The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers a high-quality mini LED display with a larger color coverage suited for professional color work, and it's also lighter and has a longer battery life which is ideal if you prioritize mobility and long work sessions away from power sources. Conversely, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H has superior graphics performance due to its dedicated Nvidia GPU, making it better for 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming. The Aorus has an RGB backlit keyboard with a number pad and more options for connectivity including Ethernet. Choose the MacBook Pro for portability and screen quality or the Aorus if you need better graphics performance and gaming capabilities. 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
Very good 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 17H
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
9.1/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
351.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.9/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is favored for general use due to its long battery life, lightweight design, and high-resolution Mini LED screen, which makes it highly portable with superior display quality; however, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H, while having similar CPU and RAM, is less portable due to its heavier weight and shorter battery life, making it less convenient for on-the-go use despite its adequate performance for general tasks.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
8.7/10
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
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 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) offers powerful 3D capabilities with its integrated M2 Pro GPU and high-resolution Mini LED screen, making it good for detailed visual work despite lacking a high refresh rate. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H excels in gaming and 3D applications due to its high-performance Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU with a very high refresh rate display, but its limitation lies in its gaming portfolio, as many popular titles are not compatible with macOS.
Content Creation
9.1/10
8.0/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 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 17H is very 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
7.5/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H 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
9.3/10
8.3/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
351.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17H for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16's display with its high resolution and bright panel delivers sharp and vibrant visuals, making it excellent for general use and professional design tasks that require accurate colors across various gamuts. The Gigabyte Aorus 17H, while producing high-quality images with respectable brightness and resolution, may not match the MacBook in color accuracy, affecting designers who rely on precise color representation. However, for 3D environments, the Aorus 17H might not offer the high refresh rates that enhance smooth motion and improve the experience, an aspect where purpose-built gaming or 3D laptops excel.
Battery
17.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and Gigabyte Aorus 17H are both very good for engineering and design.
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.
Cost
$2,423
$2,370
$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 17H costs $2,370.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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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Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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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.
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Laptops Expert
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