The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 offers higher performance with its advanced processor and dedicated graphics, making it suitable for intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering. But it's heavier and less portable, and its battery life is shorter, which might be a compromise if you need to travel often. The Surface Laptop Go 2, on the other hand, is lighter and more portable with better battery life, which makes it more ideal for general use on the go. It's also significantly cheaper, but it's not designed for demanding tasks due to its lower-end processor and integrated graphics. 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 ZenBook Pro Duo 15
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.0/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
332.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is good.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is considered very good for general use due to its higher-end CPU, more RAM, superior screen quality, and dedicated graphics, but it is less portable and has shorter battery life than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, which is fair for general use but offers excellent portability and better battery life with a less powerful CPU, less RAM, and adequate screen quality.
Gaming and AI
7.8/10
6.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 outperforms the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 in gaming and 3D tasks due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which is much superior to the Surface's Intel Iris Xe graphics. Additionally, both have similar screen refresh rates, but the ZenBook's OLED display with higher resolution offers better screen quality for visually intensive tasks.
Engineering and Design
9.0/10
6.5/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is superior for engineering and design because it boasts a high-end CPU, substantial RAM, a powerful dedicated GPU, and a high-quality screen, essential for resource-intensive tasks and advanced graphics processing. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, with its fair performance in engineering and design, features a more modest CPU, less RAM, integrated graphics, and a lower resolution screen, which makes it less suited for demanding engineering applications but more portable and affordable.
Content Creation
8.7/10
7.1/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
8.3/10
7.0/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for software development, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
8.3/10
6.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
332.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When considering general use like browsing and office tasks, the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo's high resolution and brightness provide crisp and vivid visuals, whereas the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, while slightly less impressive, still delivers a clear and comfortable viewing experience. For engineering and design, the ZenBook Pro Duo stands out with its wider color gamut, ensuring more accurate color representation which is essential for detailed work, though the Surface Laptop Go 2 offers decent color coverage at a more affordable price. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the ZenBook's poor refresh rate makes fast-paced visuals less smooth compared to laptops designed for gaming, and the Surface Laptop Go falls behind even further with lower specs in this regard.
Battery
7.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has 7 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has 8 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
Excellent
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
5.1 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$2,000
$774
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has a price of $2,000 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $774.
"Benchmarks aside, the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is hard to compare with other PCs. Its closest competition may be a multi-monitor desktop, or a laptop with an attached travel monitor. The Pro Duo is more portable and versatile than either of those options, especially with the software tools Asus has thrown on top. For a certain niche of artists, media creators, and gamers, all that might add up to something special, even if it’s unattainable for the rest of us."
"The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review is a compact companion with old hardware. The Surface Laptop Go 2 shows some weaknesses. Microsoft didn't really develop the second generation of the Surface Laptop Go 2 any further but has only equipped it with a slightly more powerful Core i5 processor. However, the performance still remains at a fairly low level overall, but for many users, it definitely should still be sufficient for everyday tasks."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
131,595
Recommendations made
28,513
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.