A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
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Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17X
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
- Very good overall build quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.7
7.8
9.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GP66 Leopard is good.
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
8.6
7.9
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
9.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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
8.2
7.5
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X 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
7.8
7.2
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X and MSI GP66 Leopard are both good for software development, though the Gigabyte Aorus 17X is somewhat better.
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
8.2
7.5
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
276.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Portability
Fair
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
6.1 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Gigabyte Aorus 17X both have only fair portability, though the MSI GP66 Leopard has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.9
7.5
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
276.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X and MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Battery
6.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 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
7.6
8.0
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI GP66 Leopard to have very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,349
$2,299
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X has a price of $2,349 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $2,299.
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How the Gigabyte Aorus 17X and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Gigabyte Aorus 17X | MSI GP66 Leopard |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,349 | $2,299 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2024 | May 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.5'' x 0.86'' | 14.1'' x 10.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.17 lbs | 5.25 lbs | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-14900HX | Intel i7-11800H | |
Graphics | |||
Graphics | RTX 4080 (175 W) | RTX 3080 (140 W) | |
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus | |||
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus | Yes | Yes | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99 Wh | 65 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1440 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 240Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 276 nits | 362 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.6/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.2/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.5/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Keyboard Lighting Color | |||
Keyboard Lighting Color | RGB | RGB | |
Warranty Period | |||
Warranty Period | 1 year | 1 year | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Gigabyte Aorus 17X
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NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | April 2022
"The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a powerful high-end gaming machine. The Aorus 17 is a potent gaming notebook in a 17.3-inch format designed for FHD gaming at maximum settings. A Core i7-12700H processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU make this possible. A lightning-fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the necessary storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Aorus 17 XE4, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded, high-performance gaming notebook."
MSI GP66 Leopard
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NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | December 2021
"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."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 17X or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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.
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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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