LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U Comparison

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LG Gram 17 2021

17 inches | January 2021

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MSI Creator Z17 A12U

17 inches | January 2022

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LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U Comparison Overview

LG Gram 17 2021

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MSI Creator Z17 A12U

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LG Gram 17 2021

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MSI Creator Z17 A12U

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In this review, we will be comparing Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U, two laptops from LG and MSI. LG Gram 17 2021 was introduced to market in January 2021 and MSI Creator Z17 A12U was launched in January 2022. There is 12 months difference between Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U so it would still give an advantage to younger Creator Z17 A12U.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Here is a brief look at the main features of LG Gram 17 2021 and MSI Creator Z17 A12U before getting into our more detailed comparison.

LG Gram 17 2021 Key Specs

Launched in January 2021
17.0" IPS LCD, 16:10 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i3 1115G4
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
16GB Ram
380.2 x 260.1 x 17.8 mm (14.97 x 10.24 x 0.7 inches)
Weight: 1.35 kg (2.98 lbs)

MSI Creator Z17 A12U Key Specs

Launched in January 2022
17.0" IPS LCD, 16:10 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i7 12700H
GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB
16GB Ram
382 x 260 x 19 mm (15.04 x 10.24 x 0.75 inches)
Weight: 2.49 kg (5.49 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose LG Gram 17 2021 over MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Weight	1.35 kg vs 2.49 kg	1.14 kg lighter
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~84.8% vs ~84.4%	Larger screen area ratio
Side Bezel Thickness	7 mm vs 7.9 mm	0.9 mm thinner bezels
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes vs No	Easy login with fingerprint
Number of USB-A Ports	2x USB 3.2 vs 1x USB 3.2	Connect more device at the same time

Reasons to choose MSI Creator Z17 A12U over LG Gram 17 2021

Refresh Rate	165 Hz vs 60 Hz	Smoother media experience
Contrast Rate	1000:1 vs 951:1	more pleasing colors
Screen Opening Angle	180° vs 140°	More flexible screen
sRGB Color Space	100% vs 98.8%	Wider sRGB Color Space Coverage
DCI-P3 Color Gamut	98% vs 92.9%	Wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut
Adobe RGB Profile	87% vs 83.9%	Wider Adobe RGB Coverage
GPU Fabrication Process	8 nm vs 10 nm	Newer Generation GPU
GPU FLOPS	11.8 TFLOPS vs 0.84 TFLOPS	Dedicated GPU unit
GPU Type	Dedicated vs Integrated	Faster RAM Type
RAM Type	DDR5 vs LPDDR4X	More RAM Options
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs No	Faster RAM
RAM BUS	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity
Bluetooth	v5.2 vs v5.1	Higher Resolution Camera
Webcam Resolution	1920 x 1080 vs 1280 x 720	Better HDMI connectivity
HDMI Version	2.1 vs 2.0

Common Strengths of MSI Creator Z17 A12U and LG Gram 17 2021

Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Wi-Fi Standard	v6 vs v6E	Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi Connections
Bluetooth Standard	v5.1 vs v5.2	Fast and Reliable Bluetooth Connections
Thunderbolt Port	v4 vs v4	Fast data and power transfer via Thunderbolt Port
HDMI Output	1x HDMI 2.0 vs 1x HDMI 2.0	Connect to External Displays via HDMI cable
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Built-in SD Card Reader	Yes vs Yes	Read & Write SD Cards
Numeric Pad	Yes vs Yes	Fast way to input numbers
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs Yes	Easily see the keys under low light

LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the LG Gram 17 2021 and the MSI Creator Z17 A12U.

Physical Specs
Weight	1.35 kg (2.98 lbs)	2.49 kg (5.49 lbs)
Surface Area	989 cm2 (153.3 inches2)	993 cm2 (154 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~84.8%	~84.4%
Side Bezel Thickness	~7 mm	~7.9 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.08 kg/inch	0.15 kg/inch
	0.176 lbs/inch	0.33 lbs/inch
Colors	White, Black, Silver	Gray
Cover Opening Angle	140Â°	180Â°

Comparison of the LG Gram 17 2021 and the MSI Creator Z17 A12U External Dimensions

Weight

Gram 17 2021 weighs 1.35 kg (2.98 lbs), whereas the Creator Z17 A12U weighs 2.49 kg (5.49 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. The weight difference between the two laptops is not significant.

Weight Comparison

Displays size larger than 17.0 inches

LG Gram 17 2021

MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Displays size larger than 17.0 inches

LG Gram 17 2021

MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Min

Average

Max

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the LG Gram 17 2021 is 0.08 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the MSI Creator Z17 A12U is 0.15 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2-in-1 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Core i3 1115G4 Intel Core i5 1135G7 Intel Core i7 1165G7	Intel Core i7 12700H Intel Core i9 12900H
Base Frequency	1.7-3.0 GHz	2.3 GHz
Turbo Frequency	4.1 GHz	4.7 GHz
Number of Cores	2	14
Number of Threads	4	20
L3 Cache	6 MB	24 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4	Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU)
CPU Fabrication Process	10 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	1264	1750
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	2563	12242
Cinebench 23 (Single)	1330	1800
Cinebench 23 (Multi)	3144	16309

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the LG Gram 17 2021 and MSI Creator Z17 A12U.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPUs and compare them:

Laptops with: Intel Core i3 1115G4

Laptops with: Intel Core i7 12700H

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4	GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile 16GB
Base Clock Frequency	300 MHz	900 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1100 MHz	1425 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	15 W	80 W
Type	Integrated	Dedicated
FLOPS	844.8 GFLOPS	10.94 TFLOPS
Memory Size	System Shared	6 GB
Memory Type	System Shared	GDDR6
Memory Bus	System Shared	192 bit
Memory Speed	System Shared	1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective
Shading Units Cores	384	3840
TMUs	24	120
ROPs	12	48

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. LG Gram 17 2021 has a FLOPS value of 0.84 TFLOPS whereas the MSI Creator Z17 A12U ' has a FLOPS value of 11.8 TFLOPS. If graphical performance of the laptop is important for your use type, the MSI Creator Z17 A12U may be the better choice between these two setups.

RAM Comparison

RAM	16GB 32GB	16GB 32GB
Memory Bus	2x8 GB	2x8 GB
RAM Clock	4266 MHz	4800 MHz
RAM Type	LPDDR4X	DDR5
Upgradable	No	Yes
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)

Both laptops, the Gram 17 2021 and the Creator Z17 A12U, come with similar RAM capacities of 16 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

LOCAL LLM Compatibility Evaluation

This quick guide shows what types of large language models (LLMs) each of these laptops could support, based on their respective hardware specifications. It's meant to help you compare their suitability for running AI models locally.

LLM Category	LG Gram 17 (2021)	MSI Creator Z17 (A12U)
Small Models(1-3B):Examples: Phi-2, Qwen-1.8B	✔ Run smoothly.	✔ Run smoothly.
Medium Models(7-8B):Examples: Mistral-7B, Qwen-7B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Large Models(13-30B):Examples: Mixtral, Qwen-14B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Extra-Large Models(65B+):Examples: LLaMA2-70B, Qwen1.5-72B	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.

Note: Optimized (e.g., 4-bit) models may run on limited hardware. Performance depends on runtime and setup.

📌 MoE Models: Some models like Mixtral 8x7B and Qwen3-30B-A3B use a Mixture of Experts (MoE) design, activating only part of the model during inference. This means they can often run efficiently on laptops with 12–16 GB of VRAM when quantized.

BATTERY

BATTERY	80 Wh	90 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Ion	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	No	Yes
USB Power Delivery	Yes
Charging Port Position	Left
Charge Power	65 W	240 W
AC Adapter Weight	287 gramm

On the other hand, the Creator Z17 A12U features a higher battery capacity of 90 Wh, delivering longer usage time compared to the Gram 17 2021's 80 Wh.

Battery Comparison

Displays size larger than 17.0 inches

LG Gram 17 2021

MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Min

Average

Max

STORAGE
The Creator Z17 A12U offers a larger max storage capacity of 4 TB, providing more room for storing files and data compared to the Gram 17 2021's storage capacity of 1 TB.

Storage Options	512 GB, 1 TB	512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	2	1
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the LG Gram 17 2021 and MSI Creator Z17 A12U since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U screens have the same size of 17.0".The total usable screen area of the Gram 17 2021 is 838cm² / 130inch² whereas the Creator Z17 A12U's total usable screen area is 838cm² / 130inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U feature the same pixel density with 178 pixels per inch (PPI).

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

Displays size larger than 17.0 inches

LG Gram 17 2021

MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Min

Average

Max

Refresh Rate
The Creator Z17 A12U offers a higher refresh rate of 165 Hz, resulting in smoother motion and improved visual experience.

Brightness
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U offer the same maximum brightness of 350 nits (cd/m²).

Brightness Comparison

Displays size larger than 17.0 inches

LG Gram 17 2021

MSI Creator Z17 A12U

Min

Average

Max

LG Gram 17 2021 vs MSI Creator Z17 A12U Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
Creator Z17 A12U features a more advanced Wi-Fi standard v6E, providing faster and more reliable wireless connections compared to Gram 17 2021 (v6).

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U have USB-A ports. Gram 17 2021 has 2x USB 3.2 USB-A ports, while Creator Z17 A12U has 1x USB 3.2 USB-A ports.
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U feature 2x USB 4.0 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U are equipped with Thunderbolt 4 ports.

HDMI
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U feature an HDMI port. Gram 17 2021 offers 1x HDMI 2.0, while Creator Z17 A12U offers 1x HDMI 2.1.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U come with an SD Card Reader for easy access to memory cards.

Audio Jack
Both Gram 17 2021 and Creator Z17 A12U are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v6	v6E
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5.1	v5.2
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	2x USB 3.2	1x USB 3.2
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	2x USB 4.0	2x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt (latest: 4)	Thunderbolt 4	Thunderbolt 4
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	1x HDMI 2.0	1x HDMI 2.1
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes	No
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	No	No
SD CardReader	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Charging Port	No	No