portable too. On the other hand, the Aorus 17G stands out for its better suitability for high-end gaming and engineering applications, owed to its powerful Nvidia graphics card and higher screen refresh rate, which may appeal if your usage includes intensive 3D work, machine learning, or gaming. However, this is at the cost of shorter battery life and heavier weight, which might be less ideal if you're frequently on the move. 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 (2021)
Excellent for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
7.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
282.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in general use thanks to its superior screen quality, longer battery life, and better portability when compared to the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, though the latter does offer a higher refresh rate screen and potentially better gaming performance with dedicated graphics. The MacBook has a high-resolution mini LED screen and the efficiency of the M1 Pro chip leading to a thinner, lighter design and longer battery usage per charge; it's also quieter and manages heat better, enhancing its portability despite its smaller storage capacity and less RAM than the Aorus, which might be more favorable for intensive tasks but is bulkier and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.5/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both good for gaming and AI, though the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is well-suited for 3D work with its powerful GPU and high-quality screen but may not support many popular games due to macOS limitations, whereas the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, with its high-performance Nvidia GPU and very high screen refresh rate, is optimized for gaming and can run a wide variety of games due to Windows 10 Home OS.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
7.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in engineering and design due to its superior screen quality with its Mini LED display, providing vivid colors and high brightness, which is complemented by a powerful CPU and GPU in the Apple M1 Pro chip. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 17G has a robust Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU tailored for demanding tasks, but its lower-resolution IPS screen and heavier build make it less ideal for portability and top-tier color-sensitive work.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.5/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G 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.
Software Development
8.9/10
7.2/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G 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
9.4/10
8.0/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
282.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17G for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in screen quality for general use and engineering thanks to its high resolution, bright display, and wide color gamuts that ensure crisp, vibrant visuals necessary for detailed design work. While its screen offers a lower refresh rate, making it less ideal for 3D applications where smoother motion is key. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 17G provides decent quality for general tasks and engineering with good resolution and color reproduction, but its lower refresh rate affects its performance in gaming and 3D scenarios, where fast-moving visuals may not be as smooth.
Battery
17.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G 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
Fair
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G 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 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17G has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,999
$2,329
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,999 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17G costs $2,329.
"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 Aorus 17G isn't among the top RTX 3080 laptops due to its relatively low TGP of 105 watts. The device's gaming performance is average for an RTX 3080. For maximum performance, competitors like the Lenovo Legion 7 or the Alienware m17 R4 are recommended With the Aorus 17G, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded gaming laptop. However, the device generates a high noise level. Throttling is not an issue. The CPU and GPU can develop their performance uniformly. Nevertheless, the device produces a lot of noise under load - more than many competitors."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
95,895
Recommendations made
20,778
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
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.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.