The Gateway 11.6" is a budget-friendly option, best for basic tasks like web browsing and word processing, with a smaller screen and less powerful processor and graphics. It's highly portable due to its light weight and compact size but may struggle with more demanding applications. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, on the other hand, is pricier but offers a high-resolution touchscreen, better performance for intensive tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming, and a more robust build. It's less portable due to its larger size and weight but is well-suited for professionals needing power and versatility, including the ability to use it as a tablet. 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 Gateway 11.6"
Excellent portability
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
5.6/10
7.4/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
200.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
5.3/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
9.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for general use, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
The Gateway 11.6" has a less powerful CPU, less RAM, a lower resolution screen, and lesser overall build quality, which hampers its performance and usability for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers a more robust CPU, more RAM, a higher resolution display with touchscreen capabilities, and better build quality overall, enhancing its general use performance. Despite the Gateway's excellent portability due to its smaller size and lighter weight, the Surface Laptop has a more versatile form factor and better battery life, which supports more demanding tasks and longer usage away from a power source.
Gaming and AI
5.4/10
6.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
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
5.4/10
7.3/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for engineering and design, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
The Gateway 11.6" has far less powerful processing capabilities with an Intel Celeron CPU and basic Intel UHD Graphics compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio's robust Intel i7 CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, making the latter much better for demanding engineering and design tasks that require higher performance.
Content Creation
5.7/10
7.4/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for content creation, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
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
5.7/10
7.3/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
5.3/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for software development, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
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
5.7/10
8.0/10
11.6in
SIZE
14.4in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
200.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the Gateway 11.6" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Gateway 11.6" likely has a lower resolution and brightness, leading to a less sharp and dimmer display that is inadequate for both everyday tasks and professional design work. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio boasts a higher resolution, better brightness, and wider color gamuts, providing a crisp and vibrant display suitable for general use and detailed engineering designs. However, its lower refresh rate compared to gaming-optimized laptops makes it less ideal for 3D and gaming applications that benefit from smoother motion and quicker screen updates.
Portability
Excellent
Good
11.6in
SIZE
14.4in
2.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Gateway 11.6" has excellent portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
5.1/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the Gateway 11.6" has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$89
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Gateway 11.6" has a price of $89 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the Gateway 11.6" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
About Gateway
Gateway is a laptop and tablet brand owned by Acer which sells budget-friendly laptops exclusively through Walmart. It was previously an American computer company until its acquisition by Acer in 2007, who then revived the brand in 2020. Gateway laptops are manufactured by Chinese company Shenzhen Bmorn Technology, which also makes EVOO-branded models.
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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