The Gigabyte Aorus 15, while more expensive, delivers superior performance suitable for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks with its advanced processor and high-end graphics card. It's heavier and less portable, with a larger screen and higher resolution, but has a shorter battery life. Whereas, the MSI Modern 14 is more budget-friendly, lighter, and thus more portable, with longer battery life, making it a better option for general use and mobility, but it lacks the power for demanding applications and has a lower resolution screen. 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 Aorus 15
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Modern 14
Very good portability
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.2/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
316.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 and MSI Modern 14 are both good for general use, though the Gigabyte Aorus 15 is somewhat better.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 boasts a powerful Intel CPU and high-end Nvidia GPU, making it excellent for performance-intensive tasks and sporting a high-quality display, but its heavier weight and larger size reduce its portability compared to the MSI Modern 14, which offers a good balance of performance with its AMD CPU, sufficient RAM for multitasking, and a more travel-friendly build with solid battery life and lighter weight, although it sacrifices some screen quality and storage capacity.
Gaming and AI
8.0/10
6.0/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is very 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
8.4/10
6.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
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
8.0/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 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
7.6/10
7.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 and MSI Modern 14 are both good for software development, though the Gigabyte Aorus 15 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
8.0/10
6.4/10
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
316.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 has a better screen than the MSI Modern 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the Gigabyte Aorus 15's superior panel type, resolution, and brightness provide a clear and vivid display, making it very good for reading text and viewing images, while the MSI Modern 14's lower-tier specs in these areas result in a less sharp and dimmer screen, making it only fair for everyday tasks. When it comes to engineering and design, the Aorus 15's coverage of color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB ensures that colors are accurately represented, which is crucial for professionals in these fields, whereas the Modern 14's fair performance suggests its color reproduction is adequate but not ideal for precision work. For gaming and 3D applications, the Aorus 15 falls short due to its poor refresh rate which can lead to less fluid motion and responsiveness, while the Modern 14 also underperforms in this aspect, making neither laptop ideal for fast-paced or graphically demanding content where refresh rate, along with resolution and panel quality, are key.
Portability
Fair
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
5.2 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Modern 14 has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,500
$525
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 has a price of $1,500 and the MSI Modern 14 costs $525.
"The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is a power-hungry gaming beast. The Aorus 15 is designed to run games at QHD and high to max settings. But it also cuts a good figure in other demanding applications such as video editing and rendering. This is made possible by the Core i7 12700H and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop inside the machine. A lightning-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD (1 TB) allows for short loading times."
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 Aorus 15 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.
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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