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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
If your priority is performance, particularly for tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or other engineering applications, the Gigabyte Aero 16 with its powerful processor and high-end graphics would be the superior option. However, it's more expensive and heavier, which affects portability. The MSI Modern 14, while more affordable and lighter, offering better portability, has less power under the hood and a less impressive display, making it suitable for general use and not ideal for intensive tasks. The Aero 16 also has a significantly better screen with higher color accuracy, which could be important if you're doing work where color rendition is critical. 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
- Good for gaming and AI
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Modern 14
- Very good portability
- Good speakers
Key differences
General Use
8.0
7.2
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
368.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for general use, while the MSI Modern 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
7.8
6.0
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.6
6.6
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 excels in engineering and design owing to its powerful Intel i7 CPU, high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and superior screen with high resolution and color accuracy, making it ideal for demanding applications and visual work. In contrast, the MSI Modern 14, with its mid-range AMD Ryzen CPU and integrated Vega graphics, offers a more basic performance suitable for lighter tasks, and although it is lighter and more portable, its screen quality and color representation fall short for professional design needs.
Content Creation
8.2
7.2
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
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 Modern 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
7.9
7.1
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and MSI Modern 14 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
6.4
16.0in
SIZE
14.0in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen than the MSI Modern 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a high-resolution, bright display that makes it excellent for tasks like photo editing and design, which require precise color accuracy and broad color ranges like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the screen's refresh rate isn't as high as dedicated gaming laptops, making fast-paced visuals less smooth. The MSI Modern 14, while sufficient for everyday tasks and hobbies like casual photo editing due to its fair screen quality, neither excels in professional color work nor in high-refresh-rate tasks required for gaming.
Portability
Good
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.0in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Modern 14 has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8
7.0
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and MSI Modern 14 both have good build quality, though the Gigabyte Aero 16 has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,260
$525
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a price of $1,260 and the MSI Modern 14 costs $525.
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Key similarities
Battery
7.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Modern 14 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.
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How the Gigabyte Aero 16 and the MSI Modern 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 | MSI Modern 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,260 | $525 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2022 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 9.8'' x 0.88'' | 12.7'' x 8.7'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.07 lbs | 3.08 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.02" | 12.68" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.78" | 8.74" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-12700H | AMD Ryzen 5 7530U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 2048 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 6 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99 Wh | 39 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3840 x 2400 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 368 nits | 311 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.1/10 | 8.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.8/10 | 8.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 3 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Gigabyte Aero 16
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Dig into reviews and images
Tom's Hardware
Isaac Rouse | May 2022
"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."
MSI Modern 14
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Dig into reviews and images
Rtings
Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | October 2023
"The MSI Modern 14 is okay for school use. It's very compact, so it's easy to carry around. It has a sharp display, a spacious keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its Intel 13th Gen CPU and integrated graphics can handle general productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing; however, don't expect to do anything intensive like 3D modeling or physics simulations. Unfortunately, the battery lasts less than five hours of light use, and the display doesn't get bright enough to combat glare."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 16 or the MSI Modern 14
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.
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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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