The Gigabyte G5 is a more budget-friendly option with decent performance suitable for general use and gaming, featuring the latest Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics and a mid-range Intel processor. It's relatively lightweight, has a sufficient screen for everyday tasks, and offers ample connectivity, including Ethernet and a variety of USB ports. However, the MSI Raider GE66, while more expensive, is packed with higher specs like a more powerful Intel processor, double the RAM, and a superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, enhancing its ability to handle intensive engineering tasks, 3D rendering, and machine learning. It boasts a higher resolution display, better color accuracy, and higher refresh rates for a sharper and smoother visual experience, making it ideal for both high-end gaming and professional creative work. Additionally, the Raider GE66 has a significantly longer battery life, a more premium build quality, and better heat management, but at the cost of increased weight which affects portability. 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 G5
Good portability
Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE66
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good battery life
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.1/10
8.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
248.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte G5 is good.
The Gigabyte G5, with less RAM and a less powerful CPU compared to the MSI Raider GE66, offers modest screen quality and battery life, making it fair for general use. In contrast, the MSI Raider GE66 stands out with more RAM, a robust CPU, a higher resolution screen, and significantly better battery life, ranking it as very good for general use.
Gaming and AI
7.3/10
8.5/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte G5 is good.
The MSI Raider GE66 boasts a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate than the Gigabyte G5, which has a Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a lower refresh rate, making the MSI Raider GE66 better suited for gaming and 3D applications where fast and smooth visuals are critical. Additionally, the MSI's superior GPU performance is complemented by a higher resolution display, enhancing screen quality over the Gigabyte, though these advantages come at a cost of reduced portability due to heavier weight.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
8.9/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
7.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte G5 is good.
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
7.2/10
8.3/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte G5 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
6.8/10
8.0/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider GE66 is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte G5 is only fair.
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
6.8/10
8.4/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
248.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE66 has a better screen than the Gigabyte G5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Gigabyte G5's screen likely doesn't have the high resolution or brightness typically desired for general use, making text and images less sharp and vibrant, and it may also lack the extensive color gamut needed for precise engineering and design work. The MSI Raider GE66, with its superior screen, provides clearer and more lifelike visuals for general use and accurate color representation crucial for engineering and design professionals. However, both the Gigabyte G5 and MSI Raider GE66 fall short for gaming and 3D applications because they probably don't offer a high enough refresh rate, which is vital for smooth motion and gameplay.
Battery
3.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Gigabyte G5 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE66 has 6 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.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE66 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte G5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$868
$2,499
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Gigabyte G5 has a price of $868 and the MSI Raider GE66 costs $2,499.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte G5 to have good portability, while the MSI Raider GE66 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte G5 and the MSI Raider GE66 compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte G5 KE is a midrange gaming laptop that checks most boxes. Gigabyte makes good use of the Core i5-12500H and RTX 3060 Laptop GPU combo, and we find no untoward issues with overall performance. The dual-fan quad-heatpipe cooling arrangement does well to ensure that the underlying hardware doesn't throttle under load. That being said, the display is below par when compared to 2023 standards, especially when competing devices."
"The MSI Raider GE66 12UHS notebook passes with flying colors. The GE66 is a high-end notebook with strong performance. The keyboard and trackpad are still very good and score well with precise inputs as well as high build quality. Thanks to a new liquid metal cooling solution, the Intel Core i9 12900HK brings a performance increase of around 50 percent over the predecessor's Intel Core i9 10980HK. The installed graphics card in our device delivers up to 30 percent higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Super in the MSI GE66 10SFS."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte G5 or the MSI Raider GE66
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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