The Gigabyte Aorus 5 is more expensive and offers high performance with a newer processor and a high refresh rate screen, making it suitable for intensive gaming and tasks like 3D rendering or machine learning. It runs on Windows 11 and weighs more. If budget is a concern and you seek good performance with a bit more portability, consider the MSI. If you're willing to invest more for the latest specs and maximum performance, the Gigabyte is recommended. 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 5
Very good for engineering and design
Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the MSI Pulse GL66
Good portability
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
7.2/10
8.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for gaming and AI, though the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is somewhat better.
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
8.2/10
7.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Pulse GL66 is good.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 is favored for engineering and design due to its higher performing CPU, better GPU, and superior screen quality with a higher refresh rate and color coverage compared to the MSI Pulse GL66; although the latter does offer a slightly more portable build and a similar level of RAM and screen size. The Aorus 5 is also a more recent model with updated features, whereas the GL66, despite being older, maintains comparable core specifications but with a lower battery capacity and screen fidelity.
Screen Quality
8.0/10
6.8/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has a better screen than the MSI Pulse GL66 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5, with its superior panel quality, resolution, and brightness, offers a more vivid and clear display that's essential for everyday tasks and precision work in engineering and design by accurately reproducing colors. However, for gaming and 3D applications where the smoothness of motion is key, its lower refresh rate may lead to less fluid visuals compared to models tailored for gaming. On the other hand, the MSI Pulse GL66 delivers an average display experience across the board with a focus on fairness in resolution and brightness for general use and sufficient color representation for engineering tasks, yet it also falls short in refresh rate for optimal gaming and 3D performance.
Cost
$2,359
$1,399
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has a price of $2,359 and the MSI Pulse GL66 costs $1,399.
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and MSI Pulse GL66 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.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for content creation.
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
7.3/10
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and MSI Pulse GL66 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
5.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has 5 hours of battery life. The MSI Pulse GL66 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
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Pulse GL66 to have good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and MSI Pulse GL66 both have 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 Aorus 5 and the MSI Pulse GL66 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4 is a capable mainstream gaming notebook that will run the latest PC games with aplomb. However, it's not your stereotypical flashy gaming PC. Gigabyte has added some interesting tweaks. For example, the webcam placement and its Microsoft Azure AI tool — to automatically switch between power modes — are unusual for this genre. But more importantly, the pricing is fairly competitive and reasonable."
"The MSI Pulse GL66 has a lot of potential for improvement. Although the RTX 3060 is only able to use 105 watts, we still liked the gaming performance, particularly since this also makes the Pulse comfortably efficient but not slow by any means. Neither the dark display with its lame response times, nor USB 2.0 or the lack of Thunderbolt will please real gamers. The use of a sticker factory seal, which is at least questionable, also won't inspire any enthusiasm. It is obvious that the laptop is really designed for price-conscious gamers."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 5 or the MSI Pulse GL66
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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