The Dell G15 5520, affordable and lighter, is suited for general use and gaming with adequate performance, a good battery, and better portability. In contrast, the MSI Titan GT77 offers top-tier performance for demanding 3D, machine learning, and engineering tasks with a high-resolution display, but at a significantly higher price and greater weight. The Titan's battery is lower in capacity, and it's less portable, tailored for users needing a desktop-replacement powerhouse rather than mobility. 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 Dell G15 5520
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Titan GT77
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Excellent for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
251.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
602.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is very good for general use, while the Dell G15 5520 is good.
The Dell G15 5520 offers a decent balance for general use, with a good level of RAM, a high-quality keyboard, and a reasonable balance between portability and battery life, suitable for users who need to move around. In contrast, the MSI Titan GT77 stands out with its superior CPU and substantially more RAM for more demanding tasks, an exceptional screen, and top-notch keyboard quality, but at the expense of lower portability due to its size and weight, which also affects battery life negatively.
Gaming and AI
7.7/10
10.0/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the Dell G15 5520 is good.
The Dell G15 5520, with an Nvidia RTX 3060 and a screen refresh rate of 165Hz, provides solid gaming and 3D performance, while the MSI Titan GT77 ups the ante with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 and a higher resolution Mini LED screen, albeit with a slightly lower refresh rate of 144Hz. The Titan's superior graphics power and screen quality make it better suited for the most intense gaming and 3D tasks, but the Dell's higher refresh rate may be preferable for gaming situations where the fastest possible screen updates are crucial.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
10.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Titan GT77 is best in class for engineering and design, while the Dell G15 5520 is very good.
The Dell G15 5520 is suitable for engineering and design thanks to its capable processor, decent graphics unit, ample screen quality, and 16GB of RAM, balancing performance and portability. In contrast, the MSI Titan GT77 excels in these tasks with a top-tier processor, high-end graphics, superior screen resolution and quality, and a substantial 64GB of RAM, but it sacrifices portability and is likely louder under load.
Content Creation
7.9/10
9.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan GT77 is excellent for content creation, while the Dell G15 5520 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
7.5/10
9.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is excellent for software development, while the Dell G15 5520 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
7.1/10
9.7/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
251.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
602.0 nits
The MSI Titan GT77 has a better screen than the Dell G15 5520 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the MSI Titan GT77 offers a higher resolution and brighter display, providing crisper and more vivid visuals, while the Dell G15 5520, though adequate, has a less impressive display. When it comes to engineering and design, the MSI's superior color gamut displays a wider range of colors with greater accuracy, crucial for professionals needing precise color representation, whereas the Dell's color gamut is satisfactory for casual design work but may not meet professional standards. However, for gaming and 3D tasks, both laptops fall short as their screens have a lower refresh rate, which is key for smooth motion, thus neither is ideal for fast-paced, high-frame-rate gaming experiences.
Portability
Fair
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
7.2 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Dell G15 5520 has only fair portability, while the MSI Titan GT77 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The MSI Titan GT77 has very good build quality, while the Dell G15 5520 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$6,975
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Dell G15 5520 has a price of $1,000 and the MSI Titan GT77 costs $6,975.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | April 2023
"The Dell G15 (2022) is a 15.6-inch budget gaming laptop, and is great for gaming. You can configure the laptop with powerful Intel 12th Gen. CPUs and various NVIDIA dedicated GPUs, all of which deliver a smooth gaming experience at 1080p. There's also a QHD 240Hz display option if you want better visuals, though you'll have to pair it with the top-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to get good frame rates. It doesn't get overly hot or loud under load, and there's no noticeable throttling on the CPU or GPU. Unfortunately, the 120Hz panel has a slow response time, causing noticeable ghosting, and it doesn't support variable refresh rate."
"The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V is the utimate gaming laptop with RTX 4090 & Core i9-13950HX. The new MSI Titan GT77 will most likely only reach a very small group of users due to the high price, but it is still an impressive showcase of what is possible. The high-end gamer combines the best components you can currently get in almost every regard and it is a very good overall package, which does not have to hide behind full-fledged desktop systems."
Get a great deal on the Dell G15 5520 or the MSI Titan GT77
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
130,695
Recommendations made
28,318
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.