For a balance of performance and portability with a more reasonable price tag, the Gigabyte Aero 17 is a strong contender. It offers a high-resolution Mini LED display, ample RAM, and a powerful Intel i7 processor paired with an Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, making it suitable for engineering tasks and general use. Its battery life is decent, and it's lighter and thinner than the MSI Raider 18 HX, enhancing its portability. However, if budget is less of a concern and you're seeking top-tier performance for the most demanding tasks in 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the MSI Raider 18 HX, with its superior i9 processor and RTX 4080 GPU, is the way to go. It also features a larger, touch-enabled Mini LED display with a higher refresh rate, albeit at the cost of reduced battery life and increased weight, making it less portable. 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 overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Raider 18 HX
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
8.1/10
8.8/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
368.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX and Gigabyte Aero 17 are both very good for general use, though the MSI Raider 18 HX is somewhat better.
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
7.9/10
9.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 is good.
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
8.8/10
9.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 is very 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
8.4/10
9.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 is very 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
8.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 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
9.2/10
9.4/10
17.3in
SIZE
18.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 17 for general use, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
5.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 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
Poor
17.3in
SIZE
18.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.0/10
7.4/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has very good build quality, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,071
$3,999
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a price of $2,071 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
"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."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 17 or the MSI Raider 18 HX
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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