The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has no clear advantages over the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED.
Key differences
General Use
8.7/10
7.0/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
365.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
11.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
10.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is good.
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
6.6/10
6.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED 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
8.2/10
6.5/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
8.5/10
7.1/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED 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
8.4/10
7.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED 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
8.1/10
6.9/10
13.3in
SIZE
12.4in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
365.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 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.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
11.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has 11 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
Best in Class
Excellent
13.3in
SIZE
12.4in
0.4 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED has best in class portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,499
$774
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED has a price of $1,499 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $774.
"The Asus Zenbook S 13 is the slimmest OLED ultrabook worldwide struggles with annoying fans. The new Zenbook S 13 leaves us with mixed feelings, particularly since last year's model was so good. Asus has completely reworked the device, making the laptop noticeably slimmer. The result also looks good and the case makes a great impression, particularly also in terms of the stability. The new plasma ceramic surface feels great, and there are no problems with fingerprints. In addition, it now includes some of the known connections such as an HDMI port and a regular USB-A connection, which is a good achievement in such a slim device."
"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 S 13 OLED 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
131,295
Recommendations made
28,448
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.