The Gigabyte Aero 5 is less expensive, offers a larger storage capacity, and has an OLED screen ideal for vivid colors and deep blacks, making it suitable if you're interested in photo/video editing or content consumption. However, it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, which may not be ideal if you need something for prolonged use on the go. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth GS66, while it costs more and has less storage, it provides a higher screen refresh rate that benefits fast-paced gaming, with a more portable design but with trade-offs in screen vibrancy given its standard IPS panel. Both laptops have similar performance capabilities for general, 3D/machine learning, and engineering tasks, but you'll need to consider whether screen quality, battery life, portability, or price are your primary concerns. 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 5
Very good for content creation
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Stealth GS66
Very good overall build quality
Good portability
Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.6/10
8.1/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
446.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has a better screen than the MSI Stealth GS66 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the MSI Stealth GS66 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Gigabyte Aero 5's screen excels in clarity and brightness suited to both everyday tasks and detail-oriented work in engineering and design, helped by strong color accuracy covering wide gamuts. MSI Stealth GS66's display, while still sharp and color-accurate, doesn't match the Aero's luminance, which can be a determining factor for long hours of use or working in brightly lit environments. However, both laptops have displays with refresh rates that fall short for the smooth visuals avid gamers and 3D professionals look for, prioritizing color and resolution over motion fluidity.
Battery
7.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth GS66 has 5.5 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
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The MSI Stealth GS66 has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,250
$1,000
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has a price of $1,250 and the MSI Stealth GS66 costs $1,000.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 and MSI Stealth GS66 are both good for general use.
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
7.8/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 5 and MSI Stealth GS66 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 excels in gaming and 3D due to its high-resolution OLED screen which offers vibrant colors and contrast, supported by a powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU; while the MSI Stealth GS66 also has the same GPU delivering strong gaming performance with a higher screen refresh rate on its IPS display, which is beneficial for fast-paced games.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
8.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 5 and MSI Stealth GS66 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 stands out for engineering and design with its high-resolution OLED screen, offering richer colors and exceptional screen quality, paired with a powerful CPU, ample RAM, and a high-tier GPU, though it is heavier and has a shorter battery life. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth GS66 also has a strong CPU, equal RAM, and the same level GPU but offers better portability with its lighter weight and a high refresh-rate screen, although at a lower resolution which may impact detailed design work.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.7/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 5 to be very good for content creation, while the MSI Stealth GS66 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
7.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 5 and MSI Stealth GS66 are both good for software development.
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.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Stealth GS66 to have very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 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 5 and the MSI Stealth GS66 compare to other laptops
"It is unfortunate that the Gigabyte AERO notebook series have seem to lost its charm, as it’s not exactly any much different from the AORUS series now. Regardless, content creators and designers will certainly still appreciate the features on the AERO 5 XE4, which are fundamental to their work. This largely revolved around the notebook’s display, which is colour calibrated and validated, high resolution (4K) and with great AMOLED colour representation. Now that the AERO 5 XE4 has improved its performance with the latest CPU and GPU, the professionals can also appreciate the improved productivity from the notebook."
"The MSI Stealth GS66 is powerful enough for QHD. The Core i7-12700H and the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti found in the 12UGS model that we tested run all modern games smoothly in the native QHD resolution. The 15-inch display is very fast with its 240 Hz refresh rate, and it also offers a great color space (almost 100% DCI-P3) on top of that, which should please gamers as well as content creators, although we would have still wished for a higher brightness. Case, input devices, and connectivity (Thunderbolt 4) are at a good level. However, among other things, the GS66 loses points due to the high temperature development in 3D mode and its poor webcam."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 5 or the MSI Stealth GS66
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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