If you prioritize performance for intensive engineering tasks or content creation and are willing to pay more, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is suitable, especially with its high-quality display, longer battery life, and macOS operating system. However, it's heavier and less portable. The MSI Pulse GL66 offers good performance for gaming and engineering at a more affordable price, with a faster screen refresh rate, but has a shorter battery life and a lower quality display. It runs Windows, which may be preferable for certain applications. Both have similar storage and memory, but the MacBook has a slight edge in build quality and speakers. 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 2023)
Very good 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
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Pulse GL66
The MSI Pulse GL66 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.3/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the MSI Pulse GL66 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in general use with a powerful CPU, more RAM, and an exceptional Mini LED screen that offers high resolution and brightness, combined with a thin design and long battery life, making it very portable.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
7.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Pulse GL66 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023), with its top-tier Apple M3 Pro CPU and GPU, mini LED screen, and extensive color space coverage, offers superior performance and screen quality for intricate engineering and design applications compared to the MSI Pulse GL66, which, although having a powerful Intel i7 processor and Nvidia RTX GPU, has a standard IPS display with lower resolution and color accuracy.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the MSI Pulse GL66 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
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
18.0 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 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the MSI Pulse GL66 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
6.8/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the MSI Pulse GL66 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the MacBook Pro 16's screen offers high resolution and brightness, along with a panel type that provides crisp, clear visuals, making it superior for everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming. In engineering and design, the MacBook Pro excels due to its wide color gamuts, ensuring accurate color representation essential for detailed work. However, the MSI Pulse GL66, while adequate for general use and engineering with fair screen quality, falls short for gaming and 3D applications due to a lower refresh rate, which is less optimal for the fluid motion graphics these tasks demand.
Battery
17.5 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Pulse GL66 has 4 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
Good
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and MSI Pulse GL66 both have good portability, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Pulse GL66 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,399
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the MSI Pulse GL66 costs $1,399.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for gaming and AI.
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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the MSI Pulse GL66 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 MSI Pulse GL66 has a lot of potential for improvement. Although the RTX 3060 is only able to use 105 watts, we still liked the gaming performance, particularly since this also makes the Pulse comfortably efficient but not slow by any means. Neither the dark display with its lame response times, nor USB 2.0 or the lack of Thunderbolt will please real gamers. The use of a sticker factory seal, which is at least questionable, also won't inspire any enthusiasm. It is obvious that the laptop is really designed for price-conscious gamers."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the MSI Pulse GL66
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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