The Gigabyte Aero 17 offers higher storage capacity, more memory, and a more powerful processor and graphics card, which makes it well suited for intensive engineering tasks, 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming. Its larger screen with higher resolution and superior color accuracy will benefit creative professionals, but this comes at the cost of reduced battery life and portability due to its larger size and weight. On the other hand, the MSI GF65 Thin is more affordable, lighter, and offers better portability, but it has less storage and memory, which may limit performance for demanding applications. Its screen is smaller and less vibrant, making it more suited for general use and gaming. Both laptops have features for gaming, but the Aero 17's superior specs could provide a better gaming experience at the expense of portability and price. 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 17
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
Good portability
Key differences
General Use
8.1/10
6.5/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
368.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 offers better general use performance with its higher-end CPU, more RAM, and a Mini LED screen that provides superior resolution and color accuracy, useful for tasks where visual detail is paramount, but is less portable due to its size and has a fair battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin, in contrast, is more portable due to its lighter weight and smaller size, though it compromises on performance with a lower-tier CPU and less RAM, and its IPS screen is lower in resolution and color fidelity, along with a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
6.8/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 provides superior gaming and 3D performance mainly because of its more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, which delivers better graphics handling than the MSI GF65 Thin's Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU. Additionally, while the MSI GF65 Thin has a higher screen refresh rate, which can be beneficial for smooth visuals in fast-paced games, the Gigabyte Aero 17 offers a display with higher brightness and color coverage, enhancing visual quality and depth for graphics-intensive tasks.
Engineering and Design
8.8/10
6.7/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 stands out for engineering and design use with its higher-end CPU and GPU, larger, higher-resolution Mini LED screen, and greater memory capacity, which are crucial for intensive tasks like 3D modeling and data simulations.
Content Creation
8.4/10
6.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
9.2/10
6.8/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
Selecting the Gigabyte Aero 17 offers you a clear, vibrant display perfect for everyday tasks and detail-intensive engineering and design work because of its high resolution and excellent color coverage, but for gaming or 3D applications, the slower refresh rate may not provide the smooth visuals you're looking for. On the other hand, the MSI GF65 Thin provides decent visual quality for both everyday and professional use, though it lacks the wider color range needed for precision in design, and like the Aero, it's not ideal for gaming due to a lower refresh rate. Thus, your choice comes down to prioritizing professional-grade color accuracy with the Aero 17 for work tasks, or settling for a more balanced but less spectacular display with the GF65 Thin for general use, while neither will excel in gaming experiences.
Battery
5.5 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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.
Portability
Fair
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The MSI GF65 Thin has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.0/10
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has very good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,071
$1,100
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a price of $2,071 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
"Not only is the Aero 17 a very good laptop for gamers but also for content creators. With the upgrade to the Intel Core i9-11980HK, Gigabyte particularly improved the system performance. In addition, the hardware package is rounded by the extremely fast SSD and 32 GB of working memory in dual-channel mode. Compared to the predecessor, the battery life is reduced only moderately, and the 4K display also basically keeps its good qualities."
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 17 or the MSI GF65 Thin
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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