Asus Rog FX503 and MSI Gaming GS63 are two of the most popular gaming laptops on the market, both offering 1080p displays, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics cards and 7th generation Intel Core processors. While they have many similarities, there are also some key differences to consider before you buy one or the other. In this guide we’ll compare these two gaming laptops in terms of their design, build quality, display, keyboard, performance and battery life to help you decide which one offers the best value for money.
Design
The design of both laptops are relatively similar, with a few exceptions. The first is that Asus has a more traditional look while MSI has a more aggressive look. The second difference is that Asus’ keyboard has RGB lighting which can be changed to any color you want, while MSI’s keyboard remains red or blue. Finally, Asus’ backlit keys are not customizable and cannot be turned off (unless your in the BIOS settings), but MSI’s backlit keys can be customized and turned off.
Hardware
The Asus Rog has a 7th generation Intel Core i5-7300HQ CPU, 4 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The graphics card is an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 and the battery life clocks in at around six hours. There are two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port and one HDMI port on the right side of the machine and a headphone jack on the left side. The Fx503 weighs about 5 pounds (2 kg) so it’s not too heavy to carry around for long periods of time or to take backpacking.
Screen
The Asus Rog has an Intel Core i5-8300H processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Meanwhile, the MSI Gaming has an Intel Core i7-8750H processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The Asus Rog’s screen has a 15.6 full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution whereas the MSI’s screen has a 15.6 full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution. The ASUS ROG F553VS-DB71 features NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics while the MSI GS63VR features NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics. Additionally, the ASUS ROG F553VS-DB71 also includes USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen 1), HDMI 2.0 port and Mini DisplayPort 1.3 whereas the MSI does not include any USB Type C ports or Mini DisplayPort ports (though it does have Thunderbolt 3).
Audio
It’s hard to find a good gaming laptop. The Asus Rog has an Intel Core i5-8300H processor, 8 GB DDR4 memory, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The MSI Gaming GS63 has an Intel Core i7-8750H processor, 16 GB DDR4 memory, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics card with 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM. They both have a 256GB solid state drive and 1TB hard drive. However, the MSI Gaming GS63 has a 15 1080p 144Hz IPS display while the Asus Rog FX503 has a 15.6 1080p 60Hz IPS display Asus rog fx503.
Connectivity
Both laptops come with an RJ-45 port, but if you want to connect wirelessly there are Wi-Fi options available. The Asus Rog Fx503 has both 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 while the MSI Gaming only has 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. The Asus Rog also features a mini displayport and HDMI output for dual monitor capability. The MSI Gaming comes equipped with three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an SD card reader slot and HDMI 1.4a ports (which only support up to 1920×1200).
Peripherals
The Asus Rog FX503 has a keyboard with a number of customizable features, including an RGB backlight. The keyboard also has a numeric keypad, which gamers may find useful. The touchpad on this laptop is also responsive and precise.
The MSI Gaming GS63 offers some perks that the Asus Rog FX503 does not.
