For a balance of performance and portability with a stunning OLED display, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is ideal, especially for creative tasks and general use. Its Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and Intel Arc graphics offer solid performance, and the high-resolution OLED screen is excellent for color-accurate work and entertainment. However, it's not the best for intensive gaming or tasks that require hardware ray tracing or DLSS, which the MSI GF65 Thin provides with its Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU. The MSI also has a higher refresh rate for smoother gaming experiences. While the MSI has a slight edge in performance for gaming and 3D rendering, it's less portable, has a shorter battery life, and the IPS display, while good, doesn't match the color reproduction of the ASUS's OLED screen. If you prioritize a better screen for everyday use and engineering tasks over raw gaming performance, go with the ASUS. If gaming and 3D tasks are your focus, the MSI is the better choice, despite its heavier build and shorter battery life. 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 S 15 OLED
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good portability
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
The MSI GF65 Thin has no clear advantages over the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED.
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
6.5/10
2880 x 1620
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
600.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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.
Engineering and Design
8.0/10
6.7/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.0/10
6.8/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
2880 x 1620
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is very good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
7.8/10
6.3/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2880 x 1620
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
8.8/10
6.8/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
2880 x 1620
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
600.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has 9 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
Very Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has very good portability, while the MSI GF65 Thin has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
6.7/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has 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.
Cost
$1,249
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has a price of $1,249 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
The MSI GF65 Thin and ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED are both only fair 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 ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
"The Asus Vivobook S 15 OLED excels as a capable work machine at an affordable price. It offers commendable performance, thanks to its 12th Gen Intel chip, delivers quality on-screen entertainment with its 15.6-inch OLED display, and can (kind of) get you through a full day of work. Oh, and its special Asus Antibacterial Guard is a nice touch for those who like a clean laptop."
"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 S 15 OLED 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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