The MSI GP66 Leopard is less expensive and more lightweight, making it suitable for general use and good for portable gaming with respectable performance. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 is pricier and slightly heavier but comes with more power, making it better for intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering work, as well as offering a larger, higher-resolution screen for enhanced visual fidelity. 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 GP66 Leopard
Very good overall build quality
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.5/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
362.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
6.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for general use, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The MSI Stealth 17 offers a more powerful CPU, greater RAM, a higher quality screen with better resolution, and superior keyboard and speaker quality, making it very good for general use, but factors like weight and battery life influence its portability. Meanwhile, the MSI GP66 Leopard, while less powerful in CPU and RAM, and with a lower quality screen, is lighter and somewhat more portable, categorizing it as merely good for general use.
Gaming and AI
7.8/10
9.1/10
8.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The MSI GP66 Leopard, with its Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU and screen refresh rate of 144Hz, provides solid gaming and 3D rendering performance, whereas the newer MSI Stealth 17 steps it up significantly with an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a far higher 240Hz screen refresh rate, catering to the highest performance demands in gaming and 3D tasks. Even though the GP66 Leopard is competent, the Stealth 17's combination of a more powerful GPU and better screen quality and refresh rate positions it at the top for users requiring the utmost in gaming and 3D performance.
Engineering and Design
7.9/10
9.4/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
8.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
The MSI GP66 Leopard, with an Intel i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card, is a strong choice for engineering tasks; however, the MSI Stealth 17 surpasses it with a higher-tier Intel i9 processor, 64GB of RAM, and a superior Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, offering even better performance for complex engineering and design software. Plus, the Stealth 17's larger, higher-resolution screen provides clearer and more detailed visuals, which can be crucial for design work, but this also makes it less portable and potentially more cumbersome to carry than the GP66 Leopard.
Content Creation
7.4/10
8.8/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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
7.2/10
8.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for software development, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
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
7.5/10
8.6/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
362.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The MSI GP66 Leopard delivers a good visual experience for general use and engineering due to its sharp resolution and bright display, but for gaming and 3D, the lower refresh rate is less optimal, affecting how smooth the visuals appear during fast-paced action. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 has very high screen quality for both general tasks and engineering, providing vivid and accurate colors for detailed work, but similar to the Leopard, it falls short in gaming and 3D because of its subpar refresh rate which is crucial for motion clarity. Both laptops are not best suited for gaming and 3D work where a high refresh rate is key to ensuring fluid movement and responsiveness.
Cost
$1,400
$3,899
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI GP66 Leopard has a price of $1,400 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
The MSI GP66 Leopard has 5 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 has 5.5 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
Fair
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
5.2 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The MSI GP66 Leopard and MSI Stealth 17 both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.0/10
7.8/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GP66 Leopard to have very good build quality, while the MSI Stealth 17 has 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 MSI GP66 Leopard and the MSI Stealth 17 compare to other laptops
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
"The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the MSI GP66 Leopard or the MSI Stealth 17
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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