The Gigabyte Aero 16 offers a larger OLED screen with higher resolution, which is excellent for detailed graphics work and enjoying media, but it has a lower refresh rate not suited for fast-paced gaming. It also provides significantly greater storage and boasts a brighter display along with wider color coverage, making it ideal for creative professionals. On the other hand, the MSI GP66 Leopard features a powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU and a higher refresh rate screen, making it better for high-intensity gaming, although its storage is limited compared to the Aero 16. The Leopard may offer a slightly more robust build and better heat management but has a shorter battery life, making it less portable than the Aero 16, which has a better battery capacity. Choose the Aero 16 for creative tasks and everyday use, or the Leopard for a gaming-focused experience. 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 Aero 16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Key differences
General Use
8.0/10
7.5/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
368.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for general use, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 offers a high-resolution OLED screen and a powerful CPU which, along with ample RAM and large storage, ensures smooth operation for general use; its portability and battery life, although decent, are not its strongest points.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
7.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 16, with its higher resolution OLED screen and more powerful CPU, excels in engineering and design tasks where screen quality and processing power are critical. In contrast, the MSI GP66 Leopard has a high-end GPU which is great for demanding applications, but it comes with a standard IPS display and an older generation CPU, making it less optimal for tasks that heavily rely on visual detail and CPU performance.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.4/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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
7.9/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and MSI GP66 Leopard are both good for software development, though the Gigabyte Aero 16 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
8.4/10
7.5/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the Gigabyte Aero 16's higher resolution and brighter panel offer a clear, vivid experience, making document reading and web browsing more pleasant. When it comes to engineering and design tasks, the Aero 16's wider color gamut coverage ensures more accurate color representation essential for professional photo editing and graphic work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, despite its high resolution and panel type, the Aero 16 falls short due to a lower refresh rate compared to gaming-focused laptops, which can lead to less smooth visual performance during fast-paced action.
Battery
7.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 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.
Cost
$1,260
$1,400
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a price of $1,260 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Gigabyte Aero 16 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Gigabyte Aero 16, with its Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and 60Hz OLED display, offers a balance of high visual fidelity and modest refresh rate, suitable for detailed 3D work and gaming at high resolutions. The MSI GP66 Leopard, on the other hand, pairs a powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 with a higher 144Hz refresh rate IPS screen, catering more to gamers demanding fluid motion and rapid response times.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.9in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to have good portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GP66 Leopard to have very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Gigabyte Aero 16 and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aero 16 is a workstation laptop for light gaming. It's design is still muted, with a silver chassis alongside a black keyboard and trackpad that provides some contrast. The Gigabyte Aero’s full-size chiclet-style keyboard is enjoyable to type on thanks to its snappy feel and responsiveness. The 4K+ AMOLED display is good, but it could be better. It doesn’t handle true black very well and suffers from strong reflections and glare. The Gigabyte Aero excels at productivity performance and can keep up with other gaming laptops in 1080p. But it has very few ports and its refresh rate leaves a bit to be desired."
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 16 or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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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