If long battery life and a high-quality display are critical for you, and you predominantly work with non-Windows specific applications or multimedia tasks, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) with its Mini LED screen, extensive color coverage, and long battery life is a compelling option despite its premium cost. On the other hand, if gaming or Windows-specific applications are your priority and you're looking for more graphical performance at a lower price, the MSI GP66 Leopard with its powerful RTX 3080 graphics card makes sense, though it comes with a shorter battery life and a standard IPS display which might not be as brilliant as the MacBook's. The Leopard's additional feature set, including its gaming-focused hardware and upgradable components, offers flexibility for users who prioritize customization and future hardware updates. 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
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
The MSI GP66 Leopard has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its high-quality screen, powerful CPU, ample RAM, and long battery life excels in providing an efficient and comfortable user experience for general tasks, with the added benefits of a slim design for portability albeit at a higher price. On the other hand, the MSI GP66 Leopard also offers strong CPU performance and plenty of RAM for general use, but trades some portability and battery life for a more accessible price point and gaming-oriented hardware which may not be necessary for non-gaming users.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
7.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is equipped with a higher resolution Mini LED screen and a powerful integrated Apple M3 Pro GPU, making it preferable for engineering and design tasks that benefit from superior color accuracy and graphics capabilities.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.4/10
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 GP66 Leopard 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
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 GP66 Leopard 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
7.5/10
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
362.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16's remarkable screen resolution, luminescence, and broad color gamuts make it ideal for tasks demanding high color accuracy and clarity, such as general use and engineering design. Conversely, the MSI GP66 Leopard's display, while sharp and bright for everyday and professional applications, falls short for gaming and 3D modeling due to its lower refresh rate which is critical for fluid motion visualization. Therefore, if your work revolves around design and media, the MacBook stands out; however, if gaming or 3D rendering is your primary focus, you may need to look beyond these options for a screen with a higher refresh rate.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard 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
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,400
$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 GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) 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 GP66 Leopard 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 GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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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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.
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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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