The ASUS Vivobook 15X offers a lower midrange price, making it a more budget-friendly option with a larger 15.6-inch display, suitable for general use and casual gaming with its integrated Vega 7 graphics. It has a decent battery life of around 8 hours and a good balance of performance for everyday tasks, with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 8GB of RAM. However, it's less portable due to its size and weight, and the screen, while good for general use, isn't as high-resolution as the Surface Laptop's.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is priced in the midrange but often costs more, offering a premium build quality, a high-resolution touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio that's excellent for productivity, and superior color accuracy, which is great for photo editing. Its Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and 16GB of RAM provide robust performance for demanding tasks, and the inclusion of Thunderbolt ports adds versatility for connecting high-speed peripherals. The Surface Laptop is also more portable, with a smaller form factor and longer battery life, but it lacks a dedicated GPU, which means it's not ideal for intensive gaming or 3D rendering.
In summary, if you prioritize portability, build quality, and a superior screen for productivity and content consumption, and you're willing to pay a premium for it, the Surface Laptop 6 is the way to go. However, if you're looking for a more affordable laptop with a larger screen for general use and casual gaming, and you don't mind a bulkier design, the ASUS Vivobook 15X is a solid choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook 15X
The ASUS Vivobook 15X has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5".
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good overall display quality
Very good portability
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.1/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and ASUS Vivobook 15X are both good for general use, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is somewhat better.
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.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
6.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and ASUS Vivobook 15X are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is somewhat better.
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
6.3/10
7.7/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15X is only fair.
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
7.1/10
7.7/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and ASUS Vivobook 15X are both good for content creation, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is somewhat better.
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
6.9/10
7.7/10
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 15X is only fair.
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
6.2/10
7.8/10
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 15X for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Portability
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has very good portability, while the ASUS Vivobook 15X has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$525
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook 15X has a price of $525 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
"All in all, my day on the Vivobook had its ups and downs. It is a really pretty and well-built device, and it had all of the functionality I needed to get me through my browser-based workload. But the speakers weren’t my favorite, and the battery life was just too short."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Vivobook 15X or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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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