MSI GE66 Raider vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar G532: Nothing but the facts
MSI and Asus recently launched their respective high-end 15.6-inch gaming machines this quarter and they both have a lot in common with each other. Aside from having the exact same 10th gen Core i7 to Core i9 Comet Lake-H CPUs, GeForce Super GPUs, and 240 Hz to 300 Hz display options, the two laptops even share a similar LED bar feature along their front edges. However, there's no question about which system is the more optimal choice.
The MSI GE66 comes out on top over the Asus during our testing simply due to it being smaller, longer-lasting, and with more overall features without needing to sacrifice performance, core specifications, or increased weight. Our table below summarizes its advantages when compared to the Asus system which offers no 2.5 Gbps WLAN, no SD reader, or even a webcam.
There's a simple reason why the MSI system is able to offer more than the thicker Asus alternative and that's because the GE66 is a newer design. MSI only recently made public the GE66 at CES 2020 whereas the Asus G532 is merely an internal refresh utilizing the same chassis as last year's G531. Asus may have had a yearlong head start, but that meant MSI would have more time to refine their own competing design.
This isn't to say that the Asus G532 doesn't have its own list of advantages. Most notably, the laptop has three M.2 storage slots compared to "only" two on the MSI and it supports Asus' proprietary Keystone feature as well. Even so, it's a shorter list that, to some users, might not make up for the other disadvantages against the MSI system. The Asus may still be worth picking up if you can find it at a lower price point and if you don't care about the extra ports and features of the MSI.
There are still a couple of things that we want to see improved upon on both laptops. Firstly, CPU temperature when gaming averages above 90 C to be a lot warmer than what most gamers are comfortable with. Secondly, fan noise is very loud at well over 50 dB(A) each. These systems are really pushing the boundaries on what gamers would consider acceptable in this regard.
As usual, see our full reviews on the MSI GE66 Raider and Asus ROG Strix Scar G532 to learn more about each model.
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| MSI GE66 Raider | Asus ROG Strix Scar G532 |
|---|---|
| + Slightly smaller in all dimensions + Larger clickpad + Larger arrow keys + SD card reader + 2.5 Gbps RJ-45 + Larger 99 Wh battery with longer runtimes + Webcam + Mini-DisplayPort + 2x USB Type-C ports | + Smaller clickpad but with dedicated mouse buttons + 3x M.2 2280 storage slots + Asus Keystone security support + More auxiliary keyboard keys |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS AU Optronics B156HAN12.0, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080 | MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS Sharp LQ156M1JW03 (SHP14C5), IPS-Level, 15.6", 1920x1080 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | -2% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 69.9 | 68 -3% |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.6 | 99 -1% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 71.4 | 69.8 -2% |
| Response Times | -14% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 14.4 ? | 16.4 ? -14% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 9.2 ? | 10.4 ? -13% |
| PWM Frequency | 23580 ? | |
| Screen | 1% | |
| Brightness middle | 307.2 | 291 -5% |
| Brightness | 301 | 278 -8% |
| Brightness Distribution | 91 | 91 0% |
| Black Level * | 0.21 | 0.25 -19% |
| Contrast | 1463 | 1164 -20% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.85 | 1.19 36% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.92 | 3.04 22% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.26 | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 1.9 5% |
| Gamma | 2.15 102% | 2.216 99% |
| CCT | 6479 100% | 7018 93% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 65 | 70 8% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99.7 | 92 -8% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -5% /
-1% |
* ... smaller is better
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, i9-10980HK, 2x Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8 (RAID 0) | MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, i9-10980HK, WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-1T00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Noise | -7% | |
| off / environment * | 26.5 | 30 -13% |
| Idle Minimum * | 27.1 | 30 -11% |
| Idle Average * | 32.2 | 35 -9% |
| Idle Maximum * | 34 | 44 -29% |
| Load Average * | 52.4 | 53 -1% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 57.5 | 53 8% |
| Load Maximum * | 57.5 | 55 4% |
* ... smaller is better
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, 2x Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8 (RAID 0), IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-1T00, IPS-Level, 1920x1080, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 4% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 8 | 6 25% |
| Idle Average * | 9.8 | 14 -43% |
| Idle Maximum * | 25.8 | 25 3% |
| Load Average * | 169 | 108 36% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 201 | 195 3% |
| Load Maximum * | 271.6 | 280 -3% |
* ... smaller is better
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, 66 Wh | MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile, 99.99 Wh | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 12% | |
| Reader / Idle | 486 | 454 -7% |
| WiFi v1.3 | 293 | 364 24% |
| Load | 88 | 106 20% |
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
* ... smaller is better
| 3DMark | |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| 2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| 2560x1440 Time Spy Score | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| 3DMark 11 | |
| 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| 1280x720 Performance Combined | |
| MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS | |
Price comparison
