The Gigabyte A5 is a more budget-friendly option that offers solid performance for general use, gaming, and less demanding engineering tasks. It’s also relatively portable and has a decent battery life for everyday tasks. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE77Hx, while more expensive, provides a significant performance boost, particularly in 3D rendering, machine learning, and more intensive engineering applications. It also has a higher quality display and better heat management, but it's heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. If budget is a major concern or you need better battery life and portability, the Gigabyte A5 would be a wise choice, but if you require top-tier performance and a superior display at the expense of portability and higher cost, the MSI Raider GE77Hx would be the better option. 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 Gigabyte A5
Good portability
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE77Hx
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.3/10
8.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
281.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
6.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.
The MSI Raider GE77Hx surpasses the Gigabyte A5 in general use due to its more powerful CPU, greater storage, and higher resolution screen, which contribute to a smoother and more visually impressive experience, though it is less portable and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.1/10
8.7/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.
The MSI Raider GE77Hx's very good performance in gaming and 3D tasks is attributed to its superior RTX 3070 Ti GPU and its high refresh rate screen of 240Hz, compared to the good performing Gigabyte A5 which is equipped with a RTX 3060 GPU and a 144Hz screen.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.
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
7.3/10
8.2/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE77Hx is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte A5 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
7.0/10
7.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx and Gigabyte A5 are both good for software development, though the MSI Raider GE77Hx is somewhat better.
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
7.2/10
8.4/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
281.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE77Hx has a better screen than the Gigabyte A5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Gigabyte A5 provides the necessary resolution and brightness, with a panel type that offers clear and vibrant images, making it a suitable choice for everyday tasks and multimedia consumption. The MSI Raider GE77Hx excels in engineering and design with a display that covers a wider color gamut, ensuring that professionals and creatives see accurate colors for precise work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short due to lower refresh rates, meaning they don't deliver as smooth motion as some gamers and 3D artists would prefer.
Portability
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Gigabyte A5 has good portability, while the MSI Raider GE77Hx has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE77Hx has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte A5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$830
$2,140
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Gigabyte A5 has a price of $830 and the MSI Raider GE77Hx costs $2,140.
"Ignoring price, the Gigabyte A5 has a hard time against the similarly fast competition. Besides the loud noise in 3D mode (performance mode), the high temperature development of the components should be mentioned on the downside. Despite the relatively thick case, the laptop gets very warm and loud under load, which does not exactly speak for the cooling system. The plastic surfaces look rather cheap and also tend to rattle. In most other disciplines - be it the input devices, the screen, the connectivity or the battery runtime - the Gigabyte laptop does not stand out from the crowd, neither positively nor negatively. However, those who primarily pay attention to the price-performance ratio will get a pretty good offer with the Gigabyte A5."
"The MSI Raider GE77 offers a lot of power for a lot of money. The main components consist of a Core i9-12900HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (175 watts TGP, 16 GB VRAM), and 64 GB of RAM, which makes for a high overall performance level. The GeForce GPU in particular scores some of the highest scores we have seen from this chip. Both the CPU and the GPU are able to run at continuously high clock speeds. The relatively high heat and noise emissions match our expectations for this device class. With approximately 5.5 to 6.5 hours, the battery life is good for a powerful 4K laptop."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte A5 or the MSI Raider GE77Hx
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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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