If you're budget-conscious, the Gigabyte Aero 5 offers solid performance for everyday tasks and lighter creative work at a lower cost, with the benefit of being easier to carry around. However, if you need a laptop for highly demanding applications like advanced 3D rendering, intensive machine learning tasks, or high-end gaming, and don't mind spending more, the MSI Titan 18 HX provides top-tier performance and can handle almost any task, though it's significantly heavier and may have shorter battery life, reducing its portability. Choose based on the intensity of your computing needs and your willingness to trade off portability and cost for power. 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
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Titan 18 HX
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Excellent speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.8/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
446.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
6.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 5, with ample CPU power and sufficient RAM, provides a good user experience for everyday tasks, and its screen quality enhances that experience; however, its portability and battery life are not as optimal for on-the-go usage. The MSI Titan 18 HX, featuring a top-tier CPU and larger RAM, excels in handling demanding applications and offers superior screen quality for a better viewing experience, but it's less portable and has shorter battery life, which could be a drawback for mobile users.
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
9.4/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 offers a high-quality GPU and a decent screen refresh rate, providing a satisfactory gaming and 3D experience, while the MSI Titan 18 HX, with a superior GPU and an even higher refresh rate, ensures exceptional performance for the most demanding games and 3D applications. While both laptops have capable CPUs and good screen quality, the advanced GPU and refresh rate in the MSI Titan 18 HX make it a premium choice for hardcore gamers and professionals in 3D fields.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
9.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
The MSI Titan 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 is very good.
The Gigabyte Aero 5, with its strong CPU, ample RAM, and high-quality GPU, performs well for engineering and design tasks, offering vivid screen clarity for precision work; however, it strikes a balance with moderate portability. In contrast, the MSI Titan 18 HX, equipped with top-of-the-line components in all the very important categories, excels in power and performance for demanding engineering software, but it is less portable, and you may notice it has a louder operating noise, which could distract in quiet environments.
Content Creation
8.2/10
9.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 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
8.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 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
8.6/10
9.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
446.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The MSI Titan 18 HX has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Gigabyte Aero 5's screen provides a clear and bright image with high resolution, making text and images sharp and vibrant, but for gaming and 3D applications, its lower refresh rate can make fast-moving scenes less smooth. The MSI Titan 18 HX offers an even higher quality display for general use, with superior brightness and resolution, enhancing the viewing experience for everyday tasks and detail-oriented engineering work, while its color accuracy benefits professionals in design; however, like the Aero 5, it may fall short for gaming due to a less suitable refresh rate for fast-paced action. Overall, both are excellent for productivity and creative tasks, but gamers may look elsewhere for screens that prioritize responsiveness and fluid motion.
Battery
7.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan 18 HX has 4 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
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has only fair portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.5/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX has 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.
Cost
$1,250
$4,800
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has a price of $1,250 and the MSI Titan 18 HX costs $4,800.
"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."
"With no new Nvidia GPU this year for laptops, MSI had to refresh everything surrounding the graphics card to make up for it. Users are getting a new 18-inch chassis design, new 14th gen Intel HX CPU, new AC adapter, larger keys, and a new 120 Hz HDR1000 mini-LED 4K display to accompany the high price tag. Most of these changes are a step up from last year's GT77, but users are ultimately getting the same gaming performance out of both models."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 5 or the MSI Titan 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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