For a balance of performance and portability with a high-quality display suitable for creative work, the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is ideal. It offers a powerful processor and top-tier GPU, making it excellent for engineering tasks and 3D rendering. However, it's heavier and more expensive. If you're looking for a more affordable and portable option for general use and some gaming, the MSI GF65 Thin is a good choice, with a decent battery life and a fast refresh rate screen, though it compromises on display quality, storage, and RAM. 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 MSI Creator 16 AI Studio
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
The MSI GF65 Thin has no clear advantages over the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio.
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
6.5/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
1000.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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.
Gaming and AI
8.9/10
6.8/10
9.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
9.5/10
6.7/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
9.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is best in class for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
9.1/10
6.8/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is excellent for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
8.9/10
6.3/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
9.7/10
6.8/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
1000.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
6.7/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,999
$1,100
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has a price of $2,999 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio or the MSI GF65 Thin
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
124,995
Recommendations made
27,083
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.