The ASUS Zenbook 14X offers a lower midrange price, making it more cost-effective than the MSI Stealth 17, which comes at a high-end price. If budget is a concern and you prioritize portability and battery life for general use, the ASUS may be a suitable choice with its lightweight design and satisfactory performance for everyday tasks. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 packs a more powerful main processor and GPU, accompanied by substantially more storage and RAM, making it ideal for intensive engineering, 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming, but it is less portable due to its larger size and weight. Despite both laptops having similar battery life, the larger and heavier MSI may be less convenient for on-the-go use, whereas the ASUS offers better portability at the expense of high-end performance. 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 14X
Very good portability
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.7/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
339.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is good.
The MSI Stealth 17 offers superior general use performance with a more powerful CPU, significantly more RAM, and better screen quality than the ASUS Zenbook 14X, but the tradeoff is in portability and battery life where the lighter ASUS with a smaller screen and efficient components is easier to carry around and may last longer on a charge. While both have high-quality displays, the larger storage and advanced features like a better keyboard and enhanced heat management make the MSI a powerhouse for demanding tasks, yet for users who prioritize ease of transportation and longer unplugged usage, the ASUS stands out.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is only fair.
The MSI Stealth 17 boasts a superior Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate of 240 Hz, which excel for gaming and 3D applications, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is equipped with a less powerful Nvidia MX550 GPU and a lower refresh rate of 90 Hz, which is adequate but not optimal for such tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.7/10
9.4/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3.9/10
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 Zenbook 14X is good.
The ASUS Zenbook 14X offers a solid balance for engineering and design with its high-resolution OLED screen and competent CPU and GPU, but the MSI Stealth 17 is superior in these areas with a top-tier processor, abundant RAM, and a powerful GPU, which are very important for such demanding tasks. While the Zenbook is lighter and more portable, the Stealth provides a larger, high-refresh-rate screen and exceptional performance, at the expense of being heavier and less portable.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.8/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X 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
7.4/10
8.5/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X 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
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
339.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook 14X has a better screen than the MSI Stealth 17 for general use, and engineering and design, while the MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Zenbook 14X and Stealth 17 offer crisp, bright displays with high resolution, making texts and images sharp and easy for daily tasks such as browsing and video streaming. Their displays are suitable for engineering and design due to their wide color gamuts, ensuring accurate color representation critical for these fields. However, for gaming and 3D applications, their poor refresh rates can lead to less smooth visuals, which can be a drawback for fast-paced and graphics-intensive activities.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS Zenbook 14X has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$777
$3,899
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS Zenbook 14X has a price of $777 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"With the Zenbook 14X, Asus has a 14-incher in its range that is - mostly - a joy to use. First, there is the colorful OLED panel with 3K resolution that displays the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces. The Zenbook is also at the forefront in terms of workmanship, input devices and connections with 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports and a generous keyboard layout. A pleasure to use, the Zenbook 14X is a solid, very well-built subnotebook that sits well on the table. A runtime of five hours, however, is below average for a high-end subnotebook nowadays. The OLED screensaver causes increased power consumption when in idle mode."
"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 Zenbook 14X 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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