When considering the ASUS Vivobook 15 and the MSI Raider GE78, if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option that's lighter and slightly more portable, the ASUS Vivobook is a suitable choice for general use and has a decent battery life. However, if performance is critical, especially for 3D rendering, machine learning tasks, and gaming, the MSI Raider GE78 is significantly more powerful with a high-end processor and top-tier graphics but comes at a higher price and reduced portability due to its size and weight. Keep in mind the MSI also boasts a better-quality display, keyboard, and speakers, favoring extended and high-performance use cases. 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 Vivobook 15
Good portability
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE78
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The MSI Raider GE78 stands out for general use due to its high-performance CPU, abundant RAM, and superior screen quality compared to the ASUS Vivobook 15, which has a lower-tier CPU and less RAM, resulting in fair general use performance. However, the Vivobook 15 is lighter and more portable, but its lower screen quality and lesser battery capacity make it less optimal for demanding tasks than the MSI Raider GE78, which also compromises on portability due to its larger size and weight.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
9.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is poor.
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
6.1/10
9.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 15 is fair for engineering and design use because it has modest performance parts like an Intel i3 processor and integrated graphics, which are adequate for basic tasks but might struggle with complex engineering software. In contrast, the MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for such tasks because it packs a powerful Intel i9 processor and a high-end Nvidia GPU, providing the processing power needed for demanding engineering applications, but this comes at the cost of lower portability and higher operating noise.
Content Creation
6.4/10
8.8/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
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
6.5/10
8.5/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
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
6.3/10
8.6/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE78 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS Vivobook 15's display may have adequate brightness and resolution but may lack the vibrant color or sharpness of the MSI Raider GE78's screen, which boasts superior brightness and higher resolution for clearer and more vivid visuals. When it comes to engineering and design, the MSI's display supports a wider range of colors with better adherence to professional color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, which are essential for accurately rendering designs, while the ASUS's color range may fall short for precision work. While both laptops have displays not optimized for gaming or 3D due to lower refresh rates, the MSI's superior resolution and panel technology still offer better detail and image quality for such tasks compared to the ASUS.
Portability
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has good portability, while the MSI Raider GE78 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$530
$4,386
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has a price of $530 and the MSI Raider GE78 costs $4,386.
"The Asus VivoBook 15 is a quiet office notebook with a strong screen. However, the VivoBook 15 still has room for improvement. Office and internet applications as well as simple games do not pose any major challenges for the VivoBook - this is ensured by the built-in combination of Ryzen 7 5700U APU and 16 GB of RAM. Heat and noise emissions are acceptable. But, the laptop has weaknesses that should not be present at this level: lack of keyboard lighting, a slow memory card reader, no fast USB-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 4) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort. Battery runtimes can only be described as average."
"Performance-wise, the GE78 offers a significant boost over the GE77 for just slightly higher power consumption. You'll have to get the RTX 4080 or 4090 configurations to see the performance advantages, however, as the RTX 4070 is closer in performance to the older RTX 3080 Ti. In terms of design, some users might prefer the 16:9 minimalistic look of the older GE77 over the 16:10 retro-inspired GE78 and vice versa. We wouldn't call one better than the other in terms of aesthetics, but we'll give the edge to the GE78 for its stronger hinges and larger keys and clickpad."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Vivobook 15 or the MSI Raider GE78
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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