If your primary concern is portability and battery life for everyday tasks or light productivity, the MSI Modern 14 is more suitable with its lighter weight and longer-lasting battery. However, if you need stronger performance for gaming, 3D work, or intense engineering software, the MSI Raider GE78 is the better option thanks to its more powerful internals, although it is heavier and will have a shorter battery life. The Raider is more expensive, so consider whether the extra cost is justified for your needs. 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 Modern 14
Very good portability
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE78
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.2/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
311.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for general use, while the MSI Modern 14 is good.
The MSI Modern 14 is a lighter and more portable option suitable for general use with a good balance of screen quality, battery life, and performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and integrated graphics, but it has less storage and RAM compared to the MSI Raider GE78, which offers superior performance due to its powerful Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX graphics, making it excellent for general use but at the cost of portability and with a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
9.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the MSI Modern 14 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
6.6/10
9.4/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design, while the MSI Modern 14 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
7.2/10
8.8/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for content creation, while the MSI Modern 14 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
7.1/10
8.5/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for software development, while the MSI Modern 14 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
6.4/10
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
311.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE78 has a better screen than the MSI Modern 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The MSI Modern 14, with its fair screen quality for general use, likely has an average resolution and brightness, which is fine for everyday tasks but falls short for more color-sensitive work or entertainment. For engineering and design, where color accuracy is crucial, it suffers due to its limited color gamut coverage, failing to display a wide range of colors precisely. When it comes to gaming and 3D applications, its lower refresh rate restricts smooth motion rendering, making it less suitable for fast-paced visuals that depend on high refresh rates for an optimal experience.
Portability
Very Good
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The MSI Modern 14 has very good portability, while the MSI Raider GE78 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 has very good build quality, while the MSI Modern 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$748
$4,386
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The MSI Modern 14 has a price of $748 and the MSI Raider GE78 costs $4,386.
Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | October 2023
"The MSI Modern 14 is okay for school use. It's very compact, so it's easy to carry around. It has a sharp display, a spacious keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its Intel 13th Gen CPU and integrated graphics can handle general productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing; however, don't expect to do anything intensive like 3D modeling or physics simulations. Unfortunately, the battery lasts less than five hours of light use, and the display doesn't get bright enough to combat glare."
"Performance-wise, the GE78 offers a significant boost over the GE77 for just slightly higher power consumption. You'll have to get the RTX 4080 or 4090 configurations to see the performance advantages, however, as the RTX 4070 is closer in performance to the older RTX 3080 Ti. In terms of design, some users might prefer the 16:9 minimalistic look of the older GE77 over the 16:10 retro-inspired GE78 and vice versa. We wouldn't call one better than the other in terms of aesthetics, but we'll give the edge to the GE78 for its stronger hinges and larger keys and clickpad."
Get a great deal on the MSI Modern 14 or the MSI Raider GE78
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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