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Updated January 10, 2024·
Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 depends on your needs. If you prioritize performance for professional creative work, battery life, and a high-resolution display, the MacBook Pro with its Apple M2 Max chip and Mini LED screen is the superior option. On the other hand, if gaming or Windows-specific software is a priority and you're interested in a high-refresh-rate screen, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 with its Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card is more suitable. The MacBook offers a sleeker design and potentially better build quality at the expense of repairability and upgradeability, which the Aorus 5 may offer more of with its Windows ecosystem. 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 (2023)
- Excellent for general use
- Excellent for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Excellent for software development
- Excellent 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 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
9.4
7.5
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 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 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
8.5
7.9
8.9/10
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 Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
9.4
8.2
8.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.2/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is very good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its high-resolution Mini LED display, robust CPU and GPU, and considerable RAM is well-suited for demanding engineering and design tasks, offering superior screen quality for fine detail work, albeit at a higher price and less portability. In contrast, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 also has a strong CPU and capable GPU suitable for such tasks, it has less RAM and a lower resolution screen, making it more affordable and slightly more portable, but with a compromise on the peak performance and visual intricacy that professionals might require.
Content Creation
9.3
7.6
8.4/10
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 (2023) is excellent 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
9.2
7.3
8.4/10
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 (2023) is excellent 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
9.3
8.0
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
487.0 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 boasts a high-resolution display with excellent brightness, delivering crisp, vibrant visuals for everyday tasks and making it ideal for design and engineering due to its wide color gamut, which covers both DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB well. The Gigabyte Aorus 5, while offering decent resolution and brightness, falls behind in color representation, making it less suitable than the MacBook Pro for color-critical work in engineering and design. The MacBook's limitation, however, lies in a lower refresh rate, which is less optimal for 3D applications that benefit from smoother motion and quicker screen updates provided by higher refresh rates that the Aorus may offer.
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 (2023) 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
7.4
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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.
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Key similarities
Cost
$2,423
$2,359
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has a price of $2,423 and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 costs $2,359.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) | Gigabyte Aorus 5 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,423 | $2,359 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | January 1, 2023 | June 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66'' | 14'' x 10'' x 1.08'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.7 lbs | 5.07 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.01" | 14" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.77" | 10" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M2 Max (12C) | Intel i7-12700H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 17.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99.6 Wh | 99 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16.2" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | Mini LED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 360Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 487 nits | 280 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 6.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8.8/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 3 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 4 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
Shopping
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"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."
Gigabyte Aorus 5
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Dig into reviews and images
Can Buy or Not
Vincent Chang | June 2022
"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 (2023) 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.
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