For everyday tasks, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 offers a superior experience with its higher resolution touchscreen, faster processor, and more RAM, which is great for multitasking. It's also more compact and has a longer battery life, making it highly portable. However, it comes at a higher price point. The ASUS Vivobook 17, on the other hand, is a budget-friendly option with a larger 17.3-inch screen, which is beneficial for those who prefer a bigger display for work or entertainment. It's also lighter on the wallet, but sacrifices performance and portability compared to the Surface Laptop 6. If you need a laptop for general use and prioritize a touchscreen and portability, the Surface Laptop 6 is the way to go. But if you're looking for a cost-effective solution with a larger screen, the ASUS Vivobook 17 is a suitable 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 17
The ASUS Vivobook 17 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
Good overall build quality
Very good portability
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
263.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and ASUS Vivobook 17 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
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" and ASUS Vivobook 17 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
6.2/10
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 17 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
7.0/10
7.7/10
6.2/10
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 17 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
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 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
17.3in
SIZE
13.5in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
263.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 17 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.
Battery
6.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
13.5in
4.6 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 17 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$429
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has a price of $429 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
"The ASUS Vivobook 17 is an affordable 17-inch laptop with passive cooling. On one hand, you get a really quiet and cool work device with a good system performance, many connections, good maintenance options, speakers acceptable for multimedia enjoyment, and a sharp and clear matte FHD IPS display with the Asus VivoBook 17 (F712JA). On the other hand, the USB-C port lacks Power Delivery and DisplayPort, and the display, a higher brightness and better color space coverage."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Vivobook 17 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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