The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is more budget-friendly and lightweight, making it suitable for everyday use and carrying around, but it has basic performance and lower storage. On the other hand, the MSI GF65 Thin costs more but offers significantly better performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming, with more storage and advanced features like hardware ray tracing and higher refresh rate display. The tradeoff comes with reduced battery life and increased weight, so it may not be as convenient for on-the-go usage as the ASUS. Choose ASUS for basic tasks and portability or MSI for more demanding applications and gaming. 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 Go 15
Good overall build quality
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
5.6/10
6.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
200.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The MSI GF65 Thin is only fair for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is poor.
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
5.5/10
6.8/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GF65 Thin is only fair for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook Go 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
5.4/10
6.7/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
4.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The MSI GF65 Thin is only fair for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is poor.
The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is less suited for engineering and design due to its lower-powered CPU, lesser RAM, and basic integrated GPU which are not ideal for demanding software used in those fields; additionally, its screen quality does not favor precision work. The MSI GF65 Thin, on the other hand, offers a more powerful CPU, more RAM, and a high-end dedicated GPU necessary for intensive tasks, along with a better-quality display, though it is slightly less portable and could have louder operating noise when handling heavy workloads.
Content Creation
5.7/10
6.8/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
4.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GF65 Thin is only fair for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is poor.
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.
Screen Quality
5.2/10
6.8/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
200.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The MSI GF65 Thin has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 likely has an inferior display with low resolution and dim brightness which affects clarity and visibility across all use cases, making it less suitable for tasks requiring visual precision. The MSI GF65 Thin, with a fair display, suggests adequate resolution and brightness providing a satisfactory experience for daily tasks and some engineering work, but its color accuracy might not meet professional design standards. For gaming and 3D, both laptops fall short with the MSI performing slightly better due to its acceptable resolution and panel type, but the lack of high refresh rate compromises the smoothness in fast-paced visuals.
Battery
7.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 and MSI GF65 Thin both have good portability, though the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$240
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook Go 15 has a price of $240 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GF65 Thin to be only fair for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 is poor.
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.
Build Quality
7.0/10
6.7/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Vivobook Go 15 to have good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
"The Asus Vivobook Go 15 is a good option if you’re looking for one device to tackle a bunch of smaller problems. For simple school studies, portable evening entertainment or distractions, and getting household admin or light office workloads out of the way, it’s a great little package with respectable battery life, and a great contender for the advent of cloud gaming."
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 or the MSI GF65 Thin
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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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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