The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is typically priced slightly less than the Gigabyte Aorus 5 and offers better performance for general use, better screen quality for color accuracy, and a significantly longer battery life, making it ideal for professionals who require a reliable machine for tasks such as photo and video editing. However, if your priority is 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the Gigabyte Aorus 5, with its higher performance scores in these areas and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU, is better suited for these intensive tasks. It features a higher refresh rate screen but has a considerably shorter battery life and is heavier, which impacts portability. Additionally, the MacBook Pro showcases a refined build quality, a brighter display with a higher pixel density for sharper images, and runs macOS, while the Aorus 5 is built for Windows users and offers more traditional gaming laptop aesthetics. 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 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 5
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 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
280.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in general use due to its high-resolution Mini LED screen, larger amount of RAM, and a CPU and GPU designed to work seamlessly with its operating system, leading to longer battery life and better portability with its lighter design. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 5, while also good for general use, targets a different audience with its dedicated high-performance graphics card and a more gaming-oriented design, yet it has a shorter battery life and is slightly heavier which may affect portability.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.9/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.2/10
3456 x 2234
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 5 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both good for gaming and AI, though the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is appreciated for 3D work due to its powerful GPU and high-resolution Mini LED screen, although its lower refresh rate is not ideal for gaming, especially considering many popular games are not compatible with macOS. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is geared towards gaming with its higher refresh rate screen and capable Nvidia GPU, offering a smoother visual experience for fast-paced games and good 3D performance as well.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.6/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 5 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
7.3/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 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
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 5 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 stands out for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution display and wide color gamut, which present visuals sharply and with vibrant, accurate colors that professionals need. However, it falls short for 3D applications because it typically has a lower refresh rate, meaning less fluid motion compared to dedicated gaming laptops. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 offers a good balance for general and engineering uses with respectable resolution and color reproduction but lacks in gaming and 3D due to a less impressive refresh rate that doesn't match up to specialized gaming laptops designed for those purposes.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has 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
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 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 5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,999
$2,359
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,999 and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 costs $2,359.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Gigabyte Aorus 5 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is favored in engineering and design due to its high-performance CPU (Apple M1 Pro), ample RAM, advanced GPU (Apple M1 Pro), and superior Mini LED screen quality, which offers excellent color accuracy and brightness.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 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."
"The Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4 is a capable mainstream gaming notebook that will run the latest PC games with aplomb. However, it's not your stereotypical flashy gaming PC. Gigabyte has added some interesting tweaks. For example, the webcam placement and its Microsoft Azure AI tool — to automatically switch between power modes — are unusual for this genre. But more importantly, the pricing is fairly competitive and reasonable."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the Gigabyte Aorus 5
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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