If budget is a primary concern, the ASUS Zenbook 14 provides good value and is suitable for everyday tasks and moderate workloads with its lightweight design, making it highly portable. On the other hand, the MSI GE66 Raider, while more expensive, offers superior performance for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning applications due to more powerful hardware, but it is heavier and less portable. If extended battery life is important, the Zenbook is likely to last longer on a single charge. Choose the Raider for high-demand tasks and gaming, or the Zenbook for general use, mobility, and cost savings. 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 Zenbook 14
Very good portability
Advantages of the MSI GE66 Raider
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.2/10
8.4/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
339.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
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
6.1/10
8.6/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is only fair.
The ASUS Zenbook 14, with its Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, delivers modest gaming performance and a decent screen refresh rate of 90Hz, whereas the MSI GE66 Raider, equipped with a high-end Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti and faster 120Hz refresh rate, offers a superior gaming and 3D graphics experience. Additionally, the Raider's more powerful i9 processor further enhances its capability for demanding gaming and visual workloads compared to the Zenbook's i5 processor.
Engineering and Design
7.2/10
9.1/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI GE66 Raider is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
The MSI GE66 Raider outshines the ASUS Zenbook 14 for engineering and design use, primarily due to its more powerful CPU and GPU, larger amount of RAM, and higher storage capacity, facilitating demanding tasks such as 3D rendering and complex simulations. Meanwhile, the ASUS Zenbook 14 offers superior portability and a high-quality OLED display with excellent color coverage, which may be more suitable for on-the-go users with design-focused needs where color accuracy is crucial.
Content Creation
7.3/10
8.4/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 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
7.2/10
8.4/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI GE66 Raider is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 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
8.3/10
8.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
339.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
347.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has a better screen than the MSI GE66 Raider for general use, and engineering and design, while the MSI GE66 Raider has a better screen for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS Zenbook 14 and MSI GE66 Raider both offer displays that are sharp, bright, and vibrant due to their high resolution and panel type, making reading text, browsing the web, and watching videos a pleasure. In engineering and design, the importance of accurately reproducing colors is paramount, and both laptops have displays that cover a wide range of color gamuts, ensuring that designers see true-to-life colors in their work. However, for gaming and 3D applications where the fluidity of motion is crucial, the lower refresh rate of these screens may cause motion blur or choppiness, which can be a setback for fast-paced visual experiences.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI GE66 Raider has 6 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
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has very good portability, while the MSI GE66 Raider has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.5/10
The MSI GE66 Raider has very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$300
$3,199
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has a price of $300 and the MSI GE66 Raider costs $3,199.
"Users who travel frequently and are looking for a portable laptop are in the right place with the Asus ZenBook 14. The sleek case is extremely light (1.2 kg) and surprisingly thin (1.5 cm). Outdoor use is also enjoyable thanks to the bright Full HD display, which is something that can rarely be said about laptops with TN or IPS panels. The excellent battery life complements this as well. Longer trips are no problem with the ZenBook 14. Another plus point is the high-performance Ryzen 7 5700U, which often leaves the Intel competition in the dust thanks to its large number of cores."
"The MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook 14 or the MSI GE66 Raider
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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