The ASUS ROG Flow X13 offers a more portable and lightweight design with a touchscreen, favorable for on-the-go use and general tasks, with ample performance for gaming and creative applications. The MSI Stealth 17, on the other hand, is larger and heavier but boasts a more powerful processor and graphics, significantly more memory and storage, and a larger screen, ideal for intensive engineering work, high-end gaming, and demanding 3D rendering or machine learning tasks. Consider the ASUS if portability and touch functionality are priorities, or the MSI for top-tier performance at the expense of portability and higher cost. 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 ASUS ROG Flow X13
Very good overall build quality
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.1/10
8.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
511.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 are both very good for general use, though the MSI Stealth 17 is somewhat better.
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
7.8/10
9.1/10
7.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.2/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the ASUS ROG Flow X13 is good.
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 is good for gaming and 3D tasks as it has a capable Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU and a 165Hz screen refresh rate that provides smooth visuals for fast-paced games. However, the MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and 3D due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a higher 240Hz screen refresh rate, offering an even smoother and more immersive gaming experience.
Engineering and Design
8.5/10
9.4/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS ROG Flow X13 is very good.
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 offers a strong AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU that are well-suited for engineering and design, enhanced by its high-resolution touchscreen that flips for tablet use, all in a lightweight, portable form. In contrast, the MSI Stealth 17 steps up performance with a higher-end Intel i9 CPU and superior Nvidia RTX GPU, making it exceptional for demanding engineering tasks, and is complemented by a larger, high-refresh-rate screen, though it is less portable and heavier.
Content Creation
8.2/10
8.8/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 are both very good for content creation, though the MSI Stealth 17 is somewhat better.
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
8.0/10
8.5/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 are both very good for software development, though the MSI Stealth 17 is somewhat better.
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
8.4/10
8.6/10
13.4in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
511.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the ASUS ROG Flow X13 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
For general use, both the ASUS ROG Flow X13 and the MSI Stealth 17 have high-resolution screens with great brightness and clarity, making them suitable for everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming. In engineering and design, these laptops excel by offering wide color gamuts, ensuring accurate color representation and detail for professional creative work. However, for the demands of 3D and gaming, their lower refresh rates could make fast-paced visuals less smooth, which is less ideal for those specific tasks.
Battery
8.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 has 5.5 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
Very Good
Fair
13.4in
SIZE
17.3in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.8/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has very good build quality, while the MSI Stealth 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,500
$3,899
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has a price of $2,500 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"The Asus ROG Flow X13 is not an off-the-shelf convertible. This quickly becomes clear when you take a closer look at the technical specs. The AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS is a state-of-the-art SoC with 8 cores and 16 threads, which also makes the 2-in-1 interesting as a work device. With 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, gamers are also well taken care of. The dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q fits well into the overall concept and ensures a solid 3D performance. With the eGPU dock, which is equipped with a GeForce RTX 3080, the small convertible transforms into a full-fledged desktop replacement in terms of performance."
"The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Flow X13 or the MSI Stealth 17
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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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