The Gigabyte Aorus 15X offers excellent performance for engineering tasks, has a high refresh rate screen, and supports hardware ray tracing and DLSS, which is beneficial for intensive gaming. However, it is heavier and has a shorter battery life compared to the MSI Creator Z16P. The MSI Creator Z16P, on the other hand, is more portable with a better battery life, a higher screen resolution, and a touchscreen – features that might be preferred for creative professionals. Both laptops have similar storage and memory, but the Aorus 15X has a more powerful main processor and GPU, making it more suited for high-end gaming and demanding computational tasks. 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 15X
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Advantages of the MSI Creator Z16P
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
7.6/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.7/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Creator Z16P 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.
Screen Quality
8.2/10
8.3/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
394.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a better screen than the MSI Creator Z16P for gaming and AI, and content creation, while the MSI Creator Z16P has a better screen for general use, and engineering and design.
For general use, both the Gigabyte Aorus 15X and MSI Creator Z16P offer high-resolution displays that are bright and crisp, making text and images look sharp and vibrant. In engineering and design, the MSI Creator Z16P likely outperforms the Aorus due to better coverage of professional color gamuts, which ensures more accurate color representation for detailed work. Conversely, for gaming and 3D, the lower refresh rates on both laptops could make fast-paced visuals less smooth compared to models with higher refresh rates, which are preferred for a more fluid visual experience.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.0/10
The MSI Creator Z16P has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,600
$1,300
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a price of $1,600 and the MSI Creator Z16P costs $1,300.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X and MSI Creator Z16P are both good for general use.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X offers a more powerful CPU and GPU providing better performance for demanding tasks, but is less portable with a shorter battery life compared to the MSI Creator Z16P, which has a higher screen quality with touch function but a lower general-use performance due to its less recent CPU and GPU.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
8.3/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X and MSI Creator Z16P are both very good for engineering and design.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X boasts a stronger GPU and higher screen refresh rate, suitable for demanding engineering and 3D design tasks, while the MSI Creator Z16P offers a touch-enabled, higher-resolution display with superior color coverage, making it better for precision design work. Although the Aorus 15X provides longer battery life, the Creator Z16P's superior keyboard and speaker quality may offer a more comfortable user experience for extended work sessions, but it has a shorter battery life and generates more operating noise.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.9/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aorus 15X to be very good for content creation, while the MSI Creator Z16P 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
7.7/10
7.6/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X and MSI Creator Z16P 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.
Battery
5.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has 5.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator Z16P has 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
Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The MSI Creator Z16P and Gigabyte Aorus 15X both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte Aorus 15X and the MSI Creator Z16P compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is a strong showing of Raptor Lake and RTX 4000 series. While the Aorus had trouble keeping up in older games like Grand Theft Auto V, it nudged past the competition in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It also flexed its next-generation muscle in Far Cry 6 and Borderlands 3. While we were impressed with the overall build quality and design of the Aorus 15X, the keyboard lacked good tactile feedback. The display performed well in real-world testing despite its on-paper shortcoming with brightness, but the speakers are lackluster at best."
"There's almost nothing left to be desired with the MSI Z16P. The creator laptop offers enormous performance resources for image editing, video editing, rendering, and more. All this is presented on a precalibrated, adequately sized, and high-resolution display. Its color space, refresh rate, and panel technology are also perfectly suited for a device that specializes in video reproduction and editing."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 15X or the MSI Creator Z16P
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
99,195
Recommendations made
21,493
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.