MSI Pulse A16 AI+ (C3XW) vs Gigabyte Aero X16 (2025)
64
out of 100
VS
56
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the MSI Pulse A16 AI+ (C3XW)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 240 versus 165 Hz
- Performs significantly better (up to 58%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- Can run popular games at about 28-38% higher FPS
- Features a bigger (~18%) battery – 90 against 76 watt-hours
- Around 10% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- 33% sharper screen – 189 versus 142 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Provides 33% higher max. screen brightness: 400 vs 300 nits
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero X16 (2025)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 600 grams less (around 1.32 lbs)
- Thinner bezels and 7% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Better webcam recording quality
- Smaller footprint: 7% more compact case (137.9 vs 148.2 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs) | 1.9 kg (4.19 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 359 x 266.4 x 21.8-27.9 mm 14.13 x 10.49 x 0.86-1.1 inches |
355 x 250.7 x 16.75-19.99 mm 13.98 x 9.87 x 0.66-0.79 inches |
| Area | 956 cm2 (148.2 inches2) | 890 cm2 (138 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~77.6% | ~83.4% |
| Side bezels | 7.2 mm | 5.2 mm |
| Colors | Black | White, Gray |
| Material | Top: Aluminum |
Middle: Plastic Bottom: Plastic |
| Transformer | No | No |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | Yes | No |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Noise level (max. load) | 44.7 dB | - |
Display
| Size | 16 inches | 16 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 240 Hz | 165 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | - | No |
| PPI | 189 ppi | 142 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| HDR support | - | No |
| Sync technology | No | Adaptive Sync |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | - | No |
| sRGB color space | 100% | - |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | - |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 100 W | Yes |
| Charging port position | Left, Bottom | Left |
| Charge power | 200 W | 150 W |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.0 GHz | 2.0 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 5 GHz | 5 GHz |
| Cores | 8 (4P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
| Threads | 16 | 16 |
| L3 Cache | 16 MB | 16 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Radeon 860M | Radeon 860M |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 4 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 115 W | 85 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | - | MUX |
| Type | Dedicated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 5 nm |
| FLOPS | 18.4 TFLOPS | 12.2 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| Memory bus | 128 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | ~24 Gbps | ~24 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 3328 | 2560 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 104 | 80 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 48 | 32 |
| GPU performance | 18.4 TFLOPS | 12.2 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 3899 | 2534 |
| Solar Bay | 57259 | 40766 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x8 GB | 1x8 GB |
| Clock | 5600 MHz | 5600 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| Max. ram size | 96 GB | 64 GB |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x512 GB | 1x512 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 1 | 2 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Power | 2x2W | 2x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
| Microphones | 2 | 2 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v6E |
| Bluetooth | v5.4 | v5.2 |
| Fingerprint | No | No |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 3x USB 3.2 | 3x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 1x USB 4.0 | 1x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | No |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | 1x v2.1 |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | Yes | Yes |
| SD card reader | No | No |
| Proprietary charging port | No | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | Yes | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | - | 1.7 mm |
| Surface | - | Plastic |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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