If you prioritize a laptop that's better for general use, is lighter on your wallet, and offers decent battery life, the ASUS Vivobook 16 is suitable given its price and it's easier to carry due to its lower weight. However, if your tasks involve intensive 3D rendering or machine learning applications, and you need a laptop with a touch-enabled, higher resolution display, consider the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2; it has a powerful GPU and a high-resolution touchscreen. Keep in mind, the Surface is costlier and has slightly more weight, which might affect its portability. Both laptops are capable of gaming, but the Surface has dedicated gaming features such as hardware ray tracing and DLSS. 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 16
The ASUS Vivobook 16 has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2.
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.3/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
295.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 is good.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 outshines the ASUS Vivobook 16 for general use, particularly due to its higher screen quality, greater amount of RAM, and more powerful CPU, enhancing multitasking and overall efficiency. While both have similar portability and battery life, the Surface Laptop Studio 2's ability to double as a drawing tablet and its superior keyboard and build quality make it better equipped for a broader range of general use scenarios.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 16 has a lower refresh rate screen and relies on integrated graphics, which are less powerful for gaming and 3D applications than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2, which boasts a higher refresh rate display and a dedicated Nvidia graphics card known for better performance in these areas.
Engineering and Design
7.0/10
8.7/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 is good.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 stands out for engineering and design due to its superior processing power with a high-end Intel CPU and a robust Nvidia GPU, coupled with a high-resolution, high-brightness touch screen, and a considerable amount of RAM, which enables complex computations and excellent visual detail for design work. In contrast, the ASUS Vivobook 16, while very competent with a solid AMD CPU and integrated GPU, offers less RAM and screen quality which can limit performance on very demanding tasks.
Content Creation
7.5/10
8.4/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 is good.
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
7.3/10
8.2/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 is good.
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
6.4/10
7.9/10
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
295.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The ASUS Vivobook 16, with its fair screen quality, is suitable for general use due to its resolution and brightness, which are adequate for everyday tasks but may not provide the color accuracy required for engineering and design. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 offers a high-resolution display with excellent color accuracy, making it ideal for engineering and design work where fine detail and color representation matter. However, for Gaming and 3D, both laptops fall short as they have lower refresh rates, which are critical for smooth visuals and a more immersive experience in fast-paced environments.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$669
$3,300
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS Vivobook 16 has a price of $669 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 costs $3,300.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, Yannick Khong | May 2023
"The ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023) is a budget Windows laptop. It's available with various AMD Ryzen 5000 and 7000 U-series CPUs and integrated graphics. You can only get 8GB of RAM; however, there's an empty SO-DIMM slot if you want to upgrade it. It has an FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 16:10 IPS display, a full-size keyboard with a Numpad, a 720p webcam, and Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity. Ports include three USB-As, one USB-C, an HDMI, and a headphone jack. The USB-C supports charging but no video output."
"The new Surface Laptop Studio with its foldable display is supposed to replace the old Surface Book and the overall impression is good after our review. The build quality and the materials are top-notch, the performance utilization of the two components is solid and the device does not show any major flaws in terms of display or speakers, either. The folding mechanism leaves a sold impression as well, but it remains to be seen how it will hold up over the years. The so-called presentation mode is also not ideal since it covers the whole keyboard."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Vivobook 16 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
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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